Wednesday 19 June

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Andrews secures a podium in race two at a wet Thruxton

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Simon - PR Racing in action at ThruxtonIn mixed weather conditions, the team gambled on a dry line developing in race one and opted for an intermediate rear tyre, which later saw Andrews struggle with grip, as the weather conditions deteriorated. After dropping down the grid from his P21 start to P30, Andrews came in on lap eight to change the tyre to a full wet.

Back out on the track, Simon improved his lap times by over three seconds a lap.

However, the reduced race duration from 20 laps to 15, due to the wet practice at the start of the race, was not enough for Simon to produce a good lap time for grid position in race two. Therefore, Andrews finished in P9 (Evo) and started race two from the eighth row of the grid.

Having made solid improvements to the ZX-10R’s chassis and overall performance during a test session mid-week and throughout free practice, the team were confident of a good start in race two after setting the wet weather suspension.

Andrews had a good start to race two and made up several places in difficult weather conditions throughout the 15 lap race around the 2.3 mile Thruxton circuit. Simon’s determination and performance was later rewarded when he crossed the finish line in a time of 21:05:681 and was awarded a P3 podium finish. He was also recorded as the fastest Kawasaki rider in the Evo class, with an average lap speed of 100.51 MPH, which was recorded on lap 11.

After the racing, Simon said, “As we were caught out on tyre choice at the last round, we decided to go with an intermediate rear for race one, as the abrasive track here can soon produce a dry line if the rain is not too heavy. Unfortunately, we got the choice wrong as the rain became heavier, and that choice decided our fate for a second time in as many meetings.”

For race two he added, “I was happy with the suspension setting for race two and was able to push hard from the off. As I had to start from the back of the grid, I am really pleased with the third place Evo spot, considering the race conditions. Hopefully, our luck will start to change and we can make a charge for that number one spot when we get to Knockhill.”

Article source: PR Racing
Photo by dave@Monopics.eu 
 
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