TAG Racing endured a challenging weekend at Snetterton for round four of the 2026 ZYN British Superbike Championship, with Fraser Rogers battling technical issues throughout the weekend to take solid points-scoring finishes in all three races. It was damage limitation for Matt Truelove, who took seventh in Sunday’s Superstock race, while Jaimie Van Sikkelerus bravely battled through his physical condition to finish 17th. Unfortunately, Charlie Nesbitt was involved in an incident in Saturday afternoon’s opening race, which saw him declared unfit for the remainder of the weekend.
The weekend got off to a challenging start for the team, with all four riders working on set-up changes to help them feel more comfortable. Both Nesbitt and Rogers failed to make the all-important top 12 in pre-qualifying, meaning they would be forced to battle it out in Q1 on Saturday. Friday would end on a positive note, however, with Truelove inside the top eight on combined times and team-mate Van Sikkelerus inside the top 25.
Saturday’s qualifying would see both Nesbitt and Rogers struggle on track once again. Even though they both improved their times by more than half a second, they failed to progress into Q2 and would line up 16th and 19th respectively.
Matt Truelove would enjoy a more fruitful qualifying session, ending fifth and improving his time by more than half a second once again, which would see him line up in the middle of the second row. Jaimie would also enjoy a much more positive session, improving by 1.9 seconds over his free practice times, which would see him qualify 17th on the grid and ready to battle hard in Sunday’s race.
The first ZYN BSB race of the weekend got underway later that afternoon and, from the lights, the pair launched well. However, as the pack headed into turn two, Charlie would be involved in an incident which would see the red flag bring a halt to proceedings.
Due to the damage sustained, Nesbitt would not be able to restart. However, Rogers would, and from the lights for the restarted 14-lap race he made a good start and began to battle in the points. By mid-race, however, he began to experience an issue with his machine and, although he could ride around it, he was forced to drop back from the group, leaving him with a lonely ride to the flag. He crossed the line in 12th, collecting vital Championship points.
After the race, it was confirmed that Charlie would be unfit following the incident at turn two, having suffered a fracture to his second metacarpal, and would take no further part in the weekend.
Sunday’s sprint race would see Rogers start from 15th, courtesy of the lap time achieved in Saturday’s first encounter.
From the lights, he made a great start to the 12-lap dash and quickly became embroiled in a battle with Eugene McManus. Fraser battled hard, keeping his fellow Honda rider at bay for most of the race until the final lap, where he encountered an issue with his clutch. He did his utmost to stay within the top ten, battling for ninth, but on the final lap and in the drag race to the line he lost out to Lee Jackson and McManus, taking the flag in 11th and bringing home more vital Championship points.
For the third and final race of the weekend, Fraser would start the 16-lap contest from 13th on the grid and, as the lights went out, he made a good start but dropped to 15th after the opening lap. He quickly regrouped and looked to chase down Lee Jackson, who lay ahead, however on lap seven he was struck by a physical issue which saw him drop back from the pack, forcing him into a lonely race to the flag, which he took in 14th.
The team’s Superstock riders, Matt Truelove and Jaimie Van Sikkelerus, endured a frustrating 12-lap race on Sunday. Following a restart due to a red flag, Truelove made a difficult start, dropping from fifth to eighth on the opening lap.
He quickly regrouped and battled for seventh with Tom Oliver and Josh Owens. After struggling to pass Oliver for most of the race, Matt made his move with just a handful of laps remaining and held him off to the flag. Team-mate Van Sikkelerus rode through the pain barrier throughout the race, fighting hard for a top-15 finish; however, he narrowly missed out, crossing the line in 17th.
Charlie Nesbitt: “It just feels like we have absolutely no luck at the moment, and it’s frustrating, really frustrating. We did show flashes of progress on Friday, and we were close to progressing into Q2 during qualifying. But when you qualify where we did, it was always going to be tough, and I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. The team are working so hard, and I feel we’re not far away, but we’re just out of luck at the moment and it’s costing us. I’ll be doing everything I can to be fit for Brands in two weeks’ time.”
Fraser Rogers: “It has been a difficult weekend. Friday was tough and, as a team, we sat down and decided to go back to our settings from 2025 and hit the reset button fully. It worked, but we still had to fine-tune the package during qualifying, which we did, and in race one we battled well to 12th, which I was happy with. We did have a small issue that I had to ride around, so to come home in the points I was pleased with that.
“The sprint race saw me running ninth for most of it until we were hit with another clutch issue, which dropped me back to 11th at the line, and in race three I was feeling good until I was struck by carpal tunnel again. I’ve not had that for a couple of years and I don’t know what has caused it. I’ll go and see the surgeon this week and make sure I’m fit for Brands. The team are working so hard for me, and I’m desperate to repay their hard work with a good result at Brands Hatch.”
Matt Truelove: “I felt really strong all weekend but, in all honesty, seventh is really disappointing. I felt good in qualifying and we were looking good leading into Sunday. We were searching for something to help us battle with the BMWs, which have been extremely strong this weekend, and unfortunately it’s cost us. It’s really disappointing, but looking at the positives, we brought home points, we’re still in the fight for the Championship and we’ll go to Brands and fight hard for the win.”
Jaimie Van Sikkelerus: “It was a difficult weekend. From the beginning it was tough. I wanted to make a bigger step compared to what we did at Knockhill; I wanted to fight for the top ten, or at least the top 15. But it was a big fight all weekend, especially in the race. It didn’t come together for me and I was fighting against myself. The team did a great job, the bike was perfect, everything was good and I can’t thank them enough for that. I’m just not there yet physically, and that’s what I need to work on, so I will do my best to be stronger at Brands Hatch.”
Team Manager Gary Winfield: “This weekend has been a challenge, if I’m honest. We headed here quietly confident that we could come away with good results, but unfortunately it just hasn’t happened for us. We’re working hard to make it happen, we’re putting all of our knowledge into practice, but it’s disappointing to walk away with only a handful of points. We will do everything we can to ensure Charlie is fit for Brands Hatch, and the technical issues we’ve faced with Fraser will certainly be rectified ahead of the next round.
“We expected more with Matt, and Matt expected more from himself, but to limit the damage with seventh and come home with some good points was certainly a positive, and it sets him up nicely for the next round. Jaimie is doing everything he can, although his physical condition is stopping him from making that next step, and we hope that from Brands onwards he’ll be able to fight for the top ten on a regular basis.”
Fraser Rogers sits 17th in the Championship standings on 19 points, with Charlie Nesbitt on eight points in 20th. Matt Truelove remains fourth in the Pirelli National Superstock Championship standings on 74 points, with Jaimie Van Sikkelerus in 23rd on four.
