The Biker Place

Tom Weeden had his Hopes dashed at round 3 of the British 125 Championship at Oulton Park in which bike problems jeopardised his chances of another point scoring finish and a podium in the Academy Cup.

Tom had been hoping to continue his promising start to the season, however in true Weeden fashion his luck had once again run out.

The team struggled to find a set up that worked throughout the weekend, and the bike was not running well. Top end the bike was average through the speed traps however the bike had no power coming out the corners. Tom made lots of time on the brakes and through the corners however the bike just didn’t have any drive out of the corners.

In the first qualifying session Tom could only manage to go 23^rd fastest and he was hugely disappointed with this. The team made some more changes to the bike for the second qualifying session and had a plan to work to however disaster struck on the first lap. Going into the fast Knickerbrook corner, a gearbox problem caused the rear wheel to lock up and high sided Tom over the handle bars. He landed heavily on his head and suffered mild concussion. Tom’s right knee and neck were very sore where the bike landed on him but luckily nothing was broken and he was declared fit to race. However he was pushed back to 29^th on the grid.

Further disappointment stuck when Tom was forced to pull out of the morning warm up after 3 laps due to an oil leak.

So with determination Tom lined up way back in 29^th. Tom made a brilliant start in the race and made up several positions going into the first corner. However the bike was still not running as well as it should have been and due to lack of track time, the bike was over geared. He was up to 20^th by the end of the first lap and was engaged in a brilliant battle with SP Racings Ben Barrett.

The pair swapped positions several times, until Tom decided he wasn’t able to pull away from Barrett. Weeden sat behind him in order to judge where he was faster, and where the best place to overtake would be. On lap 12 Tom overtook Barrett and tried again to pull away, however a mistake on the last lap allowed Barrett back through. Tom and Barrett were side by side as the exited Druids on the straight towards the last corner, and Tom managed to slip through on the brakes. However Tom went wide on the exit at Lodge and Barrett beat him to the line. Tom finished 19^th overall and 8^th in the Academy Cup. He has now dropped to 17^th in the overall British Championship and has moved up to 3^rd overall in the ACU Academy Cup (5points behind second place). Round 4 of the British 125GP Championship is at Cadwell Park; Tom will be missing the Friday practice day due to GCSE exams but hopefully his luck will be on the up and he can once again be in the top 15. If you would like to help fund Tom’s racing or help in any other way please contact Steve on 07831313699

Tom would like to thank Oxford Products for the HJC helmet that protected Tom’s head so well in the crash in qualifying; landing on his head at that speed could have been disastrous. Also many thanks to Daytona boots, PSI leathers, Knox Protection and Held gloves, it is very reassuring to Tom that he has the best available protection.

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We had lots of problems finding bike set up throughout the weekend, and the crash in qualifying didn’t help matters, but I felt I did the best I could from 29^th on the grid on a bike that was not running particularly well. I’m looking forward now to Cadwell, where I hope my luck will change and I can challenge for a top 10 position and a podium in the Academy Cup.

Photos by DDS Photographic

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