20/10/2021
Well that's it, this is the last race report of the season. Bare with me, it's a long one.
Rolling into Cadwell I had a slim but unlikely chance of 3rd in championship. My plan for the whole weekend was to push as hard as I could and no matter where I finished I could walk away with my head held high.
Test day
Test day went exactly to plan the morning 2 practice sessions were wet and it seemed no one really wanted to go out. The weather report was saying that the chance of rain for the rest of the weekend was slim but still a possibility so I decided to go out find a setting I like just in case. The afternoon was dry but cold but by this point I had already found the confidence in the bike and the track enough to start to push and find a new PB.
Qualifying
Qualifying I once again built up my confidence in the bike and the track as it was dry but very cold and I didn't want to have a slip off and ruin my chances due to a bad qualifying. We had a few new riders from other championships arrive to have a play with us and although they are not in this fight they could chance the outcome. I qualified 6th in class right behind Jay with another PB.
Race 1
Race 1 I made a really good start and managed to pass Jay into the first corner and get onto the back of Alex. Unfortunately I had a bit of a coming together with another rider that caused us both to have a bit of a wobble. Neither of us came off but it was enough to drop me back a lot of places. Unfortunately Ryan jumped of his bike after 4 laps and the race was red flagged. I have spoken to Ryan since and I'm glad to hear he is on the mend. With the red flag we went back to original grid spots, this gave me a chance to try a different tactic into turn 1 to still make the passes and hopefully not end up with another coming together. This race went really well I had some hard fights and I managed to finish 4th with Jay 3rd, Alex 2nd and Tommy 1st.
Race 2
Once again this was the same plan go out go as hard as I could and hopefully find a way past Jay. This was going really well and by this point I was doing lap times 3 seconds off what I had done in our 1st trip to Cadwell. I was having a battle with a few of the supertwins trying my hardest to get past as I knew I had some of the stocktwins behind me that I couldn't afford to lose places to and also I could see Jay ahead and I knew I needed to make a move soon to try my best to catch up. Going down hill from the goose neck into Mansfield I spotted the supertwin rider in front have a slight wobble enough that I knew it would ruin his run out of the corner and this was my chance to make a pass. I let off the brakes a bit early carried a bit more corner speed and lean angle to try get myself into position to make the move, unfortunately the bike protested and decide make me sit out of the rest of the race. Both me and the bike ended up a bit battered and bruised but I was determined to make it out for the inter-service race.
Inter-service race
Standing up from the the crash I had quite a lot of pain in my hip and foot it wasn't enough to worry me but the marshals decided I should be checked out at the med center. The med center at Cadwell is on the infield so although I didn't spent a lot of time in there I couldn't get across the track to collect and mend my bike for the inter-service race. I managed to get back with 20 minutes to spare before the race and I have never seen such hard work and dedication. I arrived back I was told to relax and have a drink of water and by the time I sat down 10 riders and pit crew already had the bike in bits replacing broken parts and trying there best to get me out, it was amazing to watch but unfortunately it wasn't quite enough and I had to watch a cracking race from the mountain.
Race 3 wet
This race was wet and still raining I was quietly confident even after the crash that I could perform in the wet. The first few laps are always a bit careful just while you work out what grip you have, Jay made a move on me in the second lap and I instantly hooked onto the back of him both our lap times were coming down every lap while we were trying to shake each other. The only place I could see to make a move was out of the last corner and hopefully get a slip stream to the line, I went into the last corner harder than I had the whole race knowing it's under the trees and risky in the wet, I managed to get on the power early and hook onto the back of Jay but unfortunately it wasn't quite enough and Jay finished 0.05 seconds in front of me.
Race 4
Final race I am 25 points behind Jay going into this race and it was going to take a miracle to make it happen. I went in with the same mentality I had done for the previous 3 races but Jay made a really good start and I didn't so after the first few corners we found ourselves batteling in different packs I still tried to push but after a few slips on a still damp track I had to call it a day.
I finished the championship in 4th against some amazing riders.
I want to say a massive congratulations to Alex Mann the 2021 stocktwin champion, if you head over to his page you will see he had it all to play for and the finish was extremely tight. Also to Adrian Teasdale on 2nd in championship and Jay Markham 3rd in championship. I had some cracking battles with all of them at one point or another throughout the year and it's made it a really enjoyable season. Well done to everyone else on the grid aswell it's been a cracking year.
Thankyou to everyone who has supported me all year and helped me throughout.
Well done also to the whole army team on a cracking season.
And a mention for Tyler Viveros on his 4th in championship on his CB500 in his first year racing.
2022 I will be back on a stocktwin going for that title but we have a lot of work to do I am setting up a small sponsorship scheme, so if anyone would like to get involved in my racing please message my page and I will be happy to discuss it further.
I look forward to seeing you all again in 2022.
Thank you
Liam Palmer #93
ARMY Motorcycle Road Race Team
Army Sport Control Board
Royal Electrical & Mechanical Engineers - REME
4 Armoured Close Support Battalion REME
