MOUNT Gambier motorcycle racer Levi Day was on the pace in Round 6 of the Ducati TriOptions Cup on the weekend, claiming a race win and third place from his two starts.
The round was held at the picturesque Cadwell Park in the United Kingdom and Day came to grips with the technical circuit early.
Traffic saw him sit down in fifth place in the final qualifying session, but that all changed in the blink of an eye.
“I came onto the start/finish straight and the clock had 10 seconds left in the session, meaning I had one more lap to try and improve,” he said.
“I managed to put in a good lap and not make any mistakes, bringing it across the finish line with the fastest time for qualifying, putting me pole for race one on Saturday.”
Off the start he dropped a few positions, but remained at the pointy end, made his move on lap six and pushed on from there.
However, the remaining front-runners were not about to let the race win slip, with a tough battle ensuing.
On the final lap Day was forced to ride defensively to protect his position and held on by just 0.2 of a second, with less than a second covering the top four riders.
Grid positions for the second race of the weekend were determined by lap times in race one, pushing Day back to fourth.
However, he remained on the pace, with a group of five riders slugging it out for the first few laps.
Four of those – including Day – lowered the lap record, providing a real challenge for the Australian to remain in contention.
Halfway through the race Day moved up to third, but was unable to reel in the front two riders.
In the end he managed to hold his position and claim his second podium for the weekend.
Day said he was “mega pumped” to win the opening race and still pleased with his third place.
“It was another solid result, but obviously I would have loved the win again,” he said.
“But a win and a third for the weekend I am extremely pleased with.
“I like Cadwell Park, but I’ve never thought of it as a track that I do particularly well at.
“I seemed to have changed that now and it has been one of the great circuits for us.”
It was Day’s third victory this season and the weekend’s overall result keeps him in the top 10 after a tough season so far.
Day has battled mechanical issues and injury, but has still managed to show he has plenty of pace against tough opposition in the international series.
Day next heads to Silverstone on September 10 and is up for the challenge ahead as the season winds down.
“I’m really working hard and looking forward to finishing the season off strong,” he said.
“We have Silverstone and Assen left in our championship, both of which are tracks I really enjoy riding at.”
