Tim Hastings - Round 10 - Croft
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Pole position, fastest lap, and a sensational lights to flag victory summed up a perfect weekend for Falkirk’s Tim Hastings as he took his first ever British 125GP Championship win at Croft. After a superbly consistent season on the KRP Honda, the 15 year old rode a mature and brilliantly controlled race to take his maiden victory by 1.7 seconds, and in doing so, closed within 3pts of the Championship lead.
The weekend started well with Tim finishing Friday’s two free practice sessions 4th and 5th on the timesheets. Although happy with the bike (and equalling his times from 2007), Tim - like most riders - was suffering from a lack of rear grip due to low track temperature and a circuit that was lacking in rubber after a lot of recent rain. Despite this, Tim felt confident that he could go much faster once the track offered some decent levels of grip.
In Saturday’s first qualifying session, the circuit was almost completely dry and it wasn’t long before Tim topped the timing screen. He took provisional pole with a lap of 1.28.804, a mere 0.007s ahead of KRP team mate, Martin Glossop, but with only a few minutes to go Tim then extended his advantage to 0.287 seconds with a time of 1.28.524. Unfortunately, Martin sustained a broken wrist in a crash during the session which ruled him out for the remainder of the weekend - a real pity because he was showing good form and would certainly have been in contention for the win on race day. Tim and the team wish Martin a speedy recovery.
Going into the second qualifying session, Tim held an advantage of 0.433 seconds and on his fifth flying lap of the session increased that margin to 0.8 seconds with a time of 1.28.004. After pitting for some minor suspension changes, Tim went out and posted four consecutive pole position laps, the fastest being a time of 1.27.910, allowing him to claim his third pole position of the season.
For Sunday morning warm-up, Tim ran in new engine parts before putting in a few quick laps to ensure all was well with his machine. Having ended the session fifth fastest, it was then time for a few final checks, a set of new Dunlop slicks, and a long wait for the race itself.
As the lights went off, Tim timed his pole position start to perfection, and got one of his customary lightning quick getaways to take the holeshot from KRP team mate Tom Hayward. The opening laps were closely contested, but the Twister held his nerve and by lap six had edged a 0.670 advantage over Jay Lewis, Connor Behan and Tom Hayward. Tim then consistently posted a series of fastest laps and, as the chasing trio slowed each other down, he extended his lead to 2.9 seconds by lap 10. Although the remaining four laps seemed to take forever, Tim continued to control the race right to the chequered flag, before treating the very appreciative crowd to an entertaining and highly emotional victory lap.
25 points in both the Championship and the Cup mean that Tim now leads the Cup standings by a massive 35 points with just two rounds to go. A mere three point gap in the Championship between him and leader Matty Hoyle means that it’s still wide open as the riders head for the penultimate round of the season at Silverstone on the 28th of September.
A truly memorable weekend was only possible due to the dedication and professionalism of Mark Keen and all at KRP, and Team Twister would also like to extend a huge thank you for the support of all Tim’s sponsors: Green Machines, Pro-Scot, Digby Brown, Nevis Marketing, Phoenix Honda, Arkose Design and NGK.
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