Double delight…………
Friday 02.04.10.
Aztec GP launched into the new season at Brands Hatch with Danny Kent and Andy Reid. The set up of the new awning and logistics of running two riders certainly presented some challenges during the lead up to this weekend. As always the boys burnt the midnight oil and all was calm for the opening free practice session.
No sooner had the sun set on the Spanish trip the reality of a British spring was here with dry but cold conditions prevailing. The additional days open practice gave the boys an opportunity to shake down the bikes and themselves. Danny settled straight back in reeling off some quick laps toward the end of the session finishing in P3. Andy also found his rhythm early on and was making excellent progress, only halted by a sticking front brake, ending the session in mid pack.
A five O’clock start for free practice 2 saw a real mixed bag of weather. Slicks were the first choice but by the 10 minute mark, both riders were called in for a tyre change. With strong winds the track was drying quickly, then another downpour and so on for the remaining quarter of an hour. In summary “rain stopped play” with no real result…..
”I was very happy with both lads today, they showed great maturity and professionalism. This first day can sometimes catch people out with unnecessary incidents. Danny picked up from where he finished in Spain and Andy was progressing well until the weather disrupted the session for both of them”, commented Bryan. Adding, “We have a good platform for tomorrow and look forward to more progress”.
Saturday 03.04.10
Free practice 3 saw the boys take to the Kent circuit on “wets”. Andy was straight into his rhythm, growing in confidence and the number 71, was soon making impression on the giant Brands lap board. Danny, meanwhile had experienced an electrical problem which bought him into pit lane after a few early laps. Stuart quickly identified the issue, fairings back on and away.
Andy was now climbing the leader board and was looking very comfortable in P3. With 10 minutes to go Danny started to put the hammer down, P16 soon became P10, then a great sight, both 52 and 71 were on the on the main leader board. With 3 minutes left Danny “popped” the Aztec machine into P1. The track was now drying and Andy’s P3 started to slip away with overheating wet tyres. As the chequered flag dropped, Danny held station with P1 and Andy had a very creditable P8, a fantastic start to the day.
The team looked forward to Qualifying 1 with high expectations. Both Danny and Andy set off looking to pick up where they left off from the previous session. Conditions were now dry and the pair started to increase the pace.
Danny first off popped up into the 51’s and was looking very comfortable. Sadly this was not to last. Mechanical problems saw a premature end to the session having recorded a best time of 51.32 on lap 12 of the 15 completed which left him with a provisional grid position of P11. The 16 year old was devastated and now the team had some work to do to prepare him for the second qualifier.
Andy Reid continued to settle into his rhythm and was soon making his way up the order. He was now mixing it in the right company pushing the championship newcomers Wayne Ryan and Dakota Mamola. In what was a business like performance, Andy came into pit lane to take refreshment. He was soon off again and now he was starting to push for the all important grid position. With literally a minute to spare, Andy crossed the line and recorded his fastest lap on 24 out of the 24 completed in a time of 51.45 giving him P15 for the provisional grid.
Sunday 04.04.10
A full BSB schedule saw Sundays activity reduced to one session, “Qualifying 2”. Danny’s machine had been repaired and Andy was hoping to make up some positions from his first qualifier
Danny soon got to grips with the circuit which had changed a little from yesterday’s conditions. As the 25 minute session progressed so did his position on leader board. With the top 12 all covered by less than 1 second the competition was intense. Saving his best until last Danny moved up to P8 on lap 28 of his 28 laps completed. This gave him a combined qualifying position on the third row of the grid in P10.
Andy was now also into his stride and was looking likely to improve on yesterday’s performance. As he crossed the line to start lap 8 all was well chasing down Tarran Mackenzie. As Andy approached the Entry into Clearways, he went alongside him and the Aztec machine gave way, Andy’s session was halted with a low speed crash. As the rest of the field continued to make progress, Andy suffered and finished near the bottom of the standings for his second qualifying session. His combined efforts saw him drop a few places to take up P16 on the grid for Monday’s race
Monday 05.04.10
Morning warm up is always tense, the one time you need no incident is this. Both Danny and Andy showed great maturity in their respective warm ups. Danny was pushing but always within himself, testing out some suspension changes. Andy was effectively shaking down the bike after his crash in qualifying 2. Danny finishing his warm up in 5th place and Andy in 25th making sure all was well.
For the race itself, the team had met one of its first objectives, two machines on the British 125cc grid for 2010. Danny and Andy took up their respective places and were waved away for the formation laps. The lights went out and the proper business was underway. Neither made great starts and as the first few laps ticked by each rider settled into their own battles. Early casualties included Taylor Mackenzie and Deane Brown.
Danny was pulling out the stops and by mid distance was on terms with the leading pack of 8 machines. Andy meanwhile was fighting his way through and by mid distance was now looking more comfortable climbing back up to P15. Into the 3rd quarter and the pace at the front was relentless, with riders swapping places and Danny picking his way through to sixth place.
In turn Andy had also started to up the pace and was enjoying a better second half of his race picking up another position by lap 17. Into the final few laps and Danny was fighting “Hammer & Tongs” with Dakota Mamola. The pair were now on their last lap and had traded positions 3 times already when a great move through Clearways saw Danny dive under Dakota and cross the line in P5 for that all important additional point.
Andy continued his excellent race debut for the team picking up another place and with the demise of Dakota Mamola, crossed the line in P13 a fantastic effort and a welcome 3 points to begin his championship.
In summary a great start to the season for both riders with Danny and Andy scoring points. The team travel to Thruxton for round 2 on 16/17/18 April 2010.
As always, Aztec GP would like to thank all of our sponsors and technical partners for their kind support in helping us to achieve this great start to 2010. Danny would also like to thank Roger Burnett at RBP International, John Miller at Base Chemicals, Neil Clayton at Doodson Broking Group and Ian Kidson at MASCO, your support is greatly appreciated.