Just a handful of days after an operation to cure arm pump issues, Jack Kennedy claimed a pole position and led a Bennetts British Superbike Championship race at Donington Park.

In just his second outing with the RAF Regular & Reserve Kawasaki, Kennedy bounced back from a spill on Friday to make an inspired choice and fit an intermediate tyre for Sunday’s opening damp race.
 
Once the tyre came into its own, the double British Supersport champion was able to come through the field from 19th to seventh and claim the fastest lap to line up in pole position for race two.
 
“I didn’t have a great day on Friday and wasn’t in the best of spirits so I took a bit of a gamble with the intermediate tyre for race one and it paid off as I moved up 11 places to take seventh,” said Kennedy.  
 
“I really enjoyed myself and my pace saw me on pole position for the second race which was a very nice feeling – it certainly felt good sitting there with the rest of the riders behind me!”
 
Kennedy then led the second race in the early stages before fatigue began to set in with his arms but he still scored a very creditable eighth before wrapping up his weekend with 13th and more points in the final race.
 
“I got away clean in the second race and felt good sitting with the front pack but because the operation on my arms was only a few days ago, fatigue set in a bit and I dropped back although eighth was still a good result.
 
“I really wanted three top tens but with the hotter pace in race three I wasn’t able to manage that, which was a shame, but overall it was a good weekend so, hopefully, I can make further progress at Brands.”
 
Team owner Lee Hardy was quick to recognise the efforts of Kennedy in his short space of time with the team and believes there could be more to come from the Dubliner.
 
“Jack made a made a great call to switch to the intermediate tyre for the first race and had a great feel for the bike so it was great for the team to see him set the fastest lap and line up in pole position for the second race,” said Hardy.
 
“The arm pump unfortunately affected him but not before he’d led the race and he rode well all weekend; he’s fitted seamlessly into the team. The bike set up was really good and his pace and results are there for all to see so it’s only a matter of time before he makes even further strides forward.”
 
Team-mate Ryan Vickers’ race day also started impressively as he took an excellent fifth for his best ever BSB result but it unravelled after that with two first lap spills in the following two races, something Hardy is keen to be avoided in the future.
 
“Ryan’s fifth place was excellent but he needs to learn from the two crashes as he missed out on 30 race laps and it was particularly disappointing after the team did a great job changing engines ahead of the final race.”
 
“A lot of work and effort goes into the events so to have two first lap crashes is disappointing; the potential and pace is clearly there but we need consistent results and we need to finish the races.”