By Trevor Jackson
AFTER a disrupted English summer Mount Gambier motorcycle racer Levi Day caped off his Ducati TriOptions Cup season with second place in the championship.
The result came after two victories in the final round at Brands Hatch, with Day 26 points behind the eventual back-to-back championship victor Josh Day before the weekend began.
For Levi Day it was the culmination of a season cut short due to the covid-19 pandemic and some personal challenges along the way.
Day touched on his year with The Border Watch this week, covering his achievement, the covid pandemic effect and the personal challenges faced by himself and wife Katie.
Firstly Day said he was happy with how the season panned out.
“I was pleased with how it has all gone, especially with how weird the year has been,” he said.
“It was just nice to go back racing – it makes it feel there is a bit of normality back.”
Day was certainly pleased with his result on the podium, as the now-legendary “shoey” was displayed with pride.
“Yeah bloody oath – I thought I had to do the Aussie thing,” was Day’s simple response when quizzed about his antics.
At the end of the day a championship was up for grabs on the weekend and while Day missed the top honour, he took the race right up to his nearest rival down to the final chequered flag.
“At the end of the season Josh won five races and I won the other five,” he said.
“It showed the two of us were the people to beat this year.
“If he had beaten me in the last two races I would have only won three and he would have won seven which makes it look even stronger for him.
“I thought if I couldn’t win the championship I had to try to win as many races as possible and take as many points away from him as possible.”
Day’s season also included four second place finishes, along with a 12th at Donnington after running off the track.
He said he approached the final weekend with the knowledge there was an outside chance to steal the championship but did not dwell on that fact.
He said his focus was simply to win both races and see how it unfolded.
“I knew if I couldn’t win both races the championship would be his,” Day said.
“He would have to have some back luck like a mechanical failure for me to win the championship.
“But to put the pressure on – it went down the the last race of the season – is what the promotors and fans want so I am glad we could put on a good show for them.”
Early in the season Day planned to ride for consistency, with the championship in mind.
Once covid hit and everything changed it was apparent his 12th place would have an effect on the outright result.
From there he changed his mindset to chase victory whenever possible.
“At the start of this season I thought second place was good enough, I don’t need to win,” Day said.
“I had a 12th place because I ran off and had to rejoin and that was definitely what put me on the back foot.
“Josh was consistent all year with first and seconds and I was consistent with firsts and seconds as well but the one 12th position meant I lost a good points haul to him.
“If we had the extra rounds the pressure would have been on going into the last round.”
Last season Day raced in the Superstock 1000 category which he said had more depth, with around 15 riders capable of victory on any given day.
Despite the dominance of himself and Josh Day in the Ducati TriOptions Cup, Levi said it was certainly his best result since he began racing in England.
He said he hopes it will open some doors for the next season, with talks currently underway to remain racing in England.
“Last year I finished ninth for the Superstock series and the depth of competition was probably stronger,” Day said.
“Not that me and Josh weren’t fast this year but there were probably 15 guys last year who could potentially be up there all the time.
“This year in the Ducatis there were four or five guys we were battling with each round but it was by far my best result.
“We are in some talks now to get some plans in place for next year.
“It looks like we will be back racing in England but there is nothing set in concrete yet.”
On a personal note Day dedicated his season to his grandfather Max, who passed away this year, along with his “angel babies“ – two miscarriages for him and Katie in the last 10 months.
Day had a special paint scheme displayed on his racing helmet for Baby Loss Awareness Month and hoped he and Katie speaking about their experience maybe able to help others in a similar situation.
“It is one of those things, which is why I have talked about it like I did,” he said.
“Katie has been open about talking about it – she wrote a blog, I think to help her communicate with other people, to show it shouldn’t be the sort of thing we have to deal with alone.
“We have lots of friends and family – not that you should be able to rely on them – but it should be the sort thing that is talked about a bit more openly so people understand if we are having a bit of a down day there are things going on in our personal lives.
“We are just trying to bring a bit of awareness to it and let our friends and family know we’ve had some tough times and we would like other people to know if they go through things in the future they should feel they can open up to their friends and family and not have to suffer alone.”
Day said it was a huge effort to complete the season for his whole family.
“I go out racing every weekend for my family and it is such a great adventure we get to share with Max (his son) now,” he said
“He is two years old and gets to come to all the races so can we can look back and have all those memories.
“Katie has been so strong this year with what she has had to deal with and then still watches me go out and do this dangerous sport every weekend.
“It is a massive credit to her for sticking by my side through it all.”
