Tag: Thruxton
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Jake Clark British Motostar Thruxton 2018
Jake Clark in the points at ThruxtonJake Clark was back out on his Moto3 for Wilson Racing last weekend. Riding in the fourth round of the Hel Performance British Motostar Championship at Thruxton.
The Bromsgrove racer was looking for some positive results after the crash affected weekend at Brands Hatch.
Free Practice
In very hot conditions Clark made a successful start to the weekend. In free practice one he was eleventh quickest just a tenth outside the top ten. The hotter conditions in the afternoon didn’t enable Clark to improve on his morning’s time so he ended day one in the same position.
Qualifying
The fantastic weather continued as the standard class Moto3 machines took to the 2.4-mile circuit for the thirty-minute qualifying session. Clark continued to improve shaving a second off his best lap time from free practice. The standard class is extremely competitive and despite his lap time of 1:25.447 he would line up on the grid 13th and he was feeling.
Race One
After the start of the 12 lap race, Clark found himself behind the main group of riders. Although he was running the same pace he was unable to close up. In the final few laps he was battling with four other riders and crossed the line in 12th position.
Race Two
The second race was 14 laps of the Hampshire circuit. Overnight Clark and the team had decided to stiffen the suspension further and make other adjustments to suit Clark for race two. This time he was involved in a battle with Adi Behal. The two of them were swapping places throughout the race with Clark just losing out by 0.045 seconds at the line. He finished 12th.
Jake Clark said,” In qualifying I got in with some of the quicker riders so I was trying to follow their lead. But I was struggling with the front end so after qualifying we stiffened the bike right up. It was much bumpier here than last year. It was shaking my eyes out almost! But the bike needed to be as stiff as it could be.
For race two we stiffened the bike more and changed some gearing. I had a good battle with Adi Behal and after a rough spell it brought the fun back into my racing. Some real close racing, bashing bars, we both came in with a real big smile.
Thanks to the Modern Electric Tattoo Company for sponsoring my tyres again this weekend, and also Capelli Salon, 151, VEH enterprises and of course Mandy and Bob.”
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Wilson Racing in the papers. Is your team in the papers ?
After a fantastic weekend at Thruxton, which saw a first ever 1-2 for the Wilson Racing team, reports on the races featured in the Barnsley Chronicle, Derbyshire Times and the grassroots section of The Star, covering Sheffield and Barnsley.Also, the team are regularly mentioned in the Swindon Advertiser, the Bristol Post, the Goole Times, the Hull Daily Mail, the Bromsgrove Advertiser and the Bromsgrove Standard, because of our coverage of the individual riders.
Make your team stand out and ensure people, including your sponsors, are kept informed of your season.
You may want a press release for one particular weekend or for every round. We can organise a professional photographer to be available to make sure the article is forwarded with appropriate quality images. The article can also be used for your own promotional uses. For example, on your team or rider website or sent by email as a newsletter to your sponsors or clients.
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Clark continues points scoring run at Thruxton
Bromsgrove Moto3 racer Jake Clark was competing last weekend in the seventh round of the Hel Performance Motostar British standard class Championship.Riding the standard Moto3 Honda NSF for the first time on the Thruxton circuit he made significant progress during the two free practice sessions. He dropped his lap time by almost three seconds on the Friday.
Around lunchtime the 33 GP and standard class riders were back on the circuit for the 25-minute qualifying session. After just ten minutes the rain began to fall in the first two sectors and all the riders headed for the pits. With just 8 minutes remaining, there was a flurry of activity as the shower passed and the whole paddock left almost at once to try and improve their lap times. Clark made the best of the final few minutes cutting his time to 1:25.458 and achieved his best qualifying position of eighth.
Race One
Clark didn’t get the best of starts to the race dropping a place, and in the turmoil of the opening laps, he dropped back further. As the race settled down Clark enjoyed a few laps in which he overcame Potter and Swann. Having dropped them he spent the final part of the race trying to pass Ogden and Faber. He eventually went on to finish in a solid eighth position.
Race Two
The feature race on Sunday was trimmed from 14 to 11 laps after several delays throughout the day. Clark made a solid start to the race and was again battling with Potter and Swann. He managed to score 6 more points to add to the 8 from yesterday’s race after finishing tenth in the standard class.
Clark has moved up to 13th in the championship despite having only competed in the last three of the seven rounds so far.
