Reilly Rides Through The Pain
Kelvin Reilly maintained his lead in the KTM RC8 SuperCup Championship as he
scored more valuable points at Snetterton this weekend. A crash during testing
at the Norfolk circuit, a week prior to the race, left Reilly with two broken
metatarsals in his right foot.
In a rain hit Qualifying session, Reilly could only manage to finish 9th
fastest.
Starting from his lowliest grid position of the year and carrying his injuries,
Reilly was faced with a damage limitation scenario.
The conditions for the opening race were less than ideal. Rain showers prior to
the start had left the track wet, but with some sections drying quickly. With
predominately wet track conditions, all the riders opted for full wet tyres.
After a steady start, Reilly maintained his ninth position. As the track
continued to dry, Reilly managed to climb into sixth, passing arch rival Dave
Wood on the way. The heavens opened towards the end of the race and combined
with Reilly's increasing discomfort caused him to slip back a place to finish a
creditable seventh place. Crucially, few of Reilly's title rivals were able to
capitalise on his subdued performance.
Race two saw Reilly again off to a steady start, but this time he was seemingly
much more comfortable. After scything through the field, Reilly was quickly up
to fourth place in a battle with race one winner, Sam Bishop. With Bishop's
superior straight line speed and Reilly's better cornering, to two continued to
exchange places for a number of laps. Reilly eventually made his move stick with
three laps to go. With the gap in front too great to bridge, Reilly could only
consolidate his position to score
another valuable podium finish.
Reilly's lead in the overall standings is still 23 points, as he looks forward
to the next two races at Knockhill in two weeks time.
Reilly:
"I am happy with how it went; it
was the most physically demanding race meeting I’ve ridden in! My foot was so
sore towards the end of the race, it was really hard changing direction on the
bike. So to beat some of my title rivals in the first race and to finish on the
podium in the second race was fantastic!"
" I really owe this weekend to the physios at the CJ riders fund and my team for
making things as comfortable for me as possible whilst riding with a broken
foot. After my crash the week before, I thought I would be out of action for a
while, so to come here and not drop that many points was brilliant. I'm looking
forward to the next meeting at Knockhill, which I should be fully fit for!"
Sam Farrington
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