Test day

鈥淚 was buzzing to ride the Honda again. We set off strongly with a 1:33.6 on my 3^rd lap, then managed a 1:32.9 in session 4. I was happy with the lap times despite finding it far too physical and struggling towards the end of each session. We needed to find a better setting to help me run a race distance. Without the datalogger yet again, we made improvements, but I wasn鈥檛 fully sure with the feeling. I had a few moments, very nearly losing the front at The Hairpin and up out of the seat twice, so started to tense up towards the end of the day.鈥�

Race Day Free Practice

鈥淚 tried to relax more and felt really good, but the lap times were poor 鈥� in the 1:34s. My head needed a shake as my confidence dropped. It was a waste of a session as I had no idea if it was me, the bike or both. I went for a nap!鈥�

Qualifying (P12 on Grid)

鈥淚 didn鈥檛 get onto the circuit in a good position and every time I was on a good lap I would catch a bunch of riders. I dropped off and tried to find space, but it was a nightmare. I kept calm and gave myself just one lap at the end to put in a time of 1:33.277 which put me 12^th on the grid. That lifted my confidence again and gave me a feeling we could make better bike changes.鈥�

Race 1 (P7 in Class)

鈥淚 was worried about my first race start on the Honda as the two practice runs had been terrible. In fact, it wasn鈥檛 bad and I got away to make a pass on Jamie Boyce at Park putting me in P11. I settled behind Liam Murtagh and Luca Jennings and felt okay, dipping in the 1:32s, but on Lap 4 they started to drop me slightly. Being the first race on the bike, I just didn鈥檛 settle enough.听 听

鈥淪till trying to work things out, I didn鈥檛 want to push too much and make a mistake. Jamie then came back past with Brandon Petty chasing him down. I found myself sandwiched between them. Petty made a move on me at The Hairpin, but didn鈥檛 make it stick. He then got past me again at Charlies 1 so I decided to stay behind him, try to let him pull me on as I didn鈥檛 want to slow us up too much.听

鈥淎 couple of laps later, I felt good and had the pace to re-pass him. With a lap and a half to go, I was setting up a move at Chris Curve when we had a random dump of what felt like hailstones. By Mansfield, it had stopped so I was straight back on it trying to get past. Then more heavy rain through Hall Bends and I locked the front at The Hairpin and ran on. Paul Charman snuck past me, but knowing the rain couldn鈥檛 have settled below the over-hanging trees, I went hard into Barn Corner and managed to out-drag him to the line.听

The red 鈥榝lag came out for the rain and crashes it caused. It was a shame to finish that way as I was in good flow. I really enjoyed the race and to say it was my first one on the 鈥楤lade, 7^th in Class was okay.鈥�

Race 2 (P6 in Class)

鈥淟ights out and it was an okay start from P14 on the Grid. The bike felt good for 3 laps and then it was hard work. I鈥檇 made a change for this race and it was completely the wrong way 鈥� my fault as I didn鈥檛 listen to advice and lived to regret it. 听

听鈥淭he arm pump was the most painful I have had. I was a passenger for most of the race, but never stopped trying. I did manage to pass Liam on the last lap as he was having the same issues. Strangely, 6^th place was my best ever in the Pirelli Super Series. I gave it all I had just to finish and was proud of myself, not for performance, but for staying onboard. A fair few riders went down in that one. The hard graft paid off, but I was not happy.鈥�

Race 3 (P7 in Class)

鈥淲e went back to Race 1 settings and it felt so much better. I had a lot of work to do starting P15 on the Grid because of a bad lap time in Race 2. Got away okay again, got stuck in and was enjoying it.

鈥淥n Lap 2, I got to Wilf Turner and saw a rare pass could be on over The Mountain. So, on Lap 3 I did just that, putting me in a great position to get away and go with Liam, Boyce and Jennings. Then, four turns later, I missed my gear change into The Hairpin, ran on and lost two places to Wilf and Paul Charman. A nightmare. My fault for rushing and not engaging 1st gear correctly.听

鈥淚 went into chill mode, got back to work and felt strong. I managed to pass Charman, then Petty, to get on the back of Turner again. Close racing with Wilf, we hunted down Liam, Jennings and Boyce. I tried to squeeze a pass on the last lap into Hall Bends, but had to back out at the last second. We both got past Boyce and Wilf closed the door early at The Hairpin. I went for a run to the line and, just like last year, I lost out.

