Packed weekend of racing leaves Matt positive
Matt Finch came away from Donington Park national circuit feeling positive about his performances at a packed weekend of racing, both solo and in an endurance team.
Sponsored rider Matt, of 445 One Ball Racing, is competing on a 2004 Yamaha R6 in the No Limits Racing Metzeler Newcomer 600 class. He is promoting It’s On The Ball testicular cancer charity and support group.
He qualified 32nd in his first race at Donington, then helped put endurance team Thrown Together Racing 32nd on the grid out of 45. He teamed up with David Dean and Aaron Mead, both on 600cc bikes, and placed the 181 number over his usual 445.
Matt’s first solo race was wet but he finished 17th in class.
Matt started the five-hour, 700km endurance with team members doing 30-minute stints.
They finished 29th overall and thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
Matt said: “This was my first endurance experience and this brought on my riding so much, particularly confidence in the wet, being able to push on more and more as each lap passed.”
Matt started his second race 31st on the grid. A really good start saw him mid-pack by the end of the first lap, going on to finish 12th in class.
Race three saw Matt start 22nd and make good progress until losing some places swerving to avoid someone who almost ran off the track.
Once settled in, he diced with two other riders most of the race, passing them in the last two laps.
He finished with another personal best lap of one minute 20.724 seconds and 15th in class.
He came away with lots of positives and learning and now has a handful of championship points.
[Photo: Neil Fellingham]