TAG Racing Honda battled the elements of ‘Storm Amy’ at Oulton Park as they collected solid Championship points in tricky conditions at the penultimate round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship, teamed with Fraser Rogers collecting his maiden front row in the blue-ribband class on Saturday afternoon.
The weekend kicked off in challenging style as the team battled the elements, courtesy of Storm Amy hitting the Cheshire countryside with all its might. All four riders rode sensibly throughout both of their free practice sessions as they fine tuned their set-up’s ahead of Saturday’s qualifying, with Fraser progressing directly into the second qualifying session.
Saturday’s conditions would also be just as tricky as the previous day, with Matt and Shaun experiencing the full brunt of Storm Amy during their morning qualifying session. The session would be red flagged with ten minutes remaining and the organisers made the decision to not restart it, leaving Matt and Shaun in 9th and 11th respectively on the grid for their first race later that afternoon.
Following a period of delayed track action to allow the conditions to improve, it would be the turn of Fraser and Jaimie to qualify for the opening Bennetts BSB race of the weekend. JVS would take to the track first in Q1 and rode comfortably in tricky conditions, but he would sadly fail to progress into Q2, but he would post his fastest lap of the weekend, taking 18th on the grid.
Q2 would then commence with Fraser heading out on track with a full wet set up, however with just a handful of minutes remaining he suffered a slight technical issue with his rear brake bracket snapping. He made his way back to the pits and the team worked frantically to repair the issue, quickly sending Fraser back on track with just three minutes remaining.
Rogers then bit the screen and posted his fastest lap of the weekend on his final circulation to secure his maiden BSB front row, lining up for the afternoon’s race in 2nd on the grid.
Just one hour later Matt and Shaun rolled up to the grid for their opening race, with a full dry set up and dry tyres. From the lights both riders made great launches off the line, and after the opening lap Matt moved up two places to 7th with Shaun in 13th. However, the next lap the race was red flagged, with riders brought back to pit lane.
After the delay, a nine lap dash got underway with Truey making his way into sixth after the opening lap and on the back of the leading group. Unfortunately, Shaun was pushed wide at turn one onto the remaining damp patches and was forced back to 16th.
The Lincolnshire man continued to fight hard as he held onto his sixth spot, but he was kept honest by a charging Bradley Perie. The pair diced until the flag, but Matt ensured he would keep his rival at bay, crossing the line just 0.130 ahead of Pirie after a strong final lap.
After a challenging opening lap, Winfield quickly regrouped and began to pick off riders who lay ahead, making his way back into the points by half race distance. He continued to ride hard, passing the two riders who lay ahead as he took the flag, crossing the line in a solid 12th place.
The first BSB battle of the weekend got underway under dry conditions, and as the lights went out Fraser made one his customary excellent starts, grabbing the holeshot and leading the race after the opening lap, with Jaimie holding 18th. However, conditions would once again take a turn for the worse with rain falling once again, forcing a stoppage to proceedings.
It was then a gamble on tyre choice, with both Fraser and Jaimie opting for the harder rear tyre choice, with a handful of their challengers choosing the intermediate option. Once again both made great starts, with Fraser taking the lead of the race as he looked to take a career first victory in the top class.
Track conditions then began to improve, and the two riders who opted for intermediate tyres began to pull through, passing Fraser in the process, dropping him back to third. He would then become embroiled in a battle with Kyle Ryde and Storm Stacey for the final podium spot, but after giving it his all he just missed out by 2.4 seconds from the defending Champion, crossing the line in fourth place.
Van Sikkelerus kept himself out of trouble and rode well in tricky conditions, just missing out on the final Championship point, taking the flag in 16th.
Sunday would once again see tricky conditions face the riders, with high winds and changeable weather the order of the day. By virtue of their lap times in the opening race on Saturday, Fraser would line up for the sprint race in 10th, with Jaimie ten places back in 20th.
Once again tyre choice was key given the damp track, with Fraser and Jaimie opting once again for the harder wet rear tryre, and wet front. From the lights they made fantastic starts, with Fraser making up eight places after the opening lap to take second place and hunting down race leader Kyle Ryde, with Jaimie holding 20th.
But, the next lap the race was red flagged due to a mechanical issue for Peter Hickman, which led to a lengthy delay. Following the track clean up process, the sprint race was cut to 8 laps with both riders starting from their original grid slots on a fully dry track.