Jake Clark said,” This is my first time at this track and it’s very fast a bit bumpy. I’ve knocked seconds off my time over the weekend. It was really exciting in both races because I was battling hard with two or three other riders. I’d like to thank Rob Cameron 151s, Wiz, Shoei, Furgan, TCX, Capelli and Chris Clark Plant Services all of who keep me racing.”
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Injured wrist ends Hopkins hopes at Thruxton
Luke Hopkins had to call an early end to his Moto3 race weekend at Thruxton after injuring his wrist in race one. The 15-year-old from Sittingbourne high-sided at the final chicane at the end of the race and landed awkwardly.
Hopkins was competing in the seventh round of the Hel Performance Motostar British standard class Championship at the Hampshire track.
Although the circuit is one of the fastest on the calendar it is unusual in that it doesn’t have a main straight but rather a series of sweeping corners.
The Moto3 riders took part in two free practice sessions on the Friday. During the second of these sessions Hopkins dropped his lap time by more than a second to end the day in the top ten.
Qualifying was affected by the rain as drops began to fall in sectors one and two after just ten minutes of the session had started. He was running tenth in the standard class at the time. The riders then sat out the shower. As the session entered the final few minutes Team Hopkins took the decision to remain in the pits believing that the track would be too wet and risky. A number of riders did return to the track and unfortunately for Hopkins managed to improve their lap times. He was knocked down to twelfth for the start of race one.
The first race was the ten lap Sprint Race. He had a great start making up four places in the opening lap. Hopkins spent most of the race battling with Ross Turner, Shane Faber and Scott Ogden. Unfortunately, on the penultimate lap he high-sided at the final chicane and damaged his wrist.
Hopkins went out during the warm up session on Sunday morning but with a swollen wrist he was unable to ride properly and so had to call an end to his weekend at Thruxton.
Luke Hopkins said, ”Free practice had gone well. Then we had qualifying and had to make a difficult decision. Risk a fall or go back out in the final few minute. Perhaps we got that one wrong this time. Race one had been good. It was a lot of fun being involved in a battle but I damaged my wrist when I crashed out at the chicane towards the end. This morning it was still swollen although I went out in the warm up. It became more and more painful as I rode. I wasn’t going to do myself any favours trying to race so I decided to sit out the final race.”
Luke Hopkins will be hoping to be back in action for the next round of the World Supersport300 Championship. Round nine takes place at Lausitzring in Germany on the 18 – 20 August 2017.
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Painful points at Thruxton
Having travelled back from Germany last weekend, following an invitation to race in the ADAC Europe Cup where he was a fantastic tenth at the Sachsenring, there was no time for rest for the Puriton racer. The Thruxton circuit in Hampshire was hosting the six round of the Hel Performance Motostar Championship, the Moto3 support series to the British Superbike Championship.
Photo: Max Revs Images The Thruxton circuit is built on the site of an old World War II airfield and has no real straight but a series of fast flowing curves, meaning the riders are lapping at average speeds of around 90 to 100 mph.
There were almost ideal conditions for the Wilson Racing rider for free practice on the Friday. He started steadily re-familiarising himself with the circuit before a red-flag during the session brought everyone into the pits. The session was restarted soon after where upon TJ Toms made reductions to his lap times of over two seconds. By the end of the thirty minute free practice he recorded a time of 1:26.418 which put him sixth quickest in the standard class.
Qualifying
On Friday afternoon the rider went out for Q1. Immediately TJ Toms noticed something was up with his bike and was forced to return to the pits without completing a lap. The team worked frantically to fix a mechanical problem. TJ Toms did manage to make it out but with less than ten minutes of the session left. With only limited track time he posted the tenth quickest time in Q1.
After the problems in Q1 Toms was looking for some better luck on Saturday morning as he rode out for Q2. The lower track temperatures meant he had a good chance of a better lap time and the Somerset rider didn’t disappoint. He managed to reduce his lap time by 1.632 seconds in Q2 moving him up to 6th in the standard category.
Race One
However, the Saturday afternoon race didn’t go according to plan. TJ Toms made a solid start to the race making up many positions, but when he tried to turn in at the final chicane of the very first lap, TJ’s handlebars clipped the rear of the seat unit of another bike which had been involved in a separate incident with a different rider. The result was TJ Toms lost control of his bike and crashed out. He got his leg trapped in the back wheel and twisted his knee. The accident also caused burning to his arm after sliding across the tarmac and gravel. He was taken to the medical centre for treatment.
