The mid-season race got underway at Brands Hatch, with a few team tweaks to the TAG Honda squad. As Fraser Rogers recovered from injury, he remained absent as Jaimie van Sikkelerus made one last valiant effort before his forthcoming surgery a little later this month. A welcome sight to the timetable was the addition of another Superstock race for Matt Truelove and Shaun Winfield; a circuit both riders enjoy and have scored solid points at previously.
Race One got underway on Saturday for the Pirelli National Superstock 1000 where drama unfolded at the front very quickly! Winfield and Truelove made great starts off the line following their previous qualifying session, fighting at the front end with the top 9 riders. A collision between Todd and Swann saw both riders crash out, advancing further the positions of the TAG Honda riders, bringing home a fantastic P5 result for Matt Truelove and P7 for Shaun Winfield.
The second race for the Superstock Series provided another 14 laps of back to back action with Todd battling to claim back the lost opportunity from the previous race. Team mates Truelove and Winfield fell into rank quickly, with great on track battles to bring back a P6 finish for Truelove and P8 finish for Winfield.
Jaimie van Sikkelerus approached the Brands Hatch weekend with good promise, having had podium success at the circuit in Supersport. However van Sikkelerus was unable to truly find his pace over the three races due to the nature of his pain. Previous surgery, compounded by the crashes at Snetterton gave van Sikkelerus all the assurance he needed; to take a step back off the Pathway Superbike and concentrate on his rehabilitation. Should Jaimie’s sugery go well and as expected, we look forward to welcoming him back at the penultimate Round of the season, Donington.
