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[IDM] Metcher makes progress
Jed Metcher/RT Motorsport Round 3 IDM
Sachsenring one of the two Grand Prix Circuits that the IDM championship visits was set to be an interesting round for the RT Motorsports team, due to both riders having not completed a single lap before the round.
Friday practise was again a mixed day with the weather, fortunately there was not enough rain to affect our learning of one of the most technical tracks in Europe. Due to the amount of left hand corners on the circuit Pirelli have a range of different tyre combinations that suit different conditions. So the Friday was not only learning the track but also a heavy tyre test day which would make the day incredibly busy. I really enjoyed the Sachsenring layout after the Friday but was still having some troubles with lines through the twisty section.
Saturday would come around with the sun shining and the team ready to push hard for a good qualifying position. Two 40 minute sessions to pump out the fastest time you can manage can be very interesting due to all the riders being on the limit, this was proven by the fact that around 8 - 10 crashes occurred. Unfortunately my set up was still not quite where I wanted to at this point and I only managed a 1.26.7 which would place me in 19th position. I was incredibly happy to head back into pit lane after the second session due to an incredible scare that I got as nearly highsided luckily landing back on top of the bike, heading through the fast right hand turn before you drop down the famous Sachsenring hill.
Sunday was a beautiful sunny day around 25 degree’s with a strong 30000 crowd for round 4 of the IDM championship.
Race 1 was set to commence at 11 55, I got off to a great start crossing the line in 12th position and began to fall into rhythm after quickly passing 11th and 10th I found myself following my team mate Gareth Jones who was setting up a pass on fellow privateer Roman Stamm. I shortly followed Jones as we attempted to break away from the pack, I moved passed Jones in hope to put some space between myself and the other riders who had made it known to me that they were there earlier in the race. In the closing laps Jones who had tagged on to my back wheel went pass to take 8th position at this point I was comfortable and planned to make a pass on the last lap but had a surprise from another rider who over shot the corner in an attempt to pass which also held me up a little giving Jones the 8th and myself finishing in 9th. I am happy with my first top ten finish this was also welcomed by the team.
Race 2 was a nice start again gaining around 8 positions on the first lap, I immediately slotted in behind Jones. We started moving forward through the pack but my progress was halted in this instance unfortunately due to a lack of grip in the rear. Over all the weekend was a success and we are moving forward with our Honda superbikes and Pirelli tyres.
I would like to thank all of the sponsors for their support especially KTech UK for our new suspension front and rear this has helped us boost our progress lately. A big thank you to Rob Vennegoor Team manager of RT Motor sports for putting in the hard yards behind the scene in the past months along with Frank Krekeler at SKM and Mal Metcher who prepared two great bikes for the team.
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