Victory For King Of The Mountain Brookes
A victory and a second place finish in round eight of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Cadwell Park this afternoon saw Be Wiser Ducati’s Josh Brookes not only claim the ‘King of the Mountain’ title, but also seal his place as a Title Fighter in the series deciding Showdown.
The Australian took over the lead of the championship from Gloucestershire team-mate Scott Redding who, despite only taking a solitary finish of fourth on the factory-supported Be Wiser Ducati Panigale V4 R from the two races, also clinched his place in the Showdown in his debut season for Paul Bird’s Lake District-based team.
Starting from first and fourth on the grid for race one, the duo had differing fortunes at the start of the first 18-lap race as although Josh immediately grabbed the lead, Scott dropped back to tenth. Brookes led for the first half of the race but his lead was never more than two tenths of a second and on lap 11, Danny Buchan overhauled him to eventually take the win with Josh successfully holding off Tommy Bridewell to take second place to add to his Podium Points tally.
Former GP star Redding, meanwhile, steadily worked his way through the field and despite overtaking being difficult around the narrow 2.18-mile circuit, he managed to take a fine fourth place at the chequered flag, just missing out on another podium finish.
In front of one of the largest crowds seen at Cadwell in many years, race two saw Redding start from second place on the grid with former BSB champion Brookes two places further back in fourth but Redding only got as far as lap two when his race came to an abrupt end after colliding with another rider at Park Corner, fortunately without injury.
Brookes, meanwhile, slotted into second place behind Tommy Bridewell before hitting the front at half-distance from where he went on to take his sixth win of the year to up his overall tally to 45 career BSB wins and his fifth at Cadwell Park. Claiming additional silverware, the Aussie was also crowned the Monster Energy ‘King of the Mountain for his combined results, which is appropriate for the rider who has traditionally flown highest over the infamous jump at the Lincolnshire track.
With 12 wins out of the 17 races so far this season and both riders running first and second in the title race, now that they have secured their place in the Showdown, the emphasis turns to the triple-header round nine at Oulton Park over the weekend of September 6/8 where both Brookes (40) and Redding (38) will look to add to their valuable Podium Points totals in the three races.
Josh Brookes: “I’ve had two great races this weekend and whilst at Thruxton I didn’t feel like I was riding on top form, here I did and properly showed what I can do. We’ve been quick from the off and having the test on Thursday gave us a bit of a luxury ahead of race weekend, so we’ve only had to make really small changes all weekend. The first race was really enjoyable, and I tried to lead from the front and make a bit of a break but although I managed to get a bit of a gap it wasn’t enough as Danny came with me. When he came past, he was riding superb and I couldn’t fault him at all. We’d made a change after morning warm up which didn’t quite work and although I tried to match him, I couldn’t do any more than what I was doing and settled for the second place. For race two, we went back to the setting that had worked previously and this time it was Tommy who was riding really well but I could see he was using every bit of what he had and when I managed to get by him, I had that little bit more grip. It was another great race and it’s great to come away with the King of the Mountain title and the championship lead for the first time this year.”
Scott Redding: “The important thing this weekend is that I’ve clinched my place in the Showdown which was the aim at the beginning of the year so we now need to go to the next round at Oulton Park and get some good Podium Points especially as it’s a triple header. What happened in today’s second race is just one of those things in racing and we just have to move on. The disappointing thing is that it was the same rider that knocked me off at Silverstone earlier this year and that’s what makes it even more disappointing and frustrating. The good thing is that I didn’t get injured so I can look forward now to Oulton Park which is a circuit we’ve already been to this year.”
Johnny Mowatt, Team Co-ordinator: “It was a difficult race one for both riders and after setting a good pace in morning warm up, Josh and his team made a small change for the race which didn’t work as they’d hoped but if you don’t try things you don’t know. Subsequently, second place was a great result for him although Scott missed out on some Podium Points with fourth place. That’s what we want at this stage of the season but the bad start and opening couple of laps cost him which he probably needs to improve on as he does get bullied a little in the early laps. In race two, Josh put in a superb ride and after sitting behind Tommy, he was able to up the pace that little bit and edge ahead which was crucial. It was another five Podium Points and gave him the championship lead but for Scott it was obviously a very disappointing race through no fault of his own. He didn’t have a great start and the rest speaks for itself. It’s far from ideal and, like he says, for it to be from the same rider makes it more difficult to deal with so he’s had a trying weekend. The next four circuits are really strong for us though so we’re confident that PBM Be Wiser Ducati will be having some strong results.”
