Faversham’s Finn Smart-Weeden has had a busy few weeks with the British Superbikes at Brands Hatch and King of the Combe keeping his racing sharp.
Breaking up early for the summer holidays, Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School Faversham Sixth Form Student, Finn Smart-Weeden missed the last two days of term to attend the BSB race event at Brands Hatch in July.
Finn was looking to improve again in the Pirelli National SportBike championship and had attended a special racers test day in the North East the week before, making significant bike set-up changes to improve corner handling of his Aprilia RS660.
Most of the weekend was sunny, warm and dry and saw Finn post the twelfth fastest lap in Friday morning’s free practice, improving his times every lap, then fifth in the afternoon practice session improving his best lap time by more than a second.
The combined free practice times saw Finn in sixth overall and in similar conditions during the Saturday morning qualifying session Finn once again improved his lap time by more than a second and achieved P7 on the grid to start the race.
It rained overnight on Saturday and on Sunday morning, the Painters Forstal resident stayed in the bed rather than participate in Sunday’s early morning warm-up; seeing no benefit and plenty of risk riding on a wet track as the weather forecast promised a return to the previous balmy conditions for the race, which was to be held at the end of the day.
Finn got a good start but by the first corner had been overtaken by the two riders behind him dropping him to ninth and it wasn’t until lap four (of twelve) that FatBoyFinn was able to get past the faster starting, but ultimately slower, rider in front which allowed the front groups to pull away.
Finn was circulating 0.2 of a second faster than the seventh placed rider who was 1.3 seconds in front of him and but for a moment in lap seven after he’d narrowed the gap to 0.9 seconds, he might have caught and overtaken by the race end.
Seeing his pitboard tell him that the gap to the rider behind was now five seconds – Finn decided to be safe (but still fast) and so crossed the finish line in eighth place; seven seconds ahead of ninth and having improved his best lap time once again.
The seventeen-year-old started the weekend in fifteenth place overall in the championship and came away with eleventh. The next BSB round is at the fastest circuit in England, Thruxton, this weekend.
Before that,and after racing at Brands hatch, Finn took part in the King of Combe event held by NG Road racing Club at Castle Combe where Finn competed on his eleven year old Triumph Daytona 675 Triple, against BSB SuperBike and SuperSport riders and club riders on 1000cc race bikes.
Again in great weather, Finn managed two tenths and a twelfth placing him tenth overall in the event. At the same event Finn also raced in the ‘Sound of Thunder’ races, again against larger capacity machines taking three third place trophies.
Speaking after both race weekends, Finn said “I’ve really enjoyed the last two events. The set-up changes we’ve done to the Aprilia RS600 seem to have made a difference and I’m beginning to feel more at home on that bike.
“Getting tenth overall on my old Triumph Daytona against bigger bikes at Castle Combe was a great feeling but I’ve destroyed two sets of new tyres doing it – the combination of speed and Castle Combe’s track surface is not a good one for tyres.
“I’m looking forward to racing at BSB Thruxton next week, it’s been a couple of years since I’ve raced there and it’s a really good track- so fast!”
Images courtesy of
BSB 24 Brands Alastair Ladd Photography 01 – racing Brands Hatch
BSB 24 Brands Alastair Ladd Photography 02 – racing Brands Hatch
BSB 24 Brands Jade Goodison 01 – racing Brands Hatch
NG 24 Combe Mick Bown 01 – racing Castle Combe