Buxton racer in action in South Wales

Qualifying took place in dry conditions and Chris managed a 5th place start but by the Race start the track had experienced a light rain.Everyone put their wet weather tyres on but it was immediately clear that the track was almost dry. Chris got a great start and outbraked the current champion into the first corner, taking the holeshot and leading the first 2 laps. A battle developed with the Championship leader which lasted until the last lap. Chris seemed to have the edge on the first half of the track with the other rider gaining in the second half.

The complication of riding on a dry track with wet tyres meant that both riders made mistakes and the race was close fought with the lead changing hands multiple times. On the last lap Chris was passed on the back straight and was just beaten to the finish by a bike length. “I’m kinda surprised at leading so many laps, given the other guys pace this weekend but I’m happy to have fought for the win”

Race 2 was a 2 part affair once again held in light-rain conditions such that most of the field opted for wet tyres again. After a good start and 1st lap the Buxton mans chain came off whilst in a good 2nd place. Fortunately for him, a red flag incident caused a restarted race which meant he could rejoin the grid. Slotting into 2nd place on the first laps of the shortened race meant it looked like repeat of race 1 until another rider got past and the tow to the leader was lost. Kent regained 2nd place but on the last lap another rider came through demoting him to 3rd place.

“That race was hard going. The bike wasn’t handling as well as in the first race as I was a second a lap slower despite the conditions being similar. I’m happy to get a podium finish though”

Race 3 got away in dry, sunny conditions on Sunday morning. A good start meant the Buxton man was in the lead group for the first 3 laps until a rider from the other class unfortunately cost him 7 seconds over 3 laps and dropped Kent back into the clutches of another racer. A good battle for a couple of laps resulted in Kent finishing 4th.

The final race of the weekend started badly for our man when the bike bogged down off the line meaning he arrived at the first corner in about 11th place. A few laps of hard fighting saw the Buxton man move up to 5th closing on the leaders when another red flag was shown due to a fallen rider needing medical attention. The restarted race was much better with Kent hanging onto the leading 4 riders and then moving up to 3rd place when another competitor fell and the one in front took avoiding action. From here Kent was able to close down and battle with the leaders, taking the lead a couple of laps from home.

Entering the final lap an incident at the first corner caused yellow flags to be shown meaning no overtaking is allowed. To complicate matters another, much slower, rider from a different class was also entering the corner causing the lead group of MZs to bunch up and in the ensuing melee Kent dropped to 4th place and ended the race in that place.

“I wasn’t expecting to get on the podium this weekend so the iffy conditions on Saturday certainly helped me, but I rode well on Sunday and got a bit lucky in race 3 when i was able to restart the race. The Race 4 result was very frustrating as I felt I was well placed to take the win or at least another podium before the yellow flag confusion occurred. Unfortunately I won’t be able to continue my championship run as work commitments mean I will miss the next round but will be back in action at the end of May at Doningotn Park”