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End of Year - Valencia and Jerez Spanish Championship
The Spanish championship last 2 rounds - instead of my riding a 125, like I have all season, I was given the chance to ride in the Supersport Championship instead. At the end of the season we all had a good chat about what to do next season and we decided we would try a 600 before making any final decisions, so we entered the last 2 rounds of the Spanish Supersport championship.
Valencia Friday morning practice day - having never ridden a 600 before my 1 st practice session I didn’t no what to expect, but all I said to myself was that it was just another motorbike with 2 wheels and an engine. So I just went out and rode it and I absolutely loved it and got a good number of laps in. On the Saturday qualifying day I wanted to qualify so badly and so I got my head down and we made some adjustments to the bike to make it suit me more and I managed to qualify, which I and the whole team were so happy with.
The race - I was sat on the grid with Robin (Appleyard) and Amir (my mechanic a.k.a Ram). They just said to me just “get your head down Jordan and finish the race” . So the race started and I managed to gain 10 places during the race, finishing a credible 25 th in my 1 st ever Supersport race - I was over the moon and now I coudn’t wait for the next week for Jerez and the final race of the year.
Jerez; this is a circuit I have never been to - it looks absolutely amazing and it was. This weekend I wanted to try and work the bike more and get more used to the 600 and understand what it does. Friday was great, the circuit was so smooth and so flowing, which suits my style because I like big flowing lines. On Saturday Pirelli were there to help me out and gave me some little settings and also gave me some new tyres, which worked perfectly for qualifying. The 600 is so different to a 125 because you have to do your fastest lap within 6 laps of qualifying because it just destroys the tyres - whereas on a 125 you can get away with it. So I qualified 23 rd – which was brilliant !
Sunday race day - Pirelli gave me some more new tyres for the race and also came and greeted me on the start line, which was great. The race started and there was a lot of pushing and shoving which I don’t mind. Someone came of on the 1 st corner, which I had to avoid, anyway I got my head down and had a great battle in the group that I was in. I beat everyone in my group and did a great passing move on the 2nd to last corner and managed to finish 20 th . Amir came and greeted me and he was smiling and really happy with me and so was everyone else in the team, so that was a great end to the season.
I just want to say a massive thanks to Amir for taking care of me for the 2 weekends, he did a fantastic job and worked really hard for me - well done mate. Big thanks to Colin Appleyard and Doug Macadam for making the trip possible, Mum and Dad and Cara my sister, Robin Appleyard for his advice over the weekend and Carl Buckle who could not make the trip but phoned me up everyday and kept me laughing all the time .
Cheers everyone.
10-12 Oct: British Superbikes - Brands Hatch Indy
And here it is - the last round of the British 125 GP Championship of the season.
1st practice started off well. I have never enjoyed Brands Hatch Indy before but with some encouraging words from Robin and my mechanic Carl Buckle I went out and we were just getting the bike set up to make sure it was spot on and I finished the 1st practice 10th which was ok.
We made some changes as usual for the next practice which improved the bike so much, as it had struggled to get back to the apex in the 1st practice - Robin and Carl improved the engine a lot.
1st qualifying - trying to qualify around the Brands Hatch Indy circuit is realy tight as there are 40 riders doing 50 second lap times so you have to pick your time to put in a fast lap. I finished the 1st qualifying 10th again but I really wanted to be up at the top end.
2nd qualifying - we made some good changes to the suspension and they helped a lot and I was on the pace. I came around the lap and saw my pit board and it said 5th then I came around again and it said 7th. I was swapping and changing positions for the whole session. I came in with 10 minuites to go because the engine was a little hot, so we took some tape off the radiator to cool it down and I went out and tried very hard and finished qualifying 7 h which and I was very happy with that and so were the team.
Race day - I sat on the grid with my mechanic just talking and thinking what was the best thing is to do on the 1st lap. Anyway I came round after my warm up lap and waited for the red lights to go out to start the race. I got a decent start but got boxed in on the 1st corner loosing 5 places. When I came round again I was in 13th but could still see the leader. I was scraching to get past the riders in fornt of me who were holding me up on the corners but I couldn’t get passed on the straights so I did some late braking and was in 10th behind my team mate. We came into some back markers and my team mate clipped one, sending me offline and loosing touch with the 5 in front of me who I knew I could have passed, but now I was to far back with only 2 laps to go so I had to settle for 10th place.
