I'll add some pictures soon.....

I've grown fond of Snetterton despite never really getting a satisfactory meeting there, so I had high hopes for a good weekend after the close competition at Brands.
So with a clear blue sky above, we prepared to race...
Again we were out behind the 1300cc twins & multis class, but this weekend there had been a change to the grid system. The first race grid is determined by 'known ability', championship standings etc, and usually each successive grid is based on the result of the previous race regardless of class. Due to staffing shortages we were to start at our pre-determined positions all weekend...
SATURDAY.
Race1; Unfortunately our numbers were depleted right from the offset with several non attendances and a couple of mechanical failings in practice. Even more unfortunate, I felt at the time, was the arrival of William Gougy on the grid. The seasoned French international on his TD3 Yamaha was a sure winner by a good margin as far as I was concerned, so I started with little hope of a win.
The start was the usual mad weave to avoid the heavier 1300s as we charged through the back of their grid, Justin with his front wheel several inches off the ground beside me..
After the first lap I found myself not too far behind Gougy, and he wasn't getting away! I felt pretty comfortable with the bike so I pushed hard and caught the frenchman with a few laps to go. We had a great battle with myself and William swapping places several times each lap. I had not underestimated him at all, he was near impossible to keep behind me so the battle went right to the line where I beat him by just 0.109sec. Justin had not managed to get through the 1300s as easily and eventually finished in a lonely third eight seconds behind.

Race2; Now, this is where the system of allotted grid positions falls down...
We lined up, as before... Except Gougy who took himself to an empty slot at the front of the 1300s grid.
So, the winner being already decided at that point the rest of us started again from the back.
Here again the 'allotted position' system fails.
"The start was the usual mad weave to avoid the heavier 1300s as we charged through the back of their grid, Justin with his front wheel several inches off the ground beside me".. Deja Vu.
By the time the order had settled William was probably well over ten seconds ahead and being 'towed' by faster bikes, whilst Justin and I were locked with some of the slower 1300s who frustrated us in the corners but had greater power onto the straights. Justin and myself had a race long tussle between ourselves and a couple of 1300s which ended in a close finish, Justin just 0.870 behind me.
After the race we complained to the Clerk of the course about Gougy and he was given a twenty second penalty, giving Myself and Justin First and Second places respectively. A shame really as I would have enjoyed another chance to beat the frenchman in 'combat'.

After two wins I was more than pleased with the day as I went off to the award ceremony at the bar. I cannot describe my astonishment when I was announced the winner of the "Rider of the Day" award..                          Shell-shocked as I recieve 'Rider of the Day'                                pic by DJG

 Not only was this an amazing personal achievement, but it was great to have some recognition for the newly formed 500cc a/c class.

SUNDAY.

Race3; Gougy was not out, but had been replaced by an equally experienced rider on another 350 yamaha, John Davidson. It was considerably colder than the previous day, and windier so the pace was likely to be slower. We had also witnessed some bad crashes in earlier races,( probably cold tyres), so I wasn't feeling up to it..    Of course, we still had the fixed grid... so.
"The start was the usual mad weave to avoid the heavier 1300s as we charged through the back of their grid, Justin with his front wheel several inches off the ground beside me".. Deja Vu again..               At the end of the straight I found that the sticking throttle I'd suffered at Brands was back, although seemingly not as bad it was enough to cause me to throttle off a hundred metres early.
Justin and John Davidson were having a good scrap ahead, and I was keen to get involved but couldn't risk losing it into a corner with other riders near so I settled back to watch. Eventually Johns bike gave up and blew a head gasket, leaving Justin to take first with myself some way behind in second..

Race4; Gougy was back, but again took himself up the grid and earned himself another time penalty... No sign of Davidson though, a shame as I fancied pitting myself against him.
"The start was the usual mad weave to avoid the heavier 1300s as we charged through the back of their grid, Justin with his front wheel several inches off the ground beside me"..                              Actually Justin had it a good couple of feet up in the air, but other than looking cool this doesn't help your start.
I thought I'd got away fairly well and soon had a few of the slower 1300s behind me and a mostly clear track ahead. Of course it's not so easy keeping your pace with a clear track, so I was happy to see Justin come past and give me a fight. Justin is without doubt quicker into corners, but I have better drive out so we swapped and changed positions repeatedly and gave the spectators value for money..        On the last lap I concentrated on getting drive onto the back straight and managed to keep Justin at bay going through the Esses, but I could feel him all over my back wheel.                                           He tried again into The Bombhole but I took a protective line and held the lead, although I knew he wasn't going to take second easily. Halfway round Corum Curve I heard Justin going around the outside! He says he was amazed to have stayed on as he was pushing so hard.. Corum tends to push you to the outside on the exit, but knowing Justin was there I struggled to keep a tighter line and was not surprised to see him breeze past into Russels 'chicane'..                   I was ready for this and had gone deep into the chicane to get a better drive out, albeit from further back. It was a gamble but one that payed off... We went elbow to elbow toward the finish line, but my improved drive allowed me to edge ahead and win by 0.107secs.

A great weekend!