Hello everyone
It’s been a while, hasn’t it? Well, to be honest, I didn’t do much during the three days between the two races—just some physical maintenance. The weather was beautiful all weekend, with temperatures reaching a high of 28°C.
On Thursday, I re-familiarized myself with the track. I felt more comfortable and definitely faster. I was lacking a bit of pressure under braking, but I planned to fix that the next day—especially since we were finally going to switch to a fresh set of tires.
By Friday, my braking had improved. I clocked some great lap times in both sessions and maintained a strong pace, even as the tires began to wear down. I finished second in both sessions.
Saturday morning, for qualifying, we decided on a new strategy: waiting 10 minutes before heading out (which left me with only 15 minutes of track time). This allowed me to see the other riders’ lap times while also giving me a clear track—no one to get in my way or follow me. I put in some incredible laps, six in a row! I ended up in a solid 4th place—just one-tenth of a second off the overall leader (and 12th in the World Championship standings), and only four-tenths off pole position! It’s incredibly tight!
In the afternoon, it was time for the race. I had a good start and tucked into the slipstream to pick up as much speed as possible before the first corner. Things got a bit chaotic; I had to move to the outside to avoid a crash, which cost me five positions—I dropped to 9th. From there, I began to fight my way back up, one spot at a time. On lap 6, having fought my way back to 5th position, I made a mistake at turn 11 and crashed after losing the front—I tried to close the gap to 4th place too quickly. I managed to pick the bike up, but it was impossible to get going again. Naturally, I was extremely frustrated, as I knew I had the pace to contend for a podium finish.
Sunday brought the second race. Due to my crash the previous day, I started near the back of the grid. When the lights went out, I gained two positions. I didn’t feel entirely comfortable with the front end of the bike, which caused me to tense up and put too much strain on my arms—this, in turn, hindered my pace. I worked my way up to 6th place over the course of 7 laps, but the riders ahead were too far away to catch. I found myself in a back-and-forth battle for 6th, but despite a hard-braking maneuver into the final corner, I couldn’t reclaim the position and finished 7th. I’m very disappointed with my performance in this race, especially since I had started the weekend so strongly.
I’ve made further progress, both here in Navarra and last week in Valencia. There are still a few areas to refine, but I’m on a great trajectory.
The next race will take place at the very end of October in Jerez—our second visit there this year.
Thank you all for your support.
Elliot#9