I just want to say a really big thank you to every one who has supported me this year including my Mum and Dad and Sister, who have travelled to all the meetings up and down Britain. A big thank you also to Mathew and Taryn Sanders and de Poel Consulting Ltd. Without all your support none of this could have been possible.
A special thanks to Carl Buckle my mechanic who has kept me smilling all year.
26-28 Sep: British Superbikes - Silverstone
Silverstone is definitely my favourite circuit in England - fast and flowing.
On the Friday I was riding really hard and I ended up 9th on the Friday practice, but I was happy although the bike was just not quick enough and we needed to sort it out.
Saturday qualifying day - we changed some jets and hoped it would be better and it was a little bit, but it was nowhere near the full potential and I managed to qualify 11th - which wasn't too bad .
Race day - I was up for it and knew that I could do well and we got off to a good start. I was having a good batlle with a few riders with me leading in 8th place and Iwas pushing every lap so that I would stay in front. I managed to be top of the pack that I was in and managed to finish 8th, which I was happy about - but I knew I could have done a lot better if the bike had been revving out, but it wasn’t a bad weekend.
12-14 Sep: British Superbikes - Croft
Croft is a very fast track but also very bumpy. My bike was good all weekend and I manged to qualify 8th - my best ever quaulifying.
In the race I got my head down and was in a good battle with James Lodge and it was a good scrap, but I still only manged to finish 8th. I really enbjoyed the weekend a lot as I rode hard all weekend. Lets hope Silverstone is another good weekend - I'm looking forward to it as Silverstone is definitely my favourite circuit.
23-25 Aug: British Superbikes - Cadwell Park
Cadwell Park a very very technical circuit in the UK. Friday went well posting 7th quickest and the bike was strong.
On Saturday - qualifying day, in the morning it was wet and everyone knew it was going to dry up for the 2nd qualifying so I just put in a couple of quick laps in and finished 8th in the session.
2nd qualifying - it was dry so obviously I was going to go quicker and I did ,but unfourtunately my bike broke down half was through the session so I got knocked down to 13th.
Race day - warmup up in the morning, my bike was meant to be fixed but on the 1st lap of warm up it broke down again. We had to put a new cyclinder on for the race but we could not carburette the bike so it ran like a dog. I manged to get 14th even though my bike was 30th in the speed traps. So not really a great weekend, but hopefully better to come at Croft.
8-10 Aug : British Superbikes - Knockhill
Knockhill is probably one of my favroute circuits in Britain - a real riders track where you have to flow to go fast.
Fp1 - was dry and I felt good but I had new leathers, which meant they were tight and I couldn’t be competitive every lap because I was getting cramp in my legs and arms, but I rode well and finished 9th fastest.
Fp2 - we made some changes to the bike and Robin said to me "get your old leathers on so you feel more comfortable", which I did and felt really fast for the whole session and ended up 7th fastest and I was happy with that.
Qp1 - it was absolutey pouring down and I went out but the engine just could not get enough heat in so I couldn’t rev it as hard as i would have liked. I came in but it wouldn't get up to temperature but I ended up being 13th quickest.
Qp2 - it was still wet and I knew I could be up there if we fixed the temperature problem. I rode well and ended up qualifying 10 th quickest which was good.
The race - the 1st lap of the race I got overtaken a couple of places but then they showed the red flag because Michael Wilcox and Lee Costello had a clash and Michael was being attended to by marshalls. We restarted the race and I held my own on the 1st lap and was behind a slower rider but overtook him going into the Scotsman corner. I got my head down but then with about 6 laps to go my foot kept slipping off the peg and my back-end started to slide so I thought 'just stay on and finsh the race'. On the last lap one rider came underneath me at the last corner and he smacked right into me letting 2 riders pass me, but I still finished 11th which wasn’t too bad. When I came in I realised my gasket seal on my gearbox was throwing oil all over my foot and back tyre, which was the problem so I was happy to have finished.
