Positive weekend at Brands Hatch for Hayfield racer Christian Iddon

It was a positive weekend for Hayfield’s TYCO BMW racer Christian Iddon, despite a slow start to the latest rounds of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship, at Brands Hatch in Kent.
Christian Iddon at Brands Hatch - Picture by Double RedChristian Iddon at Brands Hatch - Picture by Double Red
Christian Iddon at Brands Hatch - Picture by Double Red

He finished Race One in seventh, improving to sixth in Race Two.

Iddon missed the opening free practice session of the weekend due to a technical problem.

But the former Supermoto Champion came back with a bang, setting the third fastest time in Free Practice two, just four-tenths of a second off the fastest time around the 2.4 mile Grand Prix layout.

He kept it in the mix the day after too, just eight-tenths off in Free Practice three, and then went sixth fastest of the twenty-seven riders in Qualifying for the opening race of the weekend.

“I was on a potential Pole lap in Qualifying, then made a fairly sizeable error and was lucky not to crash. But I ended up sixth on the grid, and that was good,” he said.

A broken foot peg hampered him in Race One.

“Race one was frustrating for two reasons and it cost me one position,” he said.

“But as the track dried everyone else was going quicker and quicker, and because I had this slight issue, I was actually going slower, which gave me work to do in Race Two.

“Race Two was actually quite positive from where I was on the grid. I just kept moving forward.

“I’m really happy with how the bike’s worked. I think we’ve made another small step. It’s important we’re developing this bike as we go along.

“It’s difficult to race and develop at the same time, but the bike inherently is much better than the old one, so I’m enjoying riding it.”

Wet weather for race day made for tricky conditions, and a drying track in Race One added to the excitement.

As the race wore on, the broken foot peg left Iddon struggling to compete, and with riders around him going quicker, he lost a place to teammate Keith Farmer, finishing seventh, and could only manage 13th fastest time for the Race Two grid.

But a great start in Race Two saw Iddon climb four places on the opening lap. By lap four he was up to eighth, by lap eight he’d matched his Race One finish position, and by lap 16 he claimed sixth place.

Next up the Bennetts British Superbike Championship visits Knockhill, in Scotland, over the weekend of 28-30 June.

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