Carl increases championship lead at Snetterton

Carl has had an amazing first half of the season with two race wins already and has only missed being on the podium once, finishing 4th at Oulton Park.

But with six more rounds left there is still a lot of points to be had so he is keeping his feet firmly on the ground.

“Consistency is important and so far we are just concentrating on one race at a time” said Carl.

Snetterton is known as a difficult track for bike set up and correct gearing is crucial for fast lap times but the Team decided to start the weekend with much the same configuration as the last Round at Knockhill.

The weather conditions during Friday Practice was wet with a lot of surface water so lap times were slow although Carl managed to finish the session quickest in the tricky conditions.

Just minor tweaks to the gearing and suspension and with a dry track Carl put in some fast and consistent lap times during the first Qualifying session and again topped the time sheet almost half a second ahead of the rest of the field.

The weather deteriorated overnight and Carl and the Team decided to sit out final Qualifying as lap times would not be improved therefore his lap time from the previous session was enough to secure him Pole Position.

On race day morning Carl went out on track for the short warm up session and unfortunately he tipped off coming into Turn 3.

He was unhurt but his Kawasaki ZX-6R race bike suffered extensive damage with broken levers, foot pegs, fairings and most seriously the petrol tank, and when it was announced that Carl’s race was brought forward because of Live TV Schedules it was a race against time to get the bike fixed and on the grid.

With the bike fixed Carl lined up on the front row of the grid and when the lights went out he got a good start and was in 2nd position at the end of the first lap.

On lap 2 Carl took the lead but dropped back behind Tom Ward the following lap.

For the next 4 laps Carl was holding onto 2nd place with Jordan Weaving snapping at his heels but eventually he was passed by Weaving and crossed the line in 3rd place.

Carl’s nearest rival Bradley Jones could only manage 8th place so Carl has now increased his Championship lead to 46 points.

“A huge thanks to Robbie, Will and Neil for their hard work in getting the bike fixed in time” said Carl.

This weekend sees the next round of the Championship is at Thruxton in Wiltshire, with the race on July 24th.

Follow Carl and the Teams progress on Twitter @carlphillips32 and on Facebook Carl Phillips Racing.