Although I didn’t know it, I started to break away from the two behind me and now the pace was at where everybody expected it to be. In the last laps I was very close but finding it difficult to pass the two Hondas. They had some good drive off the final turn which was making it impossible for me to get close to slipstream them. In the fast stuff I was able to close right up to the back of them as my bike was handling very well. On the final lap I still thought that there was a chance I could lose my podium spot to the two behind me, little did I know they were three seconds back!
I put my head down, making sure I was braking deep enough to give them no chance to pass and was within inches of Hayes’s back wheel when we crossed the line. There was just 0.2secs between myself and Gobert for the win. It was a nice feeling to finally get on the box. It’s been almost 6 years since I have stood up there so I was really happy with the result. It’s been brewing all year and taken a bit too long for my liking but now I’ve got the taste of it again I’m hungry for much, much more. The Celtic boys were over the moon as it was also their first podium in the AMA. My mechanic Mark stayed true to his word and shaved off his 20 year old Goatee beard which was pretty funny! For the budget that Celtic have and the effort that they put into it, it’s very rewarding to see them be paid back. In all honestly, for a full privateer outfit we’re finishing in places we shouldn’t be finishing in which makes it all the more rewarding.
After a steady Saturday night with some minor celebrations I was really pumped up for the Supersport race on Sunday afternoon. I was feeling pretty relaxed before the race and looking forward to what was definitely going to be a good scrap and I was fairly confident that, all being well, I could be on the podium again. My start was definitely not what I had hoped for. It all felt good on the clutch, I didn’t let it out too fast bogging it and neither did I slip it too much and over rev it.
