IDM Sachsenring 19th-21st June
Ex Moto GP star Jeremy McWilliams returned after injury to join his teenage protégé Josh Elliott on the grid in the Sachsenring round of the IDM Supersport 600 championship.
Jeremy was returning after suffering a broken ankle at the first round in Lausitzring in April, and the team were delighted he was able to qualify in 8th place despite numerous set up problems during practice. Josh struggled with handling issues too and managed 17th on the grid after a fall in first qualifying on a cold front tyre.
Race one was on Saturday afternoon in dry conditions after a rain shower had dried up and it wasn’t to be a fairytale return for McWilliams. He was squeezed into turn one off the start thus touching another rider with both falling as a result. He was able to limp away from the crash but otherwise wasn’t badly hurt.
Josh managed to miss his fallen team mate at the start and started making superb progress through the field. Last minute suspension changes by the team helped the feeling from his bike and he took full advantage. After his double podium last time out at Nurburgring, the Fermanagh teenager pulled off another stunning race which was to be cruelly cut short on lap 11 by mechanical gremlins.
He had managed a string of spectacular passing moves almost every lap to slot into fourth position. He was lapping faster than all three riders in front at this stage and even the win was not out of his reach. Unfortunately a gearbox selection problem caused him to run on in turn one and off into the gravel trap where he fell.
Despite the huge cheers from the crowd and gathered press at that corner, the youngster was inconsolable in his disappointment.
When he gathered his thoughts later he commented to the German press, "I find it really hard to take that I had worked so hard to get up to the front only to loose it all like this. It is very rare to make up so much time from a bad starting position and I knew I could make the podium if everything had gone smoothly. The team worked really hard to try and sort the handling problems with the bike and it was coming better in the race. I hope we can sort out the problem with the gear selection by tomorrow’s race. I’ll just try my best and see what happens."
Team principal Gerry Bryce commented after the race, "The boys had such bad luck today. I’m disappointed for Jeremy as he had done a superb job in qualifying, but these things happen in racing. Josh can hold his head up high as he rode amazing from 17th on the grid, to be challenging for third, before he hit a problem with the bike. We’re a modestly funded team compared to the factory supported ones and unfortunately these things will happen. To be up running with them is a great compliment."
After both riders suffering falls the previous day they were hoping for better fortune for race two.
As the race began, drops of rain started to fall which made it difficult to judge how fast to push in the conditions. Both riders made safe starts and as the rain died away the pace got faster. McWilliams starting from 8th managed to get up as high as third at one stage with courageous cornering but it was apparent his bike was suffering a lack of speed. He was struggling with a new engine all weekend which seemed to need more miles to loosen up properly. As the race wore on he dropped back to eighth as his bike slowed and he was forced to retire.
Josh Elliott started from 17th on the grid and was holding that position at the end of the first lap. He tried to push in the tricky early conditions but was having too many slides to progress far. He did manage to make it up to 11th, but he too suffered a lack of power today and was unable to stay in the slipstream of the pack. (Investigation later on the dyno revealed his bike was not revving out due to an electrical glitch.) Compounding the day’s problems was the rear tyre. The particular compound didn’t seem to be the right choice in the cooler conditions and wasn’t working as well as it did in race one, so he was not able to run the same pace as race one. He tried in vain to hold position but lost one place on the straight near race end for a 12th place finish.
Jeremy McWilliams summed up the weekend for the two Northern Irish team mates, "Sachsenring turned into a frustrating weekend for both Josh and me. The conditions changed every session and we were never able to find an engine map to suit. Saturday’s race was one to forget. I lost my braking marker into turn one and took Hommel out. There are no excuses and a rare mistake. His team were devastated and as we share a pit garage, the atmosphere was a little frosty. Josh climbed all the way through the pack and looked like he was on for another podium until another rare malfunction put him into the gravel. An unfortunate day all round. Sunday’s race started in changeable weather and early on things looked good. As a light shower fell on the back of the circuit I slipped into 3rd but the motor refused to rev above 14,000 and by lap 14 I had to call it a day. Josh had trouble with grip but lost ground with mapping issues too and did the right thing to settle for a points finish."