Round 4: Donington Park with World Superbikes
We turned up at Donington Park on Thursday afternoon in preparation for the weekend. There were no British Superbikes this weekend, as we were guest riding at World Superbikes! The national Superstock 1000s and 600s were placed in the secondary paddock, with the Worlds in the main paddock. Friday morning brought with it sunshine and wind, and also Free Practice. Sam placed 27th in this, with a time of 1:37.6s. That afternoon was Q1 and Sam went faster again, claiming a personal best and 19th place with 1:35.5s. At 17:45, Q2 was held. Sam went faster again with a 1:35.3s time. Overall, this time put Sam 26th on the grid. On Saturday, there was supposed to be a shoot-out race. However, the number of entrants didn’t merit this, so we had a “down day” and enjoyed the sun and world superbike qualifying! Sunday morning brought not only the warm-up, but the first of two races, an unusual situation as we’re used to only 1. In the first race, Sam fought hard and rode a great race, finishing 18th, also gaining a new personal best of 1:34.8s. The grid for the second race was determined by the fastest lap times from the first race. This put Sam on 20th position. After 12 laps of fast paced action, Sam finished 21st, within a group of 4, with whom he’d been battling for a number of laps. The team were all over the moon. It was such a difference from the previous weekend at Oulton where everything went wrong. We await round 5 with eagerness!
Round 3: Oulton Park
The team arrived at a blowy but sunny Oulton Park on Friday afternoon. Following a crash here on a track-day, the team were eager to ensure the bike worked properly before the first track session on Saturday. The weather on Saturday morning was just as sunny but less windy than Friday. During free practice, Sam came 31st, with a time of 1:44.007. Qualifying 1 was also on Saturday. Sam managed 5 laps before a mechanical failure halted proceedings. Despite this, Sam managed 32nd place, a great result with only 5 laps of qualifying. Sam was disappointed as he felt there was more time to come. The team worked for 10 hours on the bike before declaring it fit for purpose. Sadly, on Sunday, in Qualifying 2, the bike had another mechanical failure, and this brought about the end of the race weekend for the team. We were all really disappointed, after all the time spent on the bike. Sam thanked the team for working so hard to fix the bike, and that the second failure was no persons fault. An unfortunate set of coincidences had deflated the team as they left the track, but we are still hopeful for the rest of the season.
Round 2: Thruxton
Thruxton was the weekend after Round 1, and what a difference with the weather. The team arrived to blue skies. We had free practice on Friday morning, and Sam placed 28th. Qualifying 1 was on Friday afternoon and Sam managed 32nd. At this point, Sam was placed 2nd on the shoot-out race. On Saturday at 12:15pm, Qualifying 2 was held. Unfortunately, the rain had come in, and the times were all slower. Sam qualified 25th, but was 32nd overall. This meant Sam was 2nd on the grid for the shoot-out race. During saturday, the rain came and went, and as the shoot-out race loomed, the track started to dry. The shoot-out race was dry, although cold, and was the last race of the day. Sam, sadly, didn’t have a good start and lost a couple of places off the start. He then had a great race to finish 6th. On Sunday, the sun was shining, and as the race started, Sam was in 35th position on the grid, as someone had dropped out. In the second corner, a rider came off and the safety car was required for 3 laps. In this time, another rider had created a gap between two packs of riders, with Sam in the second pack. He fought every lap and finished in 30th position. However, Sam was overtaken on the last lap, while under yellow flags. The rider was subsequently given a 10-second penalty, so Sam finished 29th overall. Although not a great result, Sam was quite happy, because there is very little track time available at this circuit. He has learnt new things about the track, and riding conditions, so the team left with smiles on their faces. We now have a 3 week gap to Oulton Park, and are looking forward to it already!
Round 1 2012: Brands Hatch
The team were ready for the first round of a new season. We are sporting a Kawasaki ZX10-R, with not a spot of green in sight! The team had been out to Alcarras and Cartegena, both in Spain, for the official BSB tests. Having also had some testing prior to the start of the season, Sam was excited to ride the new bike hard. We arrived at Brands Hatch on Thursday evening and set up as normal. Because Sam and Tom arrived later, with the caravan, Sam wasn’t signed on as we arrived. This caused a minor problem before free practice. Having sorted this out, Sam went out and managed a solid 50.124 second lap. Although this is 1.5s off his personal best, the team weren’t disheartened, as there was significant frost on the ground. The weather changed on Friday evening, turning to rain throughout the night. Sam was on track early, and the session was declared wet. Despite this, Sam put in a stirling effort, and was in 8th position at one point. As Sam passed the chequered flag, he was in 11th, but sadly 6 others had a faster last lap, pushing Sam down to 17th. Qualifying 2 was held on Sunday, and for the first few laps, Sam was P1. The track was drying quickly, and, as Sam came in to swap tyres to dry ones, he times started to drop. Eventually, Sam finished 13th, a fantastic result, meaning Sam wasn’t in the shoot-out race, for the first time in the 3 years we’ve been at BSB. This was a real morale booster, as it shows Sam has made real improvement. At 14:40 on Monday afternoon, we raced. Due to the conditions in qualifying, the 2 qualifying groups were split. That put Sam in 26th place on the grid. In the first corner, 2 riders went down. Sam luckily avoided these, and in fact every other incident on track in the 22 laps of the race. He finished in a brilliant (and personal best) 16th place, narrowly missing getting a championship point. Despite this, Sam was overjoyed. He rode a tactical race in the rain, doing enough to move up the rostrum, but not so much as to be thrown off the bike. The team were buzzing with excitement, and we can’t wait for the next round at Thruxton.
spanish test for british superbikes
Spanish_testing_info.pdf
arm pump surgery
please follow the link to a useful website relating to arm pump, its’ causes, symptoms, surgery and recovery.
http://www.elbowdoc.co.uk/sports-injuries/CECS%20forearm
Barry Symmons Pro Test
8th,9th,10th & 11th March 125/250, 600 Superstock & TT Lightweight , 600 Supersport & 1000 Superstock, Superbikes.
Barry Symmons Pro BSB test website
Sam West Rider Profile
sam_west_profile.pdf
Cartegena Pro Test
Physiotherapy at Cartagena Circuit 8-11th March 2012
Frances West will be out at the circuit for the PRO-TEST
Cost of treatment
Consultations and treatments in the paddock will be 10 Euros for riders and 20 Euros for non riders.
There will be an additional cost for any tape used. Tape can be purchased at 6 Euros a box (any colour to suit your personality!).
Treatments can be paid in cash (Euros or Sterling), cheque (sterling) or by credit card.
Pre test Physiotherapy
If you have problems before going to the PRO TEST it may be worth having some treatment prior to going out to Spain. Our physiotherapy team at Water Lane Clinic in Wilmlsow will be happy to see you, if you don’t have someone local to your home. Just call us for an appointment, we open every day from 8am into the evenings and on Saturdays.
If you need more than physiotherapy
We work closely with Orthopaedic surgeons and can arrange for appointments with them if it is necessary. Frances has will be able to make these arrangements whilst out in Spain if necessary.
For further information about the PRO TEST contact Barry Symmons .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
