Trackdays.co.uk Marketing and Event Manager, Mark Rusted, claimed a third place in the Sept round of the Bemsee Motorcycle Races at Cadwell Park. The Essex based racer had a distinctly average qualifying session starting 6th in class but pulled out the speed when it mattered come the race.
It was a challenging weekend at this highly technical Lincolnshire circuit. The narrow Cadwell Park circuit takes no prisoners if you make a mistake but is massively rewarding when you get it right. The difficult part is getting consistent fast laps. At this end of summer, the weather can go against you and this meeting definitely wasn't one for T-shirt and shorts. Friday testing was the best day with mild temps and even a little sunshine. Saturday was considerably colder with passing showers. On Sunday it was cold enough to see your breath, 30mph gusts and lots of showers which made riding and tyre choice tricky.
"Saturday was my best day. I was disappointed with my qualifying grid position as I knew I had good speed from the test day before. I had a good start off the line and really got my head down early on setting my best ever time by lap 2. Admittedly 1st place was out of reach but I was 2nd for most of the race with a gap over 3rd position. But then a couple of mistakes crept in and I missed a gear coming down into Mansfield 3 laps to the end which meant I lost the gap and then at the same place on the last lap when I out braked myself with the rear wheel coming off the ground and the rear fishtailing badly. I ran wide and left a door open big enough for a truck to drive through. 3rd place it is then."
Cadwell Park has a great number of bike and car trackdays throughout the year – so there are plenty of opportunities for Mark and others to practice those lines!
