After what felt like the longest winter, the 2017 MCE British Superbike Championship kicked off at Donington Park last weekend. The former Grand Prix venue, nestled under the flight path of nearby East Midlands airport, hosted the hotly- anticipated opening round in front of a bumper, sun-blessed, crowd. Well, sun-blessed on race day at least!
Before we look back at the exploits of our #FuelledByXpressCoffee riders, all at Xpress Coffee send their profound sympathies to the family and friends of Mick Whalley. Mick sadly succumbed to injuries sustained on Saturday afternoon after an incident during the Ducati Tri-Options Cup race. Our thoughts are also with the Marshals, medics and MSVR Staff who attended the incident and dealt admirably with subsequent events.
Due to the incident in the Ducati Tri-Options Cup race no further track action took place due to oil on a 500m stretch of tarmac so grid positions for race one of MCE British Superbikes were taken from combined free practice times. MCAMs Yamaha team-mates, Michael Laverty and James Ellison, lined up 12th and 5th respectively. A strong start for Ellison saw him lead the opening 7 laps before a hard-charging Leon Haslam took control. Laverty made a great start making his way up as high as 4th before both the still-developing Yamahas dropped down the order, Ellison taking 5th and Laverty 8th.
BSB Race 2 lines up on fastest lap times from Race 1 and despite Laverty finishing behind stable mate Ellison, it was the Northern Irishman who posted the faster lap to give him a front row start in third place ahead of the Cumbrian in 5th. Laverty looked the stronger of the two MCAMs riders as the race unfolded, however a technical issue put paid to any further advances and was forced to retire. Ellison forged ahead to take 6th place on his Yamaha R1.
Round 1 for STK1000 #FuelledByXpressCoffee riders Tom Tunstall and Jordan Weaving was a true voyage of discovery as the new for ’17 rules saw Donington Park host the first of the ‘100 mile’ races that will be a feature at selected rounds across the season. Experienced STK1000 man Tunstall had the better weekend of the two, taking advantage of the mixed conditions of Saturday to admirably lead the first race after qualifying 14th and taking a creditable 6th place finish. A quick pit stop and re-start for part 2 saw the Yorkshireman finish 14th as conditions dried and the sun appeared.
For Jordan Weaving it was a weekend to put down to experience and ultimately to forget. The STK1000 debutant unfortunately crashed on his out lap during qualifying, ending his participation in the afternoons proceedings due to not registering a time. Sunday was again a difficult day as the call to race came late in the day, leaving little time for preparation. Starting from the back of the grid, the double British Champion made incredible progress to arrive on the cusp of the top twenty before the race was red flagged after two laps. Sadly for Jordan and his Lee Hardy Racing team a technical problem with his brakes meant he crashed out uninjured shortly after the restart, compounding a difficult debut for the South African.
Assisting Xpress Coffee for the weekend was Andy Reid. The young Northern Irishman, just as fellow countryman Josh Elliott finds himself, is still hunting for the right deal to get him back out on track in 2017. Our best wishes and support of both these talented riders will remain and we can’t wait to see them back out on track once again.
The #FuelledByXpressCoffee riders are back out at Brands Hatch around the Indy Circuit over Easter Weekend with bumper program of races to be had. We’re looking forwards to seeing some of you there.