started making some minor adjustments to the suspension and gearing, and almost always improving, which was a very good sign. The circuit's surface was absolutely flawless, offering tons of grip, despite being on old tyres from the previous round.

By the final session, I set my best lap time of the day at a 1.12.4.

Qualifying
The next day, the weather held off again for the Qualifying session, so I put a new rear tyre on, but unfortunately, didn't have enough funds for a new front as well, which was very important as the front tyres were under a lot of strain on the tight, twisty and downhill sections.

There was no point in dwelling on this too much, so I made the best of what I had.

I took 2 laps to scrub in my new tyre and to get both tyres up to full temperature as we were held in the holding area for a fair while. I set myself up for good drive out of the final corner and got my head down to begin setting some fast laps. The problem being with the Anglesey circuit was the very short 'Home Straight', which was more like a quick burst between corners, which made seeing my pit board almost impossible, but sometimes managing to catch a glimpse of my position.

The rear tyre grip was significantly better, and I started putting in some good, consistent laps, and after around 4 laps, I caught my pit board displaying Position 4. I managed to hold this until the very last minute when I was pipped by hundredths of a second, demoting me off the front row.

I was very surprised to find I had knocked off a full second off my previous day's lap time, putting in a 1.11.4, which showed how important new tyres were. I was happy with this, but couldn't help thinking 'what if' I had a new front tyre as well, but that's racing and 'if's' and 'buts' don't count for nothing.

Dave Edwards from Torquing Power, the official Dyno supplier for Thundersport GB very generously bought me a brand new front tyre as he was impressed by my performance despite being on an old tyre, which I am extremely grateful for! Thank you Dave!

Race 1
Unfortunately, this time, the rain decided to come, which meant I wasn't able to use the new front tyre which I'm certain would of allowed me to knock at least another second off my times and battle for the podium and even the lead.

I made a decent start and completely the first lap in 6th place, but instantly struggled with rear grip issues, causing me to almost crash numerous times. I ended up dropping down the field like a stone to eventually finish in a disappointing 10th. I was certain that the wet rear tyre had some kind of problem, because I could not justify the track being that slippery for the lack of grip I had, as the front end was excellent. Fortunately, Nigel Anderson, our close friend offered to lend me money for a new wet rear tyre, which was a very kind gesture.

Race 2
What a difference! The new rear tyre was absolutely awesome, and I instantly knocked 3 second a lap off my times. This time, I could battle for positions, and was nipping at the heels of podium. I spent a couple of laps behind championship leader, Seb Bulpin, but as the race went on, he began to make a break. I tried to get my head down and run his pace, but I was locked in a battle with Scott Wilson and Mark Newland. After a race long battle, I eventually crossed the line in 6th place just being pipped by the other two riders.

Despite this, I really enjoyed the race and picked up some very useful points in the championship. The result was made that much better knowing I now had a good rear tyre under me.

Race 3
The third race was fairly similar to the previous race, battling with championship leader Seb Bulpin, Nick Anderson, Scott Wilson and Mark Newland. After a couple of laps of some intense racing despite the tricky conditions, I was sitting in 6th position comfortable behind Mark Newland and Nick Anderson. Then, exiting the final corner, Nick unfortunately had a big highside right in the front of me with him spread out across the middle of the track. I immediately had to hit the brakes and take avoiding action which allowed Mark to pull a significant gap on me.

I was then found in a battle with Seb Bulpin and Scott Wilson for 6th place, with positions swapping and changing every lap. With Scott Wilson seemingly getting desperate to get passed me on the brakes, consistently running wide, the inevitable happened when Seb Bulpin was in the wrong place at the wrong time and was unluckily taken out of the race by Scott. This left me untroubled by any other riders for the reminder of the race and I again crossed the line in 6th place, another good points score.

Overall, I was really happy with the weekend, as I proved I could also run the front pace in the dry. I was disappointed with the first race, but you have to take the good with the bad and everyone experiences their share of bad luck as Seb and Nick found out the hard way.

Thanks for reading,
Greg #31