Silverware - and smile(y)s all round
While William, the world's most famous motorcyclist, was cruising down the aisle in Westminster Abbey last Friday, our boy Blacklock was setting himself up for a weekend of racing at Oulton Park. A rather more successful weekend than the previous one at Brands Hatch.
"It didn't start too well," says Adam, "as I was slow in qualifying. My Dad said to me "Hurry up or we're going home" which seemed to do the trick. I started 30th on the grid in the first race and moved up to finish 25th. That put me 25th on the grid for the second race.
"The bike was running pretty well even though it had only had one session on the dyno. I reckon there's more to come from it. The problem I had in the race wasn't anything to do with the bike, it was me. Oulton Park is a really physical circuit, very tough on the rider. Towards the end of the race I got arm-pump. It's a nightmare because eventually you can barely reach the brake lever and as a consequence you have to start braking 20 yards or so earlier. I thought I was really fit but it seems like I was wrong and that I'm going to have to do some serious gym work over the next two weeks."
Oulton Park - taste the glamour
Adam finished the race third in the Supersport Cup class and made it onto the podium. A pretty good result considering that for the last few laps he could barely operate the bike's controls. Or see properly. "That was another problem," explains the Smiley-logoed rider, "one of my contact lenses fell out and I had to do the last four laps with one eye shut."
So now we have a two week break before the next round at Croft. Time for the team to further fettle the bike - and for Adam to get down to the gym, and find some stronger glue for his contact lenses.
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