Tim Hastings Racing #50

• HOME
• RESULTS
• RACE REPORTS
• GALLERY
• SPONSORS
• PROFILE
• CONTACT
• TIM'S REPORT

Round 6 - Mallory Park (27/28/29 June)

Following on from three consecutive Cup podiums, yet another superb performance from Falkirk's Tim Hastings saw him leave Mallory Park's double race round with an overall lead in the Cup standings. Tim also secured his first ever Championship podium and moves up from 7th to 4th place in the main British 125GP Championship - only 20 points from the top of table.

With the postponed Donington Park race rescheduled to be held at the short Leicestershire circuit, the Mallory Park round took on a new significance for the 125 riders - and it proved to be a memorable weekend for Tim and the whole of the KRP team.

The qualifying positions from Donington Park were used for the first 125 race of the day, so Tim lined up on the second row of the grid in 6th place. At the lights, another of Tim's legendary fast getaways saw him move to 2nd place into turn one and he then settled comfortably behind team mate, Tom Hayward. Things are never straightforward though, and Tim started suffering from pins and needles in his left leg which consequently hampered his gear changes and he slowly dropped down the order as the race progressed. With a big enough gap behind him, Tim was able to maintain 6th position in the second half of the race, and he was promoted to 5th when fellow Cup rider, Jay Lewis, crashed out on lap 15. Then on the final lap Luke Hinton crashed out of 2nd place (before re-joining to finish 6th), which handed Tim a 4th place overall finish and a second place in the Cup behind Connor Behan.

The pins and needles in Tim's leg were in fact due to his leathers being too tight on his legs, so some hasty alterations were made between races and the problem was solved in time for the second 125 outing.

After an average start - by Tim's standards - from 4th place on the front row, Tim held position into turn one. On lap four Tim moved into 3rd and then quickly closed the gap on race one winner, Lee Costello, before passing him and taking 2nd spot on lap 5. Tim rode strongly to maintain the position until lap 11 when he was challenged by Jay Lewis and he briefly dropped back to 3rd. On lap 12 Tim re-took 2nd and held off Jay Lewis until the last lap when Jay again passed Tim at the new chicane. Not to be denied, Tim struck back immediately, passing Jay at Edwinas and then riding defensively into the hairpin, allowing him to maintain 2nd across the line to take his first ever championship podium - and his first race victory in the Cup.

With Tim's KRP team mate Martin Glossop taking the win ahead of them, the race between Tim and Jay was one of the best battles of the entire day. The two 15 year olds raced with a maturity beyond their years as they both secured their first ever Relentless British GP125 Championship podiums - just reward for their efforts.

Once again Tim would like to thank all his main sponsors - Green Machines, Pro-Scot, Digby Brown, Nevis Marketing, Phoenix Honda, Arkose Design and NGK - for making this season possible.

In the battle for the Cup, Tim's last five finishes have been 3rd, 3rd, 2nd, 2nd and 1st, so he can now look ahead to the season's second visit to Oulton Park on the 18th-20th July with real confidence.

Read the race reports from previous rounds.