It was mixed fortunes for the MAP Centurion Triumph team at round two of the Metzeler National Superstock 600 Championship at Thruxton circuit. Jimmy Hill was wiped out of 2nd position on lap eight of the 14 lap race and his team-mate Josh Caygill gained his best ever result in the Championship of eighth place.
Jimmy Hill had been working hard over the weekend and was consistently in the top four throughout the weekend and was eager to gain another podium position to follow on from his win at Brands Hatch a couple of weeks ago. The youngster ended up qualifying the MAP Centurion Triumph in second place on the grid, his first front row start of the season.
Jimmy got a fantastic start and was soon leading the pack but Josh Day made an impressive pass and further went onto win the race by 11 seconds. Jimmy was locked in a fraught battle for second place and the bunch were swapping paintwork on most laps. Jimmy finally made a break on lap eight but had his rear wheel clipped by Nikki Coates into the first corner causing Jimmy to have a massive high-side.
A battered Hill said "I'm really gutted to have lost out as it's really difficult to make up points in this Championship. The MAP Centurion Triumph team worked really hard all weekend and I hit a patch of oil this morning in warm up and went down and did some damage to the bike, Brad, my crew chief worked really hard to make sure I got out on track for the race. I got a great start and Josh Day came round the outside of me and just was gone in the distance, I got my head down and finally got into second place after a real battle and I was eager to make a break when I was clipped from behind and it threw me over the bars and that was my race done, gutted!"
On the other hand Josh Caygill struggled during qualifying and ended up in 16th position on the grid only one second off his team-mate Jimmy. A brilliant start saw Josh lying in 13th place after the opening lap and as the freight train unveiled Josh was in amongst it, with only two seconds separating second to 12th place it was anyone's race. Josh worked extremely hard to make his way through the pack and after a few incidents and some confident passing manoeuvres Josh secured a stunning eighth position.
A delighted Caygill said "It's been a long old weekend and I got injured here last year so I just wanted to make sure I didn't get mixed up in it all at the start and wanted to have a good battle and get a good result for the MAP Centurion Triumph team. I'm made up with the result but gutted for Jimmy getting taken out as it would have been a great result for the team. It was carnage out there and I just wanted to try and stay out of the melee and just kept pushing hard. The laps went pretty quickly and I was moving positions on every lap, I didn't even know what position I was in so was over the moon when I was told at the end!"
2010 Calendar
Round 3 Oulton Park 1st - 2nd - 3rd May Round 4 Cadwell Park 21st - 22nd - 23rd MayRound 5 Mallory Park 25th - 26th - 27th JuneRound 6 Knockhill 2nd - 3rd - 4th JulyRound 7 Snetterton 16th - 17th - 18th JulyRound 8 Brands Hatch GP 6th - 7th - 8th AugustRound 9 Cadwell Park 28th - 29th - 30th AugustRound 10 Croft 10th - 11th - 12th SeptemberRound 11 Silverstone 24th - 25th - 26th SeptemberRound 12 Oulton Park 8th - 9th - 10th October
MCT would like to thank the following sponsors: -
Triumph Motorcycles, MAP Group UK, Centurion RAS Ltd, VW Commercial Vehicles, VW Van Centre (West Yorkshire), ADD Express Ltd, Fuchs-Silkolene, After Accident Care Team Ltd, Smiths, THB Clowes, K-tech, Brembo, Promach, Skidmarx, Race by Design, RS Workshop Equipment, JT Engine Developments Ltd, HM Quick Shifters, Dynojet, B & C Express, HEL Brakelines, Samco Hoses, GB Racing, King Dick Tools, Knox Back Protectors, Pallex, Dread Clothing, Furygan. Stringray RV, Racepaint and ImageDzign.
