Liam Delves bounces back from crash to finish twice at Snetterton track - The Solihull Observer

Liam Delves bounces back from crash to finish twice at Snetterton track

Solihull Editorial 14th Jul, 2016 Updated: 21st Oct, 2016   0

THINGS did not go according to plan for Liam Delves in round five of the Motostar British Moto3 championship after he crashed out of qualifying but managed to pick himself back up to collect two nineth-place finishes.

Free practice at the high speed Norfolk circuit in Snetterton had gone well for the Smiths Wood Sports College rider who completed the session in third place.

Delves went on to finish eighth in first qualifying just over a second away from pole but the weather changed for the final session and this suited Delves as he was running in first position throughout the session.

But in the dying seconds he highsided the Banks Racing machine coming out of the last corner and crashed. He remained as fastest rider in his class but the times were well down on the dry session held earlier so he started the sprint race from eighth position.




“The bike felt really good in the wet but then I highsided and fell,” explained Delves. “There was a bit of damage to the bike but the team were able to fix it in time for the afternoon.

“I was okay, just a bit sore from the crash. It was still a good session as I ended up in p1 over a second faster than anyone else in my class.”


Starting the ten-lap sprint race from an eighth row grid position within the mixed grid of riders, Delves managed to hold onto eighth place until the final lap when he was overtaken by Asher Durham and demoted to ninth position.

He continued: “That didn’t quite go to plan. I was a little sore after my highside in qualifying and the bike was suffering from a technical issue during the race.

“My team had worked hard to try to resolve the problem and I was fourth in morning warm up so we found a bit more and my lap times were a little better.

“But the problem reoccurred during the race which prevented me from gaining ground and I had to be content with ninth position.”

As the feature race got underway Delves moved up a place to eighth on the first lap and held that position through lap two before being beaten back a place when Charlie Atkins went past.

The rest of the race was spent maintaining his ninth position to the chequered flag to be rewarded with another seven championship points which bring his total haul to 60 and secures eighth place in the rider standings.

The next round is at Thruxton on July 24 when Liam will be seeking two strong results to move him further up the standings as we reach the midway stage of the championship.

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