January 30, 2013 at 5:54 p.m.
Richards: Every race I'm getting better
Richards: Every race I'm getting better
Competing at the Superbike Showdown, staged at the 2.5 mile Road Atlanta racetrack in Braselton, Georgia, the nephew of late PLP leader Lois Browne-Evans placed 15th in the first race and then crashed in the second.
Reflecting upon his recent performances, Richards said: "Road Atlanta was a solid weekend for me. We made steady progress throughout the weekend.
"With the help of my Celtic Racing team and veteran road racer Michael Barnes we made changes to bike set up that helped me to go faster.
"We managed to drop four and a half seconds per lap from the end of the first practice on Friday to the last qualifying session on Saturday. This helped us qualify 13th, right behind the lead pack."
Richards got off to a solid start in the first race but eventually fell off the pace.
He said: "We got a good start in race one and probably was up to about ninth or tenth at the end of the first lap. The pace was very fast and I was having a hard time keeping up, so I decided to let the lead pack go instead of risking crashing.
"I was having a good run in 12th for most of the race with two other bikes. Unfortunately towards the end of the race fatigue started to kick in and I faded back and finished a very close 15th."
The 22-year old, who made his pro debut at the famed Daytona International Speedway earlier this year, also managed a good start in the second race before his fortunes took a turn for the worst.
Silly
"Race two was another great start which put us in the top ten coming out of turn one. Unfortunately it was short-lived because while racing mid-pack a rider made a silly move and dived up the inside of me in turn five, hitting my front wheel and causing me to crash," he lamented.
Richards was uninjured in the mishap, but forced out of the race due to a broken a handle bar. Yet rather than dwell at length over what might've been, Richards chose to look on the brighter side of things.
He said: "Overall my team and I were pleased with my improvements during the weekend. Race one showed that I am still lacking on the fitness and so I am going to revamp my training regime to make sure fatigue is never an issue again. "We are rapidly closing the gap to the lead pack and we hope to be right up at the front by the end of the season in September."[[In-content Ad]]
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