Eglington takes 5th in Class B at Blyton Supermoto

June 28, 2003 - We arrived on Friday and it was chucking it down, but managed to get set up and ready for the Saturday race. Although Saturday dawned fairly dry, it was overcast and there was still a threat of rain. Walking the circuit showed that the dirt sections were still soaked and would be fairly slippery. We decided to change the front to a wet and kept a cut slick on the rear.

After the qualifying practice, Mike was given a starting position of 24th on the grid. Just before the first race was about to start, the bike stalled and Mike couldn't get it started again. Fortunately, two other riders came over to help and one got the bike started with seconds to spare. Mike had a good start and moved quickly to the top half of the field, when he braked too late into one corner and lost 6 places. He finished 16th, but came in cranky - a good sign that he would ride all the harder in the next race.

Race 2 saw an excellent start for Mike where he picked up 9 places, turning in tightly at the end of the start straight. He sat at 7th place for most of the race, then the 2 riders who had been chomping at his exhaust for the last 5 laps overtook him. He tried to keep up, but he wasn't quick enough and in the last lap he was overtaken again, leaving him with a finish of 10th.

Mike had another great start in the semi-final, gaining at least 5 positions but he back off at the end of the straight and feel into 12th. He was overtaken on the dirt and fell into 13th but kept a good race going with a group of 5 riders who kept changing positions in every lap. Mike eventually overtook 2 riders but continued to have a good dice with the KTM rider. On the penultimate lap, he was overtaken by him but Mike then managed to pass him on the last lap, giving him a final position of 11th.

The final saw a brilliant finish to Mike's day. He had a terrific start but at the first corner, a couple of bikes had crashed. To avoid hitting them, Mike had to swing out wide into the grass, not sure how he would come out at the other end. But once the dust had cleared, I could see he was in 3rd position! He had a good pace going and even though the other bikes were catching up, he managed to keep them at bay. A lap later, there was a pack of riders chewing at his exhaust, one overtook him and there was another one who kept hitting his and on the corner onto the straight, he hit Mike's rear tyre and I thought they would both be taken out! Mike stayed on and ahead, but went wide at the entry to the dirt section and he lost 5 places.

He continued to fight back and managed to get back to 7th. In the penultimate lap, 2 riders in front of him nearly crashed and Mike took advantage by changing his line and roaring through the middle of then where he maintained 5th position until the end of the race.

"It was a good start and I was luck to miss the guys that crashed at the start", commented Eglington. "I tried to hang in as much as I could and although my last lap of the day was my fastest, it felt slow. That's how I should have raced all day. It was a good day's racing and I really enjoyed it."

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