Linxcel Racing Team
WEYMOUTH REIGNS IN THE WET
Andy Weymouth the 600 Supersport specialist from Brentwood in Essex was pushed to the limit last weekend in Sunday’s rain soaked BEMSEE meeting at Brands Hatch. The Phil Seton prepared Yamaha R6 could not make full use of its power due to the very wet track and was harassed all the way to the finishing line, and although he won two of the three races the winning time difference was the tightest it has ever been. This all made for very close exciting racing and with the wet windy conditions mistakes would be costly.
Saturday by comparison was dry but still windy and the track temperature was cold to say the least. Qualifying saw Weymouth make two steady runs and end up in 4th place 0.533 secs behind 1st placed rider Anthony Cooper so he was on the first row of the grid for the Superpole race.
The race started with Andy accelerating into 3rd place, but he very soon got into his stride and by lap four he had passed Anthony Cooper (Yamaha R6) and John Barnett (Yamaha R6) to lead the race. The top three changed places several times and with team mate Liam Lyon (Yamaha R6), Anthony Cooper and John Barnett all looking for a win the four provided probably the most exciting race of the day. Eventually it was Weymouth who out-dragged the pair through Clearways and took the chequered flag in 1st place from Liam Lyon in 2nd by 0.178 sec. and Anthony Cooper in 3rd some 0.188sec behind the leader.
Sunday was one of the wettest days at Brands Hatch for some time and wet tyres were the order of the day.
Weymouth got a great start for Race 8 and led in his usual style for two laps at which point he began to gradually slip down the order suffering from a slipping handgrip. On lap 3 he was in 4th and by lap 4 and 5 he was in 5th leaving Johnson to dictate the race and take the win from Cooper by 15.893sec and Lyon in 3rd by 16.276sec.
He eventually crossed the line in 7th position.
Race 20 saw the track showing a definite dry line which caused some confusion as to which tyres were most suitable for the race. At the start Liam Lyon got the hole shot and blasted into 1st position. The lead was short lived however as before the end of the 1st lap Andy Weymouth had passed his young team mate to take the lead. Unwilling to let Weymouth get too great a lead Cooper also passed Lyon closely followed by Johnson and Dean Daniels and by lap 5 had relegated Lyon to 5th spot. At this juncture the race was red flagged due to an incident and it was declared a two-part race. The restart saw Weymouth take an immediate lead only to be passed by Anthony Johnson who held a tenuous lead until lap 5 when a determined Andy Weymouth took the lead and held on to win by 0.204sec from Johnson with Lyon in 3rd 1.185sec behind the winner.
Unofficial points score:
1st Andy Weymouth Seton Tuning Yamaha R6 263 points.
2nd Liam Lyon Seton Tuning Yamaha R6 208 points.
3rd Dean Daniels Honda 600 CBR 180 points
“I was pleased with the way the meeting turned out as it was a bit of a lottery with the track conditions being so unpredictable” said Andy on Sunday after the race. “I don’t particularly feel comfortable racing in the rain as any sort of mistake can end in disaster so to take two wins and a seventh place plus increasing my lead in The Championship is an achievement. My bike was not pulling too well out of corners and the slipping hand grip held me back in the wet race on Sunday but I’m happy with the result. The competition for podium places seems to be getting fiercer and Liam Lyon, Anthony Johnson, Anthony Cooper and Dean Daniels are all potential race winners so I will have to be prepared to raise my game at any time. But that’s what competing is all about, you can’t underestimate anyone who has the will to win and all these riders do! Next race at Pembry in two weeks time should be interesting. Thanks to all my sponsors, the Bemsee/MRO officials and Brands Hatch Circuit staff and last but not least the medical team and the marshals for the unbelievable amount of incidents they had to deal with this weekend, for without them it would not be possible”
