The Brands Hatch meeting started on Friday with Thomas going out for practice under cloudy but dry conditions. The session went well one and Thomas secured a strong 6th place.
During the afternoon qualifying session Thomas, (Lionheart Case Team) competing in Moto3, was able to build on his practice times with a sunny and warm track. The standard class were all very close with 0.272 seconds covering the top 5 riders. Thomas ended the session in 5th position feeling comfortable after a good first day.
Day two started with the second qualifying session. The day was cloudy but still dry and Thomas improved his time from day one, ending 7th overall in the standard class.
Race one was later in the day and unfortunately for the race the weather had changed. The start was overcast with damp conditions and light drizzle. The team had decided on wet tyres as the clouds threatened to rain again. Thomas felt confident and moved through the pack of riders until he was able to challenge for 4th place (standard class). Entering paddock hill bend, Thomas went to overtake a number of riders to take 3rd place in the standard class, unfortunately the front washed out and Thomas crashed out at the top of paddock hill. Although the race did not work out as hoped, Thomas did feel confident and happy to challenge in tricky conditions.
Day three started with bright blue sky and no sign of the forecasted rain! After a positive warm-up session, Thomas was keen to have a good second race. Watched by team supporters and a huge crowd, the race started with an early incident that caused the safety car to be used whilst the trackside was cleared. The pack split into two groups leaving Thomas with a gap of 7 seconds and lots of work to catch back up to the front group.
Thomas rode with real focus and managed to bridge the gap to the main group. The standard class once again were very close and Thomas pushed hard to try and secure a podium place. It was during this final stage of the race that Thomas put in his 3 best laps and secured the overall fastest lap for the standard class during the whole meeting.
Fastest Lap Standard class: 50.931 with an average speed of 85.38mph. He finished the race 0.1 seconds behind 6th. Thomas is currently 7th in the Championship, improving every session!
The next round will be at Knockhill on the 24th to 26nd June.
Thomas’ thoughts after round three:“I’m very happy with my pace in the final race, we are making great steps. We know that we have the speed to run at the front, and we now just need to convert it into podiums! This weekend my confidence has returned, and it’s now time to focus on the job in hand! Let’s see what knockhill brings..”
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