Page 1 of 1

Tim Hastings - Round 4 - Cadwell Park

Posted: Thu May 27, 2010 1:28 pm
by Zax
Round 4 - Cadwell Park

A mature ride on the Team Green Kawasaki ZX6R saw Tim Hastings score his third consecutive top twenty finish of the season in a sometimes frustrating weekend at Cadwell Park

Having previously struggled at Cadwell during his 125 career, Tim was slightly apprehensive as he headed for his first taste of 600cc action, and the weekend got of to a mixed start as he started well in free practice but then crashed out at Park corner near the end of the session. Tim was however pleased with his progress, and felt the circuit was easier to ride on a 600 than a 125. With the bike quickly repaired, Tim went out for first qualifying and improved lap on lap to end the session in P12 in his group and P22 overall.

With the grid sizes reduced in number for this circuit, Tim knew he needed to secure a final qualifying position no worse than 26th to be sure of going through directly to Sunday’s race. The team was confident that Tim had the pace to do this in Q2 and, as had been the strategy at previous rounds, he initially went out on his Q1 tyres and then came in for fresh rubber with 12 minutes of the 20 minute session remaining.

Unfortunately, the strategy fell apart completely when the wheel spindle became stuck in the bearing spacer and it took a full eight minutes to free the wheel spindle and get the wheel changed. Tim was left with just two minutes of Q2 remaining, and his frustration led him to push too hard on his out lap, resulting in another off at Park.

For the fist time this season, Tim therefore had to compete in the "shoot out" race, with the top ten finishers being added to the grid for Sunday's feature race. Tim knew he had the pace to secure a top ten finish, and a tremendous start followed by a controlled and sensible ride saw him translate this confidence into a fourth place finish in the eight lap race.

Sunday’s feature race, held in soaring temperatures, proved to be one of attrition, with several crashes, a safety car intervention and then further crashes behind the safety car! Starting from 30th on the grid, Tim secured a solid 20th place finish at the end of the 14 lap race - a result the team was justifiably proud of after a difficult and demanding weekend.

Team Twister would like to extend special thanks to Tim's mechanic, John, who was kept busy all weekend making sure Tim's bike was immaculately turned out come race day. Mick Simms and Tina Mason continue to support the team in more ways than one, and it is a privilege to be able to have them onboard in difficult and trying times. Thanks also to all at Gearlink Kawasaki for helping out with all their advice and encouragement throughout the weekend.

Finally, continued thanks to sponsors Gibsons, Evadne, Chevin, TCX boots, Shark Helmets, MCS Scotland, Murray's Motorcycles, Knox, NGK, as well as all those who have continued to support our "Twister......Powered by Fans" campaign