JOSH BROOKES, HM PLANT HONDA
Race 1: Fourth Race 2: DNF Race 3: Sixth
Championship Position: Third
“I WAS PUSHING AS HARD AS I COULD, BUT DIDN’T FEEL COMFORTABLE”
The opening race of the triple-header Brands Hatch BSB weekend, run on Saturday, was red flagged and restarted due to rain, but didn’t dampen Josh Brookes’s spirits as he bagged a sold fourth place in tricky conditions. In the second race of the weekend, Josh had taken the lead, but while pushing to increase the gap he crashed out at Druids before rejoining and retiring to the garage. The race was red flagged following a crash involving Alastair Seeley and Andrew Pitt but Josh was unable to make the restart. The third and final race saw Josh battling hard to secure sixth place.
“In race one I made a good start in the first few laps from fifth on the grid, but I got stuck behind Tom Sykes and he was so difficult to pass, but I could see that Michael Rutter was getting away at the front and that is frustrating. I then got passed, but as I was trying to close the gap I was making mistakes. I then felt it was misty, like it was going to rain and it was a good thing the red flag came out when it did as that next section at Stirling’s was really heavy rain and I had slowed by the time we reached that point. At the restart we only had time to make a small change and it was pretty nerve-wracking, but I pushed as hard as I could. The crash in the second race was down to lack of grip. I braked exactly the same as I had the lap before and was pushing to try and gap the other riders and went straight down. I rejoined and was circulating dead last so I thought I might as well come in and then as soon as I did that the race was red flagged and I wasn’t then able to make the restart. In the last race I was pushing as hard as I could, but I just didn’t feel comfortable. I got caught up in the pack and then when the race settled down I couldn’t catch the other riders. I am just going to put this weekend behind me and look ahead to the next round at Cadwell Park.”
ALASTAIR SEELEY, RELENTLESS SUZUKI BY TAS
Race 1: First Race 2: DNF Race 3: DNF
Championship Position: Sixth
“THIS IS WHAT I’VE ALWAYS WANTED”
Series rookie Alastair Seeley scored a great debut British Superbike victory at Brands Hatch on Saturday; the Relentless by TAS Suzuki rider qualified his GSX-R1000 strongly on row two in seventh position around the GP circuit. Then in the two-part opening race the diminutive Ulsterman held off seasoned professionals Michael Rutter and Ryuichi Kiyonari to take the team’s second British Superbike victory of the season in treacherous conditions. The opening race on Sunday saw Seeley take the holeshot into Paddock Hill from his pole position slot, and he was soon embroiled in a podium battle with his team-mate and former TAS Racing employee Tom Sykes. The race was red flagged after only a handful of laps when Seeley high-sided on the exit of Surtees. He walked away from the crash unhurt, but an unsighted Andrew Pitt collected Seeley’s machine forcing the stoppage, after the Australian took a heavy tumble. Unfortunately for Seeley, his bike was too badly damaged for him to make the re-start.
“I got good starts on Saturday and that made the difference. I had some front-end issues in the dry part of the race, and in the re-start in the wet I had loads of slides on white lines and the kerbs, but managed with it okay. We held on for the win and it’s all credit to my team and our superb that we made the top step. This is what I’ve always wanted in racing and now that I’ve sampled it I’d like more of the same. I went from hero to zero on Sunday, however. I got a bad start in race two but composed myself and pushed my way through and onto the back of Easton. We had caught John Laverty but the rear end came right round on me down into turn one and that was the day over. On the positive side – we are still 10 points in front of seventh place, so it’s all to play for at Cadwell Park. I can’t thank the team enough for their efforts in getting me back out on track.”
Tyco Racing rider Tommy Bridewell endured a weekend of mixed fortunes aboard the Quay Garage Honda; in the restarted race one, from row two of the grid, Bridewell didn’t make the best of starts in the wet conditions and eventually brought his Honda Fireblade home in 12th position. Sunday dawned a lot brighter and in the opening race of the day, he again didn’t get the best of starts but was closing in on the leading bunch when he crashed out at Stirling’s Corner on lap five causing substantial damage to the machine and injuring his hand. Bridewell overcame the pain of his hand injury and also suspension problems, to record another battling 12th place finish at the flag in race three. Tommy now holds 11th position in the Championship. As ever, he was pragmatic and upbeat; “Brands Hatch hasn’t been too kind to us once again and we’ve not got the sort of results we were hoping for this weekend. We’ve tried really hard and thanks to the team for their fantastic efforts, and also our sponsors Tyco, and hope we can enjoy some better luck at the next round at Cadwell. It was there that I had my two best results of the season earlier in the year so the omens are looking good and I’m really looking forward to the weekend.”
Saturday’s race ended on a low for Jentin Racing-BMW Motorrad BSB-EVO rider Steve Brogan, as he was knocked off his BMW S1000 RR coming into Graham Hill bend. The team worked long into the morning to fix his bike – finishing around 1:30am. Brogan rewarded their effort with a well-deserved and hard-earned victory in Sunday’s first BSB race; after a slight jump-start, Brogan was given a ride-through penalty. Moments after his pit penalty on lap four a crash caused the event to be red-flagged. A shorter, 14-lap race was restarted with Steve last on the grid – but having completed his ride-through. The Superbike rider fought his way through the EVO field, slowed a little by a battle with Hudson Kennaugh, working up to first in class and 14th overall – a position which he held to the chequered flag. The second race didn’t go quite so well – a puncture in the front tyre left Steve unable to keep up his impressive pace, slowing him and leading track officials to black flag him. Brogan was a little deflated; “The front went down pretty rapidly. It started to wobble, which felt weird, and I did wonder if a wheel weight had detached, but it soon became clear that the front was completely flat – there was no air in it at all. I tried to circulate and get some points but the marshals black-flagged me and I had to pull into the pits. The only consolation is that Kennaugh retired and didn’t get any points either, but I’d rather have raced him for it. We really should have left Brands with a good, solid championship lead, but we’re only two points behind, which we’ll take back at Cadwell.”
Glen Richards was flying on his Padgetts FireBlade in the Superstock 1000 class and just lost out on a win in the closing stages, while a chaotic and crash-strewn Supersport race saw Padgetts’ team-mates Ian Hutchinson and Richards secure fifth and seventh place finishes.
Fraser Rogers finished fourth in the British 125GP race to claim his first championship points in almost three months, with Dakota Mamola hot on his rear wheel. The strong finish ended an undeserved run of bad results and allowed the 13 year-old KRP rider to claim another ACU Academy Cup podium. “The last few races have been a bit disappointing in one way or another,” he said. “So to finish fourth today and get back on top in the Cup is a big relief. Third would have been better, obviously, but it was good to get fourth off Dakota at the end like that.”
The next round of the BSB returns to Cadwell Park, with racing on August 30th.
For more news and information on Arai Helmets please visit www.whyarai.co.uk
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment