Here's what he has to say!
Adam Wright – Superbike Racer
Adam Wright is originally from Rotherham England where he was born on the 28th of May 1976. In 1979 he moved to South Africa with his parents. Wright started racing competitively at the beginning of 2007, but he has been riding bikes since the age of ten.
Wright’s first road bike was a YAMAHA RZ50. To get this bike he had to work in a supermarket for 1 ½ years. He eventually saved up enough money for half of the payment. The other half was paid for by his mother. His first super bike was a SUZUKI GSX – R600 SRAD which he secretly bought without his mother knowing. She liked it, and eventually got over the shock.
His other interests, besides motorbikes and racing, includes; wakeboarding, kitesurfing and diving.
Wright’s racing career at Killarney Race Track in Cape Town is rapidly
progressing. He has won a number of races in the C group, and during his second race weekend he finished second in group B.
Wright’s aim for this season is to consistently get up to the front of the B
group, win more trophies, and then on to winning a series.
Comments from Wright on his race career thus far; “My first race was at the National event in Cape Town, because the regional racers were invited to participate. I had to race with an X on my back so the other racers would know I was a rooky. As it was my first time ever in a race, my main goals were to not fall off, not come last and achieve a good enough time to start off in the C group. Mission accomplished on all three, and if I could have classified I would have got a ninth for the day.
My second race weekend I had put in a bit of practice at the track and got
my times down by 5 seconds a lap. That is a country mile in racing terms and I went out in qualifying and stuck it on pole position in my group. I went out in the first race after a really good start and finished first. When I was on the grid for the second race I was very nervous, I made a complete mess of the start with the front wheel facing the sky. Not the quickest way to get off the line. I was overtaken by quite a few guys in my group so I got my head down and started picking them off one by one. I had a really good race with one of the veterans of group C. He would overtake me and then I would get him back, it was a battle all the way to the line. I managed to get better drive out of the last turn and managed to get him at the line by 0.3 of a second.
I was screaming inside my helmet and I felt like Barry Sheen. In only my second race I managed a 1st for the day. That's trophy number one
for the cabinet! During that race my times came down some more and I managed to "break out" of group C. My next race did not go too well. On the third lap there was a bad crash in turn 3 and they sent the medic/pace car out onto the track. I was having another big battle for position and when we came down the start finish straight I had finally got a bit of a gap. The white flag came out. I slowed as I saw the safety vehicle and moved over coming out of turn 1 as he was right on our racing line. The other racer went round the outside of me and slammed right into the back of the car because he decided to stop on the track. His bike catapulted over the track and smashed straight onto the front of me and the bike. We both went flying into the gravel and the bike was mashed. That was the end of my day so it was off to the bar to watch the second race. I fixed up the bike over the break and got it back to perfect condition thanks to my sponsors, my mom, and the really nice lady at the bank. I practiced again before the next race and was doing consistent times which were 2 seconds faster than before so I was really excited about the race. Qualifying was a wash out with rain and so was race 1.
I wasn't ready to go out on slicks in the rain after I'd just rebuilt the
bike. I will be on the lookout for rain tyre sponsors for next year. Five
guys fell during the first race and luckily none of them were injured too
seriously. The second race was dry so I decided to race even though I had to start last on the grid. I had an amazing start and managed to make quite a few places by the first corner. A couple of laps into the race I developed a shudder on the brakes which was putting me off going into turns. Luckily the field was a bit strung out because of the fallers. I managed a 2nd in group B and that is my best finish yet.
I think I've managed to find the cause of my shudder, but we'll have to wait and see at the next practice session. The next race is on the 1st of
September and I can't wait. Later in the year we are traveling down to P.E. to race. I am looking forward to this as the seasoned racers reckon that once you’ve raced on another track, you return to your local track a bit faster. We'll see. Hopefully there are some more trophies to come by the end of the year.”
“Ride safe” – Adam Wright.#39
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