ASSEN // Round Up

Checking out of the Dutch GP claiming my first points of the season at Assen, taking twelfth place at one of the few circuits on the calendar where I have previously raced.

Here’s how my weekend shaped up

FRIDAY

Fridays first session started really well finishing in P15 knowing the track certainly helped me to get up to speed but in FP2 we took a step backward, the bike didn’t work as well as in the first session, this is where we worked hard together and we made a plan to move in the right direction for the following day.

SATURDAY

With a fresh day to tackle, I felt confident we could make some great progress, however in FP3 I crashed out and we had no more time to get the bike back out for the remaining session. For qualifying I really felt I had good pace however but we ran into a technical issue and had a problem with my handle bar , which meant I only had time for one Flying lap putting me twenty third on the grid for the race.

SUNDAY

I had a solid race – I was struggling a little at the beginning but in the end I was consistent. We know what we have to do to improve, so hopefully we can do that in Germany and get another good result.  I am not happy with twelfth place but it is positive to finish where we did from where we were. We have taken a step forward and I want to thank KTM for what they are doing for us.

All eyes on this coming weekend in Germany. A track I must learn but we have made steps forward with the bike, I’m feeling good.

Jake #96CREW

CATALAN GP // Round Up

I had a great experience this weekend with My first time at the Catalan GP working hard all weekend making steps forward. The track was incredible, and it is another track learnt.

I was so close to a 20th position but on the last lap I was unfortunately taken out by another rider on the last corner. I can’t dwell on that though as we had a really positive weekend and although battered and bruised there is nothing too serious.

This year has been tough, but I am focusing on what can be done removing the pressure I placed on myself, we work very hard as a team and we have great strategies throughout a race weekend I can’t thank them enough for all the hard work they put in.

We now head to Assen a track which I have ridden before but one thing I know for sure it’s FULL GAS ahead ✊🏻🏁 thanks for all the support 😊

Jake

MUGELLO – Italian GP

M U G E L L O 🇮🇹

I got to grips with the iconic track that is Mugello but we had a lot of work to put into getting the bike set up right. We had a plan of attack for qualifying however I made only one lap due to an engine problem which meant I was to start from the tenth row. We made a step forward in warmup ready for the race. Going into the race I felt confident we could make another step forward but it wasn’t to be as I unfortunately crashed out.

I am okay after the crash but it’s not the ideal way to finish the race obviously. I didn’t feel like I was over the limit, I was riding hard but I didn’t have a good feeling with the track temperature much higher than yesterday. I spent ten laps behind the group, to understand where we can improve. It is my first time here, whereas other riders have spent years riding at Mugello, and I feel that we have made gradual progress over the weekend which was shown by how competitive we were in the warm-up. I am sorry to the team because in the end we do need more information to improve the bike, but I am here to fight and unfortunately today I crashed. It happened off the throttle between turns 4 and 5 – I had vibrations there all weekend but on this occasion I couldn’t save the bike and it just kept sliding until I hit the ground.

As ever we must take the positives from the weekend and for me I learnt another track In the process. My focus is on the next Spanish GP. I am fortune to be fit after the crash so now I take the information gathered from this weekend at mugello and put all efforts into our next race

Thanks as always for the support

Jake

#96crew

2019 Testing Underway #96CREW

Hey Everyone, It’s Friday 8/02/19 and it is the day after our two day test at Valencia. It was the first run out on the bike since our last test in Jerez which was at the end of 2018, so we had lots of work to get through.

We got heaps of work done, we tried so much and changed a lot of things to understand the direction we need to go in, the feeling is improving, my riding style is adapting and I do feel that there is more to come in both the bike and myself, we have another five days in testing Jerez so I will be able to work more on that. As the bike changes and I get more comfortable with the feeling, my riding style changes also, putting my body in a better position on the bike.

What am I taking away from this first Test…..

I am growing a greater understanding with the feeling of the bike, it is great to have time with the team also understanding how we all work together which is fantastic. I keep learning each time I ride, and that to me is what this year is about. We have a base setting now to go to Jerez with, and I am feeling ready and excited to get back on my Angel Neito Moto 2 bike again. I leave to come home from Spain and head back to the UK this weekend, I will have 5 days preparing myself before getting ready to leave again for Spain the following weekend.

It is a great feeling to know that the season is now underway with Testing, after Jerez we have a test at Qatar at the beginning of March which will set us up ready going into Round one at that very track, a lot of riding between now and then, just how I like it.

I will of course keep you all updated over the course of the testing at Jerez, but for now I hope you guys have a great weekend and I will be back on my blog with updates soon.

Jake #96CREW

ALL PHOTOS : RAFA_MARRODAN