It's Saturday at Castle Combe and the team are trying to work whether it is going to rain. It is slightly cloudy (some of the clouds just scream 'I am going to rain') but the sun is trying to get through.
First session of the day is the timed qualifying for the Junior Supersport Class and it was a bit of a rocky session to say the least. Harry went out but unfortunately the timings didn't appear for Harry until the last few minutes of the session. From what we could see track side Harry was getting on well and was getting familiar with the track. He wasn't pushing in the qualifying session and completed a fastest lap of 1:27.126 which placed him 12th on the grid.
Due to some administration issues Harry wasn't racing in the Open 500 class today. We have queried this with Race Control and are hoping that we can get Harry out in the Open 500 sessions tomorrow. As Harry was only racing in the Junior Supersport there was a bit of a wait between the timed qualifying and the first race. Harry used this team to watch some videos for a course Harry is doing to help improve his mental state whilst racing.
The first race of the Junior Supersport class had Harry overtaking 7 people in the warm up round. This did baffle the team slightly but we move on. The race started and Harry got a way very well. All the riders were bunched up as the first lap began and Harry completed a lap time of 1:35.147. As the riders come round to the start/finish you could tell that the pack had divided. Half way through the session and Harry got caught behind a small group of Ducati Desmo riders who were also on track and as a result had a lap time of 1:27.472 which was 1 second slower than the lap before. In true Harry fashion a lap later and he was 11th on track with a lap time of 1:26.055. Harry stayed in 11th for the remainder of the race and put in a fastest lap time overall, on the last lap, at 1:25.628.
Sunday morning and the team had a lovely Greggs for breakfast. The sun is shining however after a rainy night the track is slightly wet. Harry is racing in the Open 500 class today and will be starting 44th on the grid so should be a very interesting race to watch.
First race this morning is the Junior Supersport class and unfortunately 4 laps in and the red flag was out due to a collision on track. Harry started the session with a time of 1:36.583 but quickly got this down into the 1:27:001 which was the fastest lap this session. Harry did some great overtaking this session again but ultimately ended the race in 16th overall.
A few races later and Harry was back on track racing in the Open 500 class. As Harry did not complete qualifying or the first race of this class yesterday Harry started at the very back of the grid in 36th place. Harry's first lap had a time of 1:39.652 but managed to make his way into the middle of the pack into 26th position. Harry continued to push and put in a spectacular lap time of 1:25.901 and after a battle with another rider ended the race in 23rd which is amazing considering he started at the pack of the grid.
Final race of the Junior Supersport class and Harry started in 16th place on the grid. Harry ended up getting caught up behind the Ducati Desmo's again during this race and as a result ended the race in 15th place. He did have a great fastest lap time of 1:26.315 which all in all was a good end to the Junior Supersport class for the weekend. Harry is now 3rd overall in the championship.
Last time round the track this weekend and it's in the Open 500 class. Harry is starting from the back of the grid (we did query this and were told it was because he didn't complete qualifying on the Saturday). Harry started 46th on grid and within one lap was in 22nd position, watching the start of the race and seeing Harry go through the other riders was amazing. The race was ended early as it started hailing but Harry's fastest lap time was 1:26.759.
All in all it was good weekend. There was definitely some frustration from Harry as he tends to put pressure on himself to do better and ultimately ends up disappointed when he doesn't do as well as he would like.
We are eternally grateful for all the support we receive from the sponsors and of course family and friends and we would like to once again thank you for joining us on the journey of a teenage bike racer.