PURITON motorcycle rider TJ Toms was in action at Snetterton in Norfolk in Round 5 of the National Superstock 600 Championship, writes Alan Heal. 

Originally a Second World War US Air Force base, Snetterton was first used for motorcycle racing in 1953 and was redeveloped in 2011. 

At three miles in length the circuit is widely regarded as a difficult track for bike set-up, so Toms’ Kawasaki ZX-6R race bike needed a combination of power and good handling.

Bridgwater Mercury:

ACTION: TJ Toms

Toms missed the last round of the championship due to exam commitments, but continued his fine form by finishing quickest in the first of two Practice sessions, and he improved his lap time to end the second session fifth fastest.

A new rear shock was fitted overnight and Toms again improved his lap time to qualify in eighth place, to start the race on the third row of the grid.

The weather on race day was cloudy and dry, but significantly it was much cooler, and when the track temperature drops the level of grip is affected, so the first few laps would be difficult.

Toms got off to a flying start, but after an incident-packed first lap he dropped three places to lie in 11th. 

Once he settled into his rhythm, he started to pick up places and by the halfway mark he was up to seventh, at which point the safety car was deployed following an incident.

The safety car came in after two laps, and Toms started to reel in the leaders; he was in fourth position on lap 10 when another incident brought out the red flag.

Because more than two-thirds of the race distance had been completed, a result was declared, and Toms was awarded a hard-fought fourth place, which moves him up to 16th place in the championship.

He said: “I was closing in on the leaders when the race was red flagged with two laps to go, and I was confident I could have been on the podium.

“I’m really happy though to have scored my best result in the Superstock 600 class so far.” 

Toms will be back in action at Knockhill in Scotland on July 8.

HIGHBRIDGE sidecar ace Dean Nicholls was in action at Snetterton at the weekend, for Round 3 of the British Sidecar Championship, and was keen to continue his fine form after a points-scoring finish at Oulton Park in Round 2. 

Nicholls and passenger Kenny Cole finished practice 14th quickest, and then improved his lap time by almost two seconds to qualify in 15th.

Nicholls made a good start, and battled well for 10 laps to cross the line in seventh place.

Cooler temperatures and stronger winds on Sunday made conditions tricky, particularly along fast sections like the Bentley Straight, where Nicholls reached speeds of over 150mph.

Again he started well, and despite sidecars being wider than solo machines, any small gap into corners allow competitors an advantage, resulting in plenty of bumping and barging.

For 10 gruelling laps Nicholls and Cole were made to work hard to eventually cross the line ninth.

Nicholls said: “It was a tough weekend but two points-scoring finishes has moved us up to 13th place in the championship, so I’m very happy.”