ROUND 5 – BRANDS HATCH GP TOMMO21 RACE SUMMARY 2022 Bennetts British Superbike Championship Quattro Plant Hire British Supersport 600
Saturday: Qualifying - P28 Sprint Race - DNF
Sunday: Feature Race – DNS
Best Lap: 1:33.3 (PB) Ideal Lap: 1:33.1
Summary: Trouble with #TrudyTriumph running rough below 5000/6000rpm gave us a headache throughout the weekend but it didn’t seem to effect performance on track. Considering I’ve never been at Brands GP before & the bike running at 125 BHP and not 100%, I felt like I was riding the best I have all year until the crash which was crushing. I’m just thankful I walked away without injury and for the all the help other teams gave in an effort to sort out the bike.
Friday: FP1 / FP2 Had a solid FP1 finishing within the qualifying time. I didn’t get time to go for a track walk on Thursday as I was setting up solo, so the first time seeing the back of the circuit was flying around on the bike. Not recommended! It then rained that afternoon for FP2 so given that the rest of the weekend was due to be dry, we sat out and worked on the bike.
Saturday: Qualifying A few changes to the bike and now knowing where the track went (roughly), I treated qualifying as a FP2 session. I was aiming for a 1:33 and just hit that target with a 1:33.9. The bike needed more tweaks and I still had lots of track knowledge to take in, so I was confident I could get into the 1:32’s come the race.
Sprint Race: I picked up a few places off the start before settling into P26, 2+ seconds behind GP2 rider Tomas de Vries. Over the course of the race, I chipped into the gap getting it down to less than a second with 3 laps to go. Then going into Paddock Hill bend, I misjudged the braking marker and went into the corner way too fast, so was forced to lay the bike on its side around 90mph before hitting the gravel. I slid across the gravel and hit the foam safety barriers while the bike flipped over the tyre wall, hit the safety fencing and ended up on its side on top of the tyre barrier. It was a quick one and I’m thankful to have walked away. Just shows you can’t afford to lose focus in this game!
Despite working into the early hours on Saturday, the team and I couldn’t get the bike to run following the crash. I was devastated as I think we could have really pushed on in the feature race and was really enjoying the GP layout.
Thank you to Andy and Jenson who come along to help for the first time this weekend. I would have really struggled to get out there without you. Also, thanks to my old man & Alex for your help once again. Finally, a mention to all the teams that helped with parts and advice. Bike racing is a community and it showed. A special mention to Astro JJR Triumph, Harry Rowlings racing & MPM ROUTZ Racing Team.
Onwards to Round 6 at Thruxton Race Circuit between 12-14 Aug!
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