Having only completed a handful of laps in each practice, the team were down on setup time, but mainly track time for Robbie to become completely happy with the setup.

Free Practice
Both free practices were plagued with problems, Robbie was only able to complete one lap at a time as the engine was continually cutting out, causing various engine problems. None the less, the laps that Robbie complete, he managed to get a relatively good setup before the race, only requiring a couple of setting changes.

Qualifying
As in Free practice, there were many electrical problems, which seemed to be getting worse. The team worked overnight to try and find the problem, which only seemed to be present on the track, making it difficult to replicate on the stand. As session 1 was nearing a close, Robbie decided to ignore the electrical problems and try to complete 1 fast lap. Robbie passed the line with 1 second to go knowing he needed to complete one fast lap. Still a problematic lap, where the engine was cutting every so often, Robbie managed to complete a 1m40s lap time, which was 2 seconds faster than free practice, placing him 15th on the provisional grid.

Constantly working hard to overcome the problem, the bike was stripped bare and a loose connection was found, once tightened, the problem seemed to disappear, so the team headed out for qualifying 2, hoping to put an end to the problems, but the first lap out, the problem reoccurred, every corner, the bike was cutting out and almost pitching Robbie off the bike. It was now a case of checking the bike all over. Robbie pulled into the pits and one by one the team disconnected various components. Only completing one lap at a time, the problem still remained. With the session in the last few minutes, the team decided to return to the truck to make a last attempt to find the problem.

It was pot luck that the problem started to occur on the stand, which made things much easier to troubleshoot. With the bike running the team searched high and low for the issue, finally finding the problem – the on/off switch on the bike was faulty. This was replaced and the problem disappeared!

Race
After a successful warm-up, Robbie knew he could get a top 15 result as the bike was feeling good. Robbie started 22nd on the grid and got a flying start, and once settled in; he began to attack and got to 18th before the race was stopped due to rain.
With only seconds left before the race started, the team opted for wet tyres, however, time only allowed for the front to be changed, so it was a wet front and dry rear. Robbie head out only to find he had missed the pit limit by 3 seconds, pushing him to the back of the grid.
With it all to do, Robbie set off with another flyer, he began to pick people off and then the rain began to fall. With a dry rear, it was clear that Robbie was struggling to get the power down out of corners, none the less; Robbie continued trying as people were crashing left right and centre. In the dying stages on the Race, Robbie was having his own battle with Steve Plater. Clearly learning, Robbie went for the pass, but it didn’t stick for long and Robbie passed the line in 12th position, 2nd in the cup.

“This weekend has been very, very difficult. There were moments where I just wanted to go home, we had so many problems and as a rider, there it nothing worse than problems you cant fix. The guys did an absolute awesome job with the bike, and eventually found the problem to be down to a £5 component!
The race was absolutely awesome, we had the right front, but the wrong rear tyre, the conditions were terrible and I wasn’t sure whether to pull in and call it a day. I tried and tried and managed to tag onto Steve Plater, which was great, I learnt so much just from watching his style. I tried for the pass but it wasn’t to be. It’s my first top 15 in the series, which is great, I feel like we have so much more to come. I am confident of top 5 results in the not to distant future!

I would like to dedicate my race result to my Aunt Lillian, who unexpectedly passed away on the morning of the race. She was a very caring person who was always there for all of our family. She will be sadly missed.” Explained Robbie

The team will now regroup, and head to Donington Park for round 3, where Robbie is hoping for better luck throughout the weekend!

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