Tim Hastings - BSB 125GP - Round 2 Oulton Park
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After an eventful first round of the British 125GP Championship, Falkirk’s Tim Hastings got his 2008 season back on track when he gained his first ever Cup podium at Round 2 at Oulton Park on Bank Holiday Monday.
Although the spectacular Cheshire circuit is one of Tim’s favourite tracks, qualifying turned out to be a frustrating affair with Tim alternating between setting personal best times in some sectors and then finding himself being baulked by slower riders in others. He finally ended the first session in 8th place - some 0.6 seconds off pole position.
Sunday’s second qualifying session was held in the wet and with Saturday’s times having been set in dry conditions and the forecasters predicting a dry race day slot for the 125s, Tim elected to sit the session out and concentrate instead on the following day.
A fine race start from the second row of the grid saw Tim move into the top five early in the first lap, but with the pack not quite up to full race pace the KRP Honda bogged down on the long run to Island Bend and Tim was lucky not to be hit as bikes passed him left and right. Finding himself back down in 12th place he then set about making up the lost ground, and although the leading bikes were already out of reach he slowly worked his way back through to an impressive 6th place - setting the fastest lap by a Cup rider in the process. With the chequered flag almost in sight however, the bike stuttered going up Deer Leap for the final time - bizarrely running low on fuel - and Tim lost the 6th spot to team mate Tom Hayward on the line.
Despite not going entirely to plan, the race gave Tim his best ever overall finish - 7th place - and his first ever BSB 125GP podium for a 3rd place finish in the Cup. He now lies in the top ten of the main Championship and in third place in the Cup competition for 14-16 year olds. It’s also a measure of the rapid progress Tim has made that his best lap was some 3.5 seconds faster than at the same meeting last season.
The BSB series now returns to the Brands Hatch GP circuit for the rearranged meeting, and with a second row start on the grid already in place, Tim can concentrate on securing his next podium at another of his favourite tracks.
Team Twister would like to say a massive thank you to all at team KRP, Mark Keen and all the mechanics who work tirelessly to turn out a fantastically prepared machine and work hard with all the riders in their pursuit of the best possible results. The team would also like to thank Tim’s personal sponsors; Green Machines, Digby Brown Solicitors, Pro-Scott, Phoenix Honda, Nevis Marketing & Arkose Design.
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