Jenny Tinmouth took on a new challenge last weekend at Silverstone when she competed against the world’s best Supersport riders in the British round of the Supersport – FIM World Championship. Racing with the likes of Eugene Laverty and ex champion, Kenan Sofuoglu, was never going to be easy but Jenny would be up for the challenge. Her weekend was improving as it went on, but unfortunately she would crash out of contention during the 16 lap race.

On arrival at the circuit during the Wednesday, Jenny learnt that she had been allocated a pit garage, which was a new experience for her. Once set up, she could concentrate on preparing for the weekend ahead, as things are somewhat different in the World Championship.

Friday morning free practice was used to learn the new circuit layout and to gain some feedback from the different compound Pirelli tyres that the World Championship competitors have to use.

Running a different format to the British Championship, Friday afternoon would be the first of two qualifying sessions. Jenny did a few laps on the same tyre she had used during the morning, putting fresh rubber in the rear of her machine for the remainder of the session. Once back out on track, and pushing for a better lap time, she suffered a crash, losing the front under braking for the new corner at Village. The bike slid down the track and caught fire, and she was distraught as she imagined it would be game over for the weekend.

On receiving the bike back from the scrutineering bay, Jenny and mechanic, Steve, quickly realised that a lot of work would be necessary in order to have the bike ready for the following morning, but they quickly went to work and had the job almost complete at around half past midnight, and were extremely grateful for the loan of some essential components from GNS Racing.


Wet conditions greeted the riders on Saturday morning for the second free practice session, Jenny electing to just complete a few laps to make sure everything was working on the bike after the hard work of the previous evening.

More drama unfolded just before the afternoon’s final qualifying session, Steve discovering that the electronic dashboard wasn’t functioning correctly, so in she came to strap her old lap timer back on to the machine. Once back out on track she set her best time of the weekend and qualified in 27th position for her debut World Supersport race.

During the evening the problem with the electronic dashboard was identified and resolved, allowing Jenny to focus on race day.

Morning warm-up passed without any dramas, so she would take to the grid content that everything was as it should be.

As the race got underway, there was a huge accident on the run out of Copse corner bringing out the red flags.

Upon the re-start, Jenny got into her rhythm and would soon be chasing down Max Hunt as she aimed at a top twenty finish. She managed to chip away steadily at Hunt for several laps, eventually overtaking him at mid race distance, setting by far, her fastest lap of the weekend in the process. However, not long after making her move she would run out of grip and lose the front of her sorrymate.com Honda, crashing out of contention, much to her disappointment. She recovered the bike herself but rode into the pits to retire.

“I’ve had an unbelievable weekend being part of the World Superbike paddock; I’ve learned so much and have enjoyed every minute of being involved in a World Championship event. It’s been an amazing experience and I am extremely grateful to sorrymate.com for giving me this opportunity to race with the best in the world!” Jenny Tinmouth

The whole weekend has been a fantastic experience for Jenny and she will now, hopefully, be able to use the information gained when the Fuchs-Silkolene British Supersport Championship visits the circuit next month over the weekend of 24-26 September.