I just want to say a big thank you to the whole team especially my mechanic Carl (Buckle) for doing a great job all weekend and Will and Robin for helping with set up and keeping me laughing all weekend, also Colin and Doug for their great support all weekend. Come back and read more after Cadwell Park .
p.s I hope Michael Wilcox is back for Cadwell and hope he is fighting fit.
18-20 Jul : British Superbikes - Oulton Park
For the Oulton Park race I was 16th on the grid and my engine on the line was getting really hot, which led to me having a poor start - slipping back about 5 places off the line. During the race I just couldn’t get any straight line speed so was being overtaken, then with about 2 laps to go I highsided off the chicane coming right down on my shoulder - which was really painful . So Oulton Park was not a good weekend but I hope you come back and read my next blog from Knockhill
27-29 Jun: British Superbikes - Mallory Park
Mallory Park - for this event I had a new engine which was a lot better after all the trouble I have had this year and in Fp1 I just tried getting used to it and it was much better, driving off the corners better.
Fp2 - I was told to get my head down, which I did and we manged to get a good setup in the rain and I finished 7th quickest, which was good.
Qp1 - in this qualifying run I was going quick but other people were going quicker so I was struggling a little bit, but at the end of the session Robin gave me a talk and that helped
Qp2 - I got my head down and I manged to qualify 11th, which is a good position and my team were pleased.
We had two races at Mallory because Donnigton race was cancelled previously
So in race 1 I was in 9th position on the grid and manged to get a good start, but at the hairpin someone crashed right in front of me but I managed to stayy on and finished 7th. I was really chuffed and the leading pack were not to far in front
In race 2 I was 11th on grid but at the 1st corner I got blocked in. I managed to keep my position for the lap but half way through the race we had all spread out and Michael Wilcox (former 125 British Champion) and I were battling a little bit and I managed to beat him for 8th position. I had a really good weekend and the next round is Outlon Park so read again after that.
13-15 June: British Superbikes - Snetterton
Fp1 Snetterton - It was dry and sunny and I was told to go out and get my head down, which I tried to do but I couldn’t seem to go fast which was really frustrating. We had a couple of problems with the bike not being able to hold a line when I got on the power which meant it was wandering wide, so I had to get off the throttle - we came in and made an adjustment and this helped but it was still doing it and by this time the session was over.
Fp2 - We made some more adjustments to the suspension which made it better at steering and holding a line. Since the beginning of the year we have been struggling to get the data logger to work and this has meant that meant I couldn’t look at any data from fp1. This has been a little frustrating because I can only tell Robin so much about what the bike is doing and not doing, but the data logger should help to narrow down the problems. Anyway, in fp2 I didn’t have the best session finishing 23rd and the bike wasn’t revving as strongly as it could be.
Qp1 - We put a different jet setting in the carburetter to help the bike rev harder and pick up better on corners and this seemed to help and although I was trying hard I only managed to finish 17 h.
Qfp2 - We went out and just tried to go faster, which I did, going over 1.3 seconds quicker. This was good but I still only finished 17th.
The race - The race was a ok, I got a good start but I was getting held up for 3 laps and the pack in front were getting away. I manged to pass the person who was holding me up and got away from him and was chasing the pack inf ront and I was lapping faster than they were but but only by tenths of second. I still pushed all the way to get close but I was runnig out of laps. The group in front were battling for 8th position but I didn’t have enough laps to get near them and I finished the race in 13th place, equalling my best ever position in BSB - but Mallory is the next round and hopefully I should go well there so read again then, thanks
24-26 May: British Superbikes - Donington Park
Hello again everyone, just got back from Donnigton Park.
Fp1 - I went out and everything felt quiet good and I was between 2nd and 5th for the whole session, but I got pipped on the last lap and finished 7th and I was happy with that.
Fp2 - Robin told me to try and get on it straight away, which I did, but on lap 3 I made a silly mistake going into Melbourne hairpin and locked the front wheel up and slid off. No damage was done to the bike so I ran over, picked it up and rode it to the pit lane so my mechanics couldd just check it was safe to ride. I went out of the pit lane and about another 2 laps in my temperature soared up to 100 degrees (it should be 50) so I quickly pulled over. What had happened is that thejubilee clip holding the water hose on the top of the cylinder had broken and it meant that water was lost.
