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Greg James, the 19 year old engineering student from RCT made his debut at National level in the ” 2010 Aberdare Park National Road Race Championship” on 24th/25th July.

The event, which first took place way back in 1950, always attracts top road racers from around the UK and Ireland. Previous competitors include Mike Hailwood, John Surtees ,and Carl Foggarty to name but a few. The first ever live TV broadcast of motorcycle racing in the UK took place at this event in 1955.
 The curcuit is quite unique as unlike “Donington Park” and “Mallory Park” it actually is a real “park”, you know the type with swings, duck pond, trees and park benches. Once a year this tranquil area is transformed into a high speed race circuit and thousands of spectators arrive to see legends of two wheel racing battle head to head, and to soak up the amazing atmosphere.

Greg, sponsored by GT Superbikes of LLantrisant, had only raced on purpose built race circuits previously, and admits to feeling initially daunted by the extremely challenging track known as “Aberscare”  to those who have raced there. He also faced tough opposition from riders with sevreal years of experience at the circuit as well as professioal race teams from the British Superbike paddock. Despite this Greg desperately wanted the experience of racing at the prestigeous event after many years of watching in awe as a young child.

On Day One with just one 10 minuite practice session on his Kawasaki ZX6R and one 10 minuite session on his younger brother Scott’s Honda RS 125 Greg decided to ride with an element of caution in the first few races to get to grips with the circuit. ” I took advice from fellow racers who had first hand experience of the track and spent the first day just learning my way around” says Greg. He admits to being surprised to find himself taking 3rd place in his heat of the “Welsh Open” on the GT Superbikes Kawasaki and another 3rd on the Seren Financial Honda 125 in “King of the Singles” Greg went on to finish 9th and 6th respectively in the final round of each race.. “I’m really pleased with my performance and hopefully with a few changes to the set up of the bikes I’ll improve on these results tomorrow”.

Day Two saw Greg put in incredible performances as he battled on track with the big names in British Motorcycle Racing including Ireland’s William Dunlop, “The Flying Scotsman” Mark Buckley and British Superstock front runner John Simpson. The crowds were clearly thrilled with the teenager’s skill and determination as gasps and cheers were abundent each time he executed an inch perfect pass to catapult his way through the field. After taking two 2nd and two 3rd place finishes in the heats, Greg ended a fantastic days racing with a double podium when he took 3rd places in both the “125cc Championship” and “King of the Singles”.

“I’m over the moon to take two podiums for my sponsors, especially for GT Superbikes, as it was our local event, so I’m thrilled to be able to offer thank you in return for all the effort they’ve put in to get me out on track this year. I never even dreamt of standing on the podium at Aberdare, it was just a fantasy before the weekend, so to take two of them in the same weekend, at my first attempt at this level and track, was such an amazing feeling. To say I’m estatic would be an understatement!” says Greg.

You can follow Greg’s progress on www.gregjames.co.uk or www.gtsuperbikes.co.uk.

Also, be sure to visit GT Superbikes online shop; www.gtsuperbikes.com