Bennetts British Superbike Championship race one (18 laps)
1 Danny Buchan (Kawasaki)
2 Josh Brookes (Be Wiser Ducati)
3 Tommy Bridewell (Ducati)
4 Scott Redding (Be Wiser Ducati)
5 Peter Hickman (BMW)
6 Christian Iddon (BMW)
Bennetts British Superbike Championship race two (18 laps)
1 Josh Brookes (Be Wiser Ducati)
2 Tommy Bridewell (Ducati)
3 Danny Buchan (Kawasaki)
4 Christian Iddon (BMW)
5 Peter Hickman (BMW)
6 Glenn Irwin (BMW)
DNF Scott Redding (Be Wiser Ducati)
Championship Standings (after eight rounds)
1 Brookes 271pts
2 Redding 259
3 Bridewell 243
4 Buchan 191
5 Mackenzie 151
6 Irwin 146
Podium Points (added to a base score of 500 points for all Title Fighters after Oulton Park) I
1 Brookes 40
2 Redding 38
3 Bridewell 18
4 T Mackenzie 15
5 D Buchan 14
For further information, please visit the team’s website, www.pbmuk.net and the official website of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship www.pbmuk.net
More, from a press release issued by Quattro Plant JGSpeedfit Kawasaki:
Solid Set of Results for Quattro Plant Kawasaki at Cadwell Park
(Above) Hector Barbera (80).
The Quattro Plant JG Speedfit Kawasaki pairing of Héctor Barberá and Ben Currie were back in action at Cadwell Park at the weekend (16th to 18th August) in round eight of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship.
Although the two races proved to be challenging encounters, former MotoGP rider Barberá ended the meeting on a high note with a strong 11th place in race two.
After mixed conditions at the beginning of the weekend, qualifying on Saturday afternoon saw perfect weather at the Lincolnshire venue and, despite a spill in free practice, Ben qualified in 19th place on the Kawasaki ZX-10RR with Hector, having his first ever outing at the challenging 2.18-mile venue, two places further back.
The first 18-lap race saw both riders run on the fringes of the top twenty in the early stages but by half-race distance it was Barberá who was the better placed in 17th, with Australian Currie four places further back after running on at turn ten. The Spaniard eventually claimed 16th place, just outside the points, with Currie crossing the line in 21st.
Barberá’s pace saw him start the second race from the more advanced position of 14th and row five, with Ben on row seven. Although both riders initially found themselves outside the points that had all changed by lap six with Héctor in a solid 12th place and Ben in 15th.
Barberá was part of a five-rider battle for 12th place and by half-race distance, he had moved up into 11th, with Ben still occupying 15th. Unfortunately, the latter overran one of the corners again in the closing stages, eventually finishing in 19th place, but Héctor crossed the line in 11th place, just over half-a-second adrift of ninth place, for five more hard-earned points.
There were also two races on the schedule for the Molson Group British Sidecar Championship and although Ben Holland/Lee Watson were forced to retire from the opening encounter, former champions Ricky Stevens/Ryan Charlwood flew the flag valiantly for the team with a strong fourth place.
The duo repeated the position in Sunday’s race, also held over ten laps, which enabled them to consolidate sixth place in the championship standings and there was better fortune on this occasion for Holland/Watson as they took a solid seventh place.
Héctor Barberá said: “All weekend I managed to progress, and in the second race I achieved my best times and my best result. I’m not 100 per cent with my right leg and it was hard changing direction at a difficult circuit like this. I kept making small mistakes as I don’t have full movement back in my leg yet.
“I would like to thank the team for all their hard work; they continue to help me and push me forwards. I know the team is very good and we are working together in the right direction.
“I will do a test at Oulton Park and hopefully I can understand the track well. I am looking forward to Donington and Assen as I am familiar with these circuits. Thank you again to the team.”
Ben Currie said: “I’m a little frustrated as I had the pace to score points in both races, but I just struggled. In the first race I made some mistakes but on the closing laps I set my fastest times and I was looking forward to race two.
“I was doing well in the second race, but I ran into some physical problems and I was really struggling with change of direction. I bashed my foot again in the crash this weekend and it had a big impact on how I rode the bike.
