Cathedral of speed up next for the draperRacing pair

The draperRACING team will travel to Assen in the Netherlands for the penultimate round of the British Supersport championship this weekend.
Tommy Philp and Aaron Clarke.Tommy Philp and Aaron Clarke.
Tommy Philp and Aaron Clarke.

Aaron Clarke is expected to join teammate Tommy Philp, from East Kirkby, on the starting grid for the two races.

Plus he is hoping to ride in the Dutch championship race as well.

Philp has been enjoying a run of good results and is hoping to continue with that at the Cathedral of Speed on Sunday.

He will have the benefit of the new engine which has been checked over and refitted in preparation for the Assen races.

It should give him more speed and the opportunity to remain in touch with the race leaders.

Last time out at Oulton Park he was hoping to race with the new engine, but he only completed a few laps of qualifying before the engine blew.

It was a race against time to put the old engine back in, but despite being placed a long way back on the grid, Philp was able to complete both races in the points.

This time the new engine will be in place prior to free practice and Philp is confident the fault has been rectified.

He said: “The new spec engine was put in just before qualifying so had not really been tested, but it’s all sorted out now and I will have it in for every session at Assen.

“The circuit is not called the Cathedral of Speed for nothing; it’s a really fast circuit so the extra power is imperative if I am to be competitive.”

Clarke, from Kirton, does not have a round of his Stock 600 class at Assen, but will gain experience from joining the Supersport grid in preparation for his final round at Brands Hatch in two weeks’ time.

Clarke is anxious to make a good impression in the Supersport class, although he will be lacking in power racing on the standard Yamaha R6 that he usually rides in the Stock 600.

He said: “I have applied to enter the British Supersport races at Assen and also the Dutch race, which combines Superbike and Supersport riders.

“But until we arrive at the circuit I won’t know for sure if I have a place on the grid of both classes.”

The timetable is:

Supersport: Friday - free practice one 9.35am, free practice two 2.35pm; Saturday - qualifying 10.55am, sprint race (12 laps) 3.40pm; Sunday - warm-up 9.52am, feature race (15 laps) 3.35pm.

BeNeCup for Superbike and Supersport: Saturday - qualifying one 12.40pm; Sunday - qualifying two 8.40am, race (14 laps) 1.10pm.

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