IT was another drama-filled weekend of racing for Mount Gambier’s motorcyclist Levi Day when he faced the final round of the Ducati TriOptions Cup.
A last-lap incident at the Assen circuit in the Netherlands almost brought Day undone, as riders diced for position into the fast chicane.
Day’s back wheel was hit from behind when a rider came in too fast and lost control, but he managed to stay aboard and crossed the line in second place.
Day repeated that result in the final race of weekend, with another second place to finish the season off with a bang.
As a result he managed a fifth place overall in what has been a dramatic season.
With some mechanical dramas and injury, Day finished 11 races, for an impressive eight podiums.
But the weekend was all about Assen, a track Day enjoys.
“It’s always great making the trip over to race at the world-famous circuit, which I first raced at last year,” he said.
“I really love racing there.”
To add to the weekend, Day’s parents were watching track-side, along with wife Katie and young son Max.
Assen is well known for its changeable weather, but conditions stayed fine for the weekend, beginning with the first practice and qualifying sessions on Friday.
With limited tyre allocations in the sport, Day looked to capitalise early.
“I tried to go out early and get in a decent lap time,” he said.
“I was happy with my time and I was again in second, behind championship winner Rob Guiver.
“I felt my lap would be good enough to stay on the front row, which did work out that way.”
That gave Day the ideal start for Saturday’s opening race, which showed with the hole shot off the line to lead into turn one.
However, within half a lap Guiver regained the lead and opened a slight gap.
But the battle for second place was the highlight of the race, with four riders dicing for the podium.
But that all came unstuck in the famous chicane, where Sean Neary arrived too fast and clipped Day’s back wheel.
Day continued on, but Neary went down, along with two other riders.
“I was very lucky to escape the accident behind me,” Day said.
“But of course I was really pleased to take second in race one.”
Grid positions for the final race were decided on lap times, with Day to start from fourth place.
A good opening lap saw him move up to second place, before a small mistake dropped him back down the field.
“On lap three I hit a false neutral off the back straight and ran super wide, dropping back to fifth place,” Day said.
“I was annoyed with my mistake as I lost about two seconds to second place, but it sure fired me up to get my head down and do what I could to fight back.”
By the final lap Day had regained his second position and crossed the finish line with another podium place.
“I am really pleased I got two seconds over the weekend,” Day said.
“Rob’s pace was amazing all weekend and I couldn’t quite match him.
“But to battle back through the other super-strong competition, I’m really proud of how the races panned out.”
