Dundrods Robert Kennedy made an impressive debut in the 2017 Pirelli National Superstock 600 championship with Black Horse, where he took the Team Sandown Kawasaki to 4th place in the opening round at Donington Park.
Qualifying was held in mixed conditions, which saw Robert qualify in 13th place, 1.44 seconds of polesetter.
Despite struggling to get to grips with the circuit, Robert made massive inroads during the Sunday morning warm up , which were held in much better conditions, and after being second quickest, Robert was in a more upbeat mood.
The 14 lap race saw Robert move steadily through the field, coming from 12th on lap one, Kennedy maintained his speed, picking of his rivals one by one, eventually crossing the line in 4th place, 4.86 seconds behind the winner Dan Stamper.
Robert will no doubt rue his low qualifying position, which gave him a lot of work to do during the ultra competitive race, nevertheless, something he will work on before the next round. Taking the positives from the race, he improved his warm up lap speeds by 1.29 seconds!
Robert Kennedy “I'm very happy with the result today considering its my first time racing at Donington, just wished I had a better qualifying position to make things a little easier for myself for the race but onto to brands which is a track I know so I'm looking foward to it. Thanks to everybody that has made this opportunity possible”
Team Personnel “We are over the moon with the result today. Robert showed today that he can be very competitive in the class which we have believed from day One.
Everything just got better throughout the course of the weekend with the more track time Robert got. We really looking forward to Brands Hatch in two weeks to continue the season .The Team would also like to pass on their Condolences to the Family of Mike Whally, who tragically lost his life during a race on Saturday”
Team Sandown Racing 2017 Sponsors;
Top Oil Boucher Road, Wilson Motors, Midlands Caliper Centre, Tom and Valerie Richardson, Maze Boiler services, Farlough Garage, Strangford Holiday Park Lower Maze Racers ,R&G Racing Products, Ignite Studios and Team ILR.
Pirelli National Superstock 600 Championship race (14 laps)
1 Dan Stamper (Yamaha)
2 Tom Oliver (Yamaha)
3 Davey Todd (Morello Racing Kawasaki)
4 Robert Kennedy ( Team Sandown Kawasaki)
5 Brad Jones (Yamaha)
6 George Stanley (Kawasaki)
Team Sandown Racing, with Robert Kennedy now look forward to Round two of the series takes place at Brands Hatch in two weeks time over the Easter weekend, April 14-17
Photos; Robert Kennedy in action on the Team Sandown Kawasaki at Donington Park
Coursety; Glynne Lewis Photography
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