TAG Racing took the positives from a tricky weekend at the third round of the 2026 ZYN British Superbike Championship at Knockhill, where Matt Truelove brought home two top-eight finishes, while Charlie Nesbitt, Fraser Rogers and Jaimie Van Sikkelerus all collected points from their races across the weekend in Scotland.
The weekend got off to a strong start in the torrential conditions that faced the riders on Friday, with Fraser Rogers and Matt Truelove ending the free practice sessions inside the top three of their respective standings, while Nesbitt and Van Sikkelerus worked hard in the tricky conditions.
Following consultation with the riders, a decision was made to postpone pre-qualifying for the Superbike class due to the conditions, with the organisers moving it to Saturday morning.
Sunny skies greeted the team on Saturday and, after a contrasting pre-qualifying session in which ‘Spud’ progressed directly into Q2, Fraser was forced to battle through Q1 for a spot in the all-important top-12 shootout. Unfortunately, he failed to post a time strong enough to join his teammate, leaving him 19th on the grid for race one. Nesbitt qualified 15th, just five-tenths of a second off the front row.
Superstock qualifying saw Truelove qualify eighth in the middle of the third row, while Van Sikkelerus was forced to battle through Q1. The Dutchman progressed into the second stage and secured 13th on the grid for the afternoon’s opening 24-lap race.
After a short turnaround, the duo took to the track once again for their first race of the weekend. From the lights, both ‘Truey’ and ‘JVS’ made good starts, with Truelove battling for the podium in the opening laps while Jaimie held 14th. Truelove then became embroiled in a battle with Josh Owens after dropping back to sixth place by half-race distance. The pair diced it out over the remaining laps; however, Matt ultimately lost out and was forced to settle for seventh, collecting valuable championship points.
Jaimie endured a lonely race after battling with Ben Luxton in the opening laps. His physical condition saw him drop back from his fellow Honda rider, but he still took the flag in a solid 14th place in his first race weekend back since returning to competition.
Just two hours later, the opening 30-lap ZYN BSB race got underway, once again in perfect conditions. From the start, the pair made good launches; however, after the opening laps it became clear it would be a challenging race for both riders. Grip issues plagued both Nesbitt and Rogers, who battled hard throughout the race to the finish. ‘Spud’ took the flag in 14th, with Rogers just outside the points in 16th.
By virtue of their lap times achieved in race one on Saturday, Nesbitt and Rogers started Sunday’s 20-lap sprint race from 17th and 20th respectively, and the race brought better fortunes. After once again making strong starts, the duo battled within the group fighting for tenth place. Both Fraser and Charlie enjoyed positive races, coming home in 11th and 13th respectively to collect more vital championship points.
The third and final 30-lap ZYN BSB race of the weekend got underway under sunny Scottish skies, with Fraser starting from 15th and Charlie 18th. After strong launches following a restart caused by a red flag, the pair found themselves battling in a group contesting 15th position, with the two teammates dicing it out together.
They exchanged positions throughout the opening stages until mid-race, when Nesbitt began to edge clear of Rogers. As a result, the pair rode largely lonely races to the flag, finishing 15th and 16th respectively.
The final Superstock race of the weekend saw Truelove start from seventh and Jaimie from 15th. From the lights, both riders made good starts and, after the opening sequence of laps, Truelove once again found himself in a battle with Josh Owens for fifth place, while Van Sikkelerus fought for 14th. The pair battled hard across the 24 laps, posting consistent lap times, but were unable to make progress through the field and were forced to settle for their respective positions at the flag, taking sixth and 14th while collecting more important championship points.
Charlie Nesbitt: “It’s been a tough weekend, I’m not going to lie. Whatever we’ve tried just hasn’t worked, and that is very frustrating for all of us. We’re in a tough place at the moment, but as a team we’re pushing hard to find the solution that will help us get closer to the front. I know we’re capable of it, all the ingredients are there. It’s just about putting them together and making it work, but I’m positive that’s possible.”
Fraser Rogers: “It’s just not going our way at the moment, and it’s not for a lack of trying. We’re doing everything we can to turn our fortunes around, and I was hopeful that would happen this weekend after our performance in 2025, but it hasn’t. The team are doing everything they can, and we’re working harder than ever to get ourselves out of the situation we’re in. We’ll head to Snetterton in a positive frame of mind. Our pre-season test there was positive, so hopefully we can pick up where we left off and turn our season around.”
Matt Truelove: “I came into the weekend hopeful of two top-five finishes and, if I got a podium, it would have been a bonus, as Knockhill really isn’t my best track and somewhere I don’t often feel comfortable. On Friday, I was pleased to be inside the top three in the wet, and for the races it was dry, so our results were damage limitation in all honesty. The bike felt good, the team did a great job all weekend, and we’ll head to Snetterton knowing we’re still in the fight for the championship.”
Jaimie Van Sikkelerus: “It’s been nice to get back out on the bike this weekend and complete a full race weekend, as we’ve missed a lot of racing. We’ve finished both races in the points, and that was the aim. It’s not the position we want to be in, but considering I’m still having issues with my leg, I feel we did a great job as a team. I’m still learning with the Superstock bike, and hopefully we can improve further at Snetterton.”
Team Manager Gary Winfield: “It’s been a tricky weekend, in truth. We had a solid start in the rain on Friday with Fraser and Matt inside the top three of their respective classes, but in the dry conditions on Saturday and Sunday it was very much a case of damage limitation for us. We have come away with points, but the results aren’t really what we want. We want more, and we’ll be doing everything we can to achieve that next time out at Snetterton.
“As a team, we’re really pleased for Jaimie. He’s had such a tough start to the year following his leg break during winter training. He rode extremely well in both races to come home in the points, and it’s a fantastic achievement.
“We’ll regroup as a team now and move on to Snetterton. We tested well there in pre-season and have good data to start from, so we’re hopeful of a stronger performance from everyone.”
Fraser Rogers and Charlie Nesbitt sit 17th and 18th respectively in the 2026 ZYN BSB Championship on eight points each. Matt Truelove holds fourth place in the Pirelli National Superstock Championship on 62 points, with Jaimie Van Sikkelerus 22nd on four points. The team now has a 10-day break before travelling to Norfolk for round four of the championship at Snetterton.