鈥淕reat racing by all the lads and I really enjoyed that race to finish the weekend. If I hadn鈥檛 missed that gear I was sure this would have been my best finish.

鈥淕ood things are coming and I hope to see some of you up north at Knockhill for Round 7. I can鈥檛 wait.鈥�

Photos by Matt Sayle Photography

Test Day

鈥淗ot, and I mean hot! We didn鈥檛 get many laps in; lots of stoppages, a lack of marshals and the notorious Brands catching riders out.

鈥淔or a change, I didn鈥檛 need many laps. I felt I was riding well and enjoyed lapping in the 1:32 mark with little effort, while working a few things out when I got some space.鈥�

Qualifying (P15 on Grid)

鈥淚n the first qualifying session, I was near the front and had got myself some space with a tow from fast lads. I thought 鈥榩erfect鈥�, only for the session to be red-flagged coming on to our 3^rd lap. I do hope Jack Morgan makes a full recovery 鈥� that was big.

鈥淐alled back after a long stoppage and, knowing I would be mid-pack, did a Wilf Turner trick and went out at the back. With the track to myself, I managed a 1:32.4, which I was ok with. Would have liked a little more, but still trying to build up the pace and work out what grip we had. Due to all the stoppages our race was moved to Sunday, meaning we had a busy day ahead with 3 races.鈥�

Race 1 (P17/10^th in Class)

鈥淎 very poor start and then got boxed-in badly at Paddock Hill and Druids, losing a good few places. I quickly got my act together and moved back up to P17 by the end of Lap 1, but was at the back of a train of five riders. Getting used to the pace, I was looking to make up a couple more places, but we were too close together. By the time I had worked a few things out it was the chequered flag. We ran a good pace and I had a good feeling with the bike so was keen to try again in Race 2.鈥�

Race 2 (P12/8^th in Class)

鈥淪tarting 16^th on the grid, I was now on the outside, which I prefer at Brands. This time I ripped off the line, got stuck in and made passes around the outside of Paddock Hill Bend then inside at Druids with inches to spare. I found myself on the back of Liam Murtagh, who is riding strongly this year. I tried to pass him into Surtees, but wasn鈥檛 quite close enough. Ran with Liam for a few laps doing 1.31鈥檚 until he edged away from me. As the gap gradually widened, I was being chased by Jamie Boyce and Steven Duncan so had to kept it tidy to hold my position until the end. Great race and pleased to run consistent 1:31s all race and matched my PB from last year at 1:31.2.鈥�

Race 3 (P10/8^th in Class)听听听听听听听听听听听

鈥淢ade tweaks to the bike to help with the better pace and go! Great start again.

鈥淧retty much the same start though Steven Duncan joined the party this time. Duncan made a brave pass on Liam into Hawthornes and I had the best view in the house. My bike was even better in this one so no excuses and I managed a PB of 1:31.0 to close the little gap they had. Then spent six laps trying to get past the fastest Kawasaki I have ever seen, while Liam was trying to get past Duncan again. I thought I was going to get two for the price of one at Druids, but wasn鈥檛 sure if Liam could see me as he came back onto the racing line. I had a nibble at Graham Hill Bend to which he chopped my nose off. Duncan now had a few bike lengths on us so back to working out Liam again.

鈥淚 felt strong and thought if I can pass Liam I might just get a chance on the last lap to take Steven. I tried everything, but Liam rode well and made it hard. To be honest, even if that wasn鈥檛 possible, the fact I was thinking it shows we are so much stronger than we have been. I got really close coming onto the Start/Finish Straight with two laps to go, but another red flag and the fun was over. Credit to Liam, he has really found the pace again this year and it was great trying to work him out.

鈥淚 feel like a weight has been lifted this weekend. I have now made the step with the bike that I have been looking for, putting me back in the race. I can鈥檛 tell you how happy I am and how much I enjoyed finally racing again. The earlier three rounds were tough to take, but we are on the way back now.

鈥淭hank you so much to all my supporters and sponsors for not giving up on me.

