With the prospect of good weather all weekend Jon Railton and the team were looking forward to
some positive results from Thruxton. Unfortunately Roberto was unable to attend the meeting as he was stranded in Italy due to the restriction on flying as a result of the volcanic ash grounding all flights. Steve Hamilton and family took over the reigns as head chef and did a great job in feeding the team. Colin again provided satellite TV and helped with bike preparation along with Simon from Aprilia. Thanks also to Felipa who travelled all the way from London on here 675 Triumph to hold the umbrella for Jon on the start line.
Free practice went according to plan with Jon completing 19 laps of the demanding
Thruxton circuit. Due to the fast undulating nature of the circuit bike set up and physical
strength of the rider are particularly important. After the first practice many riders were
complaining of “arm pump” as riding a lap of Thruxton is more like riding a bucking bronco
than a motorcycle.
Jon started the main race in 33rd position. Making a good start initially Jon got pushed back to 39th having been out paced through the fast sections of the track at the back of the circuit. He knew that as the race progressed the In Moto Corse Aprilia would come into its own as the other riders tyres began to go off and begin spinning up. As expected as the race wore on Jon made progress and eventually finished 28th.
Jon is looking forward to testing the bike at Cadwell Park where further improvements to the bike and more track time will help improve results at future meetings.
Photo courtesy of Nigel Shearing
