JOSH BROOKES, HM PLANT HONDA
Race 1: First Race 2: First Race 3: DNF
Championship Position: Second
“I JUST KEPT STEADY AWAY”
Josh Brookes fought his way through to take victory in the second race on Sunday after winning Saturday’s opening race. In race three the HM Plant Honda rider was in contention for the lead when he suffered an engine issue, similar to his team-mate Kiyonari’s in the previous race, and was forced to retire.
“In the second race I had another bad start and made my way through; I saw Kiyo seemed to be having problems so knew I didn’t have to make a pass. He retired and then I had Michael ahead of me and knew I had the time to catch him, but then he pulled off too. I just kept steady away and then just held it to take the win, which was a great result for me and HM Plant Honda. In race two everything was going well and I was stuck behind James for a few laps and then Kiyo got involved and I maintained the position as I knew Kiyo was quick after we got by Ellison. We just had an engine problem which put me out, which was disappointing but I know we can come back strong at Silverstone for the World Superbike Championship round, and then on to Brands.”
ALASTAIR SEELEY, RELENTLESS SUZUKI BY TAS
Race 1: Fifth Race 2: Third Race 3: DNF
Championship Position: Seventh
“I HAD TO HAVE A GO…”
Snetterton’s triple header saw Alastair Seeley taking third place in Sunday’s opening race. In Saturday’s re-scheduled Knockhill race two Seeley was fifth. In Sunday’s opening race Seeley didn’t let his slow start down in eighth place hinder his progress, and once the BSB rookie settled into his rhythm he forced his way past Chris Walker, closing in on the back of James Ellison and team-mate Michael Laverty. By lap eight he was up to third place and on lap 14 he moved up to second, just over a second behind Josh Brookes. Ellison and Hill became his main podium threats in the closing laps, and although fellow Suzuki rider Hill came through to take second place at the flag, Seeley defended third place valiantly on the final lap to take his second podium of the season. In race two Seeley crashed out while disputing fifth place with James Ellison on lap 14 of 24.
“In the last race Ellison left the door open and as I was catching Michael Laverty and Michael Rutter I had to have a go. Ellison looked like he was dropping off the pace after Rutter passed him. I just grabbed a little too much front brake and lost the front, or I’d have been through. My bike just tagged the back of him and he went down but that’s racing – it wasn’t intentional and thankfully, he’s not injured. In race one I struggled to get off the line but once I got into third place, I was determined to hold on. Ellison did have a sniff and nudged me into the Esses, so it was nice to get another podium. We are back at the sharp end now and I’m really looking forward to Brands Hatch.”
Quay Garage Honda rider Tommy Bridewell endured a weekend of mixed fortunes; the 21-year-old from Etchilhampton near Devizes in Wiltshire looked to be in good form on Friday aboard the ex-Gregorio Lavilla Honda Fireblade and hopes were high of a good performance in the three races. However, during free practice on Saturday, a sudden rain shower caught out Bridewell and he crashed at the Bombhole meaning the team had a race against time to get the machine fixed. In the first race of the weekend on Saturday, Tommy made up for a poor grid position and bad start to eventually climb the leaderboard and clinch a tenth place, but better was to follow in race two on Sunday when he scrapped his way to sixth. Sadly in the second race on Sunday, Bridewell was dicing for another top ten placing when an electrical fault sidelined the machine with just a few laps remaining meaning he didn’t see the chequered flag. He was typically pragmatic; “You could say I’ve had a pretty mixed weekend what with a crash, a top six placing and a breakdown but I’m reasonably pleased with how it’s gone. We always knew the bike would be down on top speed against some of the newer models and the last place you need a slow bike is at Snetterton but we did OK. It was my fault I crashed and gave the team a load of unnecessary work, which affected our qualifying but to bring it home in a best result of sixth is fairly good all things considered.”
BSB-EVO rider Steve Brogan took his first win of the weekend on Saturday and improved upon his performance with a further two wins on Sunday, under the eyes of BMW Motorrad World Superbike racer Troy Corser. The Australian spent the day at the East Anglian circuit commentating on the racing, meeting fans and spending some time with the Jentin Racing-BMW Motorrad team. Brogan said: “Race one wasn’t too bad – though someone ran into the back of me at the Bombhole and nearly knocked me off, luckily I managed to stay on! I got a good start in race two – but the pace car came out with about seven laps to go. On the restart, I almost collided with a back marker who had rejoined the race from the pit lane and pulled right across on to the racing line in front of me. I was flat out but luckily managed to miss him – though it cost me a couple of positions. It was then a bit of a dogfight to the flag as I chased down the EVO leader but I managed to get him on the penultimate lap and hold on for the win. It’s been a tough but satisfying weekend and with the team’s help we’re walking away as the championship leaders.”
Padgetts’ Glen Richards was flying as he added yet another podium to his tally for the year in the Superstock 1000 race and narrowly missed making it two on the day by taking fourth in the Supersport event. Having qualified third in Superstock Richards made a great start and established himself in the lead before the race was red-flagged due to an injured rider. Starting the re-started race from pole, Richards was not quite able to repeat his initial dominance and in the early laps found himself in third place behind Scott Smart who was ultimately disqualified for an underweight bike. Richards managed to get the better of Smart on the track, but a hard charging Tristan Palmer forced his way past and into the lead to eventually take the chequered flag 5 seconds ahead of third placed Richards – the top placed Honda rider in a quartet of BMWs.
A major off in qualifying meant Richards had it all to do in the Supersport race, but, true to form, he took no prisoners as he fought his way through from tenth to fourth, showing that, with only a little more luck in qualifying he could have netted Padgetts their long overdue first Supersport podium of the year. Team-mate Ian Hutchinson found himself battling the crowd in the mid-field as, he too, took away a useful, but ultimately slightly disappointing after previous performances, 5 points for eleventh place.
In the 125GP class Dakota Mamola, son of Randy, took second and was only .119s off of a win, while Racing Steps Foundation rider Wayne Ryan bagged fourth.
The next round of the BSB Championship takes place on the Brands Hatch Indy circuit on 8th August.
For more information and news on Arai Helmets please visit www.whyarai.co.uk
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