Craig Fitzpatrick on the BLDS Couriers Yamaha secured a solid win in the Fuchs-Silkolene British Supersport Cup at Thruxton at the weekend. The 30-year-old had a ten second advantage on his nearest rival Andy Weymouth at the chequered flag. The 2007 Cup runner-up rider also gained a strong 13th place in the overall Championship.
After some stunning riding at Brands Hatch a couple of weeks ago he was unable to put his strong front row position into a race results after the cancellation of the round due to snow. However, he was full of confidence as he went to Thruxton and was keen to get his race season off to a strong start. A crash during the second qualifying on Saturday saw the rider who is now living in Derbyshire feeling a little second hand and bruised for the 18-lap race on Sunday.
After the crash Fitzpatrick was forced to miss 25-minutes of the second qualifying session as he only has one bike and he dropped down the field from third position on the grid to 13th as they were unable to fix the Yamaha in time. He gained a good start in the race and held his position of 13th at the end of the first lap. The safety car was despatched on lap seven after a crash involving Dennis Hobbs and James Webb, which had to be cleared from the circuit. On the re-start on lap 11 Fitzpatrick struggled badly with rear tyre grip and dropped back from 9th place to 13th.
Riding a confident race he managed to beat the 2007 Supersport Cup Champion James Westmoreland and also TT star John McGuinness. A content Fitzpatrick commented “I’m pretty pleased to get the result I got today. It’s a good start to the season and I’m sure I can get better as the year progresses. I think if I had managed to qualify a little higher on the grid then I might have had more of a chance to run nearer the front. Qualifying was a little bit of a nightmare as I managed to put in some fast laps at one point but I crashed early on which dropped me back down the grid. I’m eager to get to Oulton and try and get a good result there for me and also for my sponsors.”
The next race it at Oulton Park on the 3rd – 5th May.
Race Result
1. Brogan - Honda
2. Richards - Triumph
3. Martin - Kawasaki
13. Fitzpatrick - BLDS Couriers Yamaha
Cup Race Result
1. Fitzpatrick - BLDS Couriers Yamaha
2. Weymouth - Yamaha
3. Fagan - Triumph
Cup Championship Standings
1. Fitzpatrick - 25
2. Weymouth - 20
3. Fagan - 16
