A consistently fast weekend at the fifth round of the British 125GP Championship saw KRP’s Tim Hastings take a strong third place finish at Snetterton, and his second podium of the season means his improved Championship standing could pave the way for a wildcard ride at this year’s British 125GP at Donington Park next month.
Following a change in the control fuel used in the series, the 125s were allocated an additional 20 minute practice session on Friday. Tim was quick from the outset and finished the day as the fastest rider at the end of the third and final session.
Saturday qualifying built on Friday’s practice sessions, and Tim went almost immediately to the top of the timing sheets, such was his confidence. After pitting for a few suspension changes, Tim headed out for the final few minutes of the session, only to find other riders waiting for him, looking to Tim to tow them to faster qualifying times. Although it's a testament to Tim's ability that he can learn circuits quickly and build up to fast qualifying laps, it’s also becoming increasingly obvious that Tim inevitably ends up helping his rivals secure front row starts! The weather on Saturday continued to deteriorate as the day went on, and a wet Q2 mean there was no chance of improving on the Q1 times.
The forecasted dry weather again took control for race day and ensured a large crowd at the fast Norfolk circuit - but crucially for Tim, the wind also dropped before the 125 race. With a chassis set up to deal with the high winds experienced during the early part of the weekend, this meant that Tim was struggling with a lack of grip from the rear tyre after the wind had dropped.
At the lights, Tim made one of his trademark quick getaways and took the holeshot into the first corner. Having completing the first lap with a 0.8 second lead, he maintained top slot until lap four when he ran wide into turn one - one of several "out of the seat" moments due to the handling problems - and took to the grass before re-joining in 4th.
Although Tim managed to pull back to 3rd and run the rest of the race in close contention for the win, he made the choice not to push too hard and risk a crash - deciding instead to settle for a solid 3rd place.
1st place in the ACU Academy Cup means he now leads the Cup competition by a healthy 26 points, but more importantly his 3rd place race finish moves him sufficiently up the main Championship standings to be considered for the 125GP wildcard slot. Hopefully this will be confirmed soon.
Next up is Tim's home round at Knockhill on the 3rd - 5th July which will be preceded by a visit to George Square, Glasgow on Wednesday the 1st of July to take part in the now traditional "Superbikes in the Square" promotional event.
Team Twister would like to thank Shark, TCX, Knox, NGK, Evadne and Gibsons Builders for all their support, along with Mark Keen and all at KRP for coming up with an outstandingly fast bike all weekend.
Finally a big thank you to all those who continue to support Tim through the “Twister…Powered by Fans†campaign. Your help is greatly appreciated.
Warren Scott 23 June 09
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Congratulations once again for being back on the "steps" at the end of the race.
Best of luck in getting a Wild card entry for the Brittish GP. Keep up the hard work
Dave