Motorbike racer from Street takes second place in championship after strong weekend

A motorbike racer from Street has finished second in his class championship following two third places and a fourth place finish in the final round of the year.

Damon Smith was racing his DS Racing Kawasaki at Castle Combe in Wiltshire, and after his strong performances he took second overall in the 1300cc Streetstock Championships, part of the North Gloucester Road Racing Championships.

Damon arrived at the circuit ready for a general testing day, two days before the race weekend, to focus on building speed, reducing lap times and to ensure the bike and himself were ready for racing.

He said: "We were expecting a tough weekend with some of the riders entered into my race consisting of two Isle of Man TT racers, a Castle Combe circuit track day instructor and the current 1300cc Streetstock champion coming out to play for a one-off ride, meaning a top ten would be a good result.

"With the cancellation of the final round of the championship at Pembrey near Llanelli in South Wales due to local government restrictions, Castle Combe now played host to the final championship races in this shortened season where I headed into the weekend in fifth place overall in the championship."

Castle Combe is an old Second World War RAF airbase, one of the fastest tracks in the country but its also one of the bumpiest making the bike unstable in places with only a few chicanes to slow the bikes down.

The 12-minute qualifying session early on the Saturday morning was bright and sunny but the chilly autumn weather meant that track temperature was very cold, which meant caution due to reduced levels of tyre grip and patience unleashing the almost 200bhp.

Damon said: "At the end of the session, despite 39 other bikes trying to get a clear space to set a fast lap time, I managed to set the fourth fastest time overall and third place in 1000cc category.

"The first race, I dropped a number of places away from the line but made up three places around the outside into the first chicane and continued to make progress until a big battle commenced with fellow local resident and good mate Lee Hembury.

"I tend to make poor starts but once I settle into a rhythm, I become stronger as the race progresses.

"We continued to swap places for the rest of the race but I eventually squeezed past Lee at the final chicane on the final lap to take third place across the line.

"The following day commenced with a morning warm up session as always before racing starts. The second race of the weekend I lined up in fourth place on the grid again and made a better start to stay with the leaders and pull away from the chasing group but by mid-race distance we started to catch the lapped riders which held me up in the corners.

"Once past, I tried to catch the second placed rider but ran out of time and laps crossing the line a mere 0.7 seconds behind him but very happy to settle for another third placed trophy.

"The third and final race, I made the worst start of the entire weekend as I had difficulty getting the bike smoothly off the line when the red lights went out and spent most of the race playing catch up but managed to battle back up to fourth place before running out of time and crossing the finishing line.

"My strong results over the weekend of two third places and a fourth place, together with shaving 1.1 seconds off my personal best lap time, meant that I elevated myself to finish second overall in the 2020 1300cc Streetstock Championships which is my best ever overall results which I'm delighted with.

"Of course, I couldn't do this without my sponsors and supporters who I am very grateful to, team work certainly makes the dream work.

"A massive thanks to Simon Lane at HEL Performance, Dan Howley at Twosixfit Gym and Fitness Centre, Andy Forbes-Buckingham at AFB Motorcycles, Paul and Judith Redmore at P J Parcels Bespoke Collection and Delivery Service, John Holdsworth of R&T Fish Bar Glastonbury, Roger Stacey of RA Stacey Plant Hire, Carl Woodward at Woodward Financial and Mortgage Services, Adi Sully at Vehicle Life Support in Wells, Julie Williams at Ambrosini Construction Group, Nigel and Julie Eddleston-Dike at EDP Photonews, Opie Oils, Talon Engineering Ltd, ParSigns and all at Club 23 personal sponsorship scheme.

"Also big thanks to my mum and dad, and lastly my partner Cat Barnstable for the endless love and support she gives me to achieve my dream.

"For now the winter preparations begin towards the start of next year's racing efforts where the target has been set higher so roll on 2021."

If you would like to become involved and interested in sponsorship of Damon's racing, you can get in touch with him at [email protected].