Today the final races of the 2015 MCE British Superbike Championship took place at Brands Hatch, with Honda Racing’s Dan Linfoot and Jenny Tinmouth finishing the season both with solid results aboard their Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade machines.
After a mixed start to the triple race weekend, Sunday’s races were positive outings for Honda’s duo. Track temperatures were 6°C higher at the Kent circuit than on Saturday and race two saw Linfoot start from 11th on the grid and quickly move up into eighth place.
It seemed a popular spot and although try as he might, the Knaresborough man wasn’t able to fend off challenges from other riders and eventually crossed the line in tenth place.
With the urge to end 2015 on a high, Linfoot started the final race in 13th position and from the start had his eye on the front group. By lap nine after picking his way through the pack, the Honda man was sitting in fourth place.
The final stages of the 20-lap race saw challenges from both Mossey and Iddon, and after a small mistake Linfoot had dropped back to sixth. A final push on his CBR machine in the final two laps saw the 27-year-old back in the fourth spot where he crossed the line.
Linfoot finished the championship overall in fifth place with 556 points. After a difficult season, with an injury in the early stages and returning after missing two rounds, he fought hard to secure a place in the Showdown and gave it all to finish with the front-runners.
Meanwhile Tinmouth, the first lady of BSB, enjoyed the day’s races. A season that has seen the 36-year-old constantly improve, build confidence and smash personal lap records on her CBR machine. Tinmouth finished both races in the top-20 in 20th and 19th places.
The first race Tinmouth improved her lap times from the previous day by over a second and her overall race time was 18 seconds quicker. Equally her fastest lap of the race was 2.55 seconds off the fastest lap of the whole race.
Although not getting a great start in the final outing, the Cheshire-based rider pushed hard and made up places quickly from her grid position in 23rd place. Reducing the gap to the front-runners by over 8 seconds, Tinmouth equalled her fastest lap in race two and finished in 19th place.
A mixed season overall for the Honda Racing team, who made its full-time return to the championship this year, saw highs with Linfoot placing his Fireblade on the podium four times and Tinmouth constantly improving.
The lowest point was at Thruxton (round seven), when after a promising start with two podiums and a handful of top-ten finishes, the team’s third rider Jason O’Halloran was unfortunately involved in an accident, with injuries resulting in him missing the remainder of the season. However, after missing rounds O’Halloran had scored good points and finished 13th overall. The Louth-based team is now looking forward to starting its winter testing programme.
"The year’s over and I’m sad about this, I wish we could continue for a few more rounds! It’s a positive way to end the year, I had quite a strong last race, I’m happy with my pace and that individual race, but the weekend as a whole was pretty negative with my crashes and qualifying position. As a whole it’s a good way to end a round and a season and I’m happy with my overall fifth place, if I had finished outside the top-ten I wouldn’t be happy! I’m going into the winter on a positive and being a few seconds off the win is really good! A big thanks to Ian my Crew Chief and the whole team for all their hard work over the season, I know there have been some frustrations but they’ve stuck by me and supported me. Looking back at the season if I hadn’t had my injury and low confidence on my return, it could have been a different story, but to come away fifth considering all of that is pretty good!"
- Dan Linfoot
"I’ve had a brilliant season and just chuffed to be part of the Honda Racing team, I’ve loved every single minute of it. It’s nice to end on a high with two good races and with good consistent lap times – I’m over the moon! I’m looking forward to winter training now, although I would like to be racing throughout the winter. A huge thanks to all my team, they’ve been great throughout the whole season and supported me 100%. Also thanks to Honda for all the support and for giving me the chance to ride the Fireblade. And finally, a huge thank you to all the fans who have been supporting and cheering me on this season."
- Jenny Tinmouth
"It’s been a good finish to the last race for us with Dan and also Jenny. Dan showed in the last race that we still have potential to run with the front guys, it was a shame as we lost some time during the race, but he was able to pick it up for the last few laps and came home fourth. We’re pleased we finished the season where we are and we need to look at what we need to do to build and be stronger going forward.
