There were several positives but, ultimately, Manx Sport Aid recipient Cal Cooper came away from the first and second rounds of the ThundersportGB Elite 600 championship at Brands Hatch empty handed.
Last year’s triple 450 Thundersport champion, who has his sights on the BSB 600 Superstock series this year, was just .3 of a second off pole in qualifying and set the second best time in Sunday’s warm-up.
However a wrong tyre choice for the beautifully prepared JDF Racing Kawasaki proved too much of a handicap in tricky conditions in Saturday’s 16-lapper and Cooper, 16, making his debut on the machine, came home 10th after forcing his way through the field.
Freezing wet conditions during Friday’s test day saw Cooper go down at Clearways in the morning session and his team spent the rest of the day trying to source a replacement part, which eventually arrived by courier.
With the track gradually drying through the day on Saturday, Cooper made a very late decision to run on dry tyres, but with the track surface and the air temperature at zero Celsius, the Pirellis never even got warm and grip was decidedly lacking.
On Sunday, amid snow flurries and with the track in a similar state to the day before, Cooper, now enjoying added support from Dean Teversham Construction of Dorset, went out on wets in the first race but came to grief when battling for the lead.
With several riders well out of shape going into Graham Hill Bend, Cooper was forced to brake abruptly and he went down without serious injury, although the Kawasaki looked as if it has been in a motocross race.
Team manager John Davies said: ‘Cal showed he’s got pace and it was disappointing the way things turned out. But that’s racing.’
Cooper’s next outing is at Donington Park at Easter.
