Over the weekend, it was time for round 4 of the Pirelli National Sportbike Championship taking place at Snetterton, Norfolk.
The free practice sessions got underway on Friday and Rhys was battling issues with his bike due to an accident from Knockhill. He managed to power through both sessions to place 9th for the 2 sessions and in touching distance of the leaders.
By the time qualifying came around on Saturday, Rhys had resolved the issues with his bike and was confident of setting a good time. However, due to a fall by another rider on turn 6, Rhys couldn’t get out of the way in time and crashed trying to avoid the fallen rider. This meant that Rhys didn’t manage to set a time in qualifying and would start 27th on the grid.
Even though Rhys was starting far back, this didn’t seem to bother him as he got to work straight away, managing to pass 12 riders on the first lap alone. A few laps into the race, Rhys was sitting comfortably in P6 which is where he eventually finished. A P6 finish means that Rhys remains in 8th for the overall standings but gains valuable points on those above him as he gets closer towards the top 5.
This is what Rhys had to say on his weekend:
“During FP1 and FP2 I was battling issues with the bike as a side effect of the Knockhill crash, I finished free practice in combined 9th place.
By qualifying on Saturday morning, we had resolved the issues with the bike, it was wet, and I was looking forward to seeing what I could do, I felt great on the out lap and started to push, unfortunately, a rider fell at turn 6 and I crashed in avoidance meaning I didn’t set a normal time in qualifying”.
Rhys then went on to say:
“Without a proper qualifying time, I started all the way back 27th on the grid, this is the furthest back I have ever started so I was nervous about the first couple of laps, the start went well passing 12 people on lap one before moving further up the field throughout the race. I settled comfortably in P6 with a large gap in front and for most of the race a decent gap behind me too, until the last couple of laps, but I still managed to hold on to 6th place until the checkered flag. P27 to P6 in 11 laps is a pretty good result and I’m very happy with that”.
Next up for Rhys is round 5 of the Pirelli National Sportbike, this time at Brands Hatch, where another solid weekend could see Rhys climb closer to the top 5. Good luck, Rhys.