I arrived at Cadwell Park in Lincolnshire on Thursday evening for a test day on Friday, the weather as was wet, cold and very strange, this set the tone for the whole weekend.
I got a few sessions in on the Friday test day but found it difficult to get a workable setup with the varied weather conditions, Jono and I tried different things and finally thought we had a good base setting which we hoped would stand us in good stead for the race on Saturday and Sunday.
I qualified Saturday morning on a dry but cold track on wets, this turned out to be a good tyre choice, I managed to get 21st on the grid which I was happy about.
Race 1
I didn't have a great start but battled through the field, I felt good on dry tyres as some of the track was wet but this didn't change too much of my lap times, I got more comfortable on the bike during the race and picked a few people off. I finished 6th in class, I was extremely happy with this result.
Race 2
The weather was bad, I originally elected for drys but had enough time to change to wets at the last possible minute, I started in 21st position and was picking people off lap after lap, I just kept getting quicker and quicker, this was one of the races of my life so far!
I finished 6th overall and 2nd in class, if I’d have been a little more confident whilst overtaking I could of done a lot better and may have won this race, I managed to get fastest lap of the race out of my class which I didn't think was possible.
If I could have my season again I would defiantly choose to race on wets every time as I was so confident in these sketchy conditions. I really like racing in the rain.
Race 3
Race three was good, back onto dry tyres again but it was quite cold so I just needed to keep my speed up and try keeping the heat in the tyres, I had a few great battles with other riders finishing sixth in class.
Race 4
Our backs were against the wall from the outset, we were constantly changing tyres from wets to drys and back again, Jono Bennett worked wonders in sorting me out time after time after time !
All I wanted to do by race four was to bring the bike home safe and sound without any damage, the slippery conditions were making riding the R1 really difficult and at times nearly impossible for me, I brought her home in last position but no damage to me or the bike. Result !
Our last race was over which ended my 2020 season at Thundersport GB
In the end it was a fantastic weekend, On reflection. I really enjoyed every minute of it, I have always thought it wouldn’t be possible to be a top runner in this or any other championship, I think Iv’e proved that if you truly believe, anything can happen.
I hope to see you all In 2021
Chris
Check out this great video
The Photographs on this website were take by Kerry Rawson Photography, Paul Denton, Andrew Dyke and Kat Bennett