Low back in the points with stirring ride at Cadwell
Simon Low put in a brilliant ride at round 9 of the British 125cc Championship at Cadwell Park on Bank Holiday Monday when he took the Team Shop4bikers/Dutch-2-UK Racing Honda in to a superb 13th place. The result was even more the impressive given the fact that ignition trouble had kept him down in 25th place in qualifying and, had it not been the engine slightly losing power in the closing stages of the race, he could well have taken his second top ten finish of the season.A strong start to the weekend saw Simon take 19th in a rain-affected opening free practice session on Saturday and with a lap of 1m39.684s in the afternoon's second session, he was able to improve to 18th. However, qualifying on Sunday morning was hit by cold temperatures and heavy drizzle and he could only manage 24th place whilst whilst ignition problems throughout the day meant he was unable to improve in the afternoon's final qualifying session. So, his morning time of 1m41.478s meant he lined up in 25th place and on the ninth row of the grid.
Changes to the ignition enabled Simon to post a morale-boosting 16th place in morning warm up, where he lapped quicker than what he had done in qualifying, and a superb opening lap saw him move up to 20th place. An even better second lap saw him overtake no less than five riders and he was up to 15th and inside the points when the safety car came out due to an incident involving Taylor Mackenzie. When it pulled in at the end of lap 4, Simon wasted no time in moving further up the leaderboard and was soon up to 13th, a position that became 11th on lap six when race leader James Lodge crashed out taking fourth placed Deane Brown with him. At half race distance he moved up in to the top ten and for the remainder of the race he battled hard with Kyle Ryde, Ben Barrett and Jon Vincent as positions changed on each and every lap.
Briefly pushed back to the rear of the group and to 14th, Simon continued to battle hard and his spirited performance, which included a superb fastest lap of 1m36.894s, was rightfully rewarded at the chequered flag when he crossed the line in a hard-earned 13th place. It was the third time he'd scored points this season and the three points move him on to a total of ten for the season. Talking afterwards, a pleased Simon said: "I'm definitely pleased with that result and if I hadn't have messed up the start, I think another top ten finish could have been ours - my reaction to the lights going out was pretty good but the bike launched, pulling a wheelie, and I must have been about 28th going in to the first turn! I went round the outside of a few people there and passed about the same number of people on the second lap so when the pace car came out I was already up inside the points. I was hoping the safety car would bunch us all up but the rider in front of me didn't close the gap up as much as what he could although I still managed to get another couple of places soon after the car pulled in."
"I tried to latch on to Sam Hornsey but his bike was just too quick so for the rest of the race I just concentrated on trying to keep as many riders behind me as possible. The bike did lose a bit of power towards the end and, as I was going quicker, I found the suspension wasn't quite right and the bike was beginning to bottom out in places. I dug deep to hold for 13th though and my lap times were not only way quicker than what I'd gone in qualifying but also the same as what many of the top ten were running. The ignition changes worked perfectly so all we need to do now is concentrate on the suspension. I've never been to Croft before but I'm determined to maintain this form and have a strong run of points-scoring finishes until the end of the season."
The next round of the 125cc British Championship takes place at Croft, North Yorkshire on September 10-12.
Brands disappointment for Low
Simon Low's hopes of putting on a good show in front of his sponsors, family and friends were dashed at Brands Hatch on Sunday when he was forced to retire from round 8 of the British 125cc Championship. The Twickenham rider was looking to carry over his form from the previous round at Snetterton when he finished 10th but the weekend was nothing but problematical and he left the Kent venue, his local round, a disappointed young man.Determined to hit the ground running and continue the momentum gained at Snetterton, the weekend didn't get off to the greatest of starts in Friday's free practice sessions when Simon struggled to post a decent time as he struggled to get a good feeling from the tyres he was running. A lack of grip meant he was unable to go any quicker than 32nd and his cause wasn't helped when Saturday's opening qualifying session was hit by weather which saw warm temperatures one minute but rain and cooler conditions the next. Most of the session was spent coming in and out of the pits but he did at least post a time that placed him 27th. The final qualifying session was completely dry so all of the grid positions were determined here but Simon found that the Honda was again struggling for speed and his best lap of 1m40.867s was some one and a half seconds slower than what he'd done 12 months ago and was only good enough for 33rd on the grid.
