Phil Guillou was frustrated at his bike not being up to pace at one of his favourite circuits.
PHIL GUILLOU had a frustrating time with engine problems at Snetterton, but still managed second place.
The Sarnian was competing in round five of the Thundersport GP250 Championship at the fast Norfolk circuit, which is a favourite of his.
‘I finished second, which under the circumstances wasn’t too bad a result,’ he said. ‘It was good to be back on the podium, but not being able to challenge for the win at a circuit I know well was frustrating.’
During the qualifying rounds, Guillou’s Yamaha TZ250 was not running as well as it has been this year. The local racer was losing speed out of the corners and after he qualified in fifth place it turned out that he had a damaged gear in his engine.
As the only available spare was 145 miles away in Northampton, Guillou missed the Superpole qualifying session, which resulted in him dropping down to sixth place.
For the next day’s main races, the bike was still not running as well as it can.
That was due to the crankshaft being over mileage, resulting in power being lost.
In race one the Sarnian had a good start and was up to third place.
But the power problem was costing him time and he eventually finished fourth.
Guillou had another good start in race two and was in third place again, but it was a struggle for him to keep up with the leaders.
That was until Barry Utting, who was in second place, had to pull out with engine problems and Guillou took his spot.
But there was a lot of track between Guillou and leader Mark Davies as well as between him and third place.
‘The hardest part was keeping concentration when you’re by yourself in such a long race,’ he said.
The result moves Guillou up to sixth in the championship.
A new crankshaft and other parts have since arrived from Japan.
The Snetterton round is scheduled to be on Motors TV, Sky channel 413 on 21 July at 7pm.
Article posted on 10th July, 2008 - 2.29pm
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