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Focused on the task ahead
|
The weekend got off to a great start for the youngster after
topping the first free practice on Friday morning, and finishing half a second
behind Manual Pagliani in FP2, which set him up well for qualifying on
Saturday.
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| Brad pushing hard in race one |
Brad left it late in qualifying to head to the second row
after a last lap dash on his own, around a circuit in which a tow is preferred
to improve your time. But after suspension changes, Ray was down in ninth
position before pulling the pin and jumping to fourth, with a time of 2:11.800,
only six tenths off pole position.
Prior to race one on Saturday, the weather took a turn for
the worse with the rain coming in as the riders sat on the grid. The officials
took the decision to delay the start and reduce the race to nine laps. With the
race being declared wet, and due to the Red Bull Rookies rulebook, each rider
must use the wet tyres. But as the lights went out to signal the start of the
race, the circuit started to dry.
Brad got off to a great start and ran in second for most of
the race, but with grip level deteriorating and with only two laps to go, he
forced his way to the front and led on the final lap. As Brad exited the
penultimate chicane he lost the crucial drive up the hill, after battling with
Italian rider Stefano Manzi, and was pushed back to fourth place as he took the
flag.
The second rookies race followed the main MotoGP race on
Sunday and thankfully the sun shone, but Brad didn’t get off to the best of
starts. He sat in 5th for most of the 14 lap race, but with four laps to go he
started to pick his way through the group of riders ahead. Brad led the race on
the final lap, but the following trio of riders used Brad’s slipstream to get
ahead on the final sequence of corners. As they pulled out of the penultimate
chicane he couldn’t close the gap to the group ahead and took the flag once
again in fourth, only six tenths of a second off the race winner.
Speaking after the race, Brad said: “I tried, I got to the
front and pushed to get away but it is just too easy for the guys to slipstream
past me and that is what they did.
“The good thing is that we moved forward with the bike
setting on the front forks and I think we can do even better for Silverstone so
we'll see what we can make of it there.”
Brad now moves up to fifth position in the Red Bull MotoGP
Rookies Cup standings on 94 points as he heads into his home round at
Silverstone in two weeks time. But before that, he will attend the eighth round
of the Motul British Motostar Championship at Cadwell Park, over the Bank
Holiday weekend.
Photography By: Bonnie Lane
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