Knowing he was riding as hard as he possibly could, race day was again a struggle. Morning warm-up saw the bike start to misfire at the top of the rev range and, fearful of the bike cutting out, Simon was trying to keep out of the way of the other riders when he slid off at Dingle Dell towards the end of the session. The race itself saw Simon climb up to 28th but he was again struggling for grip and was unable to make any further impression whilst a lack of drive meant that although he could close in on riders going in to the corners, he was left behind on the exit. To end a truly disappointing weekend, the Honda got slower and slower and, convinced it was going to nip up and seize, Simon pulled off the course and retired on the ninth lap.
Speaking later, a very disappointed Simon said; "After the high of Snetterton, I've been well and truly brought back down to earth this weekend. It's a real disappointment to have come here and have the weekend that I've had, even more because all my sponsors, family and friends were here. Brands is one of my favourite circuits and I love racing on the GP track so I was really looking forward to building on the Snetterton result but it didn't matter what I did, nothing would go right. I was absolutely trying my hardest from start to finish but couldn't get anywhere near the times I did in 2009 and every time I went out something would go wrong. The bike was a lot slower than what it was at Snetterton and I couldn't get any grip whilst on Sunday I was convinced it was going to seize at any time. I was at a loss to explain what had happened and was beginning to doubt myself as I knew I couldn't have tried any harder but we've since found out there was a problem with the piston ring and it's been affecting the performance of the bike all weekend. It's obviously too late for this weekend but at least we now know that it was a mechanical problem rather than anything to do with my riding. It's just so frustrating to go from the top ten to the back of the grid in the space of a couple of weeks but all we can do is wipe the slate clean and move on to the next round to get back to where I feel we should be running."
Cadwell Park in Lincolnshire hosts round 9 of the series on August 28-30.
Brilliant 10th place finish for Low at Snetterton
Twickenham’s Simon Low finally enjoyed some good fortune in the British 125cc Championship and, enjoying a trouble free run on the Team Shop4Bikers/Dutch-2-UK Racing Honda, the youngster took an excellent 10th place in round 7 at Snetterton on Sunday for one of his best ever results in his short career.A strong start to the weekend saw Simon take 17th place in the first free qualifying and, reducing his lap time by over a second, he improved to 14th in the second session held on Friday. Saturday saw just one qualifying session take place due to problems with the track surface and an improved time of 1m16.997s was good enough for Simon to qualify in a season's best of 15th place, whcih meant he lined up on the fourth row of the grid.
With warm weather throughout Sunday at the Norfolk venue, the 15-lap 125cc race was the penultimate race of the day but at, 5.20pm it was underway and a strong start saw Simon up to 13th at the end of lap 1, a position he held for the next 3 laps before being relegated to 14th. However, by lap 7 he was back up to 13th and, a lap later, he climbed even further up to 11th although Andrew Reid overtook him soon after. However, when race leaders John McPhee and Fraser Rogers crashed out on the 10th lap, he was up into 10th place and, riding with a cool head, his smooth riding over the closing laps paid dividends and he was able to take the chequered flag in 10th for his first top ten British Championship finish.
Speaking afterwards, a delighted Simon said: “I’m not quite sure what to say at the moment as I’m just over the moon with the result and it’s far and away my best result ever - I’ve finished 10th in a British Championship race! Although I qualified well, there were a few ups and downs along the way and I wasn’t quite sure how the race would pan out but I got a good start and was immediately in a strong place inside the points. I felt really good out there and had some good pace but I was losing a little bit of drive coming out of Russell’s chicane on to the start and finish straight and it was just enough to lose me the tow to the pack in front otherwise I think I could have finished inside the top 8. It was a hard race but I had no problems at all and, like I say, I’m just ecstatic with the result. It’s nice to have had a trouble free race and finally be able to show what I can do – roll on Brands!”
The next round of the the British 125cc Championship takes place at Brands Hatch, Kent on August 8th.
Low beats pain at Cadwell for strong finish
Simon Low narrowly missed out on scoring championship points for the second time this season when he finished 17th in round 4 of the British 125cc Championship, an heroic ride given that a collision on the opening lap had caused him to suffer a cracked fibia bone! Held at Cadwell Park, Lincolnshire, Low fought his way through the pack from 27th to pull up to 17th at two thirds race distance but ultimately ran of time to climb any higher. However, he had been as high as 14th before the collision took place and dropped him down the order so it was most definitely a strong ride by the 22-year old and confidence boosting for the whole team.Throughout practice, Simon consistently reduced his lap times as he edged closer to the top 20 and, after being 5.9seconds off the fastest time in free practice, he chopped over a second off his time in Saturday's first qualifying session to lie in 23rd place, now 4.8seconds off the pace setting reigning British Champion James Lodge. In extremely warm temperatures during second and final qualifying, Simon took almost three quarters of a second off his time and a 1m38.6s lap was the 22nd fastest of the session. However, when the times for the two sessions were combined, Simon was placed 25th overall although he was pleased to have had a relatively troublefree two days and was looking forward to the race.