“I got very tired and dropped like a stone. It doesn’t show what we are capable of, but we just have to work hard and turn it around at Oulton Park.”
Jack Valentine, Team Manager, said: “It was a better weekend, but we are still not where we should be. We have an injured rider learning a very difficult track with Hector. The opening sector was good, but he was losing out on the following two sectors due to the technicality of the circuit.
“Hector has never ridden a track like this before, so it was always going to be difficult. However, he’s very clever and the more laps he did the faster he became. It was good for him to score points and hopefully he’ll be fully fit for Oulton.
“Ben is still struggling a bit with fitness after his foot injury back in May; the harder he pushed the worse he was getting. He had a big crash over the weekend, and it has just knocked his confidence and aggravated his previous injury.
“We hope that at Oulton, both riders will be fully fit and able to push harder to get some stronger results.”
Ricky Stevens said: “We wanted to maximise our results after the trials and tribulations on Friday, when a part failed in the engine during free practice, so we were a little disappointed to finish fourth in both races.
“However, given the bad luck we’ve suffered at Cadwell Park in the past, it’s not a terrible result and it means we’re only 16 points off third in the championship standings with our strongest circuits yet to come.”
Ben Holland said: “In the first race I unfortunately got a bout of cramp in my braking leg, so we had to pull up before the end. The second race was much better and despite starting in 27th on the grid, we managed to finish in seventh which we were really happy about.”
To keep up to date with the latest news from Quattro Plant JG Speedfit Kawasaki you can visit the website or follow the team on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
More, from a press release issued by Honda Racing BSB Press Office:
Home round podium joy for Tom Neave and Honda
(Above) Andrew Irwin (18).
The eighth round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship saw the Honda team celebrating once more, as Tom Neave took a well deserved third place at his and the teams’ home round at Cadwell Park, in the National Superstock 1000 Championship race, aboard the Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP2.
With just one practice session over the weekend due to wet weather conditions stopping play on Friday, yesterday’s qualifying session proved crucial. Within the leading group throughout, Neave finished fourth fastest to take his best qualifying of the 2019 season.
In the 12-lap race Neave looked confident from the moment the lights went out and maintained his starting position of fourth in the opening laps. The local lad pushed hard to keep in the front pack and when Andy Reid crashed out of third place, Neave slotted into podium contention. Keeping a chasing Chrissy Rouse at bay, he defended his position and crossed the line third, just 0.275 seconds shy of the second place spot, to take his first podium with Honda.
Meanwhile for the teams’ British Superbike contenders Xavi Forés and Andrew Irwin, it’s been a weekend of ups and downs. Spaniard Forés made his racing debut at the 2.2-mile Lincolnshire circuit, and although making good progress from first practice through to the final race, he struggled to find a good feeling aboard the Fireblade. Forés came home 14th in Race 1 and finished Race 2 in a strong ninth position, after starting from 13th. The results from the weekend see him eighth in the overall standings, just five points behind his Honda teammate in sixth place.
Irwin was showing good race pace throughout the weekend and with positive free practice times his Showdown fight was looking strong. Just missing out on the final stage of yesterday’s qualifying, he lined up on the grid for the opening race in ninth position. Getting a good launch off the line he was straight into seventh place, but a mistake at the Mountain cost him and he dropped to ninth, which despite his best efforts is where he took the chequered flag.
The second race unfortunately ended early for the 24-year old on the third lap, after an ambitious late brake into Park saw him lose the front of the Fireblade and unfortunately took championship rival Scott Redding with him. Irwin has received a penalty for the move and he will start from the back of the grid in Race 1 at the next round at Oulton Park. Irwin’s results from the weekend see him maintain sixth place in the all-important Showdown top six.
The team will now regroup and focus on the next round of the championship, which is a triple header event ahead of the Showdown taking place at Oulton Park on 6/7/8 September.
Xavi Forés
#6
This weekend was always going to be difficult for me and it was important to find a good feeling with the Fireblade, and we just couldn’t get it right this weekend, but you know this is racing and sometimes it goes this way. I improved a lot from our practice results in both races and ninth in the second race wasn’t so bad. We leave Cadwell with some more points towards the Showdown and although we do have some work to do at the next round, we’re not a million miles away. Lets see what happens at Oulton Park, last time wasn’t so good for us, but we have made some big changes to the bike and hopefully we can have a good result.