鈥淣ext up: my local, Cadwell Park. I can鈥檛 wait.鈥�

Photos by Matt Sayle Photography

Test day

鈥淒ry and sunny, though still quite cold. There was a lot of slow traffic to deal with most of the day, but managed to get laps in the 1 min 35secs. Was happy with my riding and the bike setup felt close, so was ready for qualifying.鈥�

Qualifying

鈥淨ualified P11 and 8th in class with a 1:35.250 on new tyres. Had hoped for more, but was happy enough and felt I could be strong in the race.鈥�

Race 1

鈥淏it of a scrappy start again! From fourth row of the grid, if you don鈥檛 get away well, there is a lot of scrapping to do early doors, which breaks up the rhythm. Pace was good with low 1:34s and I felt good to the end, missing out on 8th place to Liam Murtagh by 0.065 of a second. A decent race, but felt I should鈥檝e done more.鈥�

Race 2

鈥淲e analysed the data from Race 1 where the bike felt really good, but lacked a little rear grip. Made some changes and felt we had a bike I could really have a good go with. Got a mediocre start, but surprisingly, no one passed me into Turn 1, so got the hammer down. Went from 11th on the grid into P7 by the end of Lap 1 and held this position to Lap 5, running consistently low 1:34s. and keeping a gap to the busy pack behind me. Jack Morgan got past on Lap 5 and Jamie Boyce on Lap 6 before the latter slid off in front of me at Melbourne. Time to drop into the 33s. BUT after Lap 7 the rear grip went from perfect to non-existent. Wilf Turner overtook me on Lap 8 and it took a tremendous effort to control the rear whilst running in the mid to high 34s. and hold on to finish P8. First half of this race we were very strong. Shame about the rear tyre, but we learnt a lot and gave it a good go.鈥�

Race 3

鈥淐ombining my best sector times from Race 2 would show an Ideal lap time of 1:33.5. I felt, with good rear grip and some space, I could improve on that time and achieve a better finish. After speaking to James at No Limits Race Support, we made changes that I was desperate would make the difference.听 I could feel the potential if everything lined up.

鈥淩ace 2 lap time put me 11th on the grid, meaning a good start was paramount. Got boxed in as not aggressive enough and was right in the middle of where I don鈥檛 want to be. The early laps felt so slow and I felt, with some space, I could push on. Our seven-rider group was all split between 0.50s, so breaking out was easier said than done. Made some passes but lost them again as I just wasn鈥檛 aggressive enough. Then the Race was red flagged, reducing the planned 9 laps to a 4-lap sprint. Not ideal as I had to start from 11th again, and didn鈥檛 make the best of starts, got boxed in and found it hard to make passes stick. The 6-rider group was running with only 0.30s between them. The strangest thing, I did a new PB of 1.34s. and it honestly felt like a Sunday rideout. The tyre and grip were perfect, but I couldn鈥檛 get out of the busy pack. Finished 7th in class again; not the way I hoped for the weekend, but we kept it sunnyside, learnt a lot and came away with more confidence.鈥�

Photos by Matt Sayle Photography

Test Days

鈥淲e had two test days for the first round which was good to give us extra time to get up to speed. I was happy on Day 1, but struggled with tyre wear and grip on Day 2 when the temperature dropped. I was a little worried on what my qualifying time might be after an average couple of days on the bike, so a quick call to Not So Fast was what I needed just to set the plan.”

Qualifying

鈥淏ike felt great and on Lap 3 I managed 1:56.7, so pulled in to save tyre. This put me P6 in class taking the three BSB lads out of the numbers and, basically, leading my bunch. So, yes, happy. Best lap: 1:56.706 and 10th on grid.”

Race 1

鈥淒idn鈥檛 get a great start and found myself in a close four-way battle for most of the race, which was fun. Had to make up some early ground to get there. Saw parts of the track where I could improve and was looking forward to a strong Race 2. Best lap: 1:56.340 and 10^th in Class.”

Race 2

鈥淕ot a much better start, settled in and led the bunch (in P9) until Lap 5 when I started to drop back. I was running in the mid to low 56鈥檚 and knew I needed to drop into the 54/55鈥檚 to hold position. I wasn鈥檛 sure if the bike started to turn slower or I may have tried too hard to pull away, but it started to feel hard work. This was the hardest part of the weekend to accept as, with clear track ahead, I gave myself the opportunity to pull away, but wasn鈥檛 able to. I then got caught in an incident which put me on the grass and I lost the chance to hold onto the group. Brought it home P9 in Class with a slightly better lap time of 1:56.298.”

