BMC Racing: Leon at first Thundersport GB

The weekend of 13th - 15th March saw the Thundersport GB Championships get underway at Mallory Park. Leon and co were there for the three day event and was competing in the Superstock 600 category on his BMC Yamaha. Friday consisted of two qualifying sessions to determine grid positions for the 18-lap Superpole race on Saturday. Leon was running on old tyres to keep costs down, but still managed some blistering pace good enough to stick his R6 on the front of row two. A great start to the weekend!

Saturday was sunny but windy, which got stronger later on in the day for the Superpole race. This race is used to determine the grid positions for the two 12-lap races on the Sunday. So how did Leon get on? Well, with a new rear tyre, Leon got well an truly stuck in. Making his trademark lightening start he quickly found himself up to 2nd place - which he held right to the end. Which set him up nicely for the Sunday races.

Sunday was again sunny, but thankfully not as windy. And starting from the front row, Leon was in determined mood. Race one saw Leon take the initiative and lead the race early on. He only briefly dropped to 2nd until regaining the lead, which he held right to the end to take an amazing victory. And running with some minor suspension problems too! A marvellous ride. Race two was a slightly different matter for Leon who started cautiously due to the suspension changes. He found himself in 3rd place having dropped away from the leaders, but as you'd expect, Leon quickly adapted to the new settings and gave chase - and soon found himself in a three-way battle at the front with Dean Brown and John Simpson. This time Leon had problems with his front end which was stepping out on him at times. This didn't deter Leon, who held on very closely to the leaders right to the end to finish third. It was an amazing and exciting race that ended with all three crossing the line within a fraction of a second of each other. You really could have thrown a blanket over them all.

I think you'll agree that it was a triumphant weekend indeed, with Leon now taking an early lead in the championship too. Very well done! I'm just sorry that I missed it...oh and it was televised and can be seen on Monday (30th March) on Motors TV at 7 o'clock...don't miss it, I know I won't this time!