Andrew Irwin
#18
I suppose this is the highs and lows of racing, you have good and bad weekends. Fortunately we had a good one last time out and this was the bad one. I knew this weekend wasn’t going to be all singing and dancing, but we’ll continue to fight and move on to Oulton. We’re in such a better place with the Fireblade than we were last time there and I believe we can be strong. With the penalty I will be starting the first race from the back of the grid, so I will have some work to do, but we’ll fight hard and not give up. I want to make the Showdown and I’m still in a position to do so, so I’m not throwing in the towel yet and it’s onwards and upwards to the next round.
Tom Neave
#68
It’s been a long while coming this podium! My last podium was at Knockhill last year and it’s a pretty sweet feeling to be able to do it with Honda at my home round. The cheer from the crowd was amazing when I stepped onto the podium, so it was nice to have the local support. Qualifying in fourth place made my life so much easier and starting the race I didn’t have so many people around me, so I was calm and not flustered. Today’s race was the most relaxed I have felt in a race all year – the Fireblade felt smooth and perfect! Hats off to Paul and my team for all their hard work and making the job right for me! I wanted the race to be the full race distance, but it was reduced to 12 laps, then we had the safety car so that took a few laps away. I feel that if we’d had some more laps I could have challenged for second place. I’d like to say thank you so much to the team, Honda, my sponsors, family and everyone for all their support, it’s a great feeling being back on the podium and I hope to be there again at the next round!
Havier Beltran
Team Manager
I’m so happy for Tom and the team for him to get his first podium aboard the Fireblade, in the back of our hearts and minds this would be the turning point for him and hope we can understand better how important qualifying is toward his race. We always knew with Xavi Cadwell would be difficult for his first time racing here, but I’m pleased with his progress throughout all sessions and the development we’ve had with the bike, which sadly doesn’t reflect on the timesheets. Andrew had strong pace all weekend, although we didn’t seem to capitalise on this during qualifying, but I think if he hadn’t had the mistake in Race 1, he would have finished further up the leaderboard. Race 2 he only got three laps; it was an ambitious late brake which resulted in an unfortunate incident where he has been penalised, but we’re keen to learn from our mistakes, draw a line under it and move on to continue our Showdown fight.
More, from a press release issued by Buildbase Suzuki:
Superstock win and superbike top-10 for Buildbase Suzuki at Cadwell Park
Cooper converts pole to victory. Extends Superstock 1000 series lead
Ray qualifies on front row but bad luck robs him of racing success
Stapleford eighth in second superbike race
(Above) Bradley Ray (28).
At the eighth round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Cadwell Park, Buildbase Suzuki’s Richard Cooper extended his National Superstock 1000 Championship lead, qualifying on pole aboard his GSX-R1000R before leading today’s race from start to finish to take victory.
In the superbike class Bradley Ray qualified second quickest for his first front row start of the year to highlight just how much progress has been made to find a comfortable and competitive setting for himself and teammate Luke Stapleford.
However, bad luck played its part in Ray’s weekend when it came to the races. A technical issue caused his superbike to cut out on the warm up lap for race one, resulting in a DNS. As a result he was forced to start race two from the very back of the grid, but showed his speed to cut through the field and join the battle for ninth place. Sadly for Ray he crashed out on the final lap through Hall Bends, but is very much taking the positives from the weekend’s speed and improvements.
Stapleford also provided evidence of the improved confidence in his GSX-R1000R, the superbike class-rookie racing to 11th in the first outing, before taking an impressive eighth in race two.
Richard Cooper, “The weekend didn’t start brilliantly; I think I only managed a couple of laps in practice before tipping off. But it couldn’t have gone any better after that. Qualifying was busy and it was hard to get a clear lap in but we still managed to set pole. In the race I felt like I was controlling it at the front. The safety car bunched everything up again but I had a proper push with a few laps to go and managed to pull a bit of a gap at the front. Winning at Cadwell is always a bit special, and this is the perfect way to bounce back after missing the podium at Thruxton, and it extends our championship lead.”
Bradley Ray, “It sounds like a cliché but we really are taking the positives from the weekend. Naturally I’m going home disappointed because it felt like a real turning point after qualifying on the front row, and we probably could have had a go at a podium, certainly a top-five or six finish in race one. It meant we then had to start race two from the back of the grid which is hard at the best of times, let alone around Cadwell where it’s so difficult to overtake. But I enjoyed the race and making the passes to come up to battle for a top-10. Sadly I just tucked the front on the last lap. On paper people will just see two no-scores but the reality is we’ve shown we’ve made a big step again, which is the result of a lot of hard work from the team. Hopefully this is the start of a strong end to the year.”
