Mixed fortunes for our racers in a difficult season
Our sponsored riders had a chance to shine, and show off their talents, despite what turned out to be a disjointed and rather gloomy season of racing due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Fred McMullan, 13, had a great debut season in the Bemsee Team Green Junior Cup.
Finishing third overall in the junior class, his performances grew stronger and stronger over the season.
The season was reduced to 16 races over four rounds, starting at Brands Hatch in March and then nothing until Cadwell Park in August, Donington Park in September and back to Brands in October.
Riding his Kawasaki Ninja 400, number 50, the Leiston teenager’s talents were recognised when he joined the BD Racing UK team halfway through the season.
In the next round at Donington he took three class wins out of the four races.
Consistently on the pace with senior riders, Fred finished third in the junior class with 212 points, 17 behind second and 42 behind first.
He feels he could have challenged for the junior title had it been an uninterrupted season of eight rounds.
Corey Tinker was racing in the British Talent Cup (BTC), part of the British Superbike Championship, for a second year and was coming good just as the shortened season ended.
He finished seventh in the championship, out of nearly 30 riders, well up on his 13th overall in 2019 when he was the top rookie rider, on his number 37 Moto3 NSF 250.
The original 20 races, over 10 weekends, were cut by half with the season finally getting under way in August with rounds at Donington Park national, Snetterton 300, Silverstone national, Donington Park GP and Brands Hatch GP circuits.
Corey, 14, really hit form with the bike set-up spot on for the last round in mid-October when he narrowly missed a podium place in both races by two-tenths and then five-hundredths of a second to finish fifth and fourth.
The frustrating thing was that rider and motorbike were coming good at what would normally have been the halfway point of a full season. His season finished on a high and, with more races, his team felt it could have achieved its target of a top five finish overall.
Alan Smith started the season in the British Motorcycle Racing Club (BMCRC) MRO Powerbikes class in mid-March at Brands Hatch with some mid-table finishes on his five-year-old Kawasaki ZX-10R.
Then the Covid-19 pandemic struck and his next round was at Cadwell Park in August. Donington Park in September saw him suffering arm pump, caused by heavy braking and acceleration, which need some physiotherapy ahead of the final round at Brands Hatch in October.
His arm held up well but the weekend was a washout and, after finishing the first race 20th, he decided to call time on a difficult year and hope for better racing in 2021.