It all came together beautifully for Ian Lowry and the Rock Oil Sponsored Padgett’s team in race one at Thruxton this weekend.
A combination of first-class preparation, inspired tyre choice, expert bike set-up and a talented and determined rider resulted in the team achieving its first win in only its second race since returning to the blue ribbon class of UK motorcycle racing.
After a weekend of which the team can be rightly proud of its efforts, not only did all team riders come away with more points in their respective series after each race than they had at the start, but Lowry also goes to the next round as the BSB Championship leader with team-mate Luca Scassa only 8 places behind.
In the Superbike class the Padgett’s boys had been on the pace throughout the weekend with both Lowry and, incredibly for his first ever visit to the superfast and challenging Hampshire circuit, Scassa heading the time sheets at various times during free practice and qualifying.
Mixed weather over the weekend made the whole exercise even more challenging, but the Batley team were a match for it and claimed a brilliant second place on the grid for Lowry and an equally impressive sixth place for Scassa.
From the start it was clear Lowry was not going to waste his qualifying efforts and he was firmly established in second place at the end of the first lap. From that point on he stalked race leader and defending Champion Tommy Hill as they pulled away from the rest of the field. Confident in the team’s strategy, Lowry was content to sit on Hill’s tail for the first half of the race as the Swan Yamaha rider pushed his bike to the limit chasing the first points of his season.
By lap 17 it was clear Hill’s tyres were feeling the strain whereas Lowry’s Honda was still as rock steady as it had been at the start. Lowry chose his moment, swept past Hill and was able to pull out a nearly three second lead in the final three laps to take a comfortable and universally commended maiden win.
To the delight of Clive and the team, the high standing of the Padgett’s operation in the International racing scene was clearly evident from the number of congratulatory texts and best wishes received from all corners of the globe and all levels of the sport after the race.
Whilst Lowry was re-paying the faith the team had placed in him, team mate Scassa was also living up to expectations and showing great pace in the following group.
Seventh from the start, the talented Italian fought a fierce battle with the cream of the BSB field, forging his way to 5th place by lap 16 and looking to be well-placed to capitalise on other rider’s tyre woes – possibly even to the extent that a podium finish was on the cards.
However Lady Luck was not waving a red, green and white flag in this instance and a deflating front tyre conspired against his top-three aspirations, causing the last five laps to be an exercise in damage limitation as he muscled the bike to the finish, eventually crossing the line in eighth place with a pumped up right arm and lamenting what might have been.
In the second race Lowry again started from P2 with Scassa in P8 based on lap times in the first race. With the experience of race one behind them, most teams were able to make a better job of maintaining their performance levels throughout the second race and again it was Hill and Lowry setting the pace, but this time with Shane Byrne and Stuart Easton for company.
Throughout the race Lowry was able to hold station with the others and it looked like another classic Thruxton “4 abreast into the last corner” finish might be on the cards but a hard-charging Josh Brookes spoiled the party by not only catching the leading group but also picking them off one-by-one, ultimately taking an impressive win by 0.6 seconds from Hill, with Byrne, Easton and Lowry, who’s bike didn’t quite manage to hook up in the same way as it had in the first race, following them across the line – all five covered by less than 3 seconds.
Sensationally the next rider across the line to claim sixth place was Scassa who, without the handicap of a flat front tyre, had fought his way through the mega-experienced field from 11th place, beating first-round winner Jon Kirkham back into seventh place and doing a fine job of impressing the pundits with his levels of speed, aggression and confidence, some of which clearly came from the impressively stable and fast Padgett’s Honda CBR1000RR.
The Superstock 1000 race was no less exciting than the Superbikes and the two Padgett’s bikes ridden by Adam Jenkinson and Joe Dickinson were, as always, right in the thick of it.
Unfortunately unable to repeat their 2011 feat of occupying the first two grid positions, the pair had to be content with ninth and fifteenth slots respectively. Jenkinson was able to grab a place in the leading group and, by being the fastest rider on at least two occasions, managed to keep himself in the hunt right up until the end when, after the dust had settled, he matched his 2011 performance by crossing the line in seventh place, just two seconds behind second time winner in 2012, Keith Farmer. Dickinson had a big challenge on his hands and, as is often the way when you find yourself in the mid-field, struggled to find a rhythm, however a strong finish saw him bag his first point of the season, putting him on the Championship board and looking forward to the next round at Oulton Park in three weeks time.
Always ones to keep busy and having revived the glory days of the eighties when the Padgett’s team won six of the eight rounds of the then-equivalent to the Superbike series with Darren Dixon, the team will now take part in a tyre test at Castle Combe with their road racing riders prior to the next BSB round.
Race Results…..
2012 MCE British Superbike Championship With Pirelli – Round 2
Race 1 Result:
1. Lowry (Padgett’s)
2. Hill
3. Brookes
4. Byrne
5. Easton
6. Laverty
7. Kirkham
8. Scassa (Padgett’s)
9. Westmoreland
10. Gowland
Race 2 Result:
1. Brookes
2. Hill
3. Byrne
4. Easton
5. Lowry (Padgett’s)
6. Scassa (Padgett’s)
7. Kirkham
8. Lowes
9. Westmoreland
10. Haga
2012 Championship Positions:
1. Lowry 49pts (Padgett’s)
2. Brookes 47pts
3. Kirkham 43pts
4. Hill 40pts
5. Byrne 38pts
6. Easton 24pts
7. Westmoreland 22pts
8. Seeley 21pts
9. Scassa 18pts (Padgett’s)
10. Rutter 16pts
2012 Metzeler National Superstock 1000 Championship With Black Horse – Round 2
Race Result:
1. Farmer
2. Mainwaring
3. O’Halloran
4. Cox
5. Railton
6. Johnson
7. Jenkinson
8. Buchan
9. Hunt
10. Costello
