DIARY OF A ROOKIE RACER: L YD DEN HILL& PEMBREY PARK

Meeting number four of the season for Justin Offland as a rookie racer would see him make the trip down south to the notorious Lydden Hill race circuit. This is a track like no other with its huge hairpin hill and corners, all of which run on a camber. Justin openly admitted to being nervous, so was happy to take advice from fellow SRP teammate and experienced racer Stuart Day for exactly what to look out for. Thankfully, conditions were perfect with it declared a dry race. With a lap being quite short, he was hoping to qualify in a time of under one minute and in the end he just made it with a time of 59 seconds. Though towards the back of the grid his progress towards the front soon came, and by the finish of the weekend did a best lap time of 58.2 seconds.

This now leaves him third overall in the production class and once again his vastly improving style is causing ripples in the paddock. Both man and machine performed flawlessly, but he did admit that going flat out down the long hill was a slight worry as the engine screamed underneath him.

Pembrey Park in South Wales would be the host venue in the next instalment of Justin's spectacular debut season, a track with long straights and some high-speed corners offering different challenges. Final qualifying left Justin with a best time of 1.23mins towards the middle of the grid. Best race time was exactly the same, but gave him a third-place finish in the production class. What was more noticeable was that he beat several group 4 riders in the process, reaffirming his consistent improvement at each track visited. Commenting that some of the sweeping corners were taken flat out in top gear and that he was wringing the neck off, it proved this was the best he could achieve.

In the final race of the weekend, everything was looking good until handling at the rear was becoming an issue, and an abrupt stop on the side of the track was required. Upon inspection, it became apparent that the rear hub had split and detached around its entire circumference. Justin’s progress continues, as his experience grows! Words: Stu Owen