With first year university exams completed and the road racing calendar getting busy, George Pittock has taken the opportunity to race for the first time since March 2020.
George entered the first of five Team PB Performance Circuit Races at Mallory Park in Leicestershire on Thursday 1 July – the circuit which hosted almost every car and motorcycle championship in the post war years and also the cycling world championships in 1970, won by Belgian cyclist Jean-Pierre Monsere who was tragically killed by a car during a race the following year.
George, now Under 23, raced in the E/1/2 race at 64km. The start list included numerous British Continental riders and many who had raced at the prestigious Otley Town Centre races the night before.
The pace was intense from the start and George stayed with the lead group for 40km but then pulled out because he had nothing left.
Undeterred, George returned to Mallory Park for the second race of the series a week later on Thursday 8 July and had a much better race. A group of six got away and George led the chase, working well with Saint Piran rider and fellow Loughborough student Matt Ellis. They were unable to bridge the gap, and settled into the second group, with George finishing an excellent 12th from 35 starters. “Last week I felt I was just riding and not racing, but this week I was definitely racing, and I held a much higher power this week for 1 hour 25 than I did last week for 1 hour, so I am pleased with that” said George.
In between, George entered his first National B E/1/2/3 race – the Hell of the North Runway at RAF Cosford in Staffordshire on Sunday 4 July. The race was as brutal as its name suggests but George finished the two hour race in a very creditable 13th place.