Supersport man Rob Hoyles smashed the 600cc lap record at Donington Park’s National circuit at the Thundersport Finale – but it wasn’t enough to wrest the overall Thundersport 600 title away from former British Championship contender, Gary May.
Rob went into the final round of the Thundersport Championship trailing May by just 29 points with 75 points left up for grabs. Knowing that he needed to win all three races – two at Donington Park followed by one the following day at nearby Mallory Park – Rob pushed as hard as he dare, racing at the absolute limit. May looked to have the upper hand in terms of outright horsepower so Hoyles had to try passes mid-corner or on the brakes.
Each race yielded identical results with May getting the upper hand in each despite Hoyles posting the fastest laps in both races.
“I was pushing so hard” said Hoyles. “Every time I tried to get past, I’d either run wide and lose a load of ground or nearly crash! I tried to get into a rhythm and stay close enough to make a move. All in all it was a great pair of races to be involved in and all the while Gary and I were scrapping, Jenny Tinmouth was nipping on our heels with Jon Lodge not too far behind her.
“The backmarkers caused me a few problems too, but then that’s all part of racing and just something else to deal with. I’m just really disappointed to have finally conceded the title to May, but on reflection can’t be too unhappy with the progress I’ve made as a rider, particularly taking into account the budget constraints and the fact that my team consists of just me and my wife, Nicky.
“Hopefully next year we’ll move onto bigger and better things but it all depends on money – I’m just hoping that I can raise a little sponsorship over the winter to help me go one better next year in the open class, Thundersport GP1.”
Mallory Park was the scene for the final race, supporting the prestigious ‘Race of the Year’ meeting. Rob again managed second place, taking his tally of podiums for the year to 28 from 31 starts including seven wins.
“It’s been a good year, all told. I’m now ready to focus on working hard to pay for it and getting stuck into winter training – hopefully 2009 will be even better!”
The races from Donington will be televised on Motors TV on Monday 3rd of November at 7pm.
