Andy Sawford Racing 2024 Championship Season Review

Andy Sawford Racing

Welcome to my 2024 Championship Season Review.
Firstly I must thank my sponsors, who with out, I would not have been able to compete this season or many before as they have been with me for many years for which I am very grateful,
St Neots Motorcycle Co Ltd
MPM Legal
M B Flack Painting and Decorating
D M Sudderby Ltd Plumbing and Heating
Renegade Bodywork
Barkers International
F W Developments

Having enjoyed a great first full season last year with the Klass GP Championship, and taking the Champsionship I decided to go again and try to retain the title.  The calender was very tempting with races were held at LeMans, Paul Ricard in France, Assen in Holand, and the old Grand Prix circuit at Rijeka  in Croatia .
I would be riding the St Neots Motorcycle's Honda RS250R that we have developed over the past few years, gradualy adding new parts as they came avalaible to us.  With a winter re-fresh for the bike and plenty of training we was ready to go.

Round One was at the historic LeMans circuit in France. What a way to start the season,and for added atmosphere we were supporting the first round of the World Endurance Championship in front of some 100000 people trackside.

This was a new circuit to me but after watching many Grand Prix's from there over the years I had a good idea what was required.  I felt like I picked up the pace really well after the winer lay off and ended up on the front row in third place on the grid for the races.

Race one on Friday afternoon saw a hectic start to the race with a large groupat the front. It was all a bit caotic so I decided to go to the front to try and pull away. This proved to be a good move as on lap 2 there was a big accident behind me which stopped the race. The re-start saw a number of riders not take to the grid. I was able to take the lead and pulled away to win the first race of the season by 38 seconds!

Race two was held in cold conditions early on Saturday morning.  I was very careful on the first few laps which saw me in second place but 4 seconds behind.  As the tyres came back to me I was able close to be in a position to attack on the last lap, unfortunatly I mix up with lapped riders prevented mebeing able to challenge andsecond place had to be settled for.

Round three and Four were held at Paul Ricard in the south of France.  We had been here last year taking both race victories.  Over the course of Free practice I was able to improve on my times from last season and take pole position for the races.

Both races were held on Sunday infront of a good crowd at this popular classic festival event.  I was able to really enjoy and control both races taking the victory in both by 10 seconds and 17 seconds respectively.  This run of results gave me a good lead in the Championship so we could relax and look forward tothe second half of the season.

The ever popular Assen circuit on Holland was the venue for rounds five and six, a circuit I enjoy but have had mixed results at over the years.  Typical Dutch weather played its part all weekend, and some bad tyre choices on my part didnt help.

After qualifying we was 6th and on the second rowof the grid for the races.  The weather on Sunday was very difficult,in fact i rode 90% of rac two with slick tyres and a soaking wet track.  Results of 6th and 10th were not  what I had hoped for but the mixed results for everyone helped us maintain a healthy lead in the championship heading to the final races.
After a long two day drive we found ourselves at the historic Rijeka Circuit in Croatia.  A new circuit again to me and with a championship lead to look after I took my time to learn it and set the bike up.  At the end of qualifying I was second fastest and looking forward to Sunday.

My plan to be sensible in the races and look after the championship lead was tested as I got involved in a three way battle for the win with riders who knewthe track much better than me.  I was really pleased to be able to make a last lap move and take the win by 0.137seconds and with it the championship title for the second year running.  Race two turned out to be just as tight with the three way battle not quite going my way at the flag, missing out by 0.250 of a second after messing up the last corner.

So another fantastic season with the Championship in the bag with a 48 point gap.  I have really enjoyed the last two seasons in KlassGP. I am not sure what I will be able to do next year, I would like to join the championship again but we will have to see what winter brings.
Once next years calander is released I will look at the viability of deffending the championship, stay tuned!!