SMT Racing suffered mixed fortunes at Brands Hatch over the weekend and whilst Tim and Tristan Reeves were able to complete another emphatic double to extend their lead in the Eastern Airways British F1 Sidecar Championship there was heartache for Adam Jenkinson as he crashed out of the Pirelli National Superstock 1000cc Championship race.
 
With a 100% finishing record, Jenkinson was keen to extend his 25-point lead in the Championship standings and signalled his intentions on Saturday as he set a brilliant pole position lap, two tenths of a second inside the lap record and almost half a second clear of nearest rival Joe Burns. The 15-lap race started in perfect fashion too as a brilliant start saw Adam take the lead but a lap later his race was over as he crashed out at Paddock Hill Bend.
 
Although uninjured in the spill, the Knutsford rider’s disappointment was compounded when Hudson Kennaugh won his second race in a row to move onto 110 points to move to within one point of Adam at the top of Championship table.
 
For the Reeves brothers, there were no such dramas and they opened their account for the weekend with victory in Friday evening’s 10-lap race held on the shorter Indy circuit, coming home ahead of Ben and Tom Birchall by just 0.192s.
 
Moving onto the longer 2.6-mile GP circuit on Sunday, their closest challengers were again the Birchall brothers and season-long rivals Sean Hegarty/Calum Lawson with the trio putting on a superb battle in what was certainly one of the races of the season. Positions changed hands with frequent regularity and it was only in the closing stages that Tim and Tristan were able to eke out some sort of advantage. Their cause was aided by the Birchall’s and Hegarty/Lawson colliding and that gave them the breathing space they needed, allowing them to take an eventual 3.2s win.
 
With Hegarty/Lawson failing to finish the second race, the win also saw their Championship lead increase to 79 points and they now top the table on 245 points compared to Hegarty’s 166.
 
Speaking later, team owner Robin Croft said; “Describing our weekend as mixed would be a fair assessment. We were extremely confident after qualifying and Adam was riding superbly, his pole lap was superb. The bike and team were working well too but he got caught out in the race and it was such a shame for his race to end like that. His championship lead was also all but wiped out so it’s disappointing but it’s out first DNF of the season and you can’t expect to go through a season without some kind of a hiccup.”
 
“On the plus side, Adam is still leading the Championship, admittedly by just the solitary point, but we know he’s riding stronger than ever and with Oulton being our local circuit, we’re all determined to bounce back in style. Tim and Tristan were impeccable as always and they’re putting together an excellent season. They’re continuing to prove what class acts they are and with two more wins, everything’s looking good on the three-wheel side of the garage.”
 
The sidecars now have a seven-week break before their next outing but Adam and the team will be looking to get their Superstock campaign back on track at their local Oulton Park circuit on August 9-11.
 
Pictures by Glynne Lewis