It’s been a learning curve for Jenny and also the team having her on-board, she can ride a bike there’s no doubt about that and is the fastest female on a Superbike in the UK, and riding in the strongest domestic championship in the world. We’re pleased with everything she has done on the Fireblade and her desire to learn and build on all the feedback over the season.
I’d like to personally thank all our sponsors for their help and support this season and look forward to working with them again in the future."
- Havier Beltran - Honda Racing team manager
| Pos | Rider | Number | Time | Team | Constructor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Josh BROOKES | 25 | 27:26.648 | Milwaukee Yamaha | Yamaha |
| 2 | Shane BYRNE | 67 | +3.842 | PBM Kawasaki | Kawasaki |
| 3 | Michael LAVERTY | 7 | +7.767 | Tyco BMW | BMW |
| 4 | John HOPKINS | 15 | +7.882 | Lloyds British Moto Rapido | Ducati |
| 5 | James ELLISON | 77 | +8.174 | JG Speedfit Kawasaki | Kawasaki |
| 6 | Lee JACKSON | 14 | +8.237 | Buildbase BMW | BMW |
| 7 | Luke MOSSEY | 12 | +8.411 | Quattro Plant Kawasaki | Kawasaki |
| 8 | Christian IDDON | 24 | +8.615 | Bennetts Suzuki | Suzuki |
| 9 | Danny BUCHAN | 83 | +9.684 | PBM Kawasaki | Kawasaki |
| 10 | Dan LINFOOT | 4 | +12.590 | Honda Racing | Honda |
| 20 | Jenny TINMOUTH | 20 | +58.499 | Honda Racing | Honda |
| Pos | Rider | Number | Time | Team | Constructor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michael LAVERTY | 7 | 28:58.931 | Tyco BMW | BMW |
| 2 | James ELLISON | 77 | +0.237 | JG Speedfit Kawasaki | Kawasaki |
| 3 | Shane BYRNE | 67 | +0.419 | PBM Kawasaki | Kawasaki |
| 4 | Dan LINFOOT | 4 | +2.087 | Honda Racing | Honda |
| 5 | Christian IDDON | 24 | +2.547 | Bennetts Suzuki | Suzuki |
| 6 | Luke MOSSEY | 12 | +2.710 | Quattro Plant Kawasaki | Kawasaki |
| 7 | Danny BUCHAN | 83 | +2.735 | PBM Kawasaki | Kawasaki |
| 8 | John HOPKINS | 15 | +3.166 | Lloyds British Moto Rapido | Ducati |
| 9 | Jakub SMRZ | 96 | +3.470 | Milwaukee Yamaha | Yamaha |
| 10 | Howie MAINWARING | 43 | +5.274 | Quattro Plant Kawasaki | Kawasaki |
| 19 | Jenny TINMOUTH | 20 | +50.771 | Honda Racing | Honda |
| Pos | Rider | Number | Points | Team | Constructor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Josh BROOKES | 25 | 703 | Milwaukee Yamaha | Yamaha |
| 2 | Shane BYRNE | 67 | 662 | PBM Kawasaki | Kawasaki |
| 3 | James ELLISON | 77 | 614 | JG Speedfit Kawasaki | Kawasaki |
| 4 | Michael LAVERTY | 7 | 601 | Tyco BMW | BMW |
| 5 | Dan LINFOOT | 4 | 556 | Honda Racing | Honda |
| 6 | Tommy BRIDEWELL | 46 | 545 | Tyco BMW | BMW |
| 7 | Luke MOSSEY | 12 | 168 | Quattro Plant Kawasaki | Kawasaki |
| 8 | Richard COOPER | 47 | 156 | Buildbase BMW | BMW |
| 9 | Peter HICKMAN | 60 | 150 | RAF Reserves BMW | BMW |
| 10 | Christian IDDON | 24 | 146 | Bennetts Suzuki | Suzuki |
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