With Round 6 of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship underway at Brands Hatch, McAMS Racing and Danny Kent faced heartbreak in the first of the weekend’s races, crashing from second place on only the fourth lap of 20.

Despite early race disappointment, both Kent and the team had enjoyed a productive start to the weekend, taking steps to improve the Yamaha R1 set-up in Friday’s Free Practice sessions and securing a spot in Qualifying 2 for Saturday.

Finishing Free Practice 3 in ninth overall, and with a sheer degree of confidence in their ability to clock a competitive lap time, the team hit the track for the second qualifying session at 11:12.

The 15-minute session to decide the grid for Race 1, ended with Kent producing a best lap time of 1:25.154, placing him second on the grid ahead of the evening’s 20-lap charge to the flag.

Being able to fight for a spot at the top, Kent, aboard the Yamaha R1, made a strong start from the line to sit firmly in second for the opening laps of the race, producing competitive lap times and breathing down the neck of front runner, Ryan Vickers.

Despite exemplary form early on, lap 4 of the race presented a wave of devastation to the team, with Kent losing the front at Stirling’s and falling down the order.

A challenging opening race of the Brands Hatch weekend sees himself and the team start from seventh on the grid tomorrow, where they hope to deliver a result more tailored to their true potential at the circuit.

With fellow Yamaha rider, Vickers taking a dominant win around the 2.4 mile circuit, the McAMS Racing team can take confidence in their machine’s ability to deliver the goods, in the good hands of potential race contender, Kent.

With Saturday’s track action now concluded, the team sit fifth in the overall championship standings, slipping ten points behind Kyle Ryde in fourth.

Two more opportunities lie ahead on Sunday, with the team remaining fully focused on prevailing through the challenges of today.

Danny Kent
Race 1 – DNF

“To say that I’m disappointed with not finishing the race would be a serious understatement. I went into that one knowing we had the pace to win and mix things up with the guys at the front. We’ve been so strong all weekend and the DNF doesn’t showcase our true potential at this track. Fortunately, we’ll have two more shots at it tomorrow. We’ll pick ourselves up and look to the opportunities ahead. Many apologies to the team for today’s result, I’ll fight hard to repay their hard work with two good results tomorrow.”

Tim Martin
Team Owner

“It’s been a tough day at the office for the team. Danny bagged a front-row start and has shown great pace throughout the day. It looked like he had the pace to pull away from the field with Ryan (Vickers) but unfortunately, Danny tucked the front in the early stages. It’s a disappointing outcome for the team, but we’ll learn from it and look ahead to tomorrow.  Luckily enough, the bike isn’t too damaged, and Danny remains injury-free. We’ll come back tomorrow and aim to get a good set of results.”

The final day of action at Brands Hatch posed an added number of challenges for McAMS Racing, with Kent taking a second DNF of the weekend in unfortunate fashion.

After a heartbreaking Saturday, which saw the Yamaha R1 rider fall from second while demonstrating competitive pace, Kent was determined to continue on from his good form throughout Friday’s practice and Saturday’s Qualifying to mount a podium attack in the 12-lap Sprint. However, the team’s wave of bad luck continued in Sunday’s opener, getting taken out at Turn 1 on the opening lap after starting from eighth on the grid.

Danny sustained a small cut to his right arm in the process, and the team worked hard to rebuild the Yamaha R1 superbike in time for Sunday’s final race at 16:15.

An early end to his race meant that Kent sat 24^th on the grid for the final, 20-lap charge to the flag. From lights out, the man from Tetbury made steady progress through the field, making up nine places to finish in 15^th across the line.

The 15^th-place finish scored the team their first point of the weekend. Heading towards Thruxton in two weeks, the team remain fifth in the overall standings with 148 points in total.

Despite a challenge-enduring weekend, the team look forward to an opportunity for redemption at Thruxton.

Danny Kent
Race 1 – DNF
Race 2 – DNF
Race 3 – 15th

“It’s been a difficult weekend for the team and me. We started the weekend really strong on Friday and put together a good lap in Qualifying to start second. But from there it unfortunately went downhill from there crashing on Lap 3 in the first race. Today I was sadly taken out on Lap 1 and hurt my wrist which then carried over to Race 3 and I could only manage 15th. I feel really good on the bike and we’ll go again at Thruxton.”

Tim Martin
Team Owner

“Our weekend started really well on Friday and we managed to secure a front-row start for Race 1 on Saturday, but it went wrong from there. We had a DNF in the first race and then got taken out by Buchan in the second race, resulting in a back-of-the-grid start for the final race, which was an uphill battle for Danny. Thankfully it’s over, and we will go again at Thruxton.”