TAG Racing Honda took to the podium at round seven of the 2025 Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Cadwell Park, with home hero Matt Truelove taking third place in Monday’s Pirelli National Superstock race. Team-mate Shaun Winfield enjoyed a solid weekend taking seventh place in Monday’s encounter, however it was a challenging three days in Lincolnshire for the teams Superbike riders of Fraser Rogers and Jaimie Van Sikkelerus.
The weekend got off to an early for the Superbike riders, with a two and a half hour Friday evening test, allowing both Fraser Rogers and Jaimie Van Sikkelerus to acclimatise themselves with the 2.1-mile circuit ahead of the race weekend.
Saturday’s free practice sessions saw the team work hard to dial in their set-up, making a host of changes to cope with the undulating nature of Cadwell Park. It would be dividends for Matt Truelove and Shaun Winfield, who finished fourth and seventh respectively in the combined times. Fraser and Jaimie improved in time during both sessions, however it wouldn’t be enough to get them both directly into Superpole on Sunday afternoon, meaning they would be forced to take part in the 15-minute Q1 session.
Qualifying would be a struggle for Fraser and Jaimie, with the pair failing to progress into the second Superpole session, with the duo ending 18th and 24th respectively for the afternoon’s opening 18-lap battle.
It would be contrasting fortunes for Matt and Shaun in their single qualifying session, with the pair both improving in time and securing strong starting positions for their race on Monday. Truelove would line himself up in fourth, and at the head of the second row, with Shaun starting seventh.
Prior to Sunday’s first Bennetts BSB race, it was decided that Jaimie would sit out the opening encounter due to a viral condition he was suffering from, leaving Fraser the lone rider for the team.
From the lights he made a good start, picking up places on the opening set of laps, and quickly became embroiled in a battle with Luke Hedger and Josh Brookes. The trio traded paint until half-race distance, and Rogers soon found himself in 13th place, inside the points and riding strong. He posted consistent lap times, but ultimately it wouldn’t be enough to beat the Australian to the line, and the 29-year-old collected three points to Championship tally.
Following overnight number crunching and a handful of changes made, the team were feeling confident ahead of the Bank Holiday Monday Raceday. However, it got off to an eventful start with Fraser taking a small tumble at turn one in morning warm up, but the team worked over time to rebuild his bike to ensure he would start the afternoon’s sprint race. Jaimie had also recovered from his viral condition and was declared fit to race.
By virtue of his lap time from race one, Rogers would start 16th with JVS forced to start to 24th. As the lights went out both riders made great starts, with Fraser on the back of the leading freight-train and Jaimie in a battle with Davey Todd and Dao Racing’s Giannini.
Unfortunately, at the end of the opening lap, Jaimie was involved in an unavoidable crash ahead of him, which forced him out of the race. Upon inspection in the medical centre afterwards, he was declared unfit for the rest of the weekend with a broken right collarbone.
After a handful of laps, Fraser pulled into the pits with a problem, but the team quickly rectified the issue and sent him back out to post a lap time to ensure a solid grid slot of the final race of the afternoon. After riding hard, he would take the flag in 19th and securing 16th on the grid for the final race of the weekend.
Just twenty minutes later, it would be the turn of Matt and Shaun to take to the track, and from the lights both made great starts, with the pair holding their grid slots after the opening lap. Matt would then become embroiled in a four-man dice for the victory, with the home town boy battling hard for the podium.
With just two laps to go he worked his way into second, and battle hard to keep Josh Owens at bay on the final lap. However, he made a small mistake leading onto the back straight which allowed his rival to make his way past. The Lincolnshire man then rode hard to hold third, and crossed the line to take his second podium of the 2025 campaign.
By half race distance Winfield continued to hold seventh place, and battling hard with Finlay Arscott. Due to the tight nature of the Cadwell Park circuit, passing spots are limited, and Winfield struggled to find a way past his fellow Honda man, but he battled hard, holding position and crossed the line to take home 12 important points.
Following a small delay to the final Bennetts BSB race of the weekend, and under sunny skies over the Lincolnshire circuit, Fraser made a great start to the encounter, working his way into 15th by the end of the first quarter of the 18-lapper.
He then quickly dispensed of Billy McConnell ahead of him, and began to hunt down Glenn Irwin ahead. However, he made a slight mistake into the Mansfield chicane, forcing him to take the short cut, and was given a two second time penalty. He got his head down and regained that time, however, the gap to Glenn Irwin was too large and he rode a lonely, but consistent race to cross the line 14th.
Fraser: “It’s been a struggle this weekend being honest, but the main thing is we leave here with points on the board. Cadwell is one place on the calendar where you have to qualify well, and unfortunately on Sunday I didn’t, that put us on the back foot being honest. My crash in morning warm up was my mistake and I put my side of the garage under a lot of pressure, but they did fantastic to get my bike rebuilt and get me back out on track for the sprint race.
“So all in all, to come away with points, albeit a small amount, is ok, not great, but ok. The good thing is we don’t have long to wait before our next round, it’s the teams home race and I want to give them something to really cheer on.”
Jaimie: “I was looking forward to this weekend so much, but it changed a lot on track. I missed race one due to a virus, but we used that day to get the best recovery possible for Monday. But sadly that ended on the first lap because of a crash in front of me, which I couldn’t avoid, and I’ve broken my right collarbone. Tomorrow I’ll go the hospital at home and make a plan for the quickest recovery possible. Mega thanks to the team for the hard work they have done, they worked non stop for me this weekend.”
Matt: “I’m absolutely delighted with that, to get a podium at my home race in front of all my friends and family is pretty special, and to repay the team for all their hard work means a lot. We’ve been fast straight out of the box from Saturday morning, and we just continued to work hard to stay where we were, that is down to the team, they’ve given me a great bike and I can’t thank them enough.
“I’ve got a lot of confidence now heading into the next round of the Championship, I want to keep the ball rolling and continue this form at Donington.”
Shaun: “Going into a one-race weekend at Cadwell can put on a host of pressure as you feel it’s all on the line with one chance at top points. I had a decent start after the red flag to get away with the front but got caught in a battle which opened up the gap. The hot weather made for some issues with grip towards the mid and later part of the race, which meant I didn’t quite have enough there to make a confident pass. I’m pleased with a P7 finish overall and I’m delighted for Matt and the team scoring a podium finish.”
Gary: “We came into this weekend with our sights set on a podium and we’ve walked away with that, and I couldn’t be prouder of how the team has worked to get this. Matt rode brilliantly all race to stay with the front group and proved he’s a real threat to the Championship leaders. It’s a little bittersweet for the rest of the riders, Shaun rode a good race and we’re pleased that he’s been able to walk away with more Championship points.
“Fraser and Jaimie have really been in the wars but they’ve shown a lot of determination, it’s a shame for Jaimie, he had no way avoiding the crash and hopefully he can be fit for the next round. We’ll head back to workshop now and prepare for Donington, it’s the teams home round and I feel we’ll be strong there, so bring it on.”
Fraser Rogers now sits 15th in the Bennetts British Superbike Championship on 72 points, with Jaimie Van Sikkelerus in 23rd. Matt Truelove holds fifth in the Pirelli National Superstock Championship on 174, with Shaun Winfield ninth on 77.
The team now has a two week break before heading home to Donington Park on September 5/6/7 for round eight of the 2025 Bennetts British Superbike Championship.