Luke Stapleford, “We’ve had a pretty good weekend. We continued where we left off at Thruxton and kept working on making those improvements and picked up two solid results for our efforts. We just missed the top-10 in race one but the eighth in race two feels like a good result and a big step in the right direction. I felt better on the bike and Cadwell is a track you need it to come naturally and feel comfortable, so hopefully we can continue like this now for the rest of the season.”
Superstock race result: 1. Richard Cooper, 2. Taylor Mackenzie, 3. Tom Neave.
Superbike race one result: 1. Danny Buchan, 2. Josh Brookes, 3. Tommy Bridewell, 11. Luke Stapleford, DNS. Bradley Ray
Superbike race two result: 1. Josh Brookes, 2. Tommy Bridewell, 3. Danny Buchan, 8. Luke Stapleford, DNF. Bradley Ray
More, from a press release issued by Smiths Racing BMW:
Local Hero Hickman On Verge Of Showdown
(Above) Peter Hickman (60).
A pair of fifth place finishes in the Bennetts British Superbike Championship races at Cadwell Park today saw Smiths BMW Racing’s Peter Hickman move up to seventh place in the title standings and close to within one point of the all important top six Showdown positions.
Competing at his home circuit which was hosting round eight of the series, Lincoln-based Hickman was eager to put himself into the top six and subsequently into one of the all-important Showdown positions but two spills in practice on the Smiths BMW S1000RR, when he hit a false neutral on both occasions, put him on the back foot and he ended up on row four of the grid for race one..
In front of another massive Cadwell Park crowd, Hicky made a good start which saw him immediately gain two places and he remained in eighth place until lap five when he moved up to seventh. Two laps later he was up to sixth and his cause was aided further when Christian Iddon, with whom he was dicing, ran off track meaning Hickman moved up to fifth at the chequered flag.
His good pace allowed him to start the second race from the second row with the 32-year old completing the opening lap in fourth place. A lap later he dropped back a place as fellow BMW rider Iddon moved ahead of him exiting Park Corner.
However, Hickman soon clawed back the time lost and for the remainder of the race, he and Iddon circulated in close formation but despite his best efforts, he was unable to find a way by and had to settle for another fifth place. The result sees him move up to seventh overall in the standings and close to within one point of Andrew Irwin who currently holds onto sixth place and the final Showdown position.
Peter Hickman: “I’m happy enough with how the weekend has gone especially from where we were at the beginning when we were having a few issues. It took us a long time to get to the bottom of everything and the boys were up all of Saturday night changing to a third engine, but it ultimately paid dividends as that was what allowed us to be where we were on race day. It was difficult coming from so far back on the grid in race one, but I put in a few overtaking manoeuvres and a couple of riders dropped out so fifth was a good result especially as it put me in a better position for race two. There, I got away well and just sat behind Christian but whilst I was stronger in some areas, he was stronger than me in others. I was in two minds what to do in terms of trying a pass, but I didn’t want to risk a crash and losing any points so settled for fifth. We’ve had a good haul of points this weekend and have gained a lot of ground on our rivals and are now just one point off the Showdown so with three races at the next round, we’ll be looking to clinch that top six place.”
Darren Jones, Team Co-ordinator: “It’s been a tough weekend, one of the toughest we’ve had in a while so to end it with two fifth places is really pleasing. It took us a while to get to the bottom of a few niggling issues, so we’ve ultimately made the best of a bad situation. Of course, it would have been nice to have finished on the podium, especially for Pete at his local circuit, but we’re now only one point off a Showdown place and are in a good place for the triple header at Oulton where we’ll look to clinch one of those remaining spots.”
The series now moves to Oulton Park, Cheshire with round nine taking place on September 6-8.
