Not for the first time this season, the Map Embassy boys were still hard at work in their pit box on Friday and Saturday night, long after most teams had closed their garages and left the track. This hard work and dedication seems to be paying off with another podium finish in a scorcher at Brands Hatch today (Sunday 11th May)
With the qualifying positions from the last Brands Hatch meet in place for today’s race the team were already in a good position to add to their success at Oulton Park. Glen was second on the grid, Paul ninth whilst AJ was second in his class too.
Glen and Paul both got off to bad starts with Glen dropping to 6th and Youngy back to 18th after a bump from Midge Smart forced his brake lever high, forcing him to slow down in order to readjust it but it still clearly affected him throughout the race. After three riders came off at the first turn the safety car came out for two laps. When it eventually returned to the pit the Map Embassy Supersport riders got their heads down and got back to work. Glen managed to climb to 3rd almost immediately and then a lap later passed Brogan on the HM Plant Honda to take 2nd, where he stayed throughout the remainder of the race, unable to catch Hudson Kennaugh on his Raceways Yamaha who had put his own result beyond doubt.
Glen Richards gave his thoughts on the race.
“Once I passed Brogan my hardest job was trying to put some distance between me and the pack. I managed to do that but couldn’t catch Hudson. He raced well today throughout and took some revenge for the result at Oulton Park. We have got our work cut out this year there is no doubt about it, but I’m confident in the bike, the team and my ability.”
Paul did extremely well to climb in to the top ten considering the start he got and the technical problems that occurred after his bump with Smart. The bike and rider clearly have the capabilities, but Youngy is in desperate need of some good luck to get his year back on track.
1.Hudson Kennaugh - (Raceways Yamaha)
2. Glen Richards - (MAP Embassy Racing Triumph)
3. Steve Brogan - (HM Plant Honda)
4. James Westmoreland - (Centurion Racing Honda)
5. BJ Toal - (Virgin Media Yamaha)
10. Paul Young – (MAP Embassy Racing Triumph)
It was a particularly frustrating afternoon for our young South African rider AJ Venter. He made a good start from his P2 position on the grid and crept in to the lead. By lap 11 he had slipped to third but was hot on the heels of Chris Northover of Haribo Starmix in second, but the pair ended up leaving the track when Northover fell bringing AJ with him and causing him to fall heavily. AJ was physically fine but his race was over.
"I’m gutted I really am, I was pushing for second with three laps to go, then all of a sudden I’m on the ground through no fault of my own. There was really nothing I could do about it and it is incredibly frustrating for me to take."
Due to the rescheduled meet at Brands Hatch, the Supersport and Superstock races had to be incorporated into the MRO schedule that was taking place at the track this weekend. One of those races being the Triumph Triple Challenge. So, as you would expect, the only Triumph factory backed team drew even more attention than we had enjoyed at previous rounds, with a hoard of Triumph fans and riders trying to get a glimpse of our garage and an autograph from our three riders. Needless to say I think the whole team, though they would never admit it, enjoyed the attention.
The team now have two weeks to prepare before the next race at Donington on the 26th of May.
