More Points On The Board At Thruxton
Kam collects a 12th and a 10th place finish as he continues to learn the Honda Fireblade.
Thruxton, measuring 2.356 miles (3.792 km) and featuring 11 corners, is one of the fastest circuits on the British Superbike calendar. Home to the famous “Church Corner”, widely regarded as the fastest corner in British motor racing, it presents a unique challenge for both rider and machine.
Bright and dry weather greeted the paddock for the opening day at Thruxton. In FP1, Kam completed 16 laps, setting his fastest time halfway through the session on lap 8 with a 1:18.726.
In FP2, conditions remained sunny with an air temperature of 21°C and a track temperature of 37°C. With bike time crucial following the switch to the Honda Fireblade at Brands Hatch last time out, Kam put in another 16 laps. He improved his best time to a 1:17.959, almost eight tenths quicker than FP1, and finished P11, just 0.085 seconds away from sneaking into the top ten.
Kam said: “It wasn’t a terrible day, but I’m not entirely satisfied with how it went. We definitely have some work to do to get to where I think we should be. Race pace is okay, but we need to unlock some speed from somewhere if we want to have a good day tomorrow.”
Qualifying once again took place in bright, dry conditions, albeit with a slight breeze. Kam posted his fastest time of the weekend, a 1:17.582, securing 14th on the grid for Race One later in the day.
Air temperatures rose to 23°C for the race, with track temperatures climbing past 40°C. From P14, Kam got a great launch and was up to 10th by the end of lap one. He slipped back to 11th on lap 5 and then 12th on lap 10, where he would remain until the finish. Tyre wear, a well-known challenge at Thruxton, caused his pace to drop significantly towards the closing stages.
Kam commented: “I struggled a bit in qualifying to extract enough grip for one fast lap, but we went in the right direction with setup, which gave us a good idea of what to do for the race.
"The race was frustrating. I got a great start up to P10 on lap one, but didn’t quite have the grip to close the gap to the front group of nine. My race pace in the mid-section was identical, and the group didn’t get away from me, but I just couldn’t get into the tow. We made a positive step with the bike after qualifying, but we just need a bit more to get in the pack tomorrow.”
Kam collected 4 points for his result in Race One and would start Race Two from P13 on the grid.
On Sunday, the day began with a 10-minute warm-up session. Kam completed 8 laps, recording a 1:17.205, again improving on his previous best from the weekend.
From 13th on the grid, Kam dropped to 14th off the start but fought back to 12th by lap 7. He moved up to 11th on lap 13 after another rider retired with a mechanical issue, then saved enough tyre life to make a late pass on Connell heading into the final lap, securing 10th place at the chequered flag – another encouraging result.
On the second and final race of the weekend, Kam said: “A decent result in Race Two, but again not quite what we had hoped for. The OMG and Biturbo guys did a great job overnight in giving me a better package, and my race pace was much better – finishing the race almost 10 seconds faster than I did yesterday over the same distance.
"My race time today would have put me in the top five yesterday, and my lap time would have had me starting from the front row today, too. Our progress was huge, and I finished at the front of my group as well. We were just a session behind on setup.
"A big thank you to my team for the endless shock changes this weekend.”
Kam claimed six points in Race Two for his 10th-place finish. He’s now closed the gap to just one point between himself and 11th place in the Championship and sits only 23 points away from breaking into the top ten.
Next up is Cadwell Park over the August Bank Holiday weekend – a round affectionately dubbed “Party in the Park.”