At least Friday was sunny!!

Another photo from the CEV in Barcelona taken on the sunny Friday.

A wet weekend in Spain!!

With just a day to get back into Euro time after his successful rides in the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies in America a slightly jet lagged Brad was on the plane to Barcelona for Round 1 of the CEV at the Montmelo “Circuit de Catalunya”.   Arriving late in the day it was straight to the hotel and bed then up early to get to the circuit for the pre-event practice sessions.   In dry sunny conditions the 2 sessions went well but with no official timing there was not much to relate to but the Larresport Team he is riding with seemed pleased.  That was also the end of the dry and sunny conditions with Saturday and Sunday being almost non stop rain, so much for Sunny Spain.  

With 55 Moto3 entries the practice and 2 qualifying sessions were split into 2 groups. Despite struggling to find rear end grip, Brad finished in 7th position in the faster of the 2 sessions which meant that, when the applied the 1-1, 2-2, 3-3 etc rule used in the CEV for split sessions, he was 13^th on the grid.

The lack of grip problem really showed in the 2 races on the Sunday with over half the field falling in each race.   Hampered by poor starts Brad lost contact with the front runners each time and had to work his way back through (from 21^st at the end of lap one in the second race!!) and finally ended up with a 7^th and a 9^th in the races giving him joint 6^th place in the Championship with 8 more races to go during the season.

This Thursday it’s yet again onto a plane for the trip down to Jerez de la Frontera for the second round of the Rookies at the Spanish Grand Prix for races 3 and 4 in the series.  Let’s hope for another great result there.  

Brad prepares for CEV

This weekend sees Brad travel to Barcelona for the opener at the Circuit de Catalunya. There are 55 registered riders for the Moto3 so we shall expect some frantic qualifying and racing! Brad is racing with the Tarragona based Larre Sport team aboard one of their Honda 250 machines. He'll be keeping the familiar number 28 plate but will be sporting his new 151's leathers in team colours.

Keep checking the news section here to keep up with the news and new photos as they become available.

Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup - Calendar 2013

After an amazing opener for Brad, here are the dates for 2013:

Races
Apr 20-21, USA, Austin, Races 1-2
May 4-5, Spain, Jerez, Races 3-4
Jun 28-29, Netherlands, Assen, Races 5-6
Jul 13-14, Germany, Sachsenring, Races 7-8
Aug 24, Czech Republic, Brno, Race 9
Aug 31-Sep 1, Great Britain, Silverstone, Races 10-11
Sep 14, San Marino, Misano, Race 12
Sep 28-29, Spain, Aragon, Races 13-14

Great Start to 2013 Season

First, First, First, and First. And Brad made all of them. The first Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup race of 2013, the first ever motorcycle race at the Circuit of the Americas in Texas, first place in the race, and first race lap record. So great to hear the National Anthem played and the Union Flag displayed and see history made.

WATCH THE RACE:
http://www.redbull.com/cs/Satellite/en_INT/Red-Bull-Rookies-Cup-%7C-LIVE-STREAM/001243006290960

Photo shows how he broke away from the pack to win by 6.4 seconds, a really large margin for a Rookies race. 

Brad chats with his Red Bull mechanic

Brad explains the chatter problems he is experiencing to his Red Bull mechanic and between them they will try to find a solution but, with no track sessions before race 1, it will difficult to do anything major to help things.

Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup News

After just 1 practice session the Rookies went straight in to 2 qualifying sessions.  At the end of session 1 Brad was in 3rd place but in session 2 which saw most riders, except those at the lower end of the time sheets recording slower times, Brad was pushed down to 3rd by the one rider that went quicker.

Race 1 for the Rookies, which will be the first ever motorcycle race at the Circuit of the Americas which is already being commented by riders as one of, if not the, best circuit in the World, will start at 4.30 pm local time (10.30pm UK / 11.30pm CET).  The race can be viewed via computer at www.redbull.tv .

Brad commented:

“We need to make some changes for the race, hopefully we can get rid of the front chatter, it is worse through turns 6 and 7, the long sweeper and then the 2nd-to-last left before the start and finish. If we could get that sorted out it would make a big difference. It’s a lot of fun, a real rider’s circuit and it is not easy to learn. You keep braking too early for the corners, I am still learning it and I am sure everyone is, it will be an interesting two races this weekend."

Texas MotoGP Event

Well, just 10 minutes to go before the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup 2013 gets under way in race conditions.  New circuit, new bike, new country.   The all new COTA (Circuit of the Americas) circuit is just awesome, as they would say here in Texas.  It will certainly take some learning, 5.5 Kms long, 20 corners (9 right and 11 left), and a 1.2 Kms straight, so loads of slipstreaming.  Weather here is bright sunshine but surprisingly cool, about 21 degs.C.   Let's see how Brad and fellow Brits, Taz MacKenzie and Jordan Weaving get on.  News later.

CEV Calendar

Brad's racing in the extremely competitive Spanish Championships aboard the Larre Sport Honda Moto3 for 2013.  Here is the calendar for the season:

28/04/2013

Circuit de Catalunya

26/05/2013

MotorLand Aragón

23/06/2013

Circuito de Albacete

08/09/2013

Circuito de Albacete

22/09/2013

Circuito de Navarra

17/11/2013

Circuit de Valencia

24/11/2013

Circuito de Jerez

All New Website

It was well overdue so here it is at last!  The all new improved website for the young Lydd based rider who now takes on the wonders of the CEV!

If you aren’t familiar with this Spanish Championship, then prepare to be amazed as it is perhaps the most competitive series there is bar the actual Moto3 GP class.  There are 9 former riders from the CEV in this year’s Moto3 GP class!  Nine!!  That’s an amazing conversion rate.  Let’s hope the team bosses and prospective see Brad put on a typically awesome performance and maybe, just maybe next year…

Brad is no stranger to the CEV as he did a couple of rounds in 2011 and ’12.  In his first year he only went and put the Steve Patrickson JHA kitted Honda RS125 on the front row.  It was an amazing feat.  Let’s hope he’ll have more successful qualifying in 2013 with the Larre Sport team.

Fingers crossed