After overnight rain, morning warm-up was dry, bright and useful. I checked a change to the set-up and found a bit more speed, nipping under 57s for the first time and topping the timesheets, even ahead of the Supertwins sportsbikes that share the Streetfighter grid.

The start of the first race was hectic and I got caught out by the slightly colder left side of tyre, sliding off gently entering Edwina’s chicane. Only my pride was bruised, but the bike needed a bit of attention.

My friends Ricky and Mart got stuck in helping me clean it, patch up the bodywork, and fit a set of bars loaned by Chris from Moto46. Thanks to them, I made it to the grid of the second race with less than 15 seconds to spare.

This time I got a better start and slotted in to second at the first corner, behind a Supertwin bike. I pushed hard, matched my best times, and took the class win by a good margin. It’s great to score a win on the Aprilia, make up for the crash, and kickstart the season. Hopefully this will be the first of many.

Thanks again to my sponsors S&B Automotive Academy and White Dalton, and of course my friends Mart, Chris and Rick.