Qp1 - It was wet and windy but I went out. The gearing was wrong and I couldn’t get used to the bike for some reason so it didn’t go to well - I didn't even want to no where I finished.
Qp2 - We sorted out the bike and I was feeling good and the bike was too. I was doing good lap times and qualified 10th which was my best qualifying ever so I was really happy and the whole team was too.
Race day - Unfortunately our race was cancelled because it was too windy, so they will be giving us a chance to race at the Mallory park round. But the next round is Snetterton so read my blog after then.
10-11 May: British Superbikes - Brands Hatch Re-Run
Since the first round at Brands Hatch got cancelled, they decided to re-run it on the 10th and 11th of May.
We had to stick to our qualifying positions from the beginnig of the season which was 16th, but we had practice on the Saturday. We were getting the engine set up and suspension but were struggling a bit to find the pace, the bike was running a bit to lean which caused alot of detenation in the barrel, but I finished the day 15th overall which wasn’t too bad.
Morning warm up. I had a new piston to run in for 3 laps but after that the bike was feeling good, but on the last lap my team mate Dean Brown came off and broke his femur which was really not good. I felt really sorry for him as he was going quick all weekend - so get well soon mate, all the family send their love.
In the race I was moved up to 15th on the grid as Dean ws not going to be on there. Robin said to me on the line "just use your head and get a clean start". So we went to do a warm-up lap and the weather was really hot. I was on the line and the engine was overheating and by the time the red lights went out the engine was too hot so it bogged down on the line and I lost about 10 places, but I just kept my head down and made it up to about 15th half way through the race. Then my rear tyre started to slide as it was going off but I managed to finish 13th and got some points which I was really happy about. All the team were really happy too and Robin said to me "good ride Jordan you kept a cool head, considering what happned at the beginning of the race".
So that was Brands Hatch and the next round is at Donnigton, which is a favourite circuit of mine, so read again after that.
03-05 May: British Superbikes - Oulton Park
Oulton Park one of my favourite circuits in England. After finding out what the problem was with my bike at Thruxton the bike was feeling awesome. On Saturday it was practice and we were trying to find a good bike setup with the suspension, as it is a very bumpy circuit, we finished Saturday practice. We also had a qualifying session on the Saturday and and the weather was staying dry but the pace was tight and I qualified 18th ,wnich was not the best but I was near some good riders.
Sunday morning I woke up and it was raining so we wouldn’t be going any faster than on Saturday obviously because of the rain, but we still had a 2nd qualifying session, so we went out in the wet and I had to run in a new piston for 4 laps, so I took it steady. After that I came into the pits to make an adjustment on the suspension, my mechanic (Buckle) said to that I was one of the top lads and I thought "bloody hell I was only running a piston in". Anyway I went out to finish the session and was quickest by over a second and I was really happy.
In the morning warm up it was dry and I Knew I could go quicker and I did, finishing 9th in warm up.
In the race I was 18th on the grid but I knew that I had the pace to run at the front. In the 1st lap I made up a lot of places to come around 10th by the 1st lap, but unfortunately a rider tried to come up the inside of me on the 2nd lap at a corner called Cascades and this made me run wide, whitch made me fall off. I was a bit annoyed but "that's racing" as people say. I left on a high note as I knew I could run with the top guys. So bring on the Brands re-run and don’t forget to read my blog after that.
18-20 Apr: British Superbikes - Thruxton
Thruxton circuit is probably the fastest circuit in England, but having never been here before it I thought it would be tricky. On Friday morning Robin (Appleyard) just told me to go out and learn the track, but it was very windy and it was so strong it was pushing you across the track, but I got round and thought “yeah its a good fast track” but you have to be so precise because even if you go off line just a little bit you can lose so much time.
Fp2: I tried to get faster and was doing so but the wind was still so strong and my bike was struggling to get past 13000rpm, which usually is 14700rpm, but I finished the day with 18 th - which I was happy enough with.
Qp1: On Saturday it was wet and windy but in qualifying the bike felt alright. I was just getting to grips with the weather and the track but my bike felt a bit awkward and the handle bars felt to go inwards so we changed them for the second qualifying.