Race 3

鈥淢ade a few slight changes to the bike for Race 3, keen to run at the pace I felt possible if I could get to the front of the pack and find clear track. Another good start and made up some early places. However, a rider around me had multiple bike problems making it difficult and risky to pass. I had to take avoiding action, then trying to get away from the problem, made a mistake and ran on at the next hairpin, losing 5 places. Frustrated, I got back on track and recovered as many places as possible in the remaining laps. I managed to make my way back to P12 in Class. Lap 2 was my fastest lap of the weekend and, being 0.4 seconds below my PB set last year, it was a massive disappointment not to improve on that. Best lap: 1:55.973 and P12 in Class.

鈥淚n summary, I don鈥檛 think the feel I got from the bike was great, although I may have tried to override to compensate. We all know that does not work. I can be faster when things are right. It wasn鈥檛 all bad and there were lots of positives to take away from the meeting. Whilst my final placings don鈥檛 look spectacular, the 3 podium places were taken by the Tag Honda BSB riders in each race. Allowing for them, my places weren鈥檛 too shabby.

鈥淭hank you to No Limits Racing and the marshals for a well very run meeting and a massive well done on the new YouTube channel. A great addition to club level racing.

鈥淭hank you to every single person and sponsor that makes this possible.鈥�

Photos by Matt Sayle Photography

鈥淲hat a way to end the season! G&S Racing Kawasaki riders TJ Toms and Jorel Boerboom completed both races and celebrated the final race with both riders in the points 鈥撎齌J within the top four.

鈥淎fter qualifying in 13th place for the short Sprint race on Saturday, TJ Toms started the 12-lap race from the fourth row and as the lights went out he immediately moved up to 11th on the opening lap. He tucked in behind Carter Brown and followed him through the majority of the race before making a move on the penultimate lap to snatch 10th place. He held his line through the final lap to take 10th at the flag and pick up sufficient points to leapfrog Dean Harrison in the rider standings to eighth position.听

鈥淭here was a dramatic change in the weather for Sunday鈥檚 season finale with rain falling making the track wet and slippery. Full wets was the order of the day, with TJ lining up in the middle of the fourth row. With crashes to riders ahead of him, the safety car was brought out a couple of times during the race which allowed TJ to remain in touch with the leading group and he circulated in 10th position through the first half of the 15-lap race.

“He then began to make his way forward and was in fifth place going into the final lap. Not satisfied with that he made a concerted effort and passed Lee Johnston on the final lap to take a well-deserved fourth place to end the season in a solid eighth place in the rider standings.”

鈥淢eanwhile, Jorel Boerboom came through first qualifying but gave himself a lot of work to do in the Sprint race after completing final qualifying down in 26th place. But he got his head down and made up a place to 25th on the first lap. He was embroiled in a five-rider battle for position and was able to pick off riders through the rest of the 12 laps to cross the finish line in 21st position.听

鈥淪tarting the final race from the eighth row, it was always going to be a struggle to get up into a point-scoring position, but Boerboom was determined to end his season on a high note and worked his way through the midfielders to latch onto the back of the group fighting for 11th place. He picked them off one by one until he got to the front of the group. With the next rider too far ahead to catch, Boerboom took the chequered flag for his best result of the season in 11th place to pick up 10 championship points.”

Team Manager, Tom Fisher: 鈥淭hat was a great result in the final race for both riders. TJ rode well in the first race to 10th and was amazing in the wet final race with fourth. He rode the wheels of the Kawasaki to get up into the top five and thoroughly deserved the fourth-place finish.

鈥淛orel also rode well. He started from way back on row eight and fought his way up to 11th. What a great way to finish his season. I have to thank the whole team for their hard work over this weekend and also our sponsors who have stuck with us throughout the years. This has been our best season by far and we couldn’t have done this without their input. Also thanks go to our supporters, many of whom have been at the track to cheer us on.鈥�

鈥淲e have just completed the penultimate round of the 2025 season, heading back up to Oulton Park for Round 10.

