Brands Hatch Rd1 Race Report

Hi everyone and welcome to my first race report of the season. As you will all well be aware I

have switched championships this year to compete aboard a Yamaha R6 within the Sportsman Elite Series hosted by the fantastic Thundersport GB organisation. Having not clocked many miles aboard the new machine, previously owned and built by Seton Tuning prior to this meeting. It was going to be a steep learning curve but one I couldn't wait to start and start, this is how we went.

Photo taken by Brad Cox

The first round of the season was held at Brands Hatch, known for its daunting first corner and its action packed undulating features and It’s one of my favourites! A wet start to the weekend with the rain consistently pouring down all the way through Friday testing meant it was a tricky adaptation to the all-new R6. With a good solid days riding under my belt I was happy to start qualifying on the Saturday morning. I slowly picked up my pace up and managed to qualify in tenth place out of thirty-eight riders. I was over the moon with that result as although it was extremely cold it was the first time out on the bike outside of testing when I had to push to get the best qualifying position I could. I couldn't wait to get on with my first race.

A tricky tyre choice entering race 1 and I opted to stick with full wet tyres. I got a good start but a slow first lap after being beaten up a bit but I was soon able to find a good rhythm and built my pace, to work my way up in to 8th place.

But unfortunately with four laps to go my rear tyre was getting very worn causing me to rapidly lose positions however I finished the race in 12th place! A great start to season and I learnt lots throughout the race, which are now longer in duration than I am used to.

Photo taken by Brad Cox

Now I have moved classes we only have one race on the Saturday, which left me time to think and make a few changes for the races on Sunday.

Race 2, I didn’t get a good start after slipping into a false neutral off the line; lucky to not get hit I dropped back rapidly. After a few laps of getting my head into the game I started to move forward taking places and work my way up the pack. At half race distance I crashed out of the race on oil that had been dropped and subsequently cleaned up in the race before mine. I was very lucky to get away with little damage, and it was a simple fix for my final race.

Race 3, I got off the line well and after a careful first few laps to make sure everything was ok I steadily upped my pace and started to put some good consistent lap times together. My aim was to ride and race as relaxed as I could to bring the bike home in a decent position given that the weather by now was seriously cold indeed. I was able to do this and finished in tenth place. I was over the moon with the way the race played out particularly as the conditions were so changeable. 

It was a fantastic first weekend aboard the beautifully prepared R6 and I now cannot wait to get underway with round 2 at Donington Park during the Easter weekend, where we are all fingers crossed for warmer weather!

A huge thank you goes out to all the friends, family, sponsors and my team who are constantly helping me get out at each round doing all they can to help my racing dreams come true. The support I am receiving is fantastic and I hope I can do you all proud throughout the forthcoming season. Thank you.