Ryans race reports (page 3)

Croix en Ternois. Day 1
Race one.
Should have tested ......I couldn't make the Friday test day and boy did I pay. Race one and Chad Hasmi took 2 seconds out the lap record and about the same out of me in race one. I am sure the Powerbikes helped as we were running along side them for the weekend but still !!! I had an uphill struggle ahead of me this weekend. 2nd SuperTwin.

Race two.
Not one for giving up I made a few small changes for race 2 , I firmed up the front end to gain some more stability on the brakes and I put on some new tyres. Made a good start, Chad took a few Power bikes out wide on the brakes going into turn one so I ducked underneath him, up into third place going round turn two, I am taking things a little steady as I have new tyres on and then out of nowhere bang I am hit from behind, I am actually hit on my outside rear end of the bike . Chad Hasmi !!!!... his footrest goes through my leathers and into my calf and it hurts a lot, I am now off the circuit ( again) and waiting on the inside of turn three to get back on track. I am last by a mile, I worked my way back to ninth SuperTwin and 16th overall ( grid position for tomorrow) . the changes I made were good I went half a second quicker.

Croix en Ternois. Day two
Race one.
The leg is sore but lots of ice overnight and a great meal out in St pol and I am in good spirits going into race one . Chad is on pole having won the last race yesterday which was a hell of a ride he was really on it this weekend, and I was back in sixteenth I knew it was a tall order and the best I could hope for round the tight croix circuit was an improvement on grid position for the last race of the day . I had a shocker of a start and gave myself a really hard task . I battled up to 6th overall and 3rd supertwin, it was a slog. Croix was so hard on the arms and the heat just burned away at you. I went another half second faster , chads times were down to around 7 tenths away now.

Race two
I was really up for this one I was going to give it a real go . 4th by turn one but the front two had just pulled a little gap and they were taking Chad with them , but I hung in there pushing each lap , I couldn't afford to fall off and give away anymore points so I pushed as hard as I could were I thought it was safe to but I wasn't taking any chances through the infield section. I was loosing a little bit here. I went back to fifth on lap three as one of the Power Bikes came by but I hung on to him and we began to draw in Chad but in the end it wasn't enough and I ran out of laps . second again another half second quicker but still 3 tenths behind Chad. Still leading the championship but missing the top step again.

Snetterton
A slight anticlimax can be the only way to sum up ones feelings at Snetterton as I crossed the line in second place for the first race of the day on sunday morning.

Supertwins champion 2004.

To be honest I had anticipated a much harder fight from Chad Hashmi on the Aprilia as the season came to a close and I also didnt expect to wrap it up with 5 races left.

Rewinding the clock back 10 days I find myself in hospital coming round from an anasthetic minus my tonsils, an operation I had been waiting for for over six months and one that I had already cancelled once because of race dates clashes.

A scant three days later I am sitting on the start line at Silverstone aboard mr Brett Norris's 999 Ducati in the peeing rain. I really only have vague memories of the whole day, to say I had under estimated the serious nature of having my tonsils out as an adult would be stating the obvious and my only plan at this point was first stay on the 999 and second damage limitation to Chad .

Well chad fell off at turn one and I stayed on for eighth place , and race two was the same except chad came fifteenth . Job done and Snetterton was just a case of going through the motions now despite still being seriously under the weather.

Pro Twins pulled out all the stops for this one gave me a missile in the rebuilt 998s and it made life very easy we even managed to win one. So there we have it what an experience it has been lots and lots of highs and very few lows.

The highlights? winning both races at croft in the pouring rain and the four at snetterton with the lap record oh and two days at jerez with brett, rob george , harry and all at tofsracing. the lows? well chucking it down the road on the way to the grid at Cadwell, imagine having to explain that one . It was wet though! I would like to personly thank , Brett , Rob , Pete and Malcom for all their support on and off the track and for sticking with it through the year. I couldnt have asked for more, and finally thanks to George Manners and Harry Cole for sharing the whole experience of our year at the track together.

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