Held wearer Joe Burns, left, on the podium at Knockhill. Image: Double Red |
The Knockhill weather lived up to form and over the three days of the race weekend it varied from dry and bright to wet, free practice was cloudy but dry and Joe was second in his group by 3/10ths of a second, qualifying 1 was also dry but overcast and Joe took advantage of the conditions to put in a time that gave him 3rd place in his group and 5th overall.
Qualifying 2 took place in damp conditions and Joe decided that the times were not going to be faster in comparison to qualifying 1, so he cruised to an easy 7th fastest on the day, his decision was correct and he was rewarded with 5th place on the grid for the feature race, middle of row 2.
Race day was bright and sunny and Joe made an excellent start moving up to 4th place at the second corner, Tristan Palmer also got away well and took a lead which he proceeded to extend, whilst Joe, Adam Jenkinson and Hudson Kennaugh fought over second, third and fourth places.
On lap 2 Joe moved up to 3rd and then took 2nd place on lap 8, he then proceeded to hunt down Tristan Palmer who was 1.8 seconds ahead, Joe was taking a tenth of a second a lap out of the lead, closing to within half a second by lap 17. The race looked to be shaping up for a thrilling finish, and a potential win for Joe, but sadly it was red flagged on lap 18.
After the race Joe said: It was disappointing that the red flag came out, I felt really good and was closing down Tristan, I think he was struggling with tyre wear, but my JG Speedfit Kawasaki was just mega and I think I could have taken my first win of the season!
Held wearer Joe Burns: 2nd in the championships |
The result takes Joe to within 14 points of the Championship lead and also extends the gap to 17 points between 2nd and 3rd position. A good result, the next race takes place at Snetterton on July 5/6/7.
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