TEAM COLIN APPLEYARD FINISH ON A HIGH

12/10/2009

The second visit to Oulton Park for the final meeting of the season proved to be a very positive one for the Team Colin Appleyard/Macadam Racing riders.

In the Supersport race Jack Kennedy achieve his best result of the year, crossing the line in 6th place.  This was despite the steering damper snapping in the third lap.

His manager Robin Appleyard afterward paid tribute to his riders determination, “To ride a race bike without a steering damper is like riding a bucking bronco.  At the end of the race he was in considerable pain, both thumbs were numb with having to grip so hard.  Full credit to him for not only continuing but to finish so well.

Earlier the team had shuffled the tyre options on his bike.  During Friday’s free practice sessions he ran on medium tyres before switching to softs for Saturday afternoons qualifying.  Then for the race itself he ran on ones which proved to be a wise choice as one or two of his rivals racing on softs fell away.  By contrast having qualified on the third row of the grid Jack got off to a good start and got stronger as the race progressed.

Back in the pits Jack commented “That was quite an experience and one I don’t want to go through again.  Nevertheless I’m delighted to finish so well”.

Jack finished the Supersport Championship in 11th place.

In the 125cc Championship race young Deane Brown went even better and achieved a rostrum place by finishing third.  It was a result that also won him the ACU Academy Cup on the day and meant he also secured second in the Cup’s overall standing for the season.  In the Championship itself Deane finished 9th, which given his injury problems earlier in the season, is a creditable performance.

All in all it proved to be a good weekend for the young Scot.  He enjoyed four trouble free practice sessions, going really quickly in the rain on Saturday morning.  However his manager did not feel he maximised the situation and was a little disappointed with his final qualifying position of 9th.  However some fine tuning on the acceleration during Sunday morning’s warm up made all the difference and after an average start he put in a cracking couple of laps which got him up with the leaders.  With the bike going strongly he even led for a lap before having to settle for third in a blanket finish.

A delighted Robin Appleyard said “That was a great race and enjoyed by everyone, with a slightly better top speed there’s no doubt he could have won.”

Deane was also please with his weekend’s work “It’s a pity the seasons finished.  In the last couple of months I feel as though I’ve been improving all the time and have really enjoyed my racing.  I can’t wait for next year”

In conclusion Robin thanked all the team’s sponsors and in particular Doug Macadam for his unwavering and enthusiastic support.