Vickers left hungry for more!

Arriving at Balaton Park was a completely new circuit, not just for me but for every rider. Some of the SBK grid managed to get there on a standard training bike before the round, so they knew the layout, but not on a superbike. 

We all arrived on a level playing field. I didn't know what to expect from the circuit. Actually, my first thoughts walking the track were that I really didn't know whether I would enjoy it, as it was so different. It is very tight and twisty, including five chicanes.  

When I went out in FP1, the bike was working well. We had some new handlebars for this round to help with my seating position, to get my weight further back to help with grip, help the bike stop and instantly I felt better, more comfortable. I was up against the back of the seat where I needed to be. We were fast in FP1, P8, which was great, we instantly made a decision on the tyre that we wanted to run, the SC0. 

We tried the other tyre at the start of FP2, but my feeling wasn't as good. After just two laps, we changed tyres and were back inside the top ten. We ended the day in a good place. There were a couple of areas where I struggled and needed some improvements.

We had a positive FP3 on Saturday morning, but in qualifying, I didn't get the most out of the first qualifying tyre we had. The problem is that you only get one flying lap to get the maximum out of the tyre; on the second lap, the grip is worse, and on the third lap, the tyre is finished. So, I didn't quite extract my best from the first set. I came in, changed tyres, and then went back out, which helped me get on for a good lap. I did a really strong first sector and second sector, but unfortunately, a red flag arose due to Tito Rabat's crash. When we came back in, you can't change tyres, so going back out on a tyre that had done a heat cycle was going to be tough. I went back out, and we had one flying lap to try to get a better time. I ran wide at turn one because there was a big group of about 10 riders, and we all got drafted in. It was so frustrating after such positive sessions to end up P16 on the grid. Not our worst qualifying, but we could have definitely got more out of the package. 

During Race One on Saturday, we were involved in an incident that began when Ianone collided with another rider, leading to a seven-rider accident in turn one. Fortunately, we were fortunate to walk away with no injuries. We attempted to restart, but the bike wasn't ready in time, which was a disappointment to us all, as we knew we could have achieved a top ten finish given our strong pace and the reduced number of riders. 

On Sunday, we woke up to a wet circuit. We went out for a warmup, completed some wet laps, and crossed the line in P3. As soon as I left the pits, the bike felt good in the wet, just a small fine-tune with electronics. Heading into the sprint race, the circuit was pretty much dry, but a few damp areas in the braking zones were sketchy to say the least. With it only being a 10-lap race, we decided to go full slicks and be patient on the first few laps, hoping the track would dry quickly. It did exactly that! I made some progress in the first couple of laps, and then the other riders were coming back to me, and we were able to get our best dry result and our first points in a sprint race. Even better, if you finish in the top nine, that is your grid position for the final race. 

After the issues in qualifying, we were finally starting in a position that represented our pace for the final race. Starting P7, I knew the bike was working well. We had improved it again, and the guys did a great job helping me at turn one, where I had struggled a bit. I'm really happy with that. I got away well off the line, we were P8, I got P7 back from Jonathan Rea, then caught and passed Vierge, then due other nature of the circuit, the tight chicane, its very easy to run through. I was having an issue stopping the bike there and ran through the chicane twice and I know you have to give back a second, but its very difficult to judge, on the second time through, I didn't give quite enough time, it could have been 0.99 but that's not enough, so my fault and I was handed a long lap penalty. 

Heading into the long lap, there is a massive bump. I tried to navigate it safely, but nearly crashed on the bump. Then, I had to abort through the gravel to stay upright, which effectively ended our race. Rejoining in P14, I was furious at this point. I then completed a long lap 'correctly' as I was unsure of the rules at this point. I was pushing hard, and we achieved our fastest lap of the race: 40.6, 40.6, 40.5. On lap 18, we hit 40.3, closing in on Taz and another rider in P11/P12. However, I crashed on lap 19 and that was that. 

I'm putting that behind me, and I'm not worried about that at all. We were running in P6 and comfortably without the long-lap penalty; we would have been able to secure that position. Our pace was stronger than the guys behind us. I really have got to be happy. We are showing where we can be and why we should be in the World Championship. We are really enjoying it; we are getting better with each race, the bikes are improving, and there is so much more to come from the electronics. We will keep pushing. 

We have started to see real progression, but it's not easy. We have a few new circuits coming up, with Magny-Cours next being an entirely new one for me. I've always enjoyed watching there, but I'm really looking forward to going and riding. We'll see how it goes, get settled quickly, and get up to speed.  

I really appreciate everyone's support; it's fantastic. 

Ryan