After a tough time last time out at Knockhill, both mentally and physically, Rhys was raring to go to make amends. This time, Brands Hatch played host to round 5 of the Pirelli National Sportbike championship.
Rhys got his round underway early on Friday morning in the first of the free practice sessions of the round. Rhys completed 18 laps in the session and showed good pace throughout. Rhys managed to post his best time on lap 16, coming in with a 1:32.962 and a 3rd placed finish.
The final free practice session on Friday afternoon was competitive as always, with the top 30 riders being separated by just 3 seconds. Rhys posted a time of 1:32.610, which placed him in 5th after trying a few set-up changes going into the session.
Rhys got his qualifying session underway on Saturday morning and was
able to carry on his form from the previous day. He set a good pace throughout the 17 laps he completed, with his best time coming in at 1:32.327, meaning Rhys will start on the grid in P5. However, once Rhys finished the session and got back into the garage, he and his team found an overheating issue with the bike, which his team worked hard to overcome.
It was only the 1 race for Rhys this weekend, and he was determined to score some good points heading into the mid-stage of the season. As soon as the lights went out, Rhys bolted off the line and straight in 1st in lap 1 before the pack of riders joined him. Rhys managed to battle through the overheating issues and tried to make a move into 3rd on the final lap; however, contact from another rider caused Rhys to slip back into 5th, which is where he crossed the line.
This is what Rhys had to say on his weekend:
“It was a solid weekend at Brands Hatch for the Pirelli National Sportbike Championship. The weekend started strong with a P3 in Free Practice 1, showing I had good pace early on. FP2 was competitive as always and ended up P5 after trying a few setup changes”.
Rhys then went on to say:
“The race itself was tight and hard-fought. I got stuck in right from the lights, moving into P1 in the first lap, then dropping back from the leading group. I dug deep and clawed the time back, even with the overheating issues. On the final lap, whilst trying to make a move into P3 on the final corner of the race, there was contact from another rider, which caused me to slip backwards, crossing the line in P5. A strong finish, all things considered, and valuable points in the bag”.
We’ll next see Rhys in just over a week’s time at Thruxton for round 6 of 10 of the Pirelli National Sportbike Championship, where he hopes to add more valuable championship points to his tally.