“Four Swallows make a summer & normal service is resumed”…………
This weekend saw the Aztec GP team return to Brands Hatch after missing the rounds at Knockhill and Mallory Park. The team had taken the wise decision to test some new kit and give Edward some additional seat time. Blistering heat greeted Bryan and Dave as they arrived at the Kent circuit for what was to be Ed’s first experience on the GP track.
FP1:
Heavy overnight rain left its mark on the Kent circuit for the beginning of free practice. A 9.30 start saw “wets” fitted and the mist and rain lifting. Right from the off Edward hit the front, posting consistently fast times. During the session the Aztec machine was pushed hard by Rob Guiver, with the KRP machines a further second or so back. However, first blood was Red, White and Blue.
FP2:
Free practice 2 saw a turn in the weather with a return to the heat of Thursday. The track was now dry and this would be the “acid” test to see if the Aztec machine and its rider could run at the increased pace of the dry conditions. The battle at the top saw some of the usual suspects now joining Edward and Rob. The session was a real “Nip and Tuck” affair with the lead changing between Rob, Ed and the increasingly fast Tim Hastings. As the chequered flag fell the order was P1 for Tim, Rob in P2 and a great performance by Edward in P3, all three covered by less than 0.2 of a second.
Q1:
With the success of free practice now a distant memory the team set about reproducing the same form for qualifying. As the lights turned green at the end of pit lane the 40 strong riders set off. The top three from yesterday were now joined by series leader, James Lodge on his KRP machine. Throughout the session the 4 swapped positions and as each lap ticked by the times got quicker. By the end of the first qualifying session Hastings had taken provisional pole with Guiver in second, Lodge third, and Rendell in fourth. All four were covered again by 0.20 of a second and they were the only ones in the 1 minute 35’s.
Q2:
The second qualifying session saw a static display from the top 4, with no improvement from their morning runs. However, history shows us to be wary of the late attack from the KRP boys. This time it was the machine of James lodge that snatched pole position in a last gasp effort. A great lap from Adam Blacklock saw him crash the party for P2. Tim Hastings took P3, Rob Guiver P4 and Edward securing Aztec GP’s best qualifying performance in P5.
Warm up……………
”Rule number 1, don’t crash in warm up”……… (see news story).
Race
“Could we make it five Swallows”…………….
As the team looked down the field to see the usual front runners behind them on the grid, it started to sink in, that the belief in the bike and Edward had now been vindicated. The green flag waved at the back of the grid and the formation lap was underway. Edward settled into his position and waited for the lights. From Red to Green and P5 to P1 it happened in an instant, Rendell led into paddock Hill and up into Druids.
As the front pack started to settle Ed was relegated to P3 and by lap 3 had been pushed down to P5. The front six now started to breakaway from the next pack trailing by 5 seconds or so by lap 5. The Aztec machine was in the thick of it moving back up to P4 on lap 6 and momentarily P3. As in qualifying the leading 6 were all covered by about a second and were swapping places like there was no tomorrow.
By lap 9 Ed had been joined by Brian Clarke and Robbie Stewart. As the laps passed Ed seemed to be losing touch with the front 6. Now in P7 it became obvious that the “C” compound tyre was not working as well as the guy’s in front. Ed had a comfortable cushion between himself and the returning Matt Hoyle and crossed the finish line with a fantastic 7th place finish.
The team move on to Cadwell Park in 2 weeks time, bank holiday weekend. The bar has been raised again and we all look forward to more of the same. As always a special thank you to all of our partners for their continued support.