Bennetts British Superbike Championship race one (18 laps)
1 Danny Buchan (Kawasaki)
2 Josh Brookes (Ducati)
3 Tommy Bridewell (Ducati)
4 Scott Redding (Ducati)
5 Peter Hickman (Smiths Racing BMW)
6 Christian Iddon (BMW)
Bennetts British Superbike Championship race two (18 laps)
1 Josh Brookes (Ducati)
2 Tommy Bridewell (Ducati)
3 Danny Buchan (Kawasaki)
4 Christian Iddon (BMW)
5 Peter Hickman (Smiths Racing BMW)
6 Glenn Irwin (BMW)
Championship Standings (after eight rounds)
1 Brookes 271pts
2 Redding 259
3 Bridewell 243
4 Buchan 191
5 Mackenzie 151
6 Irwin 146
7 Hickman 145
More, from a press release issued by Tyco BMW:
SOLID CADWELL PARK POINTS HAUL FOR TYCO BMW AS SHOWDOWN GAP NARROWS
(Above) Glenn Irwin (2).
A brace of strong top six finishes from Christian Iddon [6-4] and a sixth placed finish for Tyco BMW new recruit Glenn Irwin in BSB race two, rounded out a solid weekend for the official BMW Motorrad team at Cadwell Park in Lincolnshire.
Iddon’s positive weekend aboard the all new BMW S1000RR, saw him reduce the gap to the all-important top six Showdown places. The Stockport ace is now just 21 points adrift, as the series heads to his home round at Oulton Park at the beginning of September – for a crowd-pleasing Bennetts British Superbike Championship triple header.
In the National 1000cc Superstock Championship Andy Reid unfortunately crashed out of podium contention in the early laps after qualifying his Tyco BMW S1000RR on the front row. The Northern Irishman suffered an ankle injury but is hopeful of making the Oulton Park round in three weeks’ time.
Philip Neill – Team Manager:
“Really solid day for both Tyco BMW riders in Superbike. We know Christian is a fighter and he confirmed that again today with two strong finishes which keeps him in a position to mount a showdown challenge at Oulton Park, his local circuit. Glenn continues to impress on only his second weekend on the the new S1000RR with absolutely no testing at this point.
Unfortunately our difficult season with injuries continues with Andy being the latest to suffer some misfortune. We hope he is as comfortable as possible after yesterday’s crash and we look forward to a speedy recovery.”
Christian Iddon – #21 British Superbike Rider:
“In race one I got a good start and managed to move up the pack a little bit and settled myself into fourth. Unfortunately I just didn’t have the pace for the top three guys which was disappointing and it became a bit of a lonely race as I was just racing myself essentially, trying to defend from Scott Redding and Peter Hickman behind me. I had over 0.5s gap over the other guys for most of the race, with two laps to go I managed to break away a little a create the gap that I needed before hitting a false neutral going into Chris Curve and ran onto the grass losing two places, which was incredibly frustrating. In race two, again I pushed really hard at the beginning to see if I could match the three at the front and despite doing my best lap of the weekend I still didn’t have just quite enough to match them guys. I finished up in fourth which I’m content with and we have cut the deficit from 32 points to 21 for showdown contention. It’s going to be tight, but we have three races at Oulton Park in three weeks’ time, so plenty of points up for grabs. I’m looking forward to the challenge.”
Glenn Irwin – #2 British Superbike Rider:
“It was a positive weekend, we worked really well during Thursday’s test and throughout Friday’s practice sessions to find a very good set-up for the bike in qualifying. I have a bit of a niggle with my shoulder which always hampers me at Cadwell Park, and perhaps always will due to the demanding nature of the track, but we made it through to Q3 and secure a row three grid start for race one.
Race one was quite difficult, I made a call to move away from the setting we had in qualifying, but we went back to that for race two and had a really good bike. Our race pace was good and manage to secure a strong sixth place finish, maintaining the gap to the two riders in fourth and fifth.
I feel we have made good progress, it’s my two best results of the year and I can’t thank the whole Tyco BMW team enough.”
More, from a press release issued by Brandon Paasch’s publicist:
BRANDON PAASCH TUMBLES DURING CHALLENGING WEEKEND IN 2019 HEL PERFORMANCE BRITISH MOTOSTAR MOTO3 AT CADWELL PARK AUGUST 19-20, 2019
(Above) Brandon Paasch (96). Photo by Bonnie Lane, courtesy of Brandon Paasch.
For the first time this season, Brandon Paasch missed finishing both races in one weekend while racing at Cadwell Park in the 2019 HEL Performance British Motostar Moto3 Championship. Things started out well with the FPW Racing KTM Moto3 racebike, as Brandon slotted in to the Top 5 lap times in Friday’s first practice. Second practice was called off due to a heavy downpour, with the promise of extra time for setup during the qualifying session on Saturday. Brandon and FPW Racing used that time well to secure a start from third, in anticipation of challenging races at the narrow track to come.
