Over the weekend it was the 10th and final round of the Pirelli National Sportbike Championship season at Brands Hatch, where Rhys hopes for a strong finish to what has been a good season. Before the weekend started Rhys was sat in 8th place for the championship standings, knowing that a positive result in both races on the weekend would give him a chance at breaking into the top 5.
Rhys got his weekend underway on Friday with the first free practice session of the round. Throughout the session, Rhys experienced some problems with the clutch on the bike causing a headache for him and his team and therefore struggled to keep up with the leading pack. Rhys ended the session in 11th place with a time of 1:38.769.
Before the second free practice session got underway on Friday afternoon, Rhys managed a temporary fix to the problem he was having during the first session. This quick fix managed to knock 5 seconds off of Rhys’s time, coming in at 1:33.525 and in 7th place.
Going into the qualifying session on Saturday morning, Rhys managed to carry on his solid performances from the previous day, posting a 1:33.372 meaning a 7th-placed start on the grid for race 1.
The weather caused confusion going into race 1 with a slight shower on the warm-up lap meaning a wet race was declared. Not knowing how to attack the track with the wet surface, Rhys remained on dry tyres on the chance no more rain was to come. Thankfully for Rhys, this was the right decision as he got off to a fast start and battled with a group for 2nd place. Unfortunately, Rhys didn’t quite have enough to make a proper move for the group in front, resulting in a 5th-placed finish for race 1.
After the good finish to race 1, it meant that Rhys started 4th on the grid for race 2. Another good start for Rhys saw him burst straight into 2nd and trying to pass the leader. As the race went on a few minor mistakes saw Rhys finish once again in 5th place but only 3 seconds off of the eventual winner.
These two 5th-placed finishes gave Rhys 44 points overall for the standings, however, with those above him also gaining points, Rhys stayed in 8th for the Championship.
This is what Rhys had to say on his weekend:
“Brands Hatch was an amazing weekend for me, I had much more feel for the bike over the last few rounds and bringing that to a 2-race weekend was even better, still lots to work on over the winter but some progress has been made this year. Race 1 was odd, a slight shower on the warmup lap meant a pit stop before the race had even begun. A wet race was declared but nobody knew what to do for the best results, us included. We decided to stay on dry tyres and take a chance that it wouldn’t rain anymore. Thankfully it was the right decision, I got a really good start and enjoyed my race battling with the group for 2nd place, I just didn’t quite have enough to make a move on the group in front and finished in 5th position which I was very happy with”.
Rhys then went on to say:
“Race 2 saw another good launch and into second, trying to pass for the lead. I was really hoping for a podium finish for the last race of the season, but my times dropped off in the latter part of the race, my bike slipping and sliding but still, I enjoyed my race and managed a p5 finish to end the season”.
Rhys then finished off by talking about his 2024 season:
“That brings the 2024 Championship to an end, overall, my standings in the Championship was 8th place, which isn’t bad considering the amount of bad luck we’ve had, but I’m really happy to have a strong finish to the season and look forward to seeing what 2025 has in store”.