Came BPT Yamaha score Dickies British Supersport double race win at Brands Hatch
The Came BPT Yamaha team celebrated an incredible third round of the Dickies British Supersport Championship at Brands Hatch last weekend as James Westmoreland scored his first victory since making his comeback and his team-mate Joe Francis celebrated a debut win.
In the Sprint race championship leader Andy Reid initially led the pack as pole-sitter Tarran Mackenzie and Ben Currie crashed out of the leading group at Graham Hill Bend. Luke Jones was closing in and made an impressive move around the outside into Paddock Hill Bend to take the lead but a technical problem forced him out of the race.
The battle for the Sprint race victory then went down to Reid, the Came BPT Yamaha team-mates Westmoreland and Francis plus Jake Dixon and Andrew Irwin. Westy grabbed the lead and then pushed hard to secure his first win of the season by just 0.381s from Francis and Dixon at his home round.
In the Feature race Francis pushed to go one better; claiming the victory after taking the lead from Dixon on the second lap at Paddock Hill Bend and edging out an advantage over the chasing pack who scrapped for the final podium positions.
It was a five rider battle for much of the race, but it was rookie rider Mackenzie who took second place with Acumen Industrial Services Triumph’s Jones, who started from 21st on the grid claiming a gritty third place. Championship leader Reid narrowly missed out on the podium but still holds the standings lead by six points.
Francis said: “It was a great weekend; we knew we had the pace from the first practice session to challenge for the win. In the first race we took it a bit steady and it was fantastic to get my first podium. Starting from pole in the Feature race, I knew I had to get a good start and as soon as I was in the lead it was just a case of getting my head down and keeping the gap!”
Dickies British Supersport Championship, Brands Hatch, Sprint race:
James Westmoreland (Came BPT Yamaha)
Joe Francis (Came BPT Yamaha) +0.381s
Jake Dixon (Tsingtao MV Agusta) +0.656s
Andy Reid (Quattro Plant Kawasaki) +1.297s
Andrew Irwin (Appleyard Macadam Racing Yamaha) +1.407s
Dickies British Supersport Championship, Brands Hatch, Feature race:
Joe Francis (Came BPT Yamaha)
Tarran Mackenzie (Stauff Connect Academy Kawasaki) +1.502s
Luke Jones (Acumen Industrial Services Triumph) +1.772s
Andy Reid (Quattro Plant Kawasaki) +2.970s
James Westmoreland (Came BPT Yamaha) +3.473s
Dickies British Supersport Championship standings after Brands Hatch:
Andy Reid (Quattro Plant Kawasaki) 85
James Westmoreland (Came BPT Yamaha) 79
Luke Hedger (Gearlink Kawasaki) 48
Luke Jones (Acumen Industrial Services Triumph) 47
Joe Francis (Came BPT Yamaha) 45
For more information visit www.britishsuperbike.com
More, from a press release issued by Came BPT Yamaha:
CAME BPT Yamaha – British Supersport
Brands Indy – Round 3
It was an extremely successful weekend for the CAME BPT Yamaha team at round three of the Dickies British Supersport Championship at Brands Hatch Indy circuit. Both their riders James Westmoreland and Joe Francis took a win each on Saturday and Sunday. Joe also gained a great 2nd place on Saturday and James was 5th on Sunday.
Joe Francis made a welcome return to Brands Hatch after he suffered a broken wrist at the opening round at Silverstone in April. This was his first Supersport race weekend and it was a great return to the Championship from the start. He was third quickest in both the practice sessions and went one better during qualifying to secure a fantastic front row start in second place.
The original scheduled race was red flagged due to rain and was re-started over 12-laps, all the riders opted for dry tyres. Joe got a good start and was third after lap one and by lap five he was into second place where he remained until the chequered flag.
Joe had such a good opening race that he set the fastest lap and his first ever Supersport pole position. He got another great start and lost one place on lap one but he was soon back past Jake Dixon and led 25 of the 26 laps to take his debut Dickies British Supersport win in true style, at one point he had a lead of over 4.5 seconds over the very small Brands Indy circuit.
James Westmoreland also had a very strong weekend with the CAME BPT Yamaha team. He struggled to find a comfortable set-up on the Yamaha at the 1.2-mile track and was placed in eighth place on the grid for race one. On the re-start he started from ninth, dropped a place to tenth after lap one then rode an incredible race in tricky conditions to work his way back through the pack to take a superb race win.
For the Sunday race James started from fifth on the grid, he got a steady start and dropped back to sixth after lap one. By lap ten he had fallen back to eighth but he was able to continue fighting and work his way back through his rivals towards the end of the race moving back up to fifth as the flag came out.
James is now in second place in the Championship just six points off the lead and Joe has rocketed to fifth in the Championship through his first races of the season.
Joe Francis – “It really has been a great weekend and I know I’m still only 80% fit. It has only been five weeks since I broke my arm and they didn’t know at the start how long I would be out of action for but I was determined to be back for Brands.
I’ve only been able to train for two weeks prior to Brands so I’m sure there is a lot more to come. I’m so pleased with the results this weekend and to take my first win for the team is a brilliant feeling and I would like to thank all the CAME BPT team for their continued support towards me.
With the weather conditions changing before the Sprint race I really didn’t want to push hard and risk hurting myself again, I just felt really comfortable on the bike and was able to ride it to the best of my ability, which allowed me to take my first Supersport podium.
The second race just ran like a dream really, it was hard to lead 25 laps and keep your concentration 100%. I felt good and just rode the bike, I saw I pulled out a big lead so did ease off a little in the closing laps. It’s brilliant to gain my first win on my first complete race weekend and I can’t wait for the rest of the season now.”
James Westmoreland – “I’m really pleased with the win in race one on Saturday and to be back winning again. I’ve honestly struggled a little in the full dry conditions with the settings and we haven’t found what I’m looking for yet so Sunday was a bit tough.
Fifth isn’t ideal but we’ve closed in on the Championship leader this weekend and it’s important to look at the bigger picture and be smart when things aren’t going quite to plan.
Looking forward to a test at Snetterton then racing at Knockhill, where I know I’m strong. A huge thank you to the CAME BPT Yamaha team, it’s been a great weekend for them!”
The CAME BPT team are now heading to the Isle of Man where they are running last years winner, Ian Hutchinson.
Ian Hutchinson – “I can’t wait to get back out on the TTC CAME R6 at the TT this year. I’ve ridden the bike in the British Supersport class and at the North West 200 and it is a very refined version of last years bike. It feels so strong with all the improvements the team and K-Tech have made over the winter.”
Grant Bunting – Team Manager – “It was a very difficult off season for us and a struggle to get lined up on the grid this year. A huge thank you to CAME BPT for their input and support towards the team and now we’ve been able to repay them and all the sponsors with a double race win with two different riders.
It was great to see Joe come back so strong from injury, he improved all through last season and the injury was just a set-back. He had a brilliant weekend and we are now on track for the rest of the year. James continues to show his maturity and ride with his head; he had a great win on Saturday and did what he could on Sunday.
Both riders now have good Championship positions and we can’t wait for the rest of the season. The next stop for the team is the Isle of Man TT with Ian Hutchinson who will be riding the Supersport machine in the two races over there.”
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