“After Luke put a lot of effort into his recovery, he managed to gain back the strength in his shoulder and was back on his Honda to take part alongside Jamie.

“Friday started off with both Free Practice sessions. Luke finished P7 in both of these after showing great pace. We also then had a Pre-Qualifying in which he took 11th place automatically being put through to Q2. A brilliant start to the weekend!

“As for Jamie, his engine blew after a few laps of FP1, resulting in an engine change for the team and now limited track time鈥� The team managed to get the engine swapped before FP2, however a technical gremlin meant he only competed 3 laps in the second session.

“Saturday morning, we were supposed to be out for our FP3 session, the horrendous rain however put a halt to any proceedings until further notice. Eventually we got out at 12:50 for the 10-minute session.

“We were ready to go for Qualifying. Jamie made his way out for Q1, he completed 4 laps with a best of 1:54.624. He would start race 1 from 22nd.

“Now it was time for Luke to go out. He was sat in P3 for most of the session but finished in P9, this was a 3rd row start and a great performance by Luke. His best lap time was a 1:46.084, just 1.463 off of pole.

“Race 1 was shortened to 14 laps after a red flag for rain. Luke had a great ride and finished in 12th, bringing home more points. Jamie didn鈥檛 make the end and pulled in due to a slight issue with the bike.”

“Sunday we had to 2 more races鈥� Race 2 Luke started from 16th and Jamie 23rd. We got underway and a few laps in then the red flag got shown due to contamination of the track.

“After a lengthy delay we got a rescheduled 8 lap sprint. Both Luke and Jamie were setting steady and consistent lap times and came across the line in 16th and 20th. 听

“For the third and final race of the weekend we were 17th on the grid with LH, and 22^nd with JD. Luke circulated 4 times before making his way down pit-lane with a technical issue.

“Jamie was still out to complete the race and was right on the back of a battle between B. Baker and J. Van Sikkelerus marginally ahead of him. He stayed with them throughout the whole race and took the flag 0.9 seconds behind them.听

“Overall, a very good weekend for the team despite the weather conditions.”

鈥淕&S Racing Kawasaki rider, TJ Toms, rode to a brace of top-10 finishes at a stormy Oulton Park with teammate Jorel Boerboom finishing further down the field in the penultimate round of the 2025 British Supersport Championship.

鈥淲ith Storm Amy disrupting Friday and Saturday鈥檚 track action due to high winds and torrential rain at times, it was not possible to complete qualifying so the grid was formed from results in the free practice sessions where TJ finished in 12th and Jorel 23rd position.

鈥淪tarting the short Sprint race from the third row, TJ Toms was running in 12th place for a while and entered into a battle for position with Zac Corderoy and Harry Truelove, finally completing the 10 lap race in 10th position.

鈥淭he Feature Race on Sunday was reduced to 12 laps because of long delays in the earlier Superbike race with TJ lining up on the third row for the start. He remained in 12th place through the early laps before starting to make his way forward on lap five. He picked off riders every other lap and found himself up in seventh place on lap seven.听听Despite the riders just behind pushing to overtake him he was able to retain his position and crossed the finish line in seventh place 0.7s ahead of Corderoy.

鈥淭hese two strong results retain his ninth place in the rider standings and move him just seven points away from Dean Harrison who holds eighth position.”

鈥淛orel Boerboom had a stronger weekend at Oulton Park. He started the Sprint race from the eighth row of the grid and made up a few places during the 10 laps but although he was right behind another group he ran out of time and had to be content with a 23rd place finish.听

鈥淗e fared much better in the Feature race and although he lost a couple of places at the start he was quick to recover and made good progress, passing riders on nearly every lap until he reached 18th position on the penultimate lap. With the next group too far ahead to make any inroads to he finished the race in 18th place.听

Team Manager, Tom Fisher: 鈥渃onsidering the dreadful weather and all the stoppages, our two riders did very well. TJ rode the wheels off the bike to reach seventh place in the Feature race and was hanging off the back of one of the championship contenders towards the end of the race. Jorel also has made big steps forward this weekend and was only a few places away from a points finish. Thanks go to our loyal sponsors and to everyone who braved the weather to come to the circuit to support us. We look forward to the final round of the series at Brands Hatch and fingers crossed for some better weather!鈥�

Pic credit: Ian Hopgood.