Rollercoaster of results at Brands Hatch
03-08-2008
2008 European Superstock 600 Championship
Rd 07 - Brands Hatch
Race, Sunday August 3rd - 11 laps
The seventh-round race of the 2008 European Superstock 600 Championship, held today at Brands Hatch, turned out to be an emotional rollercoaster for StoneBaker Yamaha riders Gino Rea and Dan Linfoot. Third when the result was originally declared Rea was promoted to second, his best-ever finish in this series, following the later disqualification of Vincent Lonbois (Suzuki). In contrast, Dan Linfoot failed to finish after a racing incident with Patrick Vostarek (Honda).
Both men had been keen to put on a good performance for their home crowd this weekend. With Rea placed third on the grid for the start of the race and Linfoot seventh, after having contended with changeable weather conditions during qualifying, the early signs looked promising.
As the race began, Rea took the holeshot but was passed by Vostarek and Loris Baz (Yamaha) on the opening lap. Although Rea appeared to be having handling problems early on, nearly highsiding his machine at one point, he began to lap much more smoothly in fifth place as the race progressed.
Lying third on lap five, Dan Linfoot seized his opportunity when race leader Patrick Vostarek ran wide at Clearways. Following Loris Baz through on a pass to take second place, Dan found himself nudged by a pursuing rider and became entangled with former leader Vostarek. Both men slid off their machines, uninjured, as a result.
The crash promoted Gino Rea to third. He now came under attack from Italian Daniel Beretta (Suzuki), who passed the StoneBaker rider on lap seven. Rea regained the advantage one lap later and then held the position until the end of the race. With Lonbois later excluded from the results due to his machine not conforming to the technical regulations, Gino moved one step up the podium to second.
The result means that Rea jumps from fifth to fourth in the series standings, whilst Linfoot now lies fifth overall. There's a month-long wait until the next race which will again be held on home soil, this time at Donington Park, on September 7th.
Gino Rea (Race result 2nd, Championship 4th):
"It's not the way I like to get my results, but in terms of the championship I'll take them any way they come. There was so much pressure coming into this home race, I was happy to just get on the podium, let alone to end up with my best-ever result. There was a problem with rear grip on my bike early on, it was spinning up everywhere, but I adapted my riding style to cope with it. If we could get that sorted out, I believe I could be qualifying on pole. I must say thank you to the team for this great result."
Dan Linfoot (Race result DNF, Championship 5th)
"Let's go back abroad! I felt comfortable in third place and had been as high as second earlier on. Loris Baz came past me and as I had the pace to stick with him, I did. When Patrick Vostarek ran into a corner too hot, Loris passed underneath him and I followed him through. I was pushed by another rider and had to stand my bike up which led to the coming together with Vostarek. It was just my luck really, I don't seem to have been having much of that in the last few races."
Andrew Stone (Joint Team Owner)
"I was stood with Gino on the grid and I told him that he would be first into the opening corner but that the others would come back at him. I reminded Gino that points make prizes and to ride at his own pace and let it all happen in front of him. That's what he did and we're back on the podium for the third time in four races. As for the situation with Dan, I don't want to say too much at the moment as I haven't seen the video replay yet. I suspect it was a racing incident."
2008 European Superstock 600 Championship
Rd 07 - Brands Hatch
Revised Race Result - 11 laps
1. Loris Baz (FRA) - Yamaha: 16:56.504
2. Gino Rea (GBR) - Yamaha: +00:01.586
3. Daniel Beretta (ITA) - Suzuki: +00:01.744
DNF. Dan Linfoot (GBR) - Yamaha
2008 European Superstock 600 Championship
Championship Positions After 7 of 10 Rounds
1. Loris Baz (FRA) - Yamaha: 142pts
2. Patrick Vostarek (CZE) - Honda: 110pts
3. Marco Bussolotti (ITA) Yamaha: 82pts
4. Gino Rea (GBR) - Yamaha: 81pts
5. Dan Linfoot (GBR) - Yamaha: 74pts
Sponsors
Team Beowulf Racing.
The great race at the new Portimao circuit brings an end to our season in World Superbike Superstock 600, with riders Gino Rea and Dan Linfoot.
The season has been a success with Gino third and Dan fifth in the championship standings following three victories and five additional podiums in total. The results have also acted as a stepping stone to the riders for next season, with both securing high profile, career progressing rides for 2009.
Thank you for all of the emails, calls, texts and visits throughout the year. It has been much appreciated.
