MOTORCYCLING: Team-mates bring home points for Draper Racing

East Kirkby rider Tommy Philp recorded two points finishes in the British Supersport races and team-mate Aaron Clarke collected one point in the Superstock 600 race.

Tommy had three races to contest at the Kent circuit instead of the usual two as the abandoned Sprint race from Silverstone was carried forward to Saturday, giving him two races on Saturday.

In the first 12 lap Sprint race, Tommy set off from an eighth row grid position after qualifying in 22nd place. He moved ahead of Mark Conlin on lap three and then past Josh Daley on lap four to move into 19th place just before the safety car came out for a couple of laps to clear some crash wreckage.

By lap eight, the car had left the track and Tommy continued to make progress. He passed Niall Campbell on lap eight and Bjorn Estment one lap later to move into 16th place.

When James Westmoreland fell on the penultimate lap, Tommy was elevated into 15th position which he held to the chequered flag to pick up one championship point.

In the second Sprint race on Saturday, Tommy began from the seventh row but was unable to make much progress through the first few laps. But he had a great battle with Robert Kennedy throughout the 12 laps and crossed the finish line just a tenth of a second adrift in 17th place.

The feature race on Sunday was scheduled for 18 laps but was red flagged on lap four and a new race declared over 14 laps. Tommy got away to a good start and was up to 19th place when the safety car thwarted his progress.

Once the car left the track, he moved up to 17th and on lap 11 he overtook Estment once again to move into 16th place. When two of the leading group went down on lap 11, Tommy benefitted from their demise and brought the Draper Racing Yamaha home in 14th place for two championship points, bringing his total haul up to 10.

Meanwhile, team-mate Aaron from Kirton, near Boston, qualified in 19th place for a seventh row start to his 14 lap Superstock 600 race. He soon became embroiled in a seven way battle for 11th place which continued for the majority of the race.

On lap 10, he overhauled Ben Luxton to step up into 15th position and was looking to make a move further forward when the red flag brought the race to an early end with the result declared on positions at the end of lap 10.

Aaron now has five championship points to his name and is seeing a vast improvement in his pace and lap times this year and he is confident he can break into the top 10 before the end of the season.

The next round is at the team’s home circuit of Cadwell Park over the Bank Holiday weekend of August 27-29 and both riders will be hoping to put on a good show for their local sponsors and supporters.