The final BSB meeting of the year at Brands Hatch marked an important step up for TCG Motorsport.
Since the MRO Dyna-Pro MiniTwin Championship is now over for 2006 the team has begun to explore options for 2007 and was delighted to be given the opportunity to race a Kawasaki ZX-10 in the final round of the National Superstock Cup series held the alongside the BSB races at Brands Hatch. Superbike team Hawk Kawasaki very kindly offered to allow TCG the use of their garage, providing support and advice all weekend to both team and rider alike.
With very limited experience on a 1000cc bike prior to the weekend’s racing, rider Dave Hallett was not focussing too much on results, preferring to use the weekend as a learning experience. Nevertheless he made good progress on the bike and despite very difficult conditions finished 15th out of 52 riders in the first qualifying period. He also recorded the 4th highest speed through the finish line speed detector. The second timed practice on Saturday morning took place on a dry track; Hallett clocked his fastest ever lap of the GP circuit, recording a time of 1:36.382, good enough to secure 22nd place on the grid. This was an excellent performance given that there were in excess of 50 riders on track attempting to qualify for the 40 grid places.
A brief but heavy shower immediately prior to the race left the team with a difficult tyre choice. A “wet” race was declared, but the rain had just stopped: although the track surface was treacherous the team could have gambled on using dry weather tyres in the hope of benefiting from a dry line appearing towards the end of the race. The second option was to play safe and go for wet tyres in case the rain started again. A decision was made to use rain tyres because the experience of racing in this class was deemed to be more important than the result and nothing would have been gained from a crash during the early part of the race when dry tyres would offer very little grip. In the event race and championship winner Bob Collins was one of only a few riders to take the gamble, and for him it paid off, with a winning margin of over 25 seconds! Hallett finished a respectable 19th, but towards the end of the race suffered with a badly worn rear tyre.
“When I opened the throttle coming out of the bends during the last few laps the bike was going sideways rather than forwards; great fun, but I lost lots of time because of it!” commented Hallett after the race. “I’ve learnt a lot about the bike and also what level I need to be at to compete in this class. I’m very grateful for the help we’ve had this weekend from Stuart Hicken and everyone at Hawk Kawasaki; we’ve been made to feel very welcome.”
TCG Technical manager Chris Martin was satisfied with the way the weekend had gone. “It was a shame that the race was run in such difficult conditions: we decided to play safe with our tyre choice, although it was very tempting to have a go on dry tyres. In the end this weekend was about the experience rather than the results though, and we’ve gained a lot of knowledge that will stand us in good stead for next year. This is definitely where we want to be in 2007.”
Team Principal Gavin Wheeler was delighted to have achieved one of the team’s goals. “When we set up TCG Motorsport we did so with the intention of competing in a national race series. We’ve had a taste of it this weekend and we’re aiming to be back next year for the full season. It feels like all the hard work of the last couple of years is beginning to pay off. Thanks a lot to everyone who has helped us get this far.”
About TCG Motorsport
TCG Motorsport was established in 2005 to identify and maximise the potential of young and talented motorcycle racers, with the ultimate goal of competing at National or International level. In 2005, TCG helped Tom Gazzard to achieve 3rd place in the BMCRC Rookie 600 Championship, and Stewart Willetts to 7th place in the BMCRC Clubman 1000 series.
In 2006 the team competed in the MRO Dyna-Pro MiniTwin Championship with rider David Hallett, racing and developing a Kawasaki ER-6 in a class dominated by the Suzuki SV650. David finished in 10th place despite missing 2 rounds. Highlights of the season included several podium finishes, a pole position and a lap record at Mallory Park. The team also entered a meeting run by the North Gloucester Racing Club, scoring 2 race wins and a class lap record at the Darley Moor circuit.
The team plans to step up to a National race series for 2007. You can visit www.tcgmotorsport.co.uk to find out more or contact the team at info@tcgmotorsport.co.uk
Report by Jon Tanner – press@tcgmotorsport.co.uk
