Press release:SMT Honda experienced mixed fortunes at Donington Park on Monday where they were competing in round 3 of the British Superbike and Superstock Championships. Whilst Adam Jenkinson took an excellent fourth in the latter for his best result of the year, Australian ace Jason O'Halloran only had a solitary 11th place to show for his, and the team's, efforts in the two Superbike races.
Running the PI Pectel electronics system on the Honda Superbike for the first time this season, the team only finished completing the bike a day before practice got underway and with a whole new methodology of racing to adapt to, they found themselves on a big learning curve throughout the three days of action. Qualifying was also hindered by a problem with the quickshifter but O'Halloran showed his now customary determination to place 16th on the grid.
A solid start in the first 20-lap race saw Jason move up a spot but by the third lap he was already up to 12th. By lap 10 he was up to 10th and looked set to advance further as he battled with four other riders for eighth but a major reshuffle on the 16th lap saw him drop to 12th and he remained there until the final lap when he re-took Gary Mason for 11th. In the second race, the 21-year old tangled with fellow Australian David Johnson in the early stages and he crashed out, fortunately without injury, also relinquishing his 100% finishing record.
In the Superstock class, Jenkinson had his best meeting of the season so far and, after consistently running in the top six throughout practice and qualifying, he transferred that form into race day. Third on the opening lap, the 24-year old got 'mugged' in the space of half a lap to slip back to sixth but he regrouped and soon advanced forward securing a strong, and comfortable, fourth place at the end of the 15 laps. The result also moves him up to 7th place overall in the Championship table.
Summing up the weekend, team owner Robin Croft said:"It's been a mixed bag this weekend from the highs of Adam's 4th place, the best ever for the team, to the disappointment of the Superbike results. Adam was running top six all weekend and overcame a spill in first qualifying to take an excellent fourth, just what he deserves after all he's been through. On the flip side, we've struggled all weekend to give Jason a good set-up on the Superbike, firstly with the problem with the quickshifter and then with the new electronics system. it's all new to us and it take a while to get your head round it but it's the way forward and I'm confident it will benefit us in the long run."
"We also had the wrong first gear on the bike and that made it difficult for Jason to get the bike off the line. He lost a bit of ground as a result and I think that's what probably caused the crash in the second as he was trying a little bit too hard. We're still 11th in the Championship though and only a handful of points away from those ahead of us whilst all the riders and bikes are in one piece so we're looking forward to Thruxton and getting some more strong results."
The team now have little respite before the next round at Thruxton, the meeting taking place this weekend on Sunday May 31st.
