Youngster Wayne Ryan headed to Cadwell Park this weekend looking to improve the results collected at Mallory Park and build a platform for this year’s Aprilia Dunlop Superteen Championship.

With a wet test day, the 12-year-old struggled to maintain any rhythm and with the slippery conditions denting his confidence, he was out of luck as the grey clouds continued to cause problems for first Qualifying, leaving Wayne to only manage 16th overall with one session to go on Easter Sunday.

A damp circuit awaited the TAG Racing team upon Sunday morning and although a dry line had appeared, it was clear that Wayne was not the young man we were used to seeing as he tentatively rode around to qualify in 16th again, the lowest qualifying spot Wayne had attained in his short career so far.

With scratching of heads and confusion surrounding Wayne’s team awning, his dad Paul and team mentor Kevin, ‘spurred’ him on overnight and by morning, Wayne looked a changed character, and he needed to be, as the new grid format at Cadwell Park meant he was on row six.

Race One arrived and Wayne got a great start sending him up the field to ninth overall by the end of lap one before he tagged onto a group of five bikes battling for fourth with the top three long gone up front.
Some good overtaking and slipstreaming moves pushed Wayne further and further forward before he mounted his final attack for fourth and succeeding before crossing the line much to the delight of his team.

Race two was to be the race of the weekend though as Wayne again benefited from another fine start and became a crucial member of the seven bike freight train that was battling for second.
Watching from the Park straight, it was obvious that he had the bit between his teeth and that the old Wayne Ryan was back as he cruised by every bike in front of him before snatching second away from Connor Tagg.
By the time the chequered flag had greeted Andy Reid for the second successive time, Ryan had fended off his opponents to finish in a super second, a master class ride from the talented 12-year-old.

On Easter Monday, the pace had picked up and Wayne’s not so good start meant he was playing catch up for the majority and struggled to get a tow of the leading pack which resulted in him finishing ninth, a good result but he wanted more.

A similar story unfolded in the final race of his weekend too, a slightly better start this time meant he was 11th after lap one and was ninth by lap two before climbing to eighth. On lap seven, a member of the leading pack fell to move Wayne up to a respectable seventh overall and ending the weekend with four strong top ten finishes from 16th on the grid.

Thanks to his teams encouragement, his own self belief and the talent we all know he possesses, Wayne was able to turn a sour looking weekend into a very positive outcome, climbing to fourth overall in the Championship and building some much needed confidence that he can now take into round two at Pembrey in under a months time.

“I don’t know why I could only manage 16th on the grid, I’m not a big fan of qualifying anyway but that gave me a huge mountain to climb. I never expected a podium and was just aiming for four top tens, so taking 49 points away with me is great. Massive thanks to my TAG Racing team and of course my supporting family, without them, I’d have struggled this weekend,” he said.