MOTORSPORT: Perrin secures a solid fifth in feature race at Assen

Kettering racer Jamie Perrin eventually finished round 11 of the British Supersport Championship in solid fashion.
Finedons Phil Pratt successfully defended his UK National Drag Bike Championship title in ET BikeFinedons Phil Pratt successfully defended his UK National Drag Bike Championship title in ET Bike
Finedons Phil Pratt successfully defended his UK National Drag Bike Championship title in ET Bike

Perrin and his headed to Assen in the Netherlands for the latest round and, after the two free practice sessions, they were pleased with the pace they had on used tyres and at such low effort level.

Blue skies greeted everyone in the morning for qualifying and the session started well with top five lap times on an old rear tyre.

Jamie Perrin in action in Assen. Picture courtesy of CamipixJamie Perrin in action in Assen. Picture courtesy of Camipix
Jamie Perrin in action in Assen. Picture courtesy of Camipix
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Perrin pitted for a new rear tyre but as he was on his out lap he heard a horrendous noise coming from the bike and he slipped down to ninth on the grid for the sprint race in the afternoon.

After investigating the noise, it was discovered that it was a gearbox issue meaning that the team would have to change the engine between qualifying and the sprint race in just two hours.

It was done with minutes to spare and Perrin was having a great race and was away with the leading pack of five, battling for a podium place when more bad luck struck on lap eight.

He suffered a tyre problem and limped around for the remainder of the race, eventually finishing in ninth place, although a lap time ensured he was seven on the grid for the feature race.

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Perrin didn’t get a great start in that and had to work hard to get to the front of the pack he was in.

After trying to break away from the group to get away in fourth he was sucked back in. However, he eventually finished in a solid fifth place.

He said: “It’s not the best results I’ve had this year but certainly not the worst.

“I wish my tyre had lasted in race one as I think I was in for a really good result.

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“I’m happy about race two though as it’s one of the most enjoyable and funny races I’ve had for a long time.”

Perrin passed on his thanks to his sponsors Slidecodor, Andrew Piperwork Services, Hemisphere Freight Services, BSS, J&S Accessories, Silkolene Lubricants, Dijon Flooring, The Stirrup Cup pub, Brial Teal and Mark Sadler at Go Racing Developments.

Anyone who would like to help with sponsorship ahead of the 2019 season can contact Perrin by visiting http://www.facebook.com/jamieperrin75

Finedon’s Phil Pratt and Higham Ferrers-based Jake Mechaell have successfully defended their UK National Drag Bike Championship titles in ET Bike and 8.50 Bike respectively, meaning they both retain the prestigious No.1 spot for the 2019 season.

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The pair both went into the weekend’s National Finals at Santa Pod Raceway leading their respective classes.

Pratt, on ‘Satan’s Lady’, a stock engined Suzuki GSX-R1000, having already tied up the championship at the previous Redline Rumble double header, was leading with an unassailable 1,020 points over the rest of the class.

Mechaell, aboard his GSX-R1000 Turbo machine, went into the weekend with a 550-point lead in his class.

What seemed like never-ending rain on Saturday meant that no qualifying could take place, so in an usual scenario, race-day pairings were drawn out of a hat.

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Sunday’s Eliminations unfortunately saw the local pair both fall short of reaching the final round – Pratt exiting by way of a, rare for him, red light start by just -0.001 of a second, while Mechaell broke out by 0.067 of a second in his semi-final round match-up.

Although the official race season is now over, the local lads will take to the drag strip for one more event where they will be celebrating their 2018 championships by running exhibition passes at the forthcoming Flame & Thunder at Santa Pod on Saturday, October 27.