Last weekend saw the the Bennetts British Superbike Championship arrive at the
Snetterton circuit for the fourth round of the campaign, and it was once again a full stable
of machines in action for Team #109. Kevin Keyes was once again back onboard his
Kawasaki ZX6 in the Pirelli National Superstock 600 class, with Dickies British Junior
Supersport championship leader Eunan McGlinchey also in action following a two month
break. However, due to educational commitments fifteen-year-old Brendan Glover couldn’t
make the trip, but in his place on the second Kawasaki Ninja 400 was Simon Reid, 2017
Irish Supertwin champion.
On the opening day of the weekend in the Superstock 600 class, Keyes suffered with a
number of set up issues, hampering his progress on day one. Free practice one saw the
Offaly rider finish in thirteenth position, before improving to sixth in the second session
later that afternoon. However, not content with his position, he continued to look for
improvements in the garage throughout Friday evening. As he took to the Norwich circuit
on Saturday morning for qualifying, it unfortunately proved to be yet another difficult
session with the changes not working out completely as expected, stopping the twenty-
one year old from progressing any further than eleventh place.
The lights went out on Sunday afternoon and it didn’t take long before Keyes began to
make up for his fourth row start. Having passed a number of riders, and breaking well
inside the top ten on the opening few of laps, Keyes pushed as much as he could but
unfortunately began to fall down the standings as his set up problems reared their head
once again. Battling hard until the race was brought to a close a lap early due to a red
flag, Keyes had to settle for a tenth. However, later that afternoon the news was
announced that a rider who finished on the podium was disqualified, so Keyes was promoted to ninth. Following his promotion to ninth Kevin maintains fourth place in the championship, just a single point behind Grant Newstead in third.
The Dickies British Junior Supersport class was as always competitive and full of action
throughout the field, and following a rule change which came into affect at this round the
Kawasaki Ninja 400’s were deducted revs in an effort to bring the field closer together.
Free practice saw McGlinchey go back to the top of the standings following on from the
two month break, picking up where he left off at Brands Hatch, running right at the front
of the pack. New to the team for the weekend Reid finished the opening session just
outside of the top ten in eleventh.
Qualifying saw McGlinchey qualify on the front row for the opting race of the weekend in
third, with Reid breaking into the top ten for the first time over the course of the weekend,
rounding out the third row in ninth. As the lights went out for the first of two races in the
class, it was McGlinchey who set the pace at the front, leading for the majority of the race.
Elliot Pinson was the only rider to be able to keep with McGlinchey at the front, and after a
lengthy battle, which continued to the penultimate lap, McGlinchey and Pinson passed
each other back and forth multiple times, before constant pressure from McGlinchey and
mistakes from Pinson saw McGlinchey break away and take the win with a comfortable three second victory. Reid showed very well in his debut race in the class, making his way
into the top five on the opening lap following a great start. However a number of issues
during the race saw Reid struggle to keep pace with the front group, and he started to fall
back down through the pack. Despite the issues however, he managed to bring the Ninja
400 home in a very solid eighth position, scoring some good points in the progress on
what was his British championship debut.
Race two on Sunday once again saw a breakaway group of two at the front, with
McGlinchey and Pinson once again locked in battle for the lead throughout the entirety of
the ten lap race, with nothing separating the two as they crossed the line to begin the
final lap. As they entered into the final sector it was all going to come down to the final
corner, and unfortunately it all ended in disaster as a mistake from McGlinchey saw both
riders go down before the drag to the line. It was McGlinchey’s first DNF of the campaign,
yet despite the crash, he maintains his lead in the series over Kade Verwey, by thirteen
points.
Reid as he did throughout the weekend showed more improvement in race two, battling
well inside the top ten, and looked on to score a top five result until disaster struck on the
final lap of the race, when the Dromore riders chain came off, forcing him to pull out of
the race. After what was a great weekend for both riders in the class, it unfortunately
ended on a sour note, with both missing out on what would have been two great results.
Next up for Team #109 will be the Scottish round of the Bennetts British Superbike
championship, where once again it will be a full stable of machines in action with Keyes in
the Pirelli National Superstock 600 class, and McGlinchey back to defend his championship
lead in the Dickies British Junior Supersport class. Following on from his educational
commitments which kept him out of this round, fifteenth-year-old Brendan Glover should
be back available once again.
Team #109 Kawasaki would like to thank our sponsors for their continued support; TTS
Surfacing, MMD Construction, EMS Copiers, Cork Motorcycle Racing and Vintage Club,
Fuchs - Silkolene, R&G Racing, Kawasaki UK, Ohlins Racing, HEL Performance, Glenn Irwin
GI2, J-Tec Sports, SBS Brakes, JOG Tuning, Shoei Helmets UK, Feridax, James McCann
Photography, Gorman Crash Repairs, Jim McCann & Sons Family Butchers, Unlimited
Industries, MSS Performance, and Ross Motorcycles Cork.
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