Better luck at Brands Hatch as Taz sits second

Mansfield Woodhouse racer Taz Taylor enjoyed better mechanical luck at Brands Hatch as he finished second in his class and sits second overall in the British 125GP Championship.

Having suffered with more than his fair share of technical issues over the first four rounds of the British Motostar championship, it would have been easy for the youngster to become disheartened with both the team and himself.

But all that frustration ended at Brands hatch as both Taylor and his Fireplace Warehouse Honda never missed a beat.

Kicking off the weekend with razor sharp performances in both of the free practice sessions he was sitting pretty for qualifying on Saturday.

In the end he was good enough for a front row start, his first of the season and a real boost to his confidence as he qualified in third place overall.

Taylor had a decent start, but lost a couple of places on the rise to the first corner.

At this point it looked as though the leading Moto3 machines may pull away and leave Taylor leading the 125GP class in fifth position.

He had already left championship leader Ed Rendell wondering what had hit him but he couldn’t rest as world stage rider Brad Ray was closing him down after starting from the back of the grid. Brad passed Taylor on the lap nine and looked as though he would distance himself from the FPW Racing machine immediately.

What happened next was what every spectator was hoping for as Taylor closed back on Ray and proceeded to push him to the maximum, making passes as the two chased down the leading trio. Clearly catching the three machines up front, it looked as though the final lap was going to be one to remember. But the race came to a premature end after two riders suffered a nasty crash which halted proceedings on the 12th lap.

But Taylor had ridden and matched the pace of possibly the most on form rider in the field and looked comfortable with the lap times he was producing.

His fifth place in the race and second in the 125GP class was just what he and his team wanted.

Related topics: