FPR rider Steve Martin gives Crash.net his very latest rider column right ahead of this weekend’s round of the Corona Extra World Superbikes at Brands Hatch...
Well, I knew Brno was going to be a tough one, as it was my first time at the circuit and the circuit is probably better suited to the bikes with the most horsepower. However I was able to improve my race time in every session and, come race day, I was still confident of finishing in the points.
I have been getting some great starts and the set-up of the bike has been giving me confidence to really push hard on the first lap, In race two in particular this allowed me to get behind the main group for a tow for what I am confident would have been into a points-finishing position until the race was red flagged.
Into the first corner on the re-start I had to back off the throttle just slightly to avoid a rider who had run into the dirt and was rejoining and I basically missed getting on the back of the train of the faster riders which meant I was being held up in the corners and unable to pass on the straights.
Towards the end of the race, when I finally got clear track, I was able to do my quickest lap times of the race but finished out of the points. I honestly can’t even remember what positions I actually finished in as to me it’s rather irrelevant. I can’t really explain how much I hate finishing out of the points so, whilst I really liked the style of the Brno circuit, it was a disappointing weekend coming off the back of Misano.
On our visit to the Czech Republic we managed to spend a night in Prague looking around the old city and had a fantastic meal with FPR’s own undercover food critic, who used to write newspaper restaurant reviews - no wonder the food is so good in the hospitality unit!
