Tai Woffinden positive despite Aussie defeat
Tai Woffinden positive despite Aussie defeat
Tai Woffinden, captain of the FUCHS Silkolene-backed Great Britain Speedway Team, has insisted that the test match with Australia was a positive step forward, despite a heavy defeat.
The Australian team put in a sensational display to blow Britain away 33-57 at Glasgow’s Peugeot Ashfield Stadium.
But Woffinden is determined to see the bigger picture as GB took to the track in an international test match on home soil for the first time since 2002.
He said: “We wanted to win of course, a lot of people came out wanting to see GB win and we were desperate to give them that but it wasn’t to be and the Aussie boys were on fire.
“They were really quick from the gate and once they got in front they were fast so it wasn’t easy for us, and we’re disappointed to lose by so many, but we’ve got to take a step back and look at the whole picture.
“One of the big things we want to do is get GB on track more often and this was the first step, since the new management team have taken over we’ve already started moving forward and getting a test match in already is massive. These meetings are about getting experience and getting together, so as long as we learn from it it’s not a negative at all.”
Hickman impresses – despite kidney woes
Peter Hickman and the FUCHS Silkolene-backed Smiths Racing BMW team took their first podium positions of the 2018 British Superbike Championship season at Thruxton – despite a pre-race hospital visit.
The 31-year-old claimed second and third place finishes at the Hampshire track, despite just hours earlier being admitted to Winchester Hospital with a kidney infection.
Hicky missed the warm-up having just been released from hospital but, unbelievably, still managed to compete in the first race, battling all the way from 13th to claim the last place on the podium.
Better yet, Hickman finished second in the second encounter, just 0.305s behind winner Josh Brookes.
The haul of 36 points saw him jump up to seventh overall in the Championship table to lie just seven points adrift of a Showdown position.
Team-mate Sylvain Barrier, meanwhile, picked up P14 and P18 finishes.
Challenging round for Irwin brothers
It was a challenging seventh round for the FUCHS Silkolene-supported Be Wiser Ducati Racing team, with Glenn Irwin’s fifth place finish in the opening race proving to be the team’s best result of the day.
28-year-old Glenn started the opening 20-lap race on pole position with younger brother Andrew joining him in third to post an historic front row for Paul Bird’s Penrith-based team.
Unfortunately, Andrew crashed out on lap four, leaving Glenn to fly the flag with his P5 finish for 11 points.
Race two finished with a disappointing ninth place finish for Glenn, but he still sits in fourth place overall, comfortably occupying one of the top six Showdown positions.
Andrew, meanwhile, found himself way back in 18th place and on the sixth row as a result of his first race crash, but he worked his way up to 11th at the chequered flag to add five more points to his season’s haul.
Team #109 brings in the Dickies Junior Supersport points
It was a solid weekend for the FUCHS Silkolene-backed Team #109 at Thruxton, with both Eunan McGlinchey and Kevin Keyes back in action for the Cork based team.
McGlinchey cemented himself once again as a title challenger in the Dickies Junior Supersport class, scoring a brace of second place finishes, to retake the series lead.
Keyes struggled for set up throughout the weekend, but despite his issues he still managed to dig deep in the race and salvage a top 10 result, which maintained his third position in the Pirelli National Superstock 600 championship standings.
Injuries strike EHA Racing team
David Allingham’s fifth place in Saturday’s British Supersport Sprint race was the highlight of a tough weekend at Thruxton for EHA Racing. His team-mate Ross Twyman finished two places behind him in seventh.
Unfortunately an incident right at the end of morning warm-up before Sunday’s feature race saw both EHA Racing riders on the tarmac.
Both men were subsequently ruled out - Twyman on safety grounds after losing consciousness in the crash and Allingham with a right hand injury.
Scott Beaumont back on BMX
Scott Beaumont was pleased to be back on the 20” at the BMX National Series rounds 7 and 8 in Telford.
After winning all three motos, Scott made a great start in the final but made a slight mistake on the second turn, lost some momentum and eventually slipped back into fourth.
“It was great to be back on the BMX and I’m pleased with my results,” he said. “Can’t wait for Gosport in three weeks now. It’s great that I can mix 4X and BMX for a while.”
Kershaw Racing continue title push
There was yet more success for Kershaw Racing (Steve Kershaw and Stuart Clark) in the British Sidecar Championship in Thruxton – despite some mechanical problems in qualification.
The double act finished second in race one, and followed that up with another two wins on a scorching track.
Kershaw Racing are now 168 points clear at the top of the table.
No floundering at Flanders for Steve Brown
Steve Brown enjoyed a successful return to the Flanders International Rally Challenge (FIRC) last weekend by taking his unique Nissan Micra Kit Car to a class win and third in the FIRC two-wheel-drive category at the Les Boucles Chevrotines in Belgium (4/5 August).
The Rochdale driver overcame searing heat both in and out of the car to bring his Nissan home in 17th overall, despite being the first fully competitive outing for the machine after a 12-month break which saw the Micra undergo a significant overhaul.
Guided by Paul Stringer in the co-drivers seat, their result on the South West Belgium roads marks a return to form for the car after dominating the FIRC class 3F in 2016 prior to its rebuild.
“It’s been a long time coming but it’s great to be back in the Micra when it's performing as well as this and to take the class win in the process is the icing on the cake this weekend,” said Brown at the finish.
BHRC Harry Flatters award winners announced
The special award winners from the fifth round of the 2018 FUCHS LUBRICANTS MSA British Historic Rally Championship, the Harry Flatters Rally (29 July), have been announced.
The ‘Spirit of the Rally’ product award from FUCHS Lubricants went to Josh Browne, who recorded an excellent seventh among the BHRC field and missed class D3 victory by just two seconds to Stuart Egglestone. After a run of non-finishes, Browne drove a fine rally on his first experience of the challenging Epynt ranges.
Philip Harris and Richard Jones collected the award for the ‘Best Improvement on Seeding’, which is a set of axle brake pads from Mintex. On their 2018 championship debut, they guided their Mini Cooper S home to a class B2 win and fourth place in Category 1.
Finally, Simon Tysoe won the ‘Hard Charger’ award of a 20-litre jerry can from Green Valley Industrial Supplies. Partnered by Paul Morris, Tysoe claimed Category 2 victory and finished an excellent third overall among the BHRC contenders after a very strong performance in his Ford Escort Mk1.
Another busy weekend ahead
There’s another big weekend ahead, not least near Bournemouth where the FUCHS Lubricants RACRMC Historic Asphalt Rally Championship returns with the Bovingdon Stages.
And the Ciceley Motorsport team are back in action as the BTCC heads to Rockingham.
