Jimmy Hill and Josh Caygill had a steady start to the Motorpoint British Supersport season in the first round at Brands Hatch Indy on Easter Sunday. Jimmy secured a strong seventh place and Josh was unfortunate to miss out on the points in 16th position. The weather was variable and tyre choice was critical, Jimmy qualified in 12th place and Josh in 23rd for the scheduled 16-lap race. The Vancraft Triumph pair both got a good start and held their position after the first lap, as the rain began to fall harder the conditions became tricky and the two riders rode a solid race. The race was red flagged on lap 11 after the rain got heavier and riders began to fall off on some previously dropped oil.
Race two on Easter Monday was eventually cancelled after nine laps due to a mixture of water, oil and fuel on the circuit, which led to a number of crashes. Jimmy Hill started the race well and was tenth after the opening lap but due to the conditions of the track he was unable to push too hard and dropped back to 15th place. Josh had ridden well and got a good start but was forced to retire on lap four with a technical problem.
Jimmy Hill - "Conditions on Sunday were so varied that it makes tyre choice and set up such a lottery, we weren't sure what it was going to do and it made things difficult. It wasn't raining when the race started but the track was wet, as the race progressed the rain got heavier and it was important to not do anything stupid and just try and get some good points at round one. The second race today was full of drama and even though I got a good start I was unable to fight to hard as the conditions were terrible, I dropped to 15th but it's half a point! I hope things improve for us at Thruxton."
Josh Caygill - "The race on Sunday was a really difficult but after a couple of crashes over the weekend I was happy to finish in one piece, all-be-it just outside of the points. I think I passed Luke Stapleford under a yellow flag so I let him back passed me and with the race being red flagged I wasn't able to pass him before the race stopped. After race two today I was certainly ready for home, it was a bit of a nightmare weekend and not the start to the season that I was hoping for, I'm a bit gutted but hope I can get things back on track next weekend. The team all worked really hard and despite my small offs I didn't miss one session and everyone really pulled together to make it work it was just a shame the results weren't able to show that."
Metzeler Superstock 600s
Joe Collier the youngster of the Vancraft Triumph team was having a good weekend but he was unfortunate to crash out of a points scoring position in the race. Joe who has just moved into his first year of the Superstock 600's had been having a very good progressive weekend and every session his time was improving. He qualified in 11th place, after a fantastic start he was sixth after the opening lap and was in a very tight battle of eight riders. Sadly the conditions got the better of the youngster and he crashed out uninjured on lap 10 into Druids corner.
Joe Collier - "It's been a great weekend I was just unlucky and unfortunate to crash out, thankfully I'm unhurt and I didn't do much damage to the Vancraft Triumph. It has been a big learning curve this weekend and I am going to take the positives from it and build on that from here. I had a problem with mist on my visor for a lot of the race and it made it very difficult to see and push hard. I can't wait to get to Thruxton next weekend and hopefully get some points there."
2012 Vancraft Triumph Racing Team Sponsors
Vancraft - Volkswagen Van Centre (West Yorkshire) - Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles UK - SM UK - Doodson - LPR - Norbert Dentressangle - ImageDzign - AutoWorld - Dread - Fuchs Silkolene - Impact Repair Centre UK - Feridax.com - Shoei - Sidi - RST - Moto Direct - GB Racing - RaceBike Bitz/Samco - DC Chains (Performance Parts) - Renthal (B&C Express) - HEL Performance - FTR Suspension
2012 British Superbike Dates
DATE/ VENUE 13th - 15th April Thruxton Circuit5th - 7th May Oulton Park25th - 27th May Snetterton 30022nd - 24th June Knockhill 6th - 8th July Oulton Park20th - 22nd July Brands Hatch GP25th - 27th August Cadwell Park7th - 9th September Donington Park21st - 23rd September Assen TT Circuit28th - 30th September Silverstone Circuit12th - 14th October Brands Hatch GP
