Motorcycling Rowatt and Army team-mates take seventh place
IAIN Rowatt and the Army motorcycle road race team descended on the windy MSV Cadwell Park circuit last weekend for Round 3 of the No Limits Championship.
Rowatt and his team-mates, Matt Flower and Scott Halliday, were able to get the bikes prepped but this round was not unlike any other, full of drama from the outset.
Halliday produced the fastest time of the three riders in qualifying, which put the Army team 20th out of 34 to start the race.
Flower was chosen to start the race which was essentially not a problem until the team established that Ducatis aren’t the easiest bike to start during a ‘Le Mans’ style start.
But they managed to get him away with minimal loss and he soon made up a few places.
Rowatt, out second, quickly put into practice what he had learned the previous day.
He settled into a good rhythm and his quickest time was a PB of 1:44:3, so it was more damage limitation.
Unfortunately, after approximately 23 minutes, there was a yellow flag for another rider at the bus stop which quickly turned into a red flag as the rider was knocked out in the middle of the track.
While lined up in the pit lane, it was decided to send Halliday out (he would have to join the rear of the queue) but would essentially save time other than for the transponder change. After the second safety car session, they had an hour of racing left so went out for a 20-minute stint each.
Again, they had to settle into a comfortable rhythm but were unable to bring the lap time down. If anything, Halliday was hampered by a setting sun which was casting shadows from the bike and other riders across the track which can be confusing at best.
All three riders finished their sessions without incident and took the chequered flag seventh in class.
The final round of the No Limits Championship will be held at Donington International Circuit in just under a fortnight’s time.