Brandon launched with the lead group in Race 1, and he quickly moved into second, right behind the leader on the first lap. But a little too much throttle out of Mansfield on the second lap pushed the still-cool rear Dunlop too much, and he highsided the bike to end Race 1 early. Brandon was determined to make up for the crash in Race 2, and after recording a positive second place lap in warm up, the team was ready to make up some points despite starting from the back of the Moto3 grid. Brandon again made a good start, but he was caught unaware when he ran up too quickly on the lead pack in the early laps of the race. Coming up at Mansfield again, Brandon applied a bit too much brake, tucking the front end and ending Race 2 early, as well. The lack of points finishes at Cadwell dropped Brandon to second in the HEL Performance championship points, but the team is looking forward to the next round to get back on top.
“That was definitely not what we wanted last weekend! I don’t think I’ve dumped the bike like that in a long time, and it was just a really bad time to do it. My fault for pushing too hard, too soon, and I’m sorry to the whole FPW Racing team for those results. The bike felt great, setup was great, and I had great feel and rhythm on the bike, even on full wets during the rain in the first practice. Qualifying went well, and I was really looking forward to some great racing at one of my favorite tracks of the season. I got a little greedy in Race 1, and that highside snapped me out of the seat pretty quickly. I was super unlucky in Race 2, as I just squeezed the front brake a little too hard trying not to ram into the pack in front of me, which tipped me over again.
The weekend at Cadwell Park doesn’t represent all the hard work we all do to get ready for race weekends, so I’m eager to get back out there and show that we can be back on top of the podium like we started this year. First, we have to get ready and set for our Wild Card entry for Moto3 at Silverstone this upcoming weekend. We only broke one clip-on and one foot peg in the crashes, so the bike will be good to go. I’m going to rest a bit early this week, then I’ll be back in for some training and stretching to go out and run with the fastest Moto3 racers in the world. Stay tuned and follow me and FPW Racing for all the action.” (Brandon Paasch)
“Certainly not a great weekend for the team, but I’m very proud how everyone stayed calm and focused and kept the bike ready for the races. The results were not what we needed, but we cannot change the outcome and must look forward to our next event. I’m excited to race at Silverstone – this will be a big challenge for all of us, but it’s a well-deserved honor for the team to be selected to race in the top level of Moto3. We’re all looking forward to the weekend, and we’ll push as hard as possible for the best results possible.” (Adrian Mason, Team Owner)
Brandon Paasch is the first US motorcycle racer to earn a Wild Card entry into the FIM Moto3 class, competing in the GoPro British Grand Prix at Silverstone Circuit, August 23-25. The Moto3 practices, qualifying and race from Silverstone will be broadcast live on BT Sport in the UK, while US fans can catch all the action live at www.motogp.com or in the MotoGP app, available in the Apple App Store and Google Play (subscription required for live timing and video access).
The HEL Performance British Motostar Moto3 Championship returns to Oulton Park September 6-8. Fans can watch live timing and listen to the commentary at www.britishsuperbike.com or on the Bennetts British Superbike app, available in the Apple App Store and Google Play.
Subscribe and follow Brandon and FPW Racing on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter:
– YouTube: search for Brandon Paasch and subscribe to his channel
– Facebook: @BrandonPaasch facebook.com/BrandonPaasch/ www.facebook.com/FPWRacing/
– Instagram: instagram.com/brandon_paasch instagram.com/fpwracing/
– Twitter: @PaaschBrandon @fpwracing
– Hashtags: #SendItBP2019 #PaaschFPWRacing #Paasch_FIMMoto3GP #MotoGP #Moto3 #
Brandon Paasch is sponsored by Electronic Concepts, luxeStar VIP, Classic Car Club of Manhattan, NJMiniGP, Evolve GT, BJT Mechanical, OTF, Arai, and Spidi. Coaching and training provided by Birdhouse Training. Classic Car Club of Manhattan
FPW Racing is an amalgamation of the Fireplace Warehouse and several like-minded bike enthusiasts to support one common goal – to establish young riders and to give them a leg up in their racing careers. FPW Racing is sponsored by The Fireplace Warehouse, Motul, Pro Bolt, Hel, Regina, Jennings Race Products. For more information, visit us at www.fpwracing.co.uk