Friday
The day started with Free Practice 1, with both Josh Owens Racing and Charlie Nesbitt heading out on track to set their times. Unfortunately, the session didn’t last long for Josh after he came off his Crendon Timber Engineering Honda by Hawk Racing at the final chicane on his fourth flying lap. He got up and walked away, but was in visible pain so a trip to the circuit medical centre followed. There he was assessed by the expert medical staff, who determined that he should go to hospital with a suspected wrist injury. This unfortunately means that the weekend is likely over for our number 65, and we wish him well in his recovery. We’ll bring you more information on Josh’s condition when we are able to. Meanwhile, Charlie on his MasterMac Surfacing Ltd Honda put 23 laps on the board as he looked to get a handle on set up for the weekend, setting a time of 1:17.263 and finishing 14th in the session.
In FP2, Charlie was quick out of the blocks, setting a consistently quick pace around his home circuit. He clocked a time of 1:15.798 finishing 5th in the standings, just 0.002 seconds off of 4th spot, and just 0.065 off of 3rd! He goes straight into eBay Qualifying 2 tomorrow afternoon.
Saturday
Day two of Bennetts British Superbike Championship action at Thruxton Race Circuit and what a day it has been.
The day started with Free Practice 3. With the clouds looming and the rain threatening, Charlie Nesbitt headed out on track. Not long after he and his fellow riders had gone out, a downpour came and so Charlie returned to his pit box. With the showers setting in, Charlie briefly headed out on wet weather tyres but came back in soon afterwards as the rain became heavier.
After a great performance in Free Practice yesterday, Charlie was straight into Q2 this afternoon. After another great showing from the 22 year old, he managed to put his Honda in P5 for the Sprint Race later in the day.
The BikeSocial Sprint Race was soon upon us, and Charlie got off to a great start, getting away with the leading group. Fighting for a spot on the podium with four other riders, our number 86 enjoyed some great battles around the Hampshire circuit, resulting in some thrilling racing. Going into the final chicane, Charlie found himself in P4 with barely anything between him and two other riders. Full on the throttle, he got full power out of his Honda engine on the drive to the line overtaking two riders ahead of him and snatching an incredible second place finish – cue bedlam in the Hawk Racing garage!
Not only did Charlie claim his maiden BSB podium, but he also set the fastest lap in the race, meaning he’ll start from pole position for the first of tomorrow’s two races – another first for our Wiltshire based rider!
Sunday
Day three done and dusted… That’s a wrap on the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Thruxton Race Circuit, and what an incredible weekend it has been.
Unusually, the final day started with the eBay Pit Walk at 9:30am this morning! It was great to see Josh Owens Racing back with us and doing his best to sign autographs for fans, despite having a broken wrist following his incident on Friday.
Warm Up followed, and
Charlie Nesbitt headed out on track to
complete eight laps around the Hampshire circuit, setting a best time of 1:16.209. This was good enough for seventh place, and was just half a second off the quickest time.
The first race of the day was soon upon us, and our 22 year old rookie was on pole position on the Honda after setting the fastest lap in yesterday’s Sprint race. Some brilliant racing followed for the next 20 laps, and Charlie was heavily involved with the fight for a podium. At the fall of the chequered flag, the lad from Swindon came across the line to claim third place, his second podium of the weekend, much to the delight of the team on the pit wall and in the garage.
For Race Three, the final event of the weekend, Charlie started from P6, which gave him a great opportunity to attack the inside of Turn 1 when the lights went out. Once again, he was involved in an incredible battle with a number of other riders at the sharp end as he looked to secure yet another podium position. Come the end of the 20 laps, Charlie had duly obliged, coming home in third position to claim a spot on the rostrum once again! Not only that, but he set the fastest lap of the race – a 1:15.384 – in the process. With his incredible exploits this weekend, Charlie remains 12th in the Championship, but has extended the gap to 13th, and closed in on a spot in the top 10 – he’s now just six and a half points away!
It’s been a highly emotional weekend for the team, with Josh’s incident in Free Practice on Friday and Charlie’s triple podium, it certainly won’t be a weekend we’ll be forgetting any time soon. We hope to see Josh back with us as soon as he is fit and ready, and wish him a full and speedy recovery. In the meantime, we hope that Charlie can add to his podium next time out at Cadwell Park over the Bank Holiday weekend.
