The Supersport riders race wheel to wheel at Thruxton - Photo Credit: Motorsport Vision
History was made in the British Superbike Championship this weekend with Ian Lowry taking his maiden victory but there was no shortage of action and excitement in the support races, with the Superstock 1000s fighting right to the wire. Here are the highlights…
Motorpoint British Supersport Championship
The unpredictable start to the 2012 season continued as Glen Richards and Billy McConnell took the number of winners to four in as many races. Richards, the reigning BSB EVO Champion, converted pole position into victory after seeing off Sam Warren and Ben Wilson while McConnell won a dramatic second race which saw Warren crash on the last lap. Jack Kennedy and Glen Richards finished right on his tail with the former taking the championship lead, half a point ahead of Warren.
“The second race of the weekend was probably one of my best races in Supersport”, he said, “and even though we narrowly missed out on the win, I wasn't settling for anything less than a podium. I'm delighted with the second place and to be leading the championship!”
Metzeler National Superstock 1000
Keith Farmer took a dramatic victory after his battle with Steve Brogan came to a head on the final lap. The Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki rider led on the run to the club chicane but Brogan misjudged his attempt to overtake and ran into the back of Farmer. Brogan fell heavily, giving Farmer a second straight win with Howie Mainwaring and Jason O'Halloran profiting from the chaos to complete the podium.
Mainwaring's result delighted Buildbase BMW team principal Stuart Hicken but he left Thruxton with slightly mixed feelings after Brogan's late heartbreak.
“We had a great step forwards in performance this weekend. Howie’s podium finish was very well deserved, he kept his head and was rewarded with 20 points. Steve’s crash was very unfortunate, he’d stormed to the front of the pack and absolutely deserved to finish on the podium.”
Howie Mainwaring on his way to second place (Photo Credit: Buildbase BMW)
Metzeler National Superstock 600
Tim Hastings recovered from a poor start to take a comfortable victory in the Superstock 600 class. The MWR Kawasaki rider fell back to fourth on the opening lap but regained the lead with a sensational move into the club chicane on lap two, outbraking both Josh Wainwright and James Rose in one manoeuvre. Rose came out on top in a four rider fight for second despite a couple of hairy moments, moving him to within a point of series leader Jake Dixon who was third.
Monster Energy British Motostar
The Thruxton weekend belonged to one person in the British Motostar Championship, Bradley Ray. The 14 year old from Kent pipped Kyle Ryde in a last lap head-to-head, getting past the reigning champion at the club chicane. The two resumed their battle in Sunday's second race but after a red flag period following Elliot Lodge's fall, Ryde's Aprilia wouldn't restart. Ray took full advantage at the restart to take his second win in a row, beating Luke Hedger and Jordan Weaving by over seven seconds.
The opening race also saw a stand-out performance from 13 year old Xavier Zyatt. The SGR Racing rider, born in New York, was making his debut on British tarmac and finished 15th, despite admitting he'd “never been anywhere so fast” as Thruxton!
Xavier Zyatt described his first Thruxton experience as "an awesome weekend" (Photo Credit: Adrian Smith)
Triumph Triple Challenge
Rob Guiver has stormed into a 25 point lead in the Triumph Triple Challenge after winning both of the weekend's races. The first win didn't come in ideal circumstances with a result being declared nine laps in due to Valter Patronen's crash. He had to fight hard in the second race though with South African duo James Egan and Philip Atkinson chasing him all the way. All three led at various stages but Guiver broke away on the last lap, winning by 1.3 seconds. Egan was disappointed to come up short but admitted Guiver had too much for him at the end.
“What a race! I think the order changed about three times and, unfortunately, Rob pulled out his fastest time on the last lap. I thought I would stick behind him and overtake him in the braking but that's when he put in that fastest time.”
Rob Guiver has dominated the early stages of the TTC (Photo Credit: Triumph Triple Challenge)
Eastern Airways British Sidecar Championship
Roger Lovelock and Rick Lawrence already hold a 36 point lead in the British Sidecar Championship after dominating both races at Thruxton. Ben Holland and Lee Watson were second on both occasions but they had to work hard, particularly in the second race, to achieve that. Johan Reuterholt and Aki Aalto put them under huge pressure and even made contact at one stage but they eventually came up short by 0.386s.
