It was a solid weekend for Team #109 at Thruxton, with both Eunan McGlinchey and
Kevin Keyes back in action for the Cork based team. Eunan McGlinchey cemented himself
once again as a title challenger in the Dickies Junior Supersport class, scoring a brace of
podium finishes, to retake the series lead. Kevin Keyes struggled for set up throughout the
weekend, but despite his issues he still managed to dig deep in the race and salvage a top
ten result, which as a result maintained his third position in the Pirelli National Superstock
600 championship standings.
McGlinchey got his weekend off to a strong start, finishing second in free practice on
Friday evening, before going one better in qualifying on Saturday, claiming pole position
for the opening race of the weekend.
As the lights went out for the opening Dickies Junior Supersport race of the weekend, it
was an action packed opening number of laps as usual, with Eunan maintaining his
position at the front. As the laps ticked by, there was a five bike battle for the podium,
with positions changing constantly throughout the closing stages, and as the group
entered the final chicane, everyone had their plan of attack, and when the dust settled, it
was a second place finish for Eunan, crossing the line less than half a second behind victor
Elliot Pinson.
As the second race got underway, Eunan lined up in fifth position on the grid, but by the
halfway stage of the race, he had caught the leaders. In the process of making his way
through the field, the Aghadowey rider smashed the lap record, lapping just less than a
second faster than the next quickest rider in the pack.
As the race drew to a close, McGlinchey was locked in a battle with the factory KTM of
Brian Hart, and as the two dragged to the line it was Hart who edged out McGlinchey by
just six hundredths of a second. But with his second runner up finish of the weekend, and
his rivals finishing on and off the podiums throughout the two races, McGlinchey moves
back into the series lead.
Speaking about his weekend at the Hampshire circuit McGlinchey said; “All in all it was a
great weekend, the bike worked absolutely perfect all weekend, and I managed to secure
some solid points which going into the weekend is what I wanted to do.”
“The championship is getting very close at the front, and a big thing for myself is keeping
consistent and scoring solid points each weekend, so I was delighted to come away with
two strong podium finishes and retake my lead in the championship. I would like to say a
massive thank you to the entire Team #109 squad who worked very hard all weekend to
give me a good package, as well as all my personal sponsors who allow me to do what I
do. I really appreciate all of the support, and I’m really looking forward to Silverstone
now.”
Kevin Keyes had a solid start to the weekend on Friday morning in the Pirelli National
Superstock 600 class, finishing the opening free practice session in tenth position. Making
a few set up changes in an effort to improve his time and position in free practice two in
the afternoon, Kevin managed to take almost three quarters of a second off his time from
earlier in the day, but remained in tenth positon in the standings.
As qualifying got underway on Saturday afternoon, Keyes struggled with the set up of the
Kawasaki ZX6 in the searing heat of Thruxton, and could only score thirteenth position on
the grid for Sundays race. With no warm up for the class scheduled on Sunday morning,
the Superstock 600 riders were given a third free practice on Saturday evening to test out
any changes before Sundays race.
As Kevin took to the track in the evening sunshine, he broke back into the top ten
following on from a difficult qualifying, finishing the session in ninth position, giving
himself a solid footing which to go into the race the following morning.
As the lights went out for the beginning of the sole Superstock 600 race, Kevin was
making excellent progress, breaking into the top ten in the early stages, and by the
halfway point was in a battle for seventh. However, following some issues as the race
came into the closing stages, Kevin dropped back from the pack, but still managed to
bring the ZX6 home in tenth to score more solid points in the championship, keeping him
inside the top three.
Recapping over a difficult weekend Keyes said; “Thruxton was a very tough weekend for
me as I struggled to get the bike set up I wanted throughout the weekend. After a chat
with my team we made some changes for the race that I was happy with. When we
started the race I felt really comfortable, and felt like we had great pace doing a 1:19.5
lap time straight away, in traffic, almost a full second quicker than I’d gone all weekend,
which was also the third fastest finishing lap time.”
“I felt we could have had a good race, but unfortunately we had an issue, but it will be all
resolved and I’ll be back fighting for Caldwell. Taking the positives we are still holding third
in the championship, it was another top ten finish, and I’m home in the same condition I
went. A big thanks to my team and to all my sponsors.”
Team #109 will be back in action once again at Cadwell Park in a fortnights time, and with
no Dickies Junior Supersport race, it will mean McGlinchey will be absent once again, and
it will be Keyes representing the team solely at the Louth circuit.
Photographs courtesy of James McCann Photography
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