The pair once again made great starts, but quickly became embroiled in battles mid pack. Fraser showed solid pace as he tussled it out with Scott Redding and Glenn Irwin, swapping and exchanging places as they diced it out for 11th. Unfortunately Fraser would lose out in the battle on the final lap, however he crossed the line in 13th, collecting a handful of Championship points. Jaimie would experience a lonely race, but once again rode with his head to cross the line 19th.
After an hour break, the final Bennetts BSB race would get underway with Rogers starting 14th and Jaimie 21st. From the lights they launched well and held their grid slots, and battled with their own groups of riders.
Over the 18-laps Fraser would post consistent lap times as he chased Josh Brookes and Lee Jackson who lay ahead, but unfortunately he just couldn’t find a way past, and at the flag after a frustrating mid race lull, he finished in 13th place.
Jaimie also battled hard across the 18-laps, swapping and changing places with Jamie Davis and Blaze Baker, losing out in the penultimate lap to Baker for 20th, however he dug deep and ensured he fought back to take the place, holding the South African off at the line.
Unfortunately, due to the track contamination period, it was confirmed that the second Pirelli National Superstock race would be rescheduled and moved to the final round at Brands Hatch.
Fraser Rogers: “Other than Knockhill it’s been the best weekend of our year in my opinion, I grabbed my first front row in qualifying which I was delighted with because everyone hangs it out on the line in that session. I was happy enough with fourth in race one, I led some of the race and given our tyre choice we were second in the wet tyre race.
“And Sunday, given the delay I’m happy to get two 13th’s in the dry, we were back in the battle and in the group of Honda’s. We had good late, race pace and I felt comfortable. I do believe we can do a good job in the dry, we’re making great progress and it’s starting to show. Roll on Brands, I was fast there earlier in the year and I want to round the year off on a high.”
Jaimie Van Sikkelerus: “It was a crazy weekend with the weather and I was happy with how much confidence I felt in the wet conditions later on in the weekend, but in the dry conditions I just didn’t have the pace I needed but I had a good battle, I was able to make some passes and that have given me some confidence. Physically it was tough for me, but I gave it everything and I’m excited to get to Brands Hatch for the final round and give it my all.”
Matt Truelove: “It’s been a really challenging weekend to be honest, I had good pace in the wet conditions on Friday and I think I would have qualified much better on Saturday but unfortunately our session was cut short, which to me was a real shame, but I understood the call from race direction. I had good pace in the race, I just wasn’t brave enough early on in the damp patches, and I got held up on the opening set of laps which cost me, I just lost the tow to the leading group.
“It’s frustrating to not get another race in on Sunday but it was totally out of our hands, it does mean we get an extra chance at Brands Hatch to try and secure third in the Championship. It really is game on there, especially with the extra points we’ll receive in the races. Thanks to the team this weekend, it really has been a challenge but they rose to it and did everything they could.”
Shaun Winfield: “All in all it’s not been a bad weekend, especially with the conditions we’ve faced. I had some pretty good confidence and pace in the wet, which is often where I struggle. We had a good set-up in the wet, I qualified well and I thought I would be able to race well. But in the re start I got pushed wide on to the wet patches and had to drop back to 16th which wasn’t ideal, I had a bit of work to do and clawed my way back up to 12th. It’s unfortunate we didn’t get to race on Sunday but I’m excited for Brands and ready to round the season off on a high.”
Team manager Gary Winfield: “We’ve had everything thrown at us this weekend and I’m really pleased with how we’ve finished here, although we’re leaving feeling that we should have had some silerware, but that’s how racing goes sometimes.
“We’re making some fantastic progress with all the guys and it’s giving us a lot of confidence as we head into the final round at Brands Hatch. We want to round the season off on a high and I’m confident that we can.”
Fraser Rogers currently holds 15th in the Bennetts British Superbike Championship on 119 points, with Jaimie 21st on 7 points. Matt Truelove sits sixth in the Pirelli National Superstock Championship on 214, just 15 back of Josh Owens in third, with Shaun Winfield sat in ninth on 81.
The team now has a ten day turnaround before travelling south to the final round of the 2025 Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Brands Hatch on October 17/18/19.
