Been very busy down here so this report is about 2 wks late..............apologies
When are we gonna get a fine race day!!!!!!!! Arrived at Levels to rain and fog so thick you could see the back straight from the startline.
We decied to just use the Sv650 Pro-twin this meeting to try and get some better setup and let Ants concentrate on just one bike.
Qualifying was very wet and Ants went out mid pack which meant he caught slower traffic on every lap but the nw set of wets were working well and he qualified on pole....2secs faster than anyone else in pro-twin or F3.
RACE 1
This was his first time on the front row in the PT/F3 class. he knew that a clean break was the answer. Himself , Jonny Small (PT) and Neil Smith (F3) all got a good break at the start. Ants led and gradually pulled a reasonable gap to take the win.
RACE2
It had stopped raining but was cold and very damp so we decided to stick with a wet set up.... only having one set of wheels is a right pain (god sv wheels for late models are like gold dust)
Just as the previous race was finishing a slight breeze came up and a ray of sunlight..... the track was drying. We decided that Ants would have to "push it" in the early laps to try and get a good gap before the track dried. He got the break on lap one and pulled a few second gap....... however pushing it so early had taken its toll on the rear tyre and by lap 5 thebike was moving around on every corner............ despite a valient effort both Jonny & Neil caught and passed him with a half lap to go...buggar. So a 2nd in PT and 3rd overall.
He was gutted but looking at the new/destroyed rear wet he did well to hold the pace for so long.
Race 3
It was drying but a little drizzle in the air was keeping it a guessing game with tyres. we decided to keep the wet front but fit a used D209 to the rear. Think the chioce was correct but........... after fitting in a hurry i did not notice that the sidewall (poss a broken steel band) was damaged when fitting/removing. Soon as Ants put any power on the bike shook violantly so he had to cruise the straights and take a gamble on the corners.......... he stayed out circulating as he knew some points were better than none. And at that piont he didnt know the problem.
But still managed 4th in PT so a few points were salvaged.
Overall a good weekend.......... still leading King of levels pro-twin by 4 pts from Jonny Small. And 3rd(we think) in the King of Canterbury.
Some good wet setup gained and a few mistakes learnt too.
Looks like it is going to be a great battle between Jonny & Ants all season (current streetstock 1&2 from the nats.)
We know that our two trips up to Manfield really helped with the wet racing conditions and are under no illusions that Jonny will be a formidible force in the dry........... so out came the forks and off to Dr Robert for an upgrade. Once again un-faultable service from the CKT team...thanks guys.
Roll on Rd 3.........and some fine weather.......please.
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