Race Two
After getting the all clear from the medical centre to race on the Sunday TJ Toms was forced to start from second to last on the grid after not finishing race one. He launched himself at the start and by the end of the lap had moved up to seventh place. Clearly starting so far back meant there was now a gap to the riders in his category ahead. Despite the pain in his arm he pushed on and was lapping at a second a lap quicker than the riders in front of him in his category. He managed to make up another place but just ran out of laps to catch anyone else so crossed the finish line in sixth position.
TJ Toms said, “Last weekend I was racing at the Sachsenring alongside the MotoGP event and we finished in tenth. Then here we are at Thruxton a week later. It’s been an amazing couple of weeks. Unfortunately, we had some bad luck getting caught up in someone else’s accident yesterday. Today we recovered well by finishing sixth from so far back on the grid. The next race is at Brands Hatch on the 7 August a track I really like so we’ll look to pick up more points there”.
He added, “Thanks to Gary Wilson for providing me a great bike again. Also thanks to my sponsors, Warren Bright Racing Foundation, Swindon Karting, SRC Driver Training, SMW Limited, Skills Direct, Munchkins Catering, K&B Motors, Johnson Metals, MustHaveMediaServices.com and my Grandad”.
Photo: Max Revs Images
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Home crowd gets behind Archer at Thruxton
Last weekend, the fast flowing curves of Jake’s home track Thruxton were host to the sixth round of the Hel Performance Motostar Championship, a support series of the British Superbike Championship.
Photo: Johny WIlls The 2.4 mile circuit built on the site of an old World War II airfield is the local track for Andover based Jake Archer, and is one of the fastest circuits on the racing calendar.
During near perfect weather conditions the City Lifting Team rider posted the fourth quickest time, in Friday free practice. His time of 1:22.994 was just a tenth off the provisional front row.
After some adjustments Jake Archer was out of the blocks quickly in Q1 setting the quickest time early on, on just his fourth lap. Although he was unable to improve further on the time during Q1 he had put himself provisionally on the front row finishing the session with the third quickest time and much closer to the two riders in front of him.
On the Saturday morning the riders took part in Q2. Jake Archer quickly set about reducing his lap times and with half the session remaining was sat top of the time sheet with a 1:21.887. In a close fought qualification there were four different riders sat at the top of the time sheet throughout the session. Jake Archer reduced his lap time further to 1:21.723 but missed out on pole position by just 0.150. His lap time placed him third and importantly he would start the race on Saturday afternoon from the front row.
Saturday afternoon saw the ten lap sprint race take place. Jake made a terrific start taking the lead into the first few corners. Although he dropped to third place the front three riders were running very close. On the fourth lap there was less than 0.179 seconds between them as they crossed the line. As the race went on the race leader Nesbitt began to ease away as Jake Archer and Mike Brouwers battled for second. This time the Dutch man just edged out Andover’s Archer but he was pleased to be back on the podium after a difficult time at the Snetterton round.
The 12 lap second race took place on Sunday afternoon. Archer had a difficult few opening laps as he experienced issues with his gear lever. Once he managed to overcome this he soon set about catching the leading group that were about a second ahead. Although the race leader had begun to edge away Archer caught the group of three in front of him on the seventh lap. In true determined style the City Lifting rider then made an audacious double overtake at the end of lap eight to take him into second position which delighted the local crowd. Archer was then to suffer more problems as just a couple of laps from the end of the race he suffered a mechanical failure in the engine forcing him to retire from the race. A cruel blow after having got himself back into the battle for the podium places.
Jake Archer remains second in the Hel Performance Motostar Championship on 139 points.
Jake Archer said, ”Race one was fantastic. I was fighting the whole race and it was great to be back on the podium after Snetterton. In the second race I had problems at the start but once I managed to work round that I was quickly back on the pace and battling with Owens, Saez and Rendell. Then we had a mechanical problem and that was that. This happens in racing, it’s nobody’s fault. Mike Brouwers had a fall during the second race and broke a rib so I would like to send the team’s best wishes to him. He rode brilliantly all weekend so we wish him a speedy recovery.”
Archer added, “One thing I will remember from this weekend is the support the local people gave me at Thruxton. It was great that so many came to cheer me on. It was also good of Liam McGeary to come and support us. As always thanks to the City Lifting Team and all my sponsors for their continued support too.”
Photo: Johny Wills
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Charlie Nesbitt Thruxton July 2016
Dominant Nesbitt takes maximum points at Thruxton
Charlie Nesbitt arrived at Thruxton for the six round of the Hel Performance Motostar Championship with a lead of 57 points over his nearest rival, following two race wins at the last round at Snetterton.
