Race 1: 14th
Race 2: 10th
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| Sean Neary, Ducati 848 challenge racer and Held wearer |
It’s been a very eventful two weeks that’s for sure. We competed in the W 100 Powerbike Championship the weekend prior to Snetterton and it looked as if we would skip the Snetterton round while searching for a further sponsor to assist the team.
A big crash at Anglesey on 30th July meant the bike sustained some damage but thanks to my Held suit I escaped with cuts and bruising but no breaks thankfully. On the Monday night I received a call from Charlie at Arclid Power who said he would make it possible for us to get to Snetterton, if I wanted to ride.
Now if anybody asks me do I want to ride you know what the answer is! Charlie ordered the parts we needed from JHP Ducati Coventry and Cheadle Autobodies repaired the panels for us. I took a week off training as I didn’t have much movement in my neck and also heavy bruising on the hips. Thanks to the whole team we managed to get the bike repaired and off to Norfolk we went.
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| Sean's Held Phantom II gloves clearly visible |
Many of my competitors had been testing the previous week at Snetterton so we knew we would be up against it. We tried yet another spring in the rear shock so practice was used to try and tweak this and remember which way the circuit goes.
Qualifying turned out to be interesting to say the least. We changed gearing on Friday night and unfortunately the lads didn’t tighten the rear wheel. We left pit lane and 200 yards later the rear wheel locked against the swinging arm meaning we didn’t even get a lap in during qualifying. After some pleading with the organisers to let me in the race they agreed to let me start at the back although I hadn’t even completed a lap. The mechanics were distraught at their error but these things happen and I am 110% sure it won’t happen again!
Race 1
Starting from the back of the grid and needing some serious track time was never going to help. I battled through to 14th from the back of the grid. The positives are that I made up a good number of places but I will never enjoy finishing 14th! Enough said.
Race 2
I started race 2, 15th on the grid and after a good battle for 10th I managed to finish in 10th. After the disaster of qualifying if somebody had offered me a top 10 I would have taken it. We also tried a new rear spring again this weekend which was much more positive. A few more tweaks and we will be back challenging for the top 5 and hopefully higher for the Oulton Park round. In addition with assistance from Motul we now have the front braking issue solved and the team know exactly what to do to ensure they stay strong throughout the race.
To summarise it was certainly a tough weekend but the way my team worked after the qualifying session gave me great faith for the remainder of the season. My sponsors once again pulled together to get us there and as always I am truly grateful. With Arclid Power now on board for the remainder of the season in addition to our existing sponsors it should give the team more stability. I am now in training for my Calais to Amsterdam cycle at the end of the month so I will be in fighting fit shape for Brands! Let’s av it!
Thank you all
Sean #10
To find out more about the gear Sean wears please visit www.held-uk.co.uk
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