Wright aiming for top three finish with one round to go
With just one round to go, Pete Wright has his sights firmly on a top three finish in the No Limits 600 Cup.
Making his debut in the solo class in 2019 – having won numerous endurance titles over the last three years as part of the Double Two Racing team – he has smashed personal bests and consistently secured podium finishes throughout the year.
The Tividale ace headed to Donington Park for the penultimate round and despite suffering from a lack of rear grip on a track he admits he does not always suit, Wright was still able leave the circuit with a nice 16.5-point cushion on fourth place in the No Limits 600 Cup standings.
"This is my least favourite on the calendar so it was going to be all about damage limitation in the championship," said Wright, who qualified for the first race in sixth.
"I got a flying start but the lack of rear-end grip was really taking its toll and I started to lose places.
"With six laps gone the drizzle started to fall and with most of the track under the limited adhesion flags it became very slippery, very quickly, which didn’t help a bike with poor grip."
After finishing in sixth, he found his rear shock was in fact 10mm too short, which made a massive difference to how the rear suspension worked – and the changes immediately paid off as he finished race two in fourth.
Wright then got another good start during race three before getting stuck behind fellow racer, Baz Dimelow, losing the front pack in the process.
"Two laps from the end I managed to get passed on the brakes and into seventh but on the last lap Baz let the brakes off into the Melbourne Loop and virtually stopped it dead on the apex, leaving me no way to cut it back," said Wright, who finished the race in eighth.
"There were no real dramas in race four but the tyres were feeling it, as they were being used for a third-straight race, but again I was just shy of PB pace and finished sixth after the race was red flagged with a lap to go.
"All in all it turned out to be a great race weekend for the team, only dropping eight points to our championship rival in fourth, which means we are 16.5 clear in third in the championship.
"We'll be going all out on the newly-resurfaced Croft circuit for the final round, a track that really suits me and the Kawasaki ZX636.
"Thanks as always to DRC Race Leathers, Properly Protected Insurance, NLR Race Support, Putoline Distribution UK, Cradley Kawasaki, Motorcycle Parts Warehouse, TAG Speed, RUS Scaffolding, Revs Suspension Services, NRG Race Apparel, Profibre, AS3 Performance, PCR Performance Motorbykebitz, Novol, Demon Tweeks, PFC Brakes, MUPO Suspension, MBF Home Improvements Ltd and Express & Star newspaper."
Wright also had time to reflect on a rollercoaster debut in the British Superbike series at Cadwell Park, during round eight, having entered the British Supersport class as a one-off in memory of his late father.
"I got a great start in race one but tipping into Coppice I was squeezed from both sides and had to shut off allowing Ben Tolliday to pass around the outside," he said.
"Unknown to me, Ben's gearbox was having all sorts of issues and I had committed to out-braking him.
"Ben had no choice but to hit the brakes as hard as he could and with nowhere to go I had to do the same, locking the front and with the back wheel now off the ground I also lost all engine braking and had to run onto the damp grass.
"With the tyre wall looming I had to get off but luckily no harm was done to me or the bike, so we were good to go for the feature race."
Starting on the back row with regular BSB contender Kurt Wigley, from Hednesford, Wright – determined to finish – got another great start time but was a bit more tentative on the opening lap.
After five laps of wheel-to-wheel racing, he eventually finished a very credible 17th place, just two places outside the points.
"Firstly, I would like to thank Ben Wotton and Jane Nixon for just being amazing all weekend," said Wright, "And our other pit crew members Karl Freeth and Nigel Taylor for all their hard work, as well as Ben Tolliday, Clare Neate, Christine and my wife, Aly, and Mike, Jo and Keith of Rage Designs for the stunning helmet."
The final round of the No Limits series takes place at Croft, October 12-13.
