The weekend got off to a disappointing start as Honda British Talent Cup rider, Sullivan Mounsey, was deemed unfit to race on Friday. This was a result of a thumb injury sustained in training earlier in the week.
The 13-year-old said: “It is a shame I can’t ride at my favourite track. But I will be back for the next one, stronger, fighting harder, better and I just can’t wait. Hopefully you guys (the fans) can come to one of the rounds soon.”
Rounds 7/8/9 were not as straight forward for teammate Joe Francis either. The Bennetts British Superbike rider’s qualifier was red flagged, just before the start of his hot lap, leaving him in P14 on the grid for the first race. Francis raced well but was forced to retire with five laps, which left him sitting in P14 for race 2.
Joe fought hard right until the end in a dramatic last race of the weekend but just missed out on a place in the points by 0.348. Finishing that close to the points and missing out is antagonising and would leave many disappointed but Francis said afterwards: “It was one of those weekends where you put a lot in and didn’t really get a lot out, but honestly, I was happier with sixteenth in that race than I have been with any other points this year, as the bike performed well and we have made big strides forward on the way the bike handles.”
Dan Jones continued his fine form in race one finishing P5 in the GP2 class. After the race he admitted: “I’ve been inside the top five all weekend and had the pace of the podium, but it just never happened, through little mistakes of myself.”
Jones was optimistic for his last race of the weekend, but the mechanical plague struck. The #44 rider was hitting his best pace of the day, posting a 54.7, a personal, but was forced to retire due to a mechanical issue.
Certainly not the weekend everybody at the team would have wished for but plenty of positives going into the next round and their home track of Oulton Park in Cheshire.
Photographs by Dave Yeomans Photography.
