THAT'S HOW CLOSE IT WAS TO SECOND POSITION AT THRUXTON FOR TOM

This is what 0.014 of a second looks like as Tom and Graeme Gowland race to the chequered flag at Thruxton, to secure second and third positions in the British Supersport Race.

TOM LEADING THE CHASING PACK AT THRUXTON

THE HIGHS AND LOWS OF RACE DAY AT THRUXTON

We woke to another glorious day at Thruxton, not a cloud in the sky.
The team were hopeful for two possible podium results in the British Supersport Race.
Tom and Pat were both feeling confident and comfortable with there bike set up for strong race pace.

Both had pretty good starts into the fast first corner Allard and all 34 riders got through safely. Tom was pushing hard and riding well and by lap 4 was in the lead. Pat was also going well in second place in the Cup standings behind his old adversary Dan Kneen also riding a Yamaha.
Unfortunately on lap 3 Pat's race came to an abrupt end whilst he was flat out in 6th gear at about 170 mph down the back straight at Woodham Hill.

His bike encountered the same problem as we had at the first round at Brands Hatch two weeks ago, an electrical glitch which cut the ignition. Cruel luck as the bike had again run faultlessly in all 5 practice qualifying and warm up sessions before the race itself, arghhhhhh!!!
We then had our hopes pinned on Tom who was having a great battle with 4 other riders, all swopping places every lap, very gripping stuff. Coming into the final lap Tom was in second position and then exiting out of the final corner the Club chicane Graeme Gowland was right on Tom's back wheel and just managed to out drag Tom to the Checkered Flag with a margin of just 0.014 of a second.

James Westmoreland took the win only finishing a couple of meters in front of them. A delighted Tom and the team had succeeded with a brilliant 3rd position and Podium result in only there second race at the British Championships. This now leaves Tom lying in a solid 5th position in the Championship only 2 points behind Sam Lowes with a further 10 rounds to come.

We believe we have found the problem with Pat's bike and traced it to an intermittent faulty ignition on off switch, a part only costing a couple of pounds. Anyway onwards and up to the next round in two weeks time at Oulton Park, a great track, with high hopes for both our riders.

ALL SMILES TODAY FOR THE TEAM FOLLOWING QUALIFYING

Thruxton was wonderfully hot and sunny today and it was all smiles for East Coast Racing. Tom was "on fire" and in final qualifying was sitting in Pole position with a stunning lap time of 1:16.3 with 1 minute remaining.

Then Skippy McConnell spoilt the party and went one tenth of a second faster on the Came Yamaha, so close but still a great result for Granty for tomorrows race starting in second position on the front row of the grid. Well done Tom.

Pat was feeling a great deal better today following a good nights sleep and managed to reduce his lap time from yesterday by a sizeable 1.7 seconds to finish the day with a 1:18.1 leaving Pat in 3rd position on the grid in the Cup Championship with a 5th row start.

Can't wait until tomorrow and fingers all crossed for some positive race results.

PAT AND TOM READY FOR THE CHALLENGES OF THRUXTON

The first day at Thruxton had it's problems with Pat struggling with food
poisoning and Tom suffering with a front tyre puncture in second practice.
However Pat finished the day with a lap time of 1:19.8 leaving him 5th in
the cup standings and Tom with a time of 1:18.3 in 12th in the main
championship. Sam Lowes was fastest with a time of 1:17.1, all to play for
tomorrow with our 2 qualifying sessions.

CREW CHIEFS SPIDER AND NEIL WARMING THE BIKES UP FOR FIRST PRACTICE AT A SUNNY THRUXTON

PAT McDOUGALL BRANDS HATCH RACE REPORT

Well it all started fairly well with 2nd place in the Cup Championship start on the grid.
Reasonable start when the lights went out then the hectic dash into paddock hill bend and up to druids for the first time, unfortunately I got blocked on the inside line and about 5 riders came past me.
I then settled in to the race behind Jesse Trayler (gearlink Kawasaki) but I had more pace than him but it toke me until lap 8 to make the pass stick, once passed I then got into a faster mode and was circulating in the 47 second per lap bracket.
At this point I was in 3rd position in my race and closing in on Dan Kneen also on a Yamaha who was running in 2nd, things were looking good for a podium finish.
But we all know what racing is like and on lap 13 (yes lap 13) I had a hiccup with the bike coming out of Druids corner and I lost all power and coasted down the hill and parked it up off the track.
The marshals then came to my rescue and pushed the bike behind the barrier, I then went back to it and fiddled with all the switches and hay presto it started so I jumped back on and rejoined the race in spot last position and 2 laps down.
The race was shortened to 21 laps following a crash and oil on the track.
Well not the result I was hoping for having won the Stock 600 race here last year, but my bike is fast and the team have done a great job putting it all together.
After the team got back to base Spider had the engine out of the bike and checked through all the electrics etc, and it all looks fine for Thruxton.
Can't wait to open "that throttle" at the UK's fastest track next week.
Roll on the second round !!

The new Race truck and Awning

Our smart home and workshop for race weekends

Pat McDougall Race shot

Brands Hatch Results

We had a good first outing at Brands Hatch Tom qualified in 10th place and had a good consistent race setting equal times to the leaders eventually finishing in 9th place.
Tom unfortunately had a crash in Sundays qualifying session thankfully not injuring himself or the bike too much.
We have ended up getting some good exposure with a picture of Toms crash in Mondays daily star and having a 2 minute interview on the grid which was broadcast live on Eurosport.

Qualifying 2

Colder track temperatures meant only 2 riders went faster. Tom remained in 10th position but unfortunately crashed midway through the session losing the rear in Graham Hill probably due to cold tyres. Tom has no serious injuries and only minor damage to the bike. Pat remains in 2nd position in the cup and dropped 1 place overall to 19th. Both riders are confident of their race pace for tomorrow.

Qualifying 1 Brands

Pat 18th with a time of 47.60 his fastest ever lap at Brands Indy

 

Tom 11th with a time of 47.00  

Brands Hatch free practice 2

Hello from Brands Hatch – latest news:

Tom 6th fastest with a 47.511

Pat 22nd with a 48.616

 

 

Opening round of the championship.

Hi, we have all just arrived at Brands Hatch and are really excited to get the opening round of the championship underway.
Check back for regular updates.