Lee Hardy sensational at Snetterton!!

Lee Hardy of RAF Marham went to Snetterton for the Thundersport GB, LMB Streetfighter Championship not knowing what to expect from his new race bike, this was the first time Lee had competed on his new machine and also his debut round of the 2011 season.

Hardy was in contention for pole position setting the pace early on, the qualifying season was held in very wet conditions but didn’t fail to entertain. It was a closely fought battle but Hardy lost out in the last two minutes of the session, qualifying in fourth place. Hardy said “fourth is not a bad place to start, but ideally I would have liked to be on pole first time out”.

Hardy has had a bad run of luck at his local circuit in recent times and was sure to put these results behind him. Hardy got away from the line ell in race one, forcing his way through into third place at the first corner. The race became split up with the front two riders escaping; Hardy was overtaken at half race distance and was unable to respond and finished the race in fourth place. Race two was a bit of a lottery, it rained hard leading up to the start so tyre choice going to be crucial. Hardy had plans to race on full wets and try to make the break at the start and gap the other riders. He was off the line well and slipped into second place behind the championship leader who had the same game plan as Hardy. The race leader and hardy were trying to get away but the track was drying faster than nticipated, struggling on full wets meant Hardy was overtaken and unable to respond to the lap times being set by the front two riders who were on dry tyres. It was a case of damage limitation and try to get some points until the front two crashed with two laps to go, the race was back on for Hardy. He was right on the back of the race leader with a possibility of taking that top step on the podium.

Hardy tried to make a move on the last lap going into the first corner where he knew he was quicker, the move was well covered and hardy couldn’t get passed and finished the race in second place. Hardy commented after the race “I am thrilled with the days racing and cannot believe my results for the first time out on the bike.”

Sunday morning race one and the track was dry, Hardy was brimming with confidence and really up for another great day of racing. Hardy said “there is no better feeling than rolling up to the front row with your brolly girl waiting to greet you and the TV cameras filming your every move, there is nowhere to hide anymore once the flag drops.” Race one and Hardy was away from the start well, slotting into third at the first corner. Hardy drafted into second along the back straight and then set about getting into a rhythm, but the race leader was lapping quicker and started pulling away. At around half race distance Hardy was passed and finished the race in third place setting his fastest lap of the weekend.

Just before the start of race two there was a heavy shower and again tyre choice was going to be a lottery. Hardy opted on the side of caution and went with full wets; most of the field were on wet front dry rear or full dry tyres. Hardy made an impressive start and was battling for the lead at the first corner; he was in second and pushing hard. The race leader crashed on lap three right in front of Hardy at the Montreal hairpin, Hardy hesitated slightly and dropped two places. Hardy was fighting for grip from the rear tyre as the track dried, his wet tyres had overheated and lost all grip. This prevented him closing down the front two.

Hardy had a lonely race in third and had to use all his race craft just to stay on and bring his machine home in one piece and hold onto third place and another podium.

Hardy said “this weekend was amazing for me; I have dedicated these three podiums and a front row start to all my sponsors for their hard work and late nights to get me out on the grid.

I would also like to say an even bigger thank you to Stingray RV for supplying us with such an amazing service. They delivered a Damon Daybreak RV to Snetterton for the team to use over the weekend; they offer great rates on their vehicles for all types of leisure and recreational activities. For further information check out their website at http://www.stingrayrv.com/.

Lee Hardy has worked hard with to secure the discount offer from Intercontinental Hotel Group for 2011. The offer is eligible to all Military personnel, RAF, Navy, and Army which also includes reserves, M.O.D civil servants, cadets, veterans and all combined families.

Thank you to all the team sponsors: Intercontinental Hotel Group, Multiform, db Digital, Racebikebitz, Iceni Motorcycles, NGK Spark Plugs, K&N Filters, Double G Clothing, R&G Race Products, Millers Oils, Kent Cams, J D Signs, R J Marriot Engineering, Kett Autopaints, Sprint Design and Copy, Gladwins Body Repair Centres, Black and White Bikes, RST Leathers, AGV Helmets, Dunlop Tyres, Pro-Fibre and also thanks again to the guys at Stingray RV for the amazing motorhome and everyone at RAF Marham photographic section.