White Dalton Blog

The weather did its best to trip me up for the single 20-minute qualifying session, but teamwork prevailed. I’m on the front row of the mixed grid, in third, and first of the Streetfighters by a healthy margin.
Several showers through the morning forced a late decision for wet tyres, but by the time they were in the track was already dry. It was Cadwell all over again! I did a couple of laps to get a time logged, posting a reasonable 1m04.8s, then pulled in to change to dry tyres, thankful that it was a long session and that the guys visiting from S&B Automotive Academy were still by my awning. I was even more thankful that Andy and Darren are qualified mechanics! With some extra help from my mates Phil and Sam they had the wheels changed in about four minutes, leaving me time to get the tyres scrubbed and hot before attacking.
A 1m02.01s lap was satisfying, got me the front row start I need, and it was also 1.7s faster than the next Streetfighter. That’ll do.
The race is in half an hour. Wish me luck.

Second qualifying was damp so the grid for Saturday’s races is set from the first session. That means I’m on the front row as fastest Streetfighter and second overall behind the top Sound of Thunder bike. I’ll be aiming to win the races overall though, definitely! Can’t wait.

We’re off! It’s cold but dry at Mallory, so I got stuck straight in from the first session. After four months off the track I built up the pace and soon felt comfortable, and the Aprilia Tuono Factory is singing. (continue reading…)