12/09/2014
A tale of two races...
The Motul British Motostar Championship returned with a vengeance last weekend at the sweeping parkland circuit of Donington Park in Leicestershire. With two races over the weekend it was a busy time for Jordan Weaving and his close-knit team and with only one qualifying session for Sunday's race, set up time was critical.
After steady progress in the two Free Practice sessions held on the Friday of race weekend, the qualifying session on Saturday morning saw the Gloucestershire student frustratingly miss out on a front row start by just 0.270s ahead of Sunday's race.
Under leaden skies Weaving made good use of his front row start as the grid lined up in Cadwell Park order, following the Factory KTM of Joe Irving in to Redgate along with Bradley Ray on his EE. Unfortunately the race felt like the toughest of the year so far for Weaving and his Jordan Racing/Burkert team. Irving set a new lap record early in the race only for the 17 year old South African to set a new bench mark on his customer KTM machine a few laps later as he hunted down the leading duo. Irving had to set another best lap to take the win as Weaving was homing in but frustratingly had to settle for yet another second place in class, his sixth of the season.
In perfect weather conditions the Donington Park round on the Sunday afternoon proves that nothing in racing is certain. Joe Irving raced in to a commanding 8 second lead, backing up his performances across every session of the weekend, however as Weaving was embroiled in a titanic and hugely entertaining battle with the 125cc machine of Bradley Ray, Irving exited the race after painfully highsiding from his KTM as he got on the power out of the Melbourne Loop. After seeing the stricken number 66 on the grass the former Red Bull Rookie contender settled for a less intense rhythm, knowing that a win was crucial to his championship aspirations. The delight Weaving showed as he took the chequered flag showed just how much the class victory and a 34 point championship lead meant.
The Fuelled By XpressCoffee rider said "That wasn't my most enjoyable race weekend ever. Saturday had to be the single most frustrating day we've ever had, it felt like no matter how hard we tried it wasn't enough. I'm grateful for every podium I make but Saturday was hard. However, they say no two days are the same in racing and so it proved, I'm sorry for Joe as he rode so well all weekend. I really enjoyed the battle with Brad Ray and at this stage of the season I'll take all the points I can."
Chris Palmer, boss of XpressCoffee added "We have good weekends and we have not so good wekends, at Donington we had both over the two days. Testament to the team and their approach to racing means that we continue the momentum and consistency that has become the hallmark of the season. There is still a lot of hard work ahead and we will maintain our focus until the job is done."