Another thriller for Thundersport GB saw us take to the South East for Round 4 of the Championships this weekend.

Yes I’m sure you are all aware of the news that Gary May has been beaten by a classy Jenny Tinmouth, even the fact that despite breaking his bike into 2 pieces, Rob Elsmere raced his socks off on a borrowed bike to take GP1 glory…. but there are one or two mentions I would like to make.

Firstly to Mr May himself, he might well think the world is against him with all the stories surrounding him being beaten. Lets not forget though, Gary won 4 out of 6 races this weekend, he is without doubt the quickest man out there and you have to respect his style and tenacity. Without him, certain riders wouldn’t have broken their own personal best lap times whilst trying to catch him. He is a bloody good rider and long may his form continue because it is turning the rest of the field into better riders. Gary, well done!

In Thundersport 600, a prime example of that is Rob Hoyles. Rob had a better weekend as predicted and despite leading the races a few times in the early stages, he should not be disappointed from what’s now two very consistent rounds. I’m very sure he will be in the hunt for glory at Snetterton.
Jenny Tinmouth was flying and with her two respectable 3rd’s, to see her kick up a gear and fend off Gary in the closing stages to take victory in the last race, she certainly has to take a lot of credit.

In GP1, Rob Elsmere has solidified his 2nd place in the Championship and even closes the gap between him and Gary May, his performance on an unfamiliar bike was a joy to behold, well his team may not agree as it looked pretty scary too but back in one piece with a 1st and two 2nd’s is not a bad return from what looked like a bleak beginning.
Mark Littler, a man who deserves a mention, was super quick considering it was his first time out at Brands. He was desperately unlucky, after a ten second penalty on Saturday and running off circuit whilst leading on Sunday, the points he collected left Littler with not a lot to show for his efforts.
Tony Kielty had a consistent weekend and with two visits to the podium, he now moves into 3rd in the Championship. Scott Kelly also improved on his season so far and the young starlet’s first visit to the podium, makes the journey from Northern Ireland seem worth while.
Lee Reveley had Lee Cutts-Bland, Kevin Jones and Harry Cole chasing him this time around in Sound of Thunder, all were very close to Reveley too, but none could knock him off top spot in either of their races as he extends his Championship lead yet again.

The J&S Superteens is a class I could run on about for hours, on this occasion I wont, it was full of action, thrills, spills and glory and the second race on Saturday was one of the best I’ve seen. A big congratulations to Adam Shelton, Frazer Rogers, Brad Binder, Josh Harland, Tommy Dale, Alex Olsen, Bruce Winfield, Wayne Ryan, George Martindale and David Pearce, all of whom either made the podium or were desperately unlucky not to.
Steph Waddelow missed out on the action due to a broken wrist, her absence has left her down in ninth. Considering she was just 3 points away from the leader going into the South East circuit, it gives you some idea of how important finishing is in this amazing Championship.

In Junior Powerbikes, Simon Peyto was the man to take the most glory, 3 out of 4 wins for him and various podium appearances from Phil Polden, Steve Palmer and Colin Martin, meant that we again have more names to add onto the Championship table. Tony Coombs struggled yet again to make the podium this weekend but still maintains the Championship lead.
A big shout to Clinton De Tarnowsky too, the South African is getting that Ducati very close to it’s first podium finish this season and only just missed out at Brands, but with a handful of points, Clinton moves into 2nd in the Championship, slipping Jeacock into 3rd with Paul Rhodes following in 4th.

Moto 450 saw another 4 wins for Will Hodgson and although he had company this time, Rob McNealy wasn’t able to push is Husky to the top step all weekend.
Streetfighter ‘A’ welcomed Christian Iddon back from other commitments and he returned to winning ways on Saturday, but after losing his key to the #21 machine on Sunday, Iddon was left to watch Andy Denyer, Steve Joy, Bernie Price and Steve Hodgson take podium spots and leave him still 3rd in the Championship.
Sam Read did take 2 out of 4 wins from the Streetfighter ‘B’ class, but with John Hardwicke and Phil Page pinching victories and Keith Savine hitting the podium a few times, Sam’s lead in the Championship is by no means secure.

In GP2, Dicko and Davies ran the show yet again and despite playing second fiddle to Mark Davies on the Sunday, Lee Dickinson grabbed all of the 25 points from Saturday’s race whilst Davies was dirt tracking. Dicko’s strong performance has put him back to the top of the leader board, but 2 points is all that separates the pair.
Chris McAloran, who now lies 3rd overall, had a troubled time. A 3rd on Saturday was all he could manage on a bike short of power and just when the J&RB Racing team thought they had the bike sorted, Chris Hi-sided out of Graham Hill, ending his weekend with a chipped ankle bone to take away with him. Instead it was the light blue bike of a strong Nathan Pallet that was to take the vacant spots on the podium.

The GP3 races so far had seen Ed Rendell stretch his championship lead at each round he attended. At first, it looked very much like the same was to happen at Brands, we were wrong. Thundersport GB welcomed William Dunlop to the round and his electrifying pace stunned Rendell. 0.009 separated the pair in the first race with Dunlop the victor, Will then went on to take both of Sunday’s races too whilst Rendell didn’t take a single point on the last day, going out of race 1 in lap 13.
Adam Dudley on the Fireplace Warehouse Honda had two days he may want to forget, two DNF’s and 16 points is all he managed, in fact, the young man to take the biggest advantage over Rendell’s absence was 14 yr old Tom Weeden. After just missing out on the podium on Saturday he finished 2nd behind Dunlop both times on Sunday, taking his first win in the GP3 Cup class and then his 2nd race win to follow shortly after that. He now moves to 2nd in the GP3 class behind Rendell and is joint leading the ACU Clubmans Championship with Dudley.
Jason Dobson’s points from Brands now moves him into 3rd ahead of Dudley, whilst Jamie Edwards podium on Saturday puts him just behind Dunlop in 6th.

In the www.bikesportnews.com Ladies Race, you can do nothing other than salute Jenny Tinmouth, who was in fine form and with her ‘girl power’ she sets a great example to any female considering coming into the sport. Susie Grayson, who finished 2nd on Saturday in the Ladies race was mixing it up with the GP1 boys and took a top ten. Sarah Jordan, 2nd on Sunday, had fun with the Thundersport 600 class and so too did Deb Cartwright on her R6, taking two 3rd’s from the Ladies Races. Sam Burman who finished 4th in both Bikesport News races, did very well on her GP125, and she even grabbed three very solid top ten finishes in the GP3 class.
A big well done to all female competitors and we hope to have you all back soon!