Every racer loves it when the weather people get it wrong this way. The rain held off and the sun shone, leaving us with just the howling wind to contend with. My Aprilia Tuono Factory catches the wind less than most, so I could make good use of the time available.
By the afternoon I felt comfortable, and harassed some of the GP1 superbikes with whom I was sharing practice sessions. It was handy to have the chance to chase the top class bikes, and it helped pull the lap times down to consistent low 1m02s which is pretty fair for old tyres and windy conditions. The Tuono feels brilliant around Pembrey. No-one went under a minute today, even in GP1, so I’m really looking forward to the weekend now, especially if it stays dry.
By the way, check out how cool the bike looks with the new graphics from RacepaintUK and the awesome paint by S&B Automotive Academy.

Round two is here already and looming large in the distance lies Cadwell Park’s infamous Mountain, a wrecker of bikes, nerves, and chances should you get it wrong. As loved as the circuit is by so many, it’s a fickle friend that requires plenty of experience to negotiate with safety and speed.

So, it’s a good job I booked a space on Saturday’s practice day, because I’ve only spent two half days at Cadwell in six years. By coincidence, one of those sessions was on a Tuono. I’ll use the time to learn the circuit in detail and tweak the set-up of my Aprilia Tuono Factory.

Cadwell is narrow, bumpy, and a mix of flowing and tight sections. In these respects it isn’t dissimilar to Mallory, and seeing as the Aprilia was great there I’m hoping for more big things from it.

The track is so narrow that the grid now lines up in rows of three, instead of the usual four, for added safety. This is a great idea, though it will make qualifying even more important. I need to be on the front row at the very least to set up for the four eight-lap races. I’ll have a brand spanking set of D211GPs from new partner Dunlop that should make that task slightly easier. I ran pre-used tyres at Mallory. The D211GPs are awesome, so I can’t wait to feel them digging in through the slingshot of turn one.

Streetfighters have an exclusive grid at Cadwell, with the Supertwins class now piggybacking the Minitwins instead. That’s a very good thing, as we can get on with racing and qualifying against each other. There should be a few more Streetfighters out there too. It will be interesting to see who turns up and what they’re riding.

Finally, a correction to a previous post and an apology to Andy Denyer. I’m not leading the championship, he is – by one point! Andy had a solid weekend at Mallory last time with three seconds and a third (not the pair of each I thought he’d scored). Needless to say, I intend turning that situation around this weekend.

Look out for updates from the track every day over the weekend. Wish me luck.