MAGsport
For the fast ones
Following on from our last report Alex headed for round 8 of the British 125 Championships at Snetterton before the summer break. We always knew this would be a difficult one for us as this track is one of the fastest in the country. The top 125s hitting the speed trap at 135 mph compared to Alex's bike going through at 125mph. Despite this he had a thrilling race. The riders using slip streams separated into groups, Alex was in the third group at one point had made his way up to 12th however his inexperience in timing his attack using slipstream saw him fall back to 15th as the checked flag fell.
We used the summer break to develop an engine for the second part of the season and had a very encouraging outing at Donington Park where Alex finished in second place to another BSB Competitor Sam Lowes, and as we headed to Silverstone for round 9 we were very optimistic. This optimism was shattered along with the piton in second qualifying when the engine blew up after only 11 laps. Alex had to race on a completely different engine with completely different power characteristics in the race and did very well considering, coming home 15th and adding another point to his tally for the season.
The very next weekend we went to Cadwell Park. It is no secret that I do not like this circuit as it's far too narrow and more like road racing than circuit racing, but when you race in a Championship you are committed to race at every track, not only the ones you like or think are safe. This meeting summed up our year. Nothing went to plan. Our good engine had not been repaired, the second engine we have would not run properly and we had to fit a standard Honda engine to the bike to make the race. A multitude of circumstances, mistakes and incompetence within the team led to Alex finishing the race in last place.
This however is insignificant after the tragic death of RedBull Rookie Chris Jones, aged fourteen from Bromsgrove, Worcestershire who died in hospital as a result of injuries sustained in an accident that happened immediately at the start of the race and involved nine competitors. Alex and Christopher have raced together since Alex started racing some five years ago. He was destined to go to the top of his chosen sport and words can not convey our thoughts, our deepest sympathy goes to his family and the Redbull team.
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