Sunday saw even hotter temperatures for the 14-lap race and, with a new hydraulic clutch fitted, Simon made a lightning start and found himself up to a brilliant 14th place half way round the first lap just behind Championship contender Rob Guiver. However, as he exited the hairpin, the bike tried to highside him and he was hit from the side by another bike causing them both to run off the track also damaging Simon's leg in the process. This dropped him all the way back to 27th but, despite the pain, he battled back and by lap 4 he was up to 23rd when the safety car came out for three laps. When it pulled in, Simon immediately moved forward and had leapt up to 19th by start of lap 9. A lap later this was 18th and, lapping three tenths of a second quicker than what he had done in qualifying, he climbed even further up to 17th with two laps to go. Sadly, the gap to the 15th place man was too large to make up in the final two laps and Simon had to settle for his 17th place position although he was more than happy with getting a strong ride and race under his belt after the non-finishes of Thruxton and Oulton.
Speaking afterwards, despite being in pain, it was a pleased Simon that said: "To be honest, I'm really happy with how the weekend's gone and it's nice to have had a troublefree time with the bike and it's ran really well over all three days. The speed is really good now and we were consistently in the top ten through the speedtraps whilst I was also able to get quicker and quicker all weekend. The new clutch we fitted was absolutely superb and allowed me to make an even better start than usual so when I was up to 14th on the first lap, things were looking really good. Coming out of the hairpin though the bike highsided me and how I stayed on I'll never know although it did cause me to run off the track and get hit by another rider. I knew something had happened to my leg straightaway and so was in a lot of pain for the rest of the race but I dug deep and kept picking them off one by one. A couple of riders in front of me also crashed which allowed me to move up another couple of places but to finish 17th after what happened on the first lap is pleasing. It's also a bit frustrating as if that hadn't have happened, I think 12th place could have been the end result. What with the heat as well, today has definitely been the hardest race I've ever had but luckily the bone is only cracked rather than broken and we've got a good break before the next round so we should be 100% for then."
The series now has a 5-week break with the next round taking place at Mallory Park, Leicestershire over the weekend of June 25-27.
Tough weekend at Thruxton for Low
Simon Low had a weekend to forget at Thruxton where he was competing in round 2 of the British 125cc Championship with the Twickenham youngster suffering all manner of technical problems, the end result being that he didn't get to start the 14-lap race. Having only managed to complete one of the qualifying sessions due to an engine seizure, the 22-year old suffered problems with the Honda on the warm-up lap and he unhappily had to pull off the grid.It was always going to be a baptism of fire for Low around the high-speed 2.35-mile Hampshire circuit where circuit newcomers always find the bumpy, and abrasive surface, difficult to master at their first attempt but his cause wasn't aided by problems in three of the four free practice and qualifying sessions. The first free practice session was largely uneventful as Simon concentrated on learning the circuit and although he was down the order on the timesheets, he wasn't too phased as he knew he would start pushing harder as the weekend wore on. However, hopes of doing just that in the second free practice session disappeared when the bike seized early on running up Woodham Hill and he lost practically the whole session.
Despite suffering from a lack of feel with the handling, Simon knew he had to make up for lost time and push for a quick lap in qualifying but halfway through the session, the front end washed out at Noble and he suffered a high-speed crash, fortunately without injury. Although he had comfortably qualified, it meant he lost out on more track time and his plight was worsened when the engine seized again in second qualifying. Later inspection revealed a faulty pick up and problems with the wiring loom and the team had hoped this had been resolved in time for the race but on the warm-up lap, the compression of the Honda failed and it was a disgruntled Simon that trudged off the grid before the race had even started.
