It was a challenging weekend for TAG Racing Honda at the teams home round of Donington Park with set-up challenges, mechanical trouble and injuries for all four riders leaving a bitter taste in everyone’s mouths.
The weekend got off to a positive for all four riders, working hard in the free practice sessions to fine tune their set-up’s ahead of qualifying and the opening race of the weekend on Saturday.
Saturday’s morning qualifying would see Fraser and Jaimie finish the sole 20 minute session in 16th and 23rd respectively, after the duo improved in time following overnight changes. Matt and Shaun would also improve in time during their qualifying, with Truelove doing enough to secure eighth on the grid, and Shaun lining up in 17th.
Saturday afternoon would see the turn of the Pirelli National Superstock riders to battle it out first, and from the lights under the sunny Leicestershire skies, both Matt and Shaun made good leaps off the line and after the opening lap Truelove was holding sixth and Winfield had moved up to 15th. However, the next lap would see the red flag deployed and both riders made their way back to the pit-box.
After a long delay the race would once again get underway, this time over a shortened distance of nine laps, after restarting from their original grid slots, Matt worked his way into fifth after the opening lap with Shaun holding 17th. By half race distance Truey was working hard, battling in a group of three, with the trio swapping places. On the final lap it came down to a two man dice with David Allingham, but unfortunately he lost out in the fight and took the flag in sixth.
Team mate Winfield was also working and battling hard, to try and claw his way into the point scoring positions. He had dropped to after being dropped to 19th after being pushed wide by another rider at the Melbourne Loop. Even though he was pushing hard and to the limit, he would fail in his quest for the top 15, but he did work his way back to his starting place, eventually crossing the line 17th.
Just two hours later Fraser and Jaimie took to the track for the first of four 12-lap battles, but unfortunately as the lights went out Rogers was too keen to get going and jumped the start, for which race direction handed him a long lap penalty. Jaimie held his grid slot of 23rd after the opening set of laps, but his shoulder injury sustained at Cadwell Park, meant he was only able to complete six laps before he retired from the race.
After conducting his long lap penalty Fraser found himself at the back of the field, but worked hard to chase down the pack ahead, making up the seconds he had lost. The 30-year-old used it a time attack to post his lap time for Sunday’s first race, he got his head down and posted a 1:29.029 in the process. He would pick off three riders ahead and took the flag in 18th place.
Following Sunday morning’s 10-minute warm up Jaimie made the decision to focus on his rehabilitation ahead of his home round at Assen, and withdrew from the remaining three races of the weekend.
The first of three sprint races got underway at 10:45am, with Fraser now flying the solo flag for team and he made a great start from 16th on the grid. By the end of the first lap he was holding position and in the hunt for the top 10.
He battled with Scott Swann, the pair swapped paint for the full 12-laps, with Fraser making strong but fair moves, however on the final lap he just couldn’t make a pass stick and crossed the line in 16th, just outside of the point scoring places. He would however achieve a lap time good enough to place him 15th for race three.
Just two hours later he would be on the grid again, and after opting for dry tyres following a short, sharp shower of rain he made a great start and would find himself in 13th after the opening lap. After a safety car deployment at half race distance, Fraser had worked his way into 12th and began to battle with Josh Brookes and a group of riders for 10th. However, the next lap he out broke himself into the Melbourne Loop and was forced to rejoin the race with a broken gear shifter in 18th. He didn’t let it effect him, getting his head down and riding hard to the flag, crossing the line in 16th.
Mid-way through Sunday afternoon it would be the turn of Matt and Shaun for their final race of the weekend, with the pair starting sixth and 15th respectively. After the opening lap Truey would hold his grid slot, however after a tough opening lap Shaun found himself in 18th.
Truelove would then begin to battle in a group for fifth place with fellow Honda riders Brayden Elliot and Jack Bednarek. The trio swapped paint until a safety car deployment at half race distance, with Matt dropping back to eighth, however when the car came back in the Lincolnshire man got his head down and made it back up to seventh, where he would cross the line and collect 12 vital Championship points.
Unfortunately, after a challenging race where Shaun had dropped back to 22nd, he suffered a brake issue with his machine with just three laps remaining of the race which forced him to retire after his front wheel locked up.
The final Bennetts British Superbike race of the weekend would then get underway at 4:30pm with Fraser starting from 12th. He made a great start once again and battled for 10th place, chasing down Glenn Irwin who lay ahead. After a battle with Storm Stacey, he dropped back to 14th with a lap to go, but full of determination he worked his way back into 13th as the flag dropped to collect vital points to his Championship challenge.
Fraser Rogers: “It’s been a really challenging weekend to be honest, heading here I thought we’d be in a good position but in truth we’ve struggled at times, and good luck hasn’t come our way. I can’t fault the team for all their efforts, they’ve worked around the clock all weekend to improve the package, and for race four we did. I felt much better on the bike, so to come away with a good result in that race has given me confidence heading to Assen. Thanks once again to the team, it’s not been easy with four races this weekend but we stuck together.”
Jaimie Van Sikkelerus: “We have tried, and looked at it session by session. Every lap we have used as a test but the pain got higher after trying race 1, we found out a full sprit race distance wasn’t possible. We tried again in warmup as a test on Sunday but made the decision not to ride and focus on recovery for Assen. I will give it my all to have the fastest recovery possible before we arrive at Assen, which would be a very special weekend in front of the ‘home crowd’ and show them how beautiful the BSB event can be.”
Matt Truelove: “I headed into this weekend feeling confident that a good result would be possible, but in truth it’s probably been my worst round of the year. We’ve worked hard as a team to improve my feeling on the bike, but we just couldn’t find the sweet spot, sometimes that happens and you just have to move on.
“Walking away with a sixth and seventh isn’t what me or the team expected, however we’ve still picked up some solid Championship points so that’s a positive. I have a little bit of time off the bike now, my next round is Oulton Park, and I’m fully focussed on achieving good results there already.”
Shaun Winfield: “It’s been a tough weekend, we struggled to find pace early on but we seemed to get there in qualifying, I was only 0.3 off my personal best and my ideal lap time was half a second faster which would have helped me for race one. I got pushed wide at the hairpin during the first race and I dropped back to 19th, and when you’re racing back there some of the passes are a little over the top and I didn’t feel comfortable.
“So Sunday I was hoping for better but we had a brake issue mid way through the race and I was forced to pull out. I’ll regroup now, I have a little break before Oulton and I’m looking forward to getting back there.”
Team Manager Gary Winfield: “It’s been a really challenging weekend, but the boys and all the team gave it their all and I can’t thank them enough for all their work. These type of weekend’s sometime occur and it’s about how much you stick together throughout them to show what you’re really made of. As a team we’ll regroup now and focus on Assen.”
Fraser Rogers sits 15th in the 2025 Bennetts British Superbike Championship standings on 75 points, with Jaimie Van Sikkelerus in 24th. Matt Truelove holds fifth in the Pirelli National Superstock Championship on 200 points, with Shaun Winfield ninth on 77.
The team now has a 10-day break before heading across the water to Holland and to the famous TT Circuit Assen, which will play host to round nine of the 2025 Bennetts British Superbike Championship on September 19/20/21.
