Snetterton 13th & 14th August - Bemsee Rounds 15 & 16

It was another successful weekend for Beccles youngster Matt Bond, who bought home a trio of victories at the latest round of the BEMSEE MiniTwin series, held over the weekend at his local Snetterton circuit.

The opening race saw Bond line up fourth on the grid alongside championship leader Dave Lodge and 400/650 series leader Keith Clarke. As the lights went out it was Clarke who made the best start, tailed by Lodge and Bond. On lap two Bond made a move down the back straight taking second place on the brakes, entering the Esses section of the course.

Bond spent the next three laps following Clarke, unable to make a move as the eighteen year olds clutch began to slip, before failing fully, meaning it would not disengage causing the rear wheel to lock under deceleration. The problem was persistent to the end, leaving Bond only able to follow Clarke over the finish line. The podium was a good result for Bond, despite his obvious disappointment.

The second race of the day came to the line in very slippery conditions which made tyre choice a complete gamble. The grid blasted off the line with the usual suspects of Bond, Clarke and Lodge leading the field, but at turn one Clarke lost control of his machine and exited the circuit, whilst behind a six bike pile up caused the red flags to be bought out and the race to be stopped.

Returning to the pits Bond swapped machines, jumping onto his wet bike, ready for the restart. As the lights went out it was Lodge who took the advantage, ahead of Bond. From here the leading duo pulled a sizeable gap over the field, and the battle for the lead was one of the most exciting of the year, even with the somewhat decreased pace due to the conditions.

The front two swapped the lead on every lap, but it was clear Bond was beginning to struggle on the drying circuit as his rear tyre began to fade and lose grip, with each passing lap. But luck was on Bond's side as the rain came down on the final lap, enabling the T&J Commercial Repairs SV rider to grab the lead and hold on to the end and take the victory.

Race one on Sunday was held in dry conditions, but with black clouds looming it was safe to say that the weather conditions could be changeable throughout the day. Luckily however, Bond's opening race was deemed dry. But before the race had even began Bond encountered a problem, failing to hear the race being called, Bond missed the warm-up lap and was forced to start from the back of the grid in 32nd position, leaving himself with a lot of work to do.

From the line Bond appeared to ride in a determined and aggressive mood and with a tremendous effort had taken a total of 23 places by the end of the opening lap, completing it in ninth position! Then on lap two he was into fifth and by lap three he had taken the lead from Lodge. The next four laps saw Bond stretch a massive eight second lead on the field as he took the win and a lap time over two seconds faster than any other rival on the track. For now Bond's confidence was sky high and he was in good spirits come race two.

Midway through the day the heavens opened and rain covered the Norfolk venue, declaring all races wet. From the start it was Bond who lead the field away and from here he never looked back, showing true class as he romped away to a ten second victory, ahead of one of his team sponsors Steve Jordan.

Overall the weekend was a huge success for Bond, who now heads to Cadwell Park this weekend for the next rounds of the MRO Championships which he is currently leading, in very high spirits. Bond would like to thank all his sponsors, family and friends for their continued support and hopes to bring home some more victories at the Cadwell meeting.