Talking on Sunday evening, Low said: "To say it's been a tough weekend would be an understatement and I can honestly say I've never experienced so many problems in one weekend of racing! We started off with a base setting so that we could go either way with the set-up but I never felt totally comfortable with the handling of the bike although it was ultimately the seizures that cost us so much track time. I'm really missing out on track time at the moment and with the problems both here and at Brands, I think I've only completed about a third of the sessions so far so we really need to get this resolved for the next round. The guys have taken the bike back to Holland to completely strip it down and rebuild it for Oulton whilst we're also thinking of switching back to the chassis I used in 2009 as I felt really confident with this and it got me some strong results in the Thundersport series. I think it's been a mixture of bad luck and silly things going wrong at the first two rounds so we're learning all the time and will wait and see what the next round brings. There aren't many good things to come out of this weekend (apart from saving fuel and tyres!) but I've learnt a lot and will be ensuring that I'll have a lucky horse shoe with me next time round and won't be walking under any ladders or breaking any mirrors between now and Oulton!"
The Championship heads to Oulton Park, Cheshire for round 3 with the meeting taking place over the Bank Holiday weekend of May 1-3.
Bad luck continues to haunt Low
The bad luck that plagued Twickenham's Simon Low at the first two rounds of the 125cc British Championship followed him to Oulton Park over the Bank Holiday weekend and the Team Shop4Bikers/Dutch-2-UK Racing rider was forced to retire on just the second lap of Monday's race. The 22-year old had made a superb start and was looking good for some more Championship points only for the engine to seize when he was lying in 16th place.After the problems of Thruxton last time out, Simon and his team opted to switch back to the chassis and forks that he'd run in 2009 and, although in standard trim, he felt a lot more comfortable on the bike putting in two solid efforts in the two free practice sessions. Learning the undulating and difficult 2.69-mile circuit all the time, Simon posted the 32nd fastest time in first qualifying on Sunday but this wasn't a true reflection of his pace as the chain came off half way through meaning he could only complete 7 laps. In the second and final qualifying session, he took a massive 2.9seconds off his lap time to jump up to 27th for a seventh row start.
Pleased with the performance of the Honda, in terms of both handling and speed, Simon made a lightning start in the 14-lap race and slotted in to 17th place at the end of the first lap and had moved up to 16th half way round the second lap to put himself well in contention for some Championship points. However, as he approached Lodge Corner towards the end of the second lap, the crank broke causing the engine to seize and he coasted to a halt, his race over, huge disappointment for him and all of the team.
Speaking on his return to the paddock, Simon said: "I don't think you could write a book about all the problems we've been having and it's fair to say we're certainly using up a lot of bad luck so far - things have to change soon! On the positive side, the bike has worked a lot better this weekend and it's been strong through the speedtraps as well as handling well so we've definitely made some progress. I made a great start to make up about 4 places by the time we got to the first corner and I was able to make up even more ground round the lap as I passed at least six more riders so I was feeling really comfortable. The bike was flying and the tyres were working superbly but just as I came into Lodge, the bike seized and that was that. Points were definitely on the table today, which makes it even more disappointing for everyone but it was no-one's fault so we'll keep working hard, stay positive and look to get a solid result at Cadwell next time out."
Round 4 of the 125cc British Championship takes place at Cadwell Park, Lincolnshire from May 21-23.
Shop4bikers as title sponsor for the 2010 season
A fast growing Chesterfield firm that specialises in the supply of secure storage sheds for motorcycles and has a thriving Internet-based business that sells motorcycle clothing, accessories and models, has announced a new sponsorship deal in British Superbikes (BSB) racing for 2010.Securit GB Limited is to sponsor young British motorcycle racer, Simon Low (22), in the 125cc class in the BSB and the new, orange-liveried Honda Dutch-2-UK Racing 125 machine will carry the name of Securit’s web business, Shop4Bikers.co.uk for the coming season.
Shop4Bikers.co.uk was one of a number of co-sponsors last season but, following the rapid growth of their business, has increased their commitment and will be Simon’s main sponsor for the new season opening at Brands Hatch over the Easter weekend.
Securit GB company secretary and board director, Caroline Moore, said: “We were really proud to help Simon Low last season and it is wonderful that the business has made the move up to the main sponsorship deal. It will be tremendous to see our name racing in BSB this year and we expect Simon and his team every success in a highly competitive field.”
Simon Low has every chance of staying with the pace in 2010 as he will be riding a new Dutch-2-UK supplied Honda RS125 machine that is built to an extremely high spec. As he says: “Team mate Edward Rendell and myself will be riding two of only four fully kitted disc valve Honda GP125 machines in the world and I’m aiming to be in the points from the off. By the end of the year in expect to be consistently placed in the top 10 or higher”.
