MOTORCYCLING: East Kirkby's Philp sidelined by Knockhill crash

Aaron managed a strong 17th position in the Superstock 600, birthday boy Tommy Philp, of East Kirkby, paid a visit to the hospital following a heavy crash in qualifying and was unable to contest either of his two races.

Tommy was celebrating his 21st birthday and was hoping to mark it in style with a couple of good results in the British Supersport races, but a heavy crash in the dying seconds of Saturday’s qualifying session sent him to A&E for further investigations on his leg and pelvis.

However, a CT scan showed that thankfully there were no broken bones and after remaining at the hospital for a few hours under observation, he returned to the track. He bravely went out in morning warm-up on Sunday to see how he felt but he didn’t feel comfortable on the bike and decided it was better to miss the race and spend some time with the physio.

It was discovered he had a lot of ligament damage and a trip to the doctor would be needed when he returned home, so he could have some further treatment to aid his recovery.

Meanwhile, team-mateAaron was using his Kawasaki for the weekend as his Yamaha is still awaiting spares to complete the rebuild following his crash at Brands Hatch last month. He was a little apprehensive of racing at the circuit responsible for his crash two years ago that put him out for the remainder of the season. But he put it behind him and went out to qualify for a 10th row start to the 22 lap race.

By the time the riders took to the grid the rain was hanging in the air but it was declared a dry race and Aaron set off at a good pace. He powered through to 23rd place making up six places on the first lap.

The Lincolnshire rider then became embroiled in a race-long fight for position within a large group of riders all seeking a top 15 result and moved through to 17th after nine laps. Although he remained in 17th place, he was very close to the riders ahead who were all challenging to get into a point scoring position, and was poised to make a move forward when the rain became heavier causing the red flag to come out and end the race at two thirds distance.

Aaron said: “But for the red flag I could have been looking at a top 10 or 11 place finish. My pace was better than some of the guys ahead and my lap times showed I was the 10th fastest rider. I had been running behind a large group of riders to start with and managed to catch them and pass quite a few. I was really comfortable with my pace and the bike was running well.

“It was a difficult weekend for Tommy with his crash spoiling his birthday celebrations but although he is sore he should be OK for the next round.

“Thanks to Paul Draper and the team at DraperRacing and our other loyal sponsors for their continued support.”

The pair head to Snetterton for another round of the British Supersport and Superstock 600 this coming weekend.