Tom Grimshaw: The season is in full swing
By TMX Archives on 30th Mar 16
The racing season is truly under way for me, starting with the first round of the Dutch Masters at Axel which is on the Belgium/Holland border.
On our way over we swung by Dunkirk to set the bike up and do a couple of small motos before heading to the track in the afternoon.
The track looked mint but I knew it would get rough early on so a good qualification session was going to be important as 60 riders were on track to claim a top 40 position. I banked a couple of laps before coming into pitlane for a change of goggles, a quick drink and a debrief.
At that point I was in 22nd but dad noticed the track was still clocking times and I had slipped to 33rd. "You better clock a couple of quick laps to secure a top 40 position,” said my dad so I went out again and three-quarters of the way around the circuit my clutch expired.
I rushed back to pitlane and jumped on my spare bike. I was just outside the top 40 at this point but I knew the sweet spot had gone and the track was too rough to set a satisfactory time. The session ended and I missed out on qualifying by one second. Gutted! I blamed dad for not putting a new clutch in and dad blamed me for clutching it everywhere! Lessons learned on both sides.
It wasn't all doom and gloom to not qualify, however, as it meant we could watch the best racing in Europe. You can learn a lot from watching and that was very much the case!
The following week I was lucky enough to get a wildcard entry into round one of the Maxxis at Lyng, racing the MXY2 class. On the way I popped into the Milk Run for a quick shakedown of the race bike. I really enjoy turning laps at the Milk Run and would like to wish the new owner Kevin Maxted and his crew all the best for the future as they have some great ideas for the circuit.
We arrived at Lyng with the track looking mint. I was very excited to race this famous circuit and 15th in qualification was a great start to the day against all those 250Fs. I was really happy with both my motos and how I was riding – I gated last in moto one and nearly last in moto two and made my way through to a 17-18 scorecard. Mega day and something to build on, especially working on my starts.
The week after Lyng was a change of discipline as I was entered into the Fast Eddy Cross Country event at Hawkstone Park. I was entered into the Adult Expert two-and-a-half hour race. I didn't get a clean getaway but I put my head down and worked my way through the pack.
Boy, the cross country part was mega rough and I really suffered in the last 30 minutes, hitting a tree with my shoulder and breaking my little finger on a post. I was in the wars. I managed to finish eighth overall which was great and I cannot wait to do another one. A big well done to my old buddy Jack Edmondson on winning the event overall – so bloody fast – and good luck for the season.
I turned the big 15 this week and enjoyed all the family and friends popping round and wishing me well, especially for this weekend and round one of the British Youth Nationals at FatCat Motoparc which I'm sure will be great fun!
