Tim Hastings Racing #50

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Round 6 - Mondello Park (15/16/17 June)

A best ever result of 14th place overall - and 4th in the Academy Cup - was just reward for Tim Hastings on a memorable first visit to Ireland's Mondello Park for Round 6 of the British 125GP Championship.

As well as having to learn yet another completely new track, heavy rain throughout both Friday practice and Saturday qualifying made for a challenging weekend for the Falkirk teenager. Having only ever ridden a GP bike in the wet once before - an outing that ended with a 100mph crash! - Tim was understandably nervous as he took to the twisty Kildare track for first practice. Once again though, he showed that he was quick to learn a new circuit, and he finished the first practice session very satisfied with his initial efforts.

Unfortunately he then got in only three quick laps in the second session before having to come in with carburetion & engine temperature problems brought on by the wet conditions. Despite this, Tim ended the session in confident mood, secure in the knowledge that he could go a lot faster once the glitches were sorted.

First qualifying got underway on a wet track and, still learning the circuit, Tim ended the session in 25th. Following a heavy downpour just ahead of the 2nd qualifying session, the team decided to fit new design Dunlop wets to Tim's bike, and the effect was immediate. Combining the now sorted bike and the new rubber with his own ever increasing confidence, Tim then leapt up the leader board and lapped within 0.4s of his Q1 time to put him in the top ten for that session!! As other more experienced riders then began to fall in the tricky conditions - and with little prospect of anyone bettering their Q1 times - the team thought it best to bring Tim in and call it a day, and he ended the session a highly impressive 13th.

Sunday dawned overcast but dry, and it was soon clear that Tim would need to push hard in the morning warm up as it would be the only dry practice he would get before racing. With Tim already saying that he loved the circuit, the team was keen to see what he could do on a dry track. It wasn't long before Tim broke into the top twenty and within a few more laps he took everyone by surprise and jumped up the order to 7th!

Starting in 25th was always going to be difficult but Tim made another blinding start to complete lap one in 17th, and by three-quarters distance it looked like a first cup podium was on the cards. A gearbox problem however meant that Tim couldn't select 1st gear and had to use 2nd (and a whole lot of clutch), which meant he was unable to stay with the group of riders ahead of him. Despite the handicap Tim refused to give up and crossed the finish line in a superb 14th place overall. His 4th place finish (and 13 points) also moved him up to sixth place in the Cup competition, and it's a measure of Tim's maturity and consistency that he is now one of only two riders to score points in every round of the Academy Cup so far.

Mondello Park was an awesome round for the whole team, with Tim first regaining his confidence in the wet and then producing a tremendous result in the dry. There could be few better confidence boosts for the team as they now look forward to racing at Tim's local circuit of Knockhill in Fife in Round 7 of the BSB series on the 1st of July.

As always, Team Twister would like to say a massive "Thank You" to Green Machines, Digby Brown, Pro-Scot, Nevis Marketing and Arkose Design, as well as everybody else involved with Tim & Pete Banks Racing - because, without your help, we couldn't go racing. We look forward to seeing as many sponsors, supporters and friends as possible at Knockhill.

Read the race reports from previous rounds.