With six riders to look after, the first British Superbike round at Brands Hatch was a busy time for the Padgett’s team. A dream team of 3 TT aces with 24 TT wins between them means the first few races of the season are definitely going to be demanding for the family team. However all the hard work paid off this weekend with not only three podiums but also top ten finishes for new boy Adam Jenkinson and regular team member John McGuinness. With no DNFs for the team, Team Manager Clive Padgett was delighted with the results with three of the riders already established in positions to stake a claim on their respective championships.

The three podiums were delivered by Steve Plater in the second Supersport race of the weekend, and young Ben Padgett, getting his first season in the Supersport Cup Championship off to a great start with Cup podiums in both races.

The team’s racing weekend started with the British Supersport sprint race on the Sunday evening, now a regular feature for the evening before the main race day. On only his second outing on the new Honda, new team member and BSB stalwart Plater put in a fantastic qualifying performance to take second place on the grid. Minor engine problems compromised his pace in the race itself, meaning he had to be content with fifth place at the finish, albeit only half a second behind second place finisher Paul Young.

Amongst the Cup runners Ben Padgett was lapping the twisty Brands Hatch Indy circuit faster than he had ever done before and kept his head to take the final podium position.

Come Monday and the team had worked flat out to make sure Plater’s bike was perfect for the day’s Supersport race. Starting from the second row, Plater made a reasonable start, but then played it cautious in the melee of the first two corners, crossing the line first time around in a challenging tenth place. Having opted for the harder rear tyre, once things had settled down Plater was able to confidently pick off riders throughout the race until he was in the leading pack of five riders on lap twenty. The last six laps alone were worth the admission fee as the riders jockeyed for position, Plater using all his experience and skill to finally get the best of Ben Wilson in a fantastic duel and claim third place for his first podium finish of 2011 for the Padgett’s team. The closeness of the racing evidenced by the fact that Plater finished only 0.3 seconds behind the race winner. These results put Plater in third place in the Championship.

Ben Padgett also recorded an even better finish than the previous race by moving up a step on the podium and taking a well earned second place in the Cup competition. Riding the same spec bike as Plater means the youngster will benefit from Steve’s knowledge and feedback for setting up his new mount and lapping 1.2 seconds faster than he’s done before shows he’s already making the most of the situation. Finishing the weekend in second place in the championship was a great boost to his confidence ahead of the next round at Oulton Park.

In the Superstock 1000 race Padgett’s were represented by McGuinness and 2011 signings Adam Jenkinson and Joe Dikinson as well as road racing legend Bruce Anstey. Excellent qualifying performances gave Dickinson, Jenkinson, and McGuinness slots on row one, two and three respectively, while 7 times TT winner Anstey, in preparation for his outings for the team in the 2011 North West 200, Ulster GP and TT road races, concentrated on getting back in the short circuit groove after an absence from BSB of 10 years. A flying start from Dickinson saw him post the fastest lap of the race, but unfortunately a red flag meant a re-start was required. This enabled Jenkinson to take up a front row slot, with Dickinson dropping back to the second row. All four riders got stuck in after the re-start but made sure they stayed out of trouble, with Jenkinson in particular doing a superb job in the latter half of the race to make up three places and finish just off the podium in fourth.

The team will have no time to rest on their laurels however, as the next round follows at the demanding Oulton Park circuit in four days time.



2011 Fuchs-Silkolene British Supersport Championship

Race 1 Result

1. Wilson
2. Young
3. Kennedy
4. Johnston
5. Plater (Padgett’s)
6. Jon Venter
7. Mossey
8. Hill
9. Whitman
10. Johnson

Race 2 Result
1. Seeley
2. Kennedy
3. Plater (Padgett’s)
4. Wilson
5. Hipwell
6. Johnston
7. Hill
8. Mossey
9. Warren
10. Cooper

Championship Positions

1. Wilson 38
2. Kennedy 36pts
3. Plater 27pts (Padgett’s)
4. Seeley 25pts
5. Johnston 23pts
6. Young 20pts
=7. Mossey 17pts
=7. Hill 17pts
9. Jon Venter 14pts
=10. Johnson/Cooper/Hipwell 11pts

Cup Championship

1. Simpson 45pts
2. Padgett 36pts (Padgett’s)
3. Hornsey 26pts
4. Winfield 25pts
5. Lees 11pts
6. Kelly 9pts
7. Smith 8pts

2011 Metzeler National Superstock 1000 Championship Race Result

1. Buchan
2. O’Halloran
3. Palmer
4. Jenkinson (Padgett’s)
5. Mainwaring
6. Cooper
7. Neill
8. Johnson
9. Quigley
10. McGuinness (Padgett’s)

Championship Positions
1. Buchan 25pts
2. O’Halloran 20pts
3. Palmer 16pts
4. Jenkinson 13pts (Padgett’s)
5. Mainwaring 11pts
6. Cooper 10pts
7. Neill 9pts
8. Johnson 8pts
9. Quigley 7pts
10. McGuinness 6 pts (Padgett’s)