MOTORCYCLING: East Kirkby's Philp picks up points at Donington

Tommy Philp recorded 14th and 17th place finishes at Donington Park last weekend, where draperRACING teammate Aaron Clarke was unfortunate to hit a bump and crash out.
Tommy Philp is heading for Holland.Tommy Philp is heading for Holland.
Tommy Philp is heading for Holland.

In the British Supersport races, Philp, who lives at East Kirkby, qualified his draperRACING Yamaha in 16th place to start the short Sprint race on the Saturday from the sixth row.

He held 13th place for a number of laps before being overtaken by Sam Wilford on lap six.

Unable to regain his position and with no one near enough to bother him, Philp brought the bike home safely at the end of the 10 laps in 14th place to pick up two championship points.

On Sunday, Philp set off from an eighth row grid position at the start of the 18 lap feature race and got a really good start to be registered in 13th place at the first sector.

By the time they finished the first lap, he was in 14th place but was embroiled in a huge group of riders all challenging for position.

Freddy Pett relegated him to 15th on lap three and, two laps later, Dean Harrison pushed him down to 16th.

On lap 10, Philp regained 15th place, pushing Harrison back behind him.

He held station until, with two laps to go, Matt Truelove made a move and made it stick and Harrison also made it past on the penultimate lap, leaving Philp in 17th.

Kirton rider Clarke was looking promising for another top 10 result in the Superstock 600 class.

He qualified well in 19th place but hit a bump on the track at Goddards and crashed unhurt, his race over.

Team draperRACING head to Assen in the Netherlands for the penultimate round of the British Supersport championship this weekend when Philp will contest two races, the 12 lap Sprint race on Saturday and the 15 lap Feature race on Sunday.

Superstock 600 rider Clarke will accompany the team to Assen to assist Tommy but does not have a race this weekend. His championship had a round at the World Superbike championship round at Donington Park earlier in the year as the series does not contest a race at Assen.

Philp will be seeking two points finishes at the Cathedral of Speed to boost his points tally as he nears the end of the season.

The weekend begins with two free practice sessions on Friday at 9.35am and 2.30pm to prepare the bike for the solitary qualifying session that takes place on Saturday at 10.55am. The results from qualifying set the grid for the 12 lap Sprint race that is scheduled for 3.40pm on Saturday. There is a short warm-up on Sunday at 9.52am and the 15 lap feature race is set for a start at 3.35pm.