The CAME BPT Yamaha team ended up
finishing second in the overall Dickies British Supersport Championship with
James Westmoreland at the final round at Brands Hatch. He finished in fifth in
race one but sadly in race two he crashed out heavily, after hitting a damp
patch, causing a red flag. He was sent to the medical centre and then onto
hospital where he was diagnosed as breaking the hip socket. His team-mate Joe
Francis had a great end to his season with two third places and finished the
season in seventh place.
James Westmoreland came to the
final round at Brands Hatch knowing he would need to do a lot to try and win the
Championship. Despite working hard throughout the weekend he was just unable to
get the results he needed to secure the Championship.
He was riding well in practice
and qualifying and started from fifth for the opening sprint race on Saturday.
He had a very steady race and the pace of the front five riders was seriously
fast and despite several challenges on David Allingham he had to settle for
fifth place at the end of the race.
He was placed in second place for
race two, with sketchy conditions James had a poor start and dropped back to
eighth after lap one. He was beginning to make progress when on lap five he
touched a damp patch coming out of Druids, he unavoidably took Luke Jones with
him and landed heavily on his side and then was hit by his bike. The race was
soon red flagged as James was dealt with by the medics. Further investigation at
the medical centre and hospital revealed he has broken his hip socket. A sad end
to a great season.
Youngster Joe Francis was looking
exceptionally strong all weekend and was able to place himself second place for
race one. He got a fantastic start and was leading after the opening lap. He was
passed by Brad Ray and the pair were locked in a battle for half of the race. He
was riding a hard race and coming out of the final turn on the last lap, in the
drag for the line, Championship leader Tarran Mackenzie out dragged him. Pushing
Joe back to third by 0.04.
For race two he started from
fifth position, he got boxed into turn one and was pushed back to seventh. The
race was soon red-flagged after Westy's crash and it was re-started over nine
laps. He held his position of fifth after lap one and soon settled down into a
nice rhythm. Then he made a move on Ben Currie on lap three for third place and
was able to fend off challenges from behind to secure another fantastic podium.
James
Westmoreland -
"I'm really disappointed with the outcome this weekend but especially to end up
getting hurt. I made a mistake and hit a damp patch out of Druids, which
resulted in a big high-side. I was then struck by another bike and then I
followed my own bike into the wall, so I feel quite luckily to have the injuries
I do.
I'm upset to finish the season
this way but I have thoroughly enjoyed being back in the Supersport class with
the CAME BPT Yamaha team. It's been an absolute pleasure and they have given me
my mojo back after the last two years.
A big thank you to everyone
involved in 2016, sorry I couldn't win the Championship but I will be back
stronger in 2017."
Joe Francis - "It was great to end the
season on such a high note with three back to back podiums. I love Brands, I
always feel really comfortable there and all weekend we were setting strong
times and I knew I had the race pace to push for podiums.
We had a good set-up on the CAME
BPT Yamaha all weekend and this made things so much easier. I had good pace and
good speed and I was really looking forward to the races.
I knew at some point over the
weekend the weather would play a part and I didn't want to do anything stupid so
had to try and avoid any of the melee in the opening laps.
I worked hard and it is a real
confidence boost to get a double podium at the final race of the year. I can't
thank the CAME BPT Yamaha team enough for the opportunity and also the knowledge
and experience they have taught me over the last few years.
It has certainly been a mixed
season but I have really enjoyed it and learnt a lot. It is good to go into the
winter season on a high note and thank you to all involved, especially my
family, sponsors and all the team that worked so hard to help me."
Grant Bunting - Team
Manager - "It
was certainly a mixed weekend at Brands Hatch. We went there with no high
expectations and no pressure but it just wasn't meant to be this
year.
Westy worked hard all season and
it was just a real shame that he wasn't able to lift the title. We were gutted
about his crash and injury and really hope he makes a speedy recovery. It is
still a good achievement to finish second in the Championship standings and a
big congratulations to Tarran Mackenzie and the entire WD40 team on winning the
series.
It was good to finish the season
on a high note with Joe and two podiums. He has come through injury this year,
which has troubled him at certain races through the year and we are pleased he
was able to round off the season on the box.
It was a really successful Isle
of Man TT for us also with Ian Hutchinson taking the double Supersport
victory.
I would like to take this
opportunity to thank the riders, James, Joe and Ian for their achievements this
year and their dedication. Also a massive thank you to our sponsors for their
support, CAME BPT - Yamaha UK - Raceways Motorcycles - Monster - Fly-By-Nite and
everyone else who have supported our team this year. We are very much looking
forward to the 2017 season and hope to announce some news soon."
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