Hard earned point for Low at Brands
Twickenham's Simon Low put in a superb ride at Brands Hatch on Easter Monday to claim his first ever 125cc British Championship point after finishing in 15th place in the 22-lap race. The 22-year old overcame practice and qualifying sessions that were fraught with problems to move from 26th on the grid to 15th in the race to pick up his first point at just his fourth attempt and end the weekend in jubilant mood.The weekend got off to the worst possible start in Friday's opening free practice session when, after just 4 laps, Simon got t-boned at Paddock Hill Bend and was sent disappearing into the gravel trap. With almost the entire session lost, his day then went from bad to worse when the little Honda seized due to a punctured radiator but he regrouped for Saturday's third free practice session and some improvements to the handling saw him get some decent laps in and he felt in good mood going into the frist qualifying session. Despite the major loss of track time, Simon made good use of the dry conditions and a time of 52.299s saw him slot into 24th place out of the 39 -strong entry and he was eagerly looking forward to improving on that in Sunday's second and final session. However, track conditions weren't as favourable and most of the field were unable to improve their times from the previous day although two riders did push Simon back to 26th and to the seventh row of the grid.
After a strong showing in Monday morning warm-up though, Simon was confident of a good showing in the 24-lap race and after a brilliant start he jumped all the way up to 14th at the end of the opening lap having overhauled 11 riders in just 1.198 miles! Briefly up to 13th, Simon was shuffled back to 15th by half race distance after first Phil Wakefield and then Sam Hornsey came by but he was still in 15th place and holding on to the final Championship point with less than four laps remaining. However, on lap 19 he was relegated to 16th place and out of the points for the first time when Andrew Reid overtook him but after all the bad luck of the first three days, fortune ultimately smiled on him on the final lap when Dakota Mamola crashed out thus promoting Simon back up to 15th for a thoroughly deserving 15th place.
Speaking immediately after the race, a clearly delighted Simon said: "It might only be 1 point and 15th place but after all the problems we had in the other three days, this feels like a win to me! With so little testing time and then all the bad luck that went our way during practice and qualifying I just wanted to get a finish in the race so to get a point at the first round of the season is brilliant and I'm really chuffed. I went quicker in the morning warm-up than what I had done in qualifying so felt good coming into the race although the clutch started to slip on the warm-up lap and I started to think 'oh no, here we go again' but fortunately it cleared itself. I'm normally quite strong off the line although to move up as much as what I did was quite a surprise so I dug deep and hung in there for as long as I could. I dropped my pace a little bit in the second half of the race, something which I need to address, and slipped back a little bit and although I was gifted 15th on the last lap when Dakota crashed out, after all we'd been through I felt we deserved a bit of luck and that point, particularly as I'd been running there for the majority of the race. I need to work a bit on my fitness too but, overall, to get a point in the first race of the year is fantastic - I'm happy, the team are happy and we're all now eagerly looking forward to Thruxton. I've never been there before so have a lot to learn in a short space of time but I'll be giving it 110% and looking to build upon this weekend's result."
The second round of the British 125cc Championship takes place at Thruxton, Hampshire on Sunday April 18th.
Race Dates 2010
Snetteron (test) - 27th februaryCartagena (spanish test) - 5th,6th,7th March
N.G racing club Brands indy - 20th, 21st March
ROUND 1 Brands indy - 3rd,4th,5th April
ROUND 2 Thruxton - 16th,17th,18th April
ROUND 3 Oulton Park - 1st,2nd,3rd May
ROUND 4 Cadwell Park - 21st,22nd,23rd May
ROUND 5 Mallory Park - 25th,26th,27th June
ROUND 6 Knockhill - 2nd,3rd,4th July
ROUND 7 Snetterton - 16th,17th,18th, July
ROUND 8 Brands GP - 6th,7th,8th August
ROUND 9 Cadwell Park - 28th,29th,30th August
ROUND 10 Croft - 10th,11th,12th September
ROUND 11 Silverstone - 24th,25th,26th September
ROUND 12 Oulton Park - 8th,9th,10th October
Signing for Dutch-2-UK
Today I made my way down to brands hatch to sign my life away with the newly assembled Dutch-2-UK racing team, this is going to be a very exciting year!
