The Honda Racing team and its trio of riders are getting ready to head to Brands Hatch this weekend (20-22 May) for the third round of the MCE British Superbike Championship.
Following a bout of bad luck at the previous round at Oulton Park, Dan Linfoot, Jenny Tinmouth and Jason O’Halloran are all keen to make amends aboard their Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade machines.
Linfoot – who was close to scoring his debut BSB win at Oulton before crashing out in the final stages – arrives at Brands Hatch looking for a solid weekend to get his championship back on track.
Team-mate O’Halloran had a mixed weekend in Cheshire, but his results left him with valuable points for his championship challenge and he currently lies fifth overall. Tinmouth also continued to progress and hopes for two strong finishes this weekend.
The Brands Hatch Indy circuit is the shortest on the BSB calendar and is a natural Amphitheatre where fans are able to see most of the 1.944km circuit.
2016 MCE British Superbike Championship, round three
Brands Hatch Indy, Kent
Event Schedule
Friday 20 May
1015 – 1100 – FP1
1515 – 1600 – FP2
Saturday 21 May
1000 – 1045 – FP3
1402 – 1420 – Q1
1427 – 1439 – Q2
1446 – 1454 – Superpole
Sunday 22 May
1040 – 1055 – Warm up
1330 – Race one (30 laps 58.32km)
1630 – Race two (30 laps 58.32km)
I’m feeling quietly confident heading to Brands Hatch this weekend. With the Indy circuit being the third round it’s given everyone the chance to settle, as normally this is the second round so is a little intense in the early stages. I’m hoping that the good weather we’ve been having will continue into the weekend and we have two dry and slightly warmer races! We’ve now had a few weeks since the last round and I know that Dan, Jenny and Jason have all had time to refocus, have been training hard and are all ready to tackle this weekend. Coming into the third round all riders and the CBR have shown their potential at each round so far, and I know that everyone is capable of more; we just need some luck on our side. Dan has dropped out of the top-six so we need to get him back on target this weekend and knocking on those second-fourth placed spots, as well as podiums for him to progress back up. Jason is the same really, just continue to be strong and score the necessary points; he’s fifth in the championship and not too far behind, so for him consistency is key. Consistency is also the theme for Jenny, she’s showed this year that her confidence has built on the CBR and she’s improving her lap times, so now just to pull it all together and aim for top-20 finishes.
Havier Beltran – Honda Racing team manager
I cannot wait to get to Brands this weekend and back on the CBR, I have some unfinished business since Oulton and just want to get going now. I have refocused since the last round as I left there pretty disappointed, but I’m feeling good and keen to get back out there and put it right now. I need to have a strong weekend and grab back as many points as I can after losing so many at Oulton, which has left me quite far down in the standings. So the goal for the weekend, to put things right, recover points and be strong in all sessions, whilst hopefully getting a shot at Superpole. I have a burning desire to win even more now after the last round and am going to push hard this weekend – I’m not sure if we can do it, but the CBR seems to like the Indy circuit and I’m confident I can come away with some solid points, and I wouldn’t say no to a podium!
Dan Linfoot / #4
I’m heading into this weekend feeling good and can’t wait to get going. Since Oulton I’ve been training a lot and looking forward to riding the CBR again. The last round was one of those weekends where it couldn’t make its mind up and was wet and dry, we struggled with tyre choice as the track started to dry in places, but I was happy to leave there with two finishes. Brands Hatch Indy is a circuit I really enjoy riding and is a lot of fun! It’s a short lap, I think the shortest in the season, so there’s not too much to think about, but it’s a close race, which makes for a lot of fun. It’s an ace circuit and great for spectators as they get to see most of the action. We made a little chassis change in the last race at Oulton and we’ll start this weekend with that, but might have to go back towards the base setting. I think we’ll try and see where we go from there.
Jenny Tinmouth / #20
I’m really looking forward to Brands Hatch this weekend, since I started racing I have always loved going there; it’s a great circuit that pulls in a big crowd so the atmosphere is always good. Last year I had two good races at the Indy circuit and I know that we can be competitive this year as well. I came away from Oulton with a bag full of points and sitting fifth in the championship, which I’m happy with, but of course I want to improve our results this weekend and am pushing for solid races. The second race at Oulton wasn’t a great result for us, but we made improvements to the CBR and we were held back by tyre choice and a few other things, but I’m confident with the changes that wet or dry we can be strong. The Fireblade is always consistent at Brands and I can’t wait to get going now and see what we can do.
Jason O’Halloran / #22
