It was a frustrating weekend for the T3 Racing supported trio of Freddy Pett, Sam Cox and Sam Thompson at Brands Hatch, however all three still enjoyed point scoring rides as they continue in their debut season in the British Supersport and National Superstock 600 classes.
With the Brands Hatch Indy circuit being just 1.2 miles long, it emphasised the importance for all three riders to quickly find a set up in practice so they could secure strong grid positions in the all-important qualifying sessions.
After having his Triumph 675R machine rebuilt following his Donington Park crash, Freddy Pett suffered with a lack of grip and feeling throughout the weekend. Struggling throughout practice, he was able to qualify in 22nd overall, 11th in the Supersport EVO class. Continuing to adapt to the EVO machine, Sam Cox was able to improve throughout practice, setting personal bests around the Indy circuit before qualifying in 28th overall, 17th in the class.
Continuing to suffer from lack of feeling, race one saw Pett entered a race long battle mid-pack, eventually able to battle his way to 18th overall, tenth in the EVO class. A busy start for Cox saw him boxed in around the tight circuit, but was able to battle back through to finish 20th overall, and 12th in the class.
Making dramatic changes overnight, Pett finally take a step in the right direction for the feature race to improve his lap time and finishing 17th overall, ninth in the EVO class. Again getting caught behind some slower riders at the start, Cox was also able to improve. Passing through the slower riders mid-race, he was able to secure 13th in the EVO class at the line.
In the Pirelli National Superstock 600 Championship, Sam Thompson continued to get to grips as he makes his debut in the class. Improving throughout each practice session, the young rider was able to qualify in the 11th for the race. With a horrendous crash on the opening lap of the race, Thompson was hit from the rear which unbeknown to team saw the quick shifter shaft bent. When the race restarted it made changing gear particularly difficult, however he was still able to secure 12th at the line.
Speaking afterwards, Freddy Pett said “I managed to salvage two top 10 finishes in both races, which is certainly positive but It wasn’t until Sunday that we realised a dramatic set up change which resulted in finally getting some feeling and grip back - meaning that we had spent the whole weekend going the complete wrong direction with the set up! It was another steep learning curve but I’m confident we’ll have a great weekend at Oulton Park, a circuit I much prefer to Brands.”
Sam Cox said “The Brands Hatch Indy circuit is so short and twisty, and with so many riders in the Supersport class it made clear track time hard to find! That said, we were still able to improve with every session and I’m pleased to be walking away with two point scoring rides in the EVO class. We’ll now move onto Oulton Park where we’ll continue to push for the top ten!
Sam Thompson said “It was certainly a frustrating weekend as I certainly felt that I had the pace to run top 5 but it’s such a competitive class that I can’t be disappointed with ending up 12th and scoring 4 points. I just want to give my best wishes to the two riders injured in the crash.”