Hello everyone,
We are at the Navarra Circuit, near Pamplona, for the second race of the year. I prepared thoroughly for this event by spending two weeks at an elite motorcycle training school in Valencia.
Thursday was a test day, as I had never ridden this circuit on my Triumph. The track remained dry all day, and I gradually got my bearings throughout the sessions. My pace was very strong.
On Friday morning, I picked up the pace, though we still needed to fine-tune the bike as we were lacking power. In the afternoon, we swapped out the electronic control unit (ECU), and I worked on improving my weak points. Despite a few drops of rain, I felt extremely comfortable throughout the session—in fact, I set the fastest time (securing P1 for the afternoon).
Saturday brought rain overnight, and the track hadn’t dried out by the time qualifying began, so we headed out on rain tires. On my very first flying lap, I nearly suffered a high-side when the rear end broke loose under acceleration. Even so, I managed to lower my lap times and finished in 3rd place—I was very happy with that!
The first race took place in the afternoon on a dry track. I had a good start, but the stock clutch cost me a lot of time. I was very fast through the twisty sections of the circuit, but as soon as we hit a straightaway, I’d get left behind (we’ll be changing the ECU tomorrow!). I pushed my tires to the absolute limit—to the point where I nearly crashed three times. I finished 6th, which I’m reasonably satisfied with (the top five finishers go on to the world championship level), though I’m frustrated that I wasn’t able to fight for a podium spot.
Sunday was the second race. Based on yesterday’s results, the top nine riders were gridded according to their finishing positions, so I started 6th. I had a good start, losing only two spots—which I managed to win back two laps later. I maintained a strong pace throughout the race—no longer getting left behind on the straights—and fought my way up to 5th position. I caught back up to the lead group, where four of us were battling for 2nd place. I struggled to find an opening to pass the rider in 4th, finally spotting a chance on the last lap coming out of the final corner; however, it wasn’t quite enough—I missed out by just 28 thousandths of a second, and the podium slipped away by a mere second. It’s frustrating to still be without a podium finish, but I’m getting closer and closer.
It was a very good weekend; I’ve reached a new level since Jerez, and now I’m in a position to fight for the podium in every race. The next round will be in Estoril, Portugal, in five weeks’ time.
Thanks to everyone—see you soon!
