Phil Bevan Racing, Snetterton, May 10-11

Phil Bevan riding the My Own Music/JHP sponsored Ducati 996RS powered to 6 straight victories at the weekends New Era Superclub meeting in Snetterton, Norfolk. It was another successful event racing for the team, and sets Phil firmly in the lead of the Super Club ‘’Sound of Thunder’’ Championship.

With Saturday morning’s weather looking decidedly overcast and cold we decide to use the last of our Thruxton tyres for the 10 minute practice and qualifying session – and aim to get somewhere on the first two rows. Still not 100% happy with the Ducati’s handling and suffering the same turning problems as previous rounds, Phil still manages to put in a 1.13.83 lap to put him in 2nd place.

General lap times are a lot slower than our last visit and Phil still can’t put the gas on early enough, the bike is very hard to turn on Snetterton’s slower sections.

With Championship contenders Dean skipper, Julian Stock and Jamie Poole all in attendance, the pace would certainly heat up and we need a big improvement.

New Dunlop tyres are fitted for race one and Kevin from John Hackett Performance gives Phil additional instructions to gain more feed back on the suspension. Phil gets the hole shot but loses out on Turn 2 as he again runs wide so Skipper takes the lead and Phil’s forced to follow, and he’s lacking confidence through the notorious Russell’s Chicane.

After following Dean for a few laps, he picks his moment to take P1. Nearing the end of the race Skipper again tries to take the lead at Russells but Phil defends the line and firmly shuts the door. There’s no second chance as the rain begins to fall and the race is red flagged. One down, five to go.

Race two and we defiantly going in the right direction with suspension, Phil again get the hole shot doesn’t over shoot turn 2. Skipper, Poole, and Craig Rooks (sharing our garage and having his first ride on his Ducati 998S) are all chasing hard, but with the RS turning sweetly Skipper is again denied an overtaking manover at Russell’s.

Phil’s confidence is growing and he breaks the chasing pack with a string of fast laps and manages to put a 2.5 second gap at the chequered flag. The Dunlop tyres are definitely working well and with the adjustments we’re confident of a good result against the fast Suzuki 1000’s and Yamaha R1’s in the next Open Race.

Having to start 18th on the grid means the warmers don’t come of until the last second – a quick start is vital other wise it’ll be game over. ‘’Do or Die’’ manovers on Turn 1 and full gas at turn 2 means Phil’s up to 8th and at the end of the first lap he lies 3rd with plenty of time to go.

Previous race winner and Yamaha mounted Greg Lewis is leading but Phil reels him in and get’s the lead with 2 laps to go. It’s nearly all over despite a late challenge from Craig Fitzpatrick and we post a fastest lap time of 1.11.23, taking the win.

Kevin’s modifications are really beginning to work, Phil’s really happy with the bike as it’s turning far quicker and he’s able to get the drive on really early. Greg calls in to the garage to congratulate him and he’s frustrated at the overall top speed of the No 13 Orange Ducati. He can’t keep up with it on the long Rivetts Straight!

It’s the end of the day and time for Kevin and myself to get to work – new softer compound Dunlop’s are fitted, the bike is checked over and cleaned for the following days competition. A quick chat with commentator Fred Clark and Bike Sport News’s Chris Carter round the day off but there’s an additional job for Sunday – we want to put a CD/DVD presentation together for our sponsors so we must get some action on the video camera.

Sunday dawns bright and sunny and as our work is all complete we can afford a quiet morning, but it’s the crew that need refuelling – so it’s a ‘’Full Monty’’ English Breakfast all round – apart from the Jockey, of course!

Race One and Phil loves it and begins to push harder. The softer compounds are giving him plenty of feedback and he’s able to get the 4th win of the weekend. One more race – the second Sound of Thunder see’s Phil take a firm grip on the Championship and take another maximum 25 points.

We relax for the last race of the day and we hear it’s extended to 10 laps of the Norfolk circuit – it’ll give us time to get some filming done! Phil recons he the only one doing all the hard work, but with the Starter, Warmers, Stands, Pit board, and now Camera equipment there is a lot for us to sort.

Due to several small incidents the field is reduced but we still require more effort – we need to match and beat our previous lap times.

Phil’s in the lead by lap 2 and we resort to showing him lap times on the pit board – as opposed to the place laps and distance normally given. We think he’s getting the message but gets to 1.11.00 and no further, but 3 laps later he bangs in a 1.10 .88 and we’re there. The time is confirmed and it rounds off a complete weekend, so we’re all happy. After a quick photo session in pit lane we pack up all the gear and begin the 280-mile trip home.

Six straight wins makes a successful weekend but more importantly we’ve got some excellent base settings sorted and we’re looking forward to this Sunday’s next round at Donnington Park.

As always many thanks to our sponsors My Own Music, JHP, and Dunlop for making it all happen.