Deane Brown, one of Britain’s brightest racing talents, left the Brands Hatch round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship in an ambulance yesterday as a badly broken right leg effectively ended his season. He will undergo an operation today to remove an existing plate and have a rod inserted which will mean he will be out of action for at least two or three months.
The 15 year old has been in scintillating form this year on his Team Appleyard/Macadam 125 KR Seel machine in the Relentless 125GP British Championship taking pole at the last round at Oulton Park and also in the Red Bull Moto GP Rookies Cup where he currently lies in 4th position in the standings. The injury came in the Sunday morning warm-up when he high-sided out of Graham Hill bend damaging the same leg that he broke so badly last year. His injury means that he will miss at least four of the next Championship races in both the Relentless 125GP British Championship and the Red Bull Moto GP Rookies Cup, and therefore any chance of Championship success in either competition.
In contrast, 125 team-mate Jordan Thompson shrugged off his Oulton Park arm injury and had a good weekend, scoring his first points of the season with a solid 13th place finish. The Cheshire rider’s progress this season is already ahead of the expectations of the team and hopes are high for another strong performance in two weeks time at the next Championship round at Donington Park which is one of his favourite circuits.
In the Fuchs-Silkolene British Supersport Championship race, Ashley Beech again made good progress in his first season aboard the Team’s Yamaha R6. Running in the top 20, he was turning consistently quick laps but slid off mid-race and was unable to continue.
Commenting he said; “Myself and the whole team are learning more and more each race and again this weekend we were playing catch-up with tyre selection. We made a change for the race and although it improved the rear grip, it also re-introduced front-end problems. I tried to ride around it but the front eventually let go at the hairpin.”
Summarising, Team Manager Robin Appleyard added: "Deane’s injury is obviously a shock to the whole team but he is in good spirits, buoyed by all the messages of support from his friends and fellow competitors. The priority now is for him to get fully fit - he is an exceptional talent and a very exciting rider to have in the team and we have told him his bike is waiting for him whenever he is ready. For the team as a whole, it was pleasing to watch Jordan’s ride into the points and also to see Ashley put in another strong performance over the weekend. Both riders are making great strides and if we can clip just a few tenths off their lap times, they will be right in the thick of the action in their respective classes.”
Picture Credit: DoubleRed
