Tim Hastings Season Round up

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Tim Hastings: 2009 Season Review

Having pushed 2008 125GP Championship winner Matty Hoyle all the way to a final round showdown, Falkirk’s Tim Hastings went into the 2009 Relentless 125GP Championship with the clear goal of adding the overall Championship title to the ACU Academy Cup he’d won so convincingly the previous season.

As Tim entered his third season in the British Championship - and his second with the highly successful KRP team - he knew that a good start to the year was vital if he was to mount a serious title challenge, but what should have been a strong opening round at the Brands Hatch Indy circuit ended spectacularly when Tim’s bike seized and he tumbled out of a podium position at Graham Hill bend. Although he escaped relatively unscathed from what would turn out to be his only DNF of the entire season, Tim had already lost vital Championship points and moved on to round two at Oulton Park knowing that he had to get his title challenge back on track.

Oulton proved to be a case of what might have been for Tim. A disastrous start meant that an impressive 2nd on the grid became 24th on the first lap, before Tim produced an astonishing series of laps to climb back to 6th overall - and take his first Cup win of the season in the process.

Round three at Donington Park again saw Tim on the front row of the grid, but a rain interrupted race once again proved hugely frustrating as he slipped out of contention at the Melbourne Hairpin with only two laps remaining and, despite remounting, crossed the line in a lowly 11th place. With only three races gone, Tim found himself 11th in the Championship - a full 60 points behind runaway leader and team mate Martin Glossop - and his hopes of mounting a serious title challenge appeared to be over.

Thruxton has always been one of Tim’s best tracks, and despite a number of technical problems in practice and qualifying, he took a dominant pole position on the grid for round four. One of the races of the year then saw Tim, Martin Glossop and Brian Clark battle it out for fourteen laps, before Glossop slid off at the final chicane just yards from the finish line and Clark took the chequered flag a mere 8/100ths of a second ahead of Tim. With a third of the season gone, it was Tim’s first Championship podium of the season (and his second Cup win), but more importantly he had closed the gap on the top of the points table, and his title bid would continue.

A mature and controlled ride at the fast and bumpy Snetterton circuit in June gave Tim a third place finish (and another Cup win), but his real reward for moving up the Championship table was that it paved the way for a wildcard ride at the British 125 GP the following month.

The BSB series moved to Scotland for round six - at Tim’s home circuit of Knockhill in Fife. With a huge race day crowd and plenty of Scottish support, Tim was keen to deliver a strong performance, but a rare jump start landed him a 20 second penalty, and his race ended with a disappointing 11th place finish. At the halfway stage of the season, Tim sat 7th in the Championship (51 points behind new leader James Lodge) but with a healthy 28 point lead in the Cup.

As in previous years, Mallory Park in Leicestershire proved to be a good circuit for Tim as he secured his third Championship podium of the season (along with another Cup win) to move up to fourth in the title chase. His lead in the Cup competition was also extended to an impressive 51 points.

The focus then shifted to the biggest race of Tim’s career to date - a wildcard ride at the British 125 GP at Donington. Qualifying 34th on the grid for what was deemed to be a “dry” race, Tim made a solid start and settled into what proved to be a lonely 24th place, but as the rain began to fall, he was one of a number of riders who slid off just as the red flags finally came out. Unfortunately his bike was sufficiently damaged to prevent him making the restart, and his first Grand Prix adventure was over.

Back on domestic duty, BSB returned once again to Brands Hatch for round eight - this time on the full GP circuit. Knowing that a good result was vital if he was to retain any mathematical chance of winning the Championship, Tim once again secured a front row start, but - as so often in 2009 - the race itself was to prove hugely frustrating for him. Tim knew he had a problem with the clutch on the sighting lap, but despite his best efforts to adjust it before the lights, he couldn’t get the bike off the line and he was swallowed up by the field. Running down in 12th place on the first lap he then tried the outside line round several riders going into the final corner, but was forced wide and had to take to the grass to avoid crashing. Rejoining dead last, Tim once again showed tremendous determination to cut his way through the field - finally finishing 18th overall.

With his Championship hopes at an end, Tim then shifted his focus to retaining the ACU Academy Cup. Despite more mechanical problems, he took a Cup podium at Cadwell Park, then rode a hugely mature and calculated race at round ten at Croft to take a fourth Championship podium and yet another Cup win.

Going into the penultimate round at Silverstone, Tim needed just a handful of points to take the Cup. Despite a heavy crash in Sunday morning warm up, he took a solid fourth place Cup finish, and in doing so became the first rider ever to retain the ACU Academy Cup trophy.

With the Cup won and only one round of the season remaining, it was time to look ahead to 2010. After a highly promising first test outing on a 600 superstock bike at his home track of Knockhill, Tim was given the opportunity to test Gearlink’s Championship wining Kawasaki 600 superstock bike at Mallory Park - and on the basis of that outing, he was entered for the final race of the year at Oulton. Facing a huge learning curve, Tim showed great maturity in coming to terms with the new bike, and qualified 6th for the shoot-out race that could get him a place on the main grid, but a collision on the second lap ended his race weekend. Tim would however like to thank Gearlink Kawasaki for giving him such an early opportunity to experience 600cc racing.

2009 was a year of highs and lows for Tim Hastings. 4 Championship and 7 Cup podiums disguise what was ultimately a frustrating season, but Tim can now look ahead to the 600 superstock series with real confidence in his own ability and great enthusiasm for what lies ahead.

This year would simply not have been possible without help from a great number of people, and Tim would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who have contributed to his 2009 season. Mark Keen and all at KRP for their help and commitment, Shark, TCX, Knox, NGK, Evadne, Gibsons Builders & Chevin Ltd for their invaluable support, all those loyal fans who have supported Tim via the “Twister….Powered by Fans” campaign, those who made the extra contributions to get Tim on track at the GP, and all those friends and supporters who called by or visited the team at circuits up and down the country. Your support and encouragement is greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Warren Scott (27 Oct 2009)
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