Photo: Bonnie Lane Photographic Thruxton is a circuit built on an old World War II airfield with little straight track but some very fast flowing corners meaning it is one of the fastest circuits on the calendar. The conditions for the rider for Friday free practice were almost perfect. Nesbitt, who already holds the lap record at the circuit set out his stall early on but topping the time sheets for the duration of the session. He finished free practice with a time of 1:21.796 which put the e3 Motorsport / Redline KTM rider 0.659 seconds ahead of the second quickest rider.
In Q1 Nesbitt set off in the same vein as he had done in free practice. He quickly set the pace and left the other riders having to push hard to get close to him. Seemingly untouchable Nesbitt entered the pits on lap ten having posted the fastest time of 1:22.168 of the session. However, on his return to the track he had a fall and was taken to the medical centre as a precaution. Despite not being able to finish the session his time remained unbeaten.
Friday’s accident left Nesbitt with two bandaged fingers and needing a new set of gloves but other than that the Wiltshire youngster was ready to go again. Q2 was cooler and the lap times immediately began to fall. The session was much closer than Q1 had been with Nesbitt battling with Brouwers, Archer and Owens for the pole position. It looked like Nesbitt might have to settle for the middle of the front row until his last flying lap when he crossed the line with a time of 1:21.573 to take pole position by 0.045 seconds. This was Nesbitt’s third consecutive pole position.
Nesbitt took victory in race one which was a ten lap sprint on the Saturday afternoon. He crossed the finish line 0.965 seconds ahead of Brouwers in second and Archer in third. He had led from the end of the first lap and although he didn’t make the break-away he had in previous races, from the half-way stage he was in control of the outcome.
In the 12 lap race on Sunday his opposition gave a much stronger showing in the opening laps as four different riders held the lead. It wasn’t until the half-way stage that Nesbitt managed to make a bit of breathing space opening a gap of 1.120 seconds at the end of the seventh lap. However, once he managed to make that gap he slowly pulled away from the rest of the field to take his second victory of the weekend.
He now has 230 points and now leads the championship by 91 points.
Charlie Nesbitt said after the race, “It’s great to come away with another fifty points as the weekend was a tough one. Mike Brouwers pushed me really hard in the first race and also in the second until he fell and I wish him a quick recovery. It was a real battle in those early laps”.
He added, ”I must thank Nick Carpenter, e3 Motorsport and Redline KTM as well as all my great sponsors who enable me to race.”
The next round of the championship takes place at Brands Hatch between 5 to 8 August.Photo: Bonnie Lane Photographic
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Hopkins enjoys Thruxton learning curve
This weekend Sittingbourne motorcycle racer Luke Hopkins entered as a wild card in the Thruxton round of the Hel Performance Motostar British Championship. This is a Moto3 support series of the British Superbike championships. 14-year-old Luke was racing in the standard class for the first time on a Honda NSF250R, which is the most powerful bike he has ridden to date.On the Friday morning he had the opportunity of learning the track and the bike in a thirty minute practice session. He improved his lap time by almost 1.7 seconds during the session to set record a time of 1:32.715 toward the end of the session.
Later the same day the riders had their first qualifying session. Luke Hopkins managed to put in another 16 laps as he looked to gain experience aboard the Honda and learn the fast and bumpy Thruxton circuit at the same time. A tall order but he reduced his lap time by 0.229 seconds.
In Q2 Luke Hopkins managed to reduce his lap time further with a 1:31.621 which was almost nine tenths quicker than he managed in Q1. He qualified in twelfth position in the standard class.
Race one was on the Saturday afternoon as Hopkins continued his learning experience aboard the Honda Moto3 machine. The race was a ten lap sprint. Hopkins got off to a steady start and gradually improved with each lap. On his seventh lap he beat his qualifying time and he managed to bring the bike home safe and sound. Finishing tenth in the class Hopkins picked up six championship points.
Race two saw the rider from Kent further improve his lap times as he got more and more used to the fast flowing corners of Thruxton. He had cut more than two seconds off his best time from Friday and again brought the bike across the finish line for another six points.
Luke Hopkins, “The purpose of this weekend was to get some experience on a Moto3 and gain some confidence riding it. It’s much more powerful than anything I’ve ridden before. It was quite daunting to be honest and I’m more use to running at the front in my other racing rather than further back. However, the experience was amazing and Thruxton was a very fast and bumpy track but I brought it home in one piece in both races and scored points.”
Luke’s next challenge will be in the Team Green Junior Cup over the weekend of 30th to 31st July at Cadwell Park.
Photo Craig Hobbs Photography
