The searing temperatures at Snetterton over the weekend proved no barrier to SMT Racing and with a win and two second places between them, Tim and Tristan Reeves and Adam Jenkinson were able to extend their respective leads in the Eastern Airways British F1 Sidecar and Pirelli National Superstock 1000cc Championships.
The Reeves brothers didn't have the ideal start to the weekend as mechanical problems in qualifying meant they had to start the first sidecar race from the back of the grid in 19th place. However, the Kent duo put in a thrilling drive and as early as the first lap they'd worked their way up to ninth! A series of fast laps, including a new lap record, saw them continually move forward and it set up a thrilling finale as they closed in on race leaders Sean Hegarty and Calum Lawson. It looked like they may just pull of a memorable win but the Felixstowe driver upped the pace when he needed to and ultimately got the verdict over Tim and Tristan by 0.674s.
Second place meant they would start the second race from the front row of the grid though and they took full advantage to claim their seventh win of the season. Lapping just a fraction outside of their new lap record, they took the chequered flag by 4.6s from Andy Peach/Charlie Richardson and with Hegarty retiring, it meant their title lead jumped up to 45 points.
Knutsford's Jenkinson was in equally fine form in the Superstock category and overcame early set-up issues to take pole position with a time of 1m51.606s. The 14-lap race saw the 28-year old grab the lead in the early stages just before the safety car came out for a period but he was coming under intense pressure from Tristan Palmer, Hudson Kennaugh and Lee Jackson. It looked like he'd resisted all challenges but Kennaugh had other ideas and got ahead with three laps to go. Adam nosed ahead at the chicane on the final lap but Kennaugh got the verdict at the line by the miniscule margin of 0.098s! Nevertheless, with Joe Burns only managing seventh place, Jenkinson was able to increase his advantage in the Championship to 25 points.
The team now turn their attention back to the roads with Tim heading back to the Isle of Man for the Southern 100 meeting, where he’ll be reunited with his TT-winning passenger Dan Sayle.
Photo by Glynne Lewis.
