Tommy Hill the Virgin Mobile Yamaha No 1 rider continued to make his mark in the world of Superbike racing this weekend (5/6 August). Brands Hatch in Kent was the venue for the eighth round of the Corona Extra FIM World Superbike series. Historically Brands Hatch has proved to be the biggest World Superbike event in their season and a perfect stage for the 21 year old Surrey rider to make an impression, and he did not fail to deliver!
Following his amazing pole position at the earlier World Superbike round at Silverstone where Tommy had his first ‘wild card’ it was always going to be a hard act to follow, but he put together a great weekend albeit for a mechanical problem sidelining him from a strong points scoring and scalp hunting race weekend.
Throughout the weekend Tommy settled down to a very good race pace, comfortably running with the top five in the World, qualifying in seventh for his first ever ‘Superpole’ (one lap timed to give overall grid position).
For Tommy this was another unique first time experience, knowing that the slightest error would potentially ruin his start position, but he handled the pressure admirably, far beyond his years and experience. A slight slide at Druids corner lost him 2 tenths and he never recovered, finishing tenth overall was a fantastic achievement but none the less frustrating for Tommy as he new he had a chance of higher position.
Experienced campaigners like ex Moto GP legend Alex Barros and World Superbike runner-up Ruben Xaus were well behind on the grid, and Tommy found himself on the third row alongside Yukio Kagayama (Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra), Fonsi Nieto (Corse Kawasaki) and Lorenzo Lanzi (Xerox Ducati) and set for a great battle.
Race one thundered from the start to the frightening decent of Paddock Hill bend, the sound of 60,000 air horns greeted the pack as they all got through the first couple of corners safely, Tommy had barged his way through to a fantastic eighth position.
The race soon settled down to a battle between championship leader Troy Bayliss (Xerox Ducati) and Noriyuki Haga (Santander Yamaha). They pulled away from the chasing pack which included the amazing Tommy Hill, not overawed by the salubrious company he was keeping, swapping paint and trading punches with some of the World stars was just up his street, the battle was for seventh position and one the crowd were really enjoying with Tommy getting great support with every flying lap. Tommy frustratingly got the worse of the battle coming home in 11th position with Troy Bayliss dominating race one.
Some subtle changes and a different rear tyre choice changed the look of the second race. A good start to ninth and a much stronger race pace put Tommy right in the thick of the action. There is no doubt a top eight position was on the cards but a problem with his machine forced Hill to retire on lap six.
Frustrated Tommy Hill said: “That is such a shame, I really struggled for grip in the first race, we learned a lot from 25 laps of hard racing and made some positive changes for race two which seemed to be better, I felt I could have ran a lot stronger. Ah well, we tried and I feel I have learned a lot. This paddock is getting is getting to know me and my Team.”
Team Virgin Mobile Yamaha manager Rob Mac: “Tommy putting a fantastic weekend together, fighting hard with these big names really shows his potential, this is a very high profile event and one where your weaknesses cannot be hidden, Tommy raised his game and worked his way through the weekend and he did us all proud. It’s a shame the bike let him down as I am sure he would have a had a top result. Our Pirelli contract allowed us to compete at the two British World Superbike events and in both we have been a major part of the weekend. Well done Tommy and all of my team.”
Tommy and his team mates Billy McConnell and Kieran Clarke continue with domestic duties next week (12/13 August) in the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at the Croft circuit.
Race One Results - Brands Hatch - Eighth Round:1 Troy Bayliss 36:26.855
2 James Toseland +1.657
3 Noriyuki Haga +2.248
4 Andrew Pitt +2.860
5 Yukio Kagayama +9.666
6 Troy Corser +16.731
7 Chris Walker +16.892
8 Alex Barros +20.707
9 Regis Laconi +25.196
10 Ruben Xaus +25.338
11 Tommy Hill Team Virgin Mobile Yamaha +26.477
12 Lorenzo Lanzi +26.709
13 Norick Abe +27.335
14 Fonsi Nieto +29.465
15 Sebastien Gimbert +39.195
16 Vittorio Iannuzzo +40.408
17 Steve Martin +42.389
18 Roberto Rolfo +48.053
19 Shinichi Nakatomi +51.243
20 Joshua Brookes +51.999
21 Ivan Clementi +59.569
Race Two - Brands Hatch - Eighth Round:1 Noriyuki Haga 36:29.709
2 Troy Bayliss +0.184
3 Andrew Pitt +2.242
4 Regis Laconi +6.523
5 James Toseland +7.073
6 Yukio Kagayama +10.903
7 Troy Corser +16.73
8 Chris Walker +19.715
9 Alex Barros +22.202
10 Ruben Xaus +26.797
11 Lorenzo Lanzi +29.702
12 Michel Fabrizio +29.804
13 Norick Abe +31.829
14 Sebastien Gimbert +34.177
15 Vittorio Iannuzzo +35.267
16 Steve Martin +40.940
17 Shinichi Nakatomi +43.413
18 Roberto Rolfo +45.985
Dnf Tommy Hill Team Virgin Mobile Yamaha
Related Linkswww.virginmobileracing.com
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