Toms earns G&S podium spot at Thruxton

Milo Ward also had a strong weekend in the Pirelli National Superstock 1000 class where he finished the race in a strong 17th position.

TJ Toms qualified for a second row start to his race and, after completing the first lap in fifth he made his move forward to second place on lap two.

He passed Shane Richardson for the lead on lap eight but the New Zealand rider fought back and the pair frequently exchanged places through the second half of the 14-lap race.

But they didn’t reckon with Liam Delves who was right behind and took his chance at the chicane on the final lap to snatch the lead and the race win from Toms on the drag to the flag.

But Toms secured his first podium of the season and was very close to the lap record, posting the fasted lap of the race on lap three with a time of 1m 18.446s - 108.12 mph.

Teammate Keyes started from the third row and, despite encountering a problem with the steering damper which left him with a face full of oil half way through the race, he brought the bike home in a strong ninth position.

Ward also put in a great effort in the Stock 1000 class to record a strong 17th place and was circulating just a second slower than the leaders.

He completed his second free practice session in 13th place and was unlucky not to replicate that in qualifying. But he did put in a great effort to qualify in 19th place and went on to build on that during the race.

Team manager Tom Fisher said: “We are all immensely proud of our riders this weekend, all three put in a great effort in their races and we came away with some excellent results.

“TJ was unlucky to miss out on the win as he was engrossed in the battle with Richardson and didn’t notice Delves sneaking up behind them.

“But for the problem with the steering damper, Kevin would have been up at the front as well and we could have been looking at a double podium.

“Milo has put in a tremendous effort this weekend, not only with the bike but also with his training.

“The mechanics have also worked hard over the last two weeks as they had to rebuild the big Kawasaki after the spill at Snetterton. But they did a tremendous job proved by the result at Thruxton for Milo.

“We are heading to Cadwell on Thursday for a full day of testing with a few things to try out ahead of the next round at the Lincolnshire circuit next weekend.”

The next round is at Cadwell Park on August 14-16.