Good week for Wayne

Editorial Department • Published 19 Aug 2010 16:00 0 Comments

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Wayne Kennedy who enjoyed a good week at the Ulster Grand Prix.

Local motorbike race Wayne Kennedy enjoyed a busy and challenging week at the highly competitve Ulster Grand Prix last week.

The week started well for Wayne, when during Wednesday’s qualifying placed Wayne fifth on the 125cc GP Honda. Wayne set out on practice with slick tyres fitted but the weather changed from dry to wet which saw a lot of competitors pulling in. He took a gamble, however, which left him provisionally 12th on the grid with a top speed of 104mph.

Practice Thursday morning saw Wayne out on his 250cc Honda. unfortunatly bad luck struck on the second lap when the chain snapped on the bike at high speed nearly taking him off the bike but he steered it to safety. This ended his qualifying session, placing him 15th for race day.

Thursday, race day, saw the 125cc GP bikes share the starting grid with the 650cc super twin machines. Wayne got off to a good start making his way up through the group to battle with Sam Dunlop for third place.

However, Wayne got caught up behind some 650cc backmarkers and as they crossed the line, he missed out on third place to Sam Dunlop by 0.03 of a second!.

Race day on Saturday, Wayne was out on the 600cc GB Racing yamaha. Earlier qualifying left Wayne 34th due to engine problems and this position left him starting on the front row of group C. He got off a flying start and led group C from start to finish which left Wayne 25th overall.

The next race was the 250cc. He started on the front row of group B due to the lack of qualfying times from earlier chain problems. However gearing problems proved problematic throughout thee 250cc race and he could not reach top speed but still managed 11th with a lap speed of 111mph.

After a short break from the 250cc it was time for race two in the 600cc class. Again, Wayne got off to a good start and led until the second lap where at Deer’s Leap, Wayne noticed the bike drop dramatically in power so he deciced to pull the bike in to avoid damage. It was later discovered that the engine had dropped some valves.

Overall Wayne was happy with his week’s performance even with the mechanical problems.

Wayne’s next race is August 21 and 22 in Cork

This article appeared in Impartial Reporter 19 Aug 10

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