Qp2: The bike felt a lot better but it was even wetter. I managed to go 3 seconds quicker and finished in 11 th - but qualified 20 th overall, which was pretty good.
Warm up: In the morning warm-up I had a new piston to run in for 4 laps and because we only being a 10 minute warm-up I didn’t have a lot of time but the bike was still running out of breath at 13000rpm.
Race: The 1 st lap was hectic as ever everyone trying to dive underneath you, but my bike was under-performing and everyone just kept coming past me down the straight. In the end I just stayed out there to finish the race. When I came in Robin asked me what was wrong with the bike as it sounded like a dog down the straight. I said “yeah it just kept running out at 13000rpm” he said “yeah it wasn’t going quick”. We didn’t know what was up with it but he said “the bike will be awesome for Oulton Park” so I just accepted it was just bad luck and these things happen in racing.
4-6 April: British Superbikes - Brands Hatch GP
1st race of the season, so I was excited: Robin said to me on the Friday morning before fp1 (free practice 1) “Jordan you have never ridden here before so just learn the circuit and try and tell what the bike is doing” so I did . The circuit was so different to any other circuit I have ridden before and the suspension was out a bit so we came in and made some adjustments, which turned out good as I went out in fp2 and was 5 seconds quicker finishing 13th in that session.
Saturday morning qualifying day: qf1 parts of the track were very wet but we decided on slick tyres. The engine was feeling a bit lazy on the throttle so I came in and changed the jetting, which made a good difference. But I was still learning little precise parts of the track which makes a difference, but unfortunately I had problems with getting the bike to turn and had to force it to the floor but ended up finishing 16th. So I told the team and they got everything sorted, but unfortunately the clouds hammered the rain down. I still went out and the bike felt awesome, the engine was strong and it handled really good. Finishing in 8th, which I was happy with but because we didn’t improve on qf1 we were still 16th - and the weather didn’t help either.
When I woke up on Sunday, race day, I opened the blind and it was as white as a bag of flower - it had snowed really heavely so they cancelled the meeting and it will be re-run at Brands Hatch on the 10th and 11th of May. It was a bit of a shame, but Thruxton is coming soon so I'm really looking forward to that. Big thanks to Robin and Colin Appleyard and Carl Buckle (my mechanic) and the whole team for the weekend.
27 Feb-2 March: Professional Testing, Cartagena, Spain
We arrived at the circuit at Thursday morning, which I had been looking forward to all winter. The instructions of Robin on the 1st day were to just get your head back into riding and not to chase lap times, as well as running the bike in. So we went out for the 1st session and it felt awesome, after it been so long since I rode. We had 6 sessions on Thursday 3 in the morning and 3 in the afternoon. So at the end of the day I felt was back into it and finished off of a lap time of 1min 46sec, which was the fastest I had done the previous year.
On Friday Robin said we could start trying a little harder and just try and be progressive so as the day went on I got faster and faster and by lunch time I was comfortably doing 1min 44sec. Then we had a lunch brake for a couple of hours. We went out after lunch and the bike had been feeling strong all day and handled brilliantly, and in the last session I was doing 1min 42sec. On the last lap I was trying a little harder and I came into a fast left hander and my front-end tucked mid corner but I was fine and didn’t do much damage to the bike. I got back to the garage and everyone was fine with me and was just pleased that I managed to do a 1min 42, which Robin said was a very respectable time.
Day 3 the 1st session I just got my confidence back but the bike did not feel as strong, so we came in and changed the carburetion which helped a lot and in the second to last session of the day I broke into the 1min 41sec barrier. I was over the moon with that but in the last session the wind picked up and made it difficult to improve on my time.
So on the last day I thought I've accomplished what I wanted to do and more but in the 1st session I lost the front at the slowest corner on the track just because I ran over the edge of the tyre, this time doing no damage to the bike. We only did the 3 sessions before lunch before we had to pack the truck up and head off to the airport but I had set myself a time before I went to do a 1min 43sec so to come away having done a 1min 41sec I had to be happy with that. So Cartagena was a real good week and am now looking forward to Brands Hatch the 1st round. The new team are fantastic and everyone gets on really well and I'm really looking forward to riding for them this season.
Thanks for reading my blog
