Round 8 Race report - So close but yet so far!

The 125cc British Championship supporting the MCE British Superbike Series rolled into Brands Hatch for Round eight this weekend and Brian and the team were hoping for a good performance to re-kindle their Championship hopes as the fast flowing turns of Brands hatch are more suited to Brian’s riding style.

With the clouds overhead Friday first free practice was almost a non starter and it was more like a precession as the mist seem content on hanging around making visibility very poor. It finally cleared for the afternoon it was all go for a dry and useful track session but as Brian arrived at the Team awning things were not as needed and with a mechanical gremlin it meant the team had to sit out a very important session where all the other riders had the opportunity to test gearing and suspension set up for the Saturday morning First qualifying session.

The weather had settled for Saturday morning and was glorious, the way it stayed for the remainder of the weekend thankfully. Brian soon made up for his missed session though and was running a comfortable 6th mid-session but then had to pit with tyre trouble, Pat Walsh of Dunlop was on hand and with a few minor alterations Brian was back on track as times were suddenly improving pushing him down to 15th. With time remaining for only two flying laps Brian pushed as hard as he felt comfortable finishing up ninth overall.

‘That wasn’t too bad and only 0.1 seconds would have put us on the second row. The tyres had already done the Mallory race and we were hoping they would have been sufficient for this morning but now if the weather continues it may be too hot this afternoon to improve our time, but we’ll try!’ said an upbeat Clark. Second qualifying was held in the mid afternoon sun and although a LOT warmer several riders improved including Clark who managed to clinch a second row start finishing seventh overall and only 0.7 seconds of pole. ‘That was a good session I made a small suspension change before the session and it was making the front of the bike chatter heavily through the fast turns but I was in a rhythm and wanted to complete the whole session as it will be as hard in the hot sun tomorrow and stamina could play a part!’ a sweaty Brian stated after a mammoth 15 laps in the 28 degree sunshine.

From the second row Brian got an average start and crossed the line 6th with the front seven already breaking from the field. With Rob Guiver comfortable at the front it left the battle to run all race long for second to seventh. With several passes every lap the group seem to stretch and compact constantly with nobody having complete control. Slightly out of touch from the front of the group Clark pulled all of his resources together to keep in the picture and mid race tried to push forward cutting his way up to fifth on the road. With Glossop the next scalp Clark tried all he had to get past but sheer speed seemed to just make it impossible to put a move on him and we crossed the Finish line an excellent fifth.

‘WOW, what a race, the result could have been so much more and we were so close which is encouraging. The bike performed really well and we were in very good company today, those bikes around us are heavily kitted in comparison so to be in touch right to the end is great. A few minor gearbox changes would have helped but missing Fridays’ session maybe cost us a podium today? I made a few errors on the last lap just trying to have a last push at Martin (Glossop) so was glad to keep Robbie (Stewart) at bay, the last thing I wanted today was to finish sixth again!

I really expected be able to end the podium drought this weekend but you can never be sure of anything in racing so we’ll take today as a good result and try to build on it for Cadwell on August Bank Holiday weekend, another of my favourite circuits. Hopefully all our supporters enjoyed the race and as always we’re grateful for their support, all of them!’

Round 9 is at Cadwell Park, Lincolnshire Bank Holiday weekend 29th – 31st August. To support the team and keep up to date with progress contact Brian at brian@brian-clark.co.uk or 07714018060