Finn Smart-Weeden was on the podium in the latest round of the HEL Performance British Junior Supersport championship at his home round of Brands Hatch last weekend.

Finn was supported by companies from Faversham, Sittingbourne and Maidstone firms were supporting for this round- covering tyre and brake costs.

Another dramatic weekend which saw an ok qualifying session followed by a disappointing first race (which had to be rescheduled from Saturday evening to Sunday morning due to a fuel/oil spillage on the track from the previous class).

A poor tyre choice decision, for race one on Sunday morning, saw Finn initially make up places and settle into fourth position, falling back to fifth then being swamped in the penultimate lap by the other riders who’d chosen dry tyres, falling back to 13^th by the chequered flag and losing his championship lead as a result.

The race one lap times also saw the Painters Forstal rider have to start in 23^rd position for race two. It was a big ask and a fun race for the spectators, but not his mum and dad who were having to operate the pit board.

Finn passed six riders into the first corner, increasing that to 11 by the third and reaching fourth by the end of lap four after which it was a battle for the win – eventually finishing the race in  second after 10 laps, 0.057 seconds behind the winner and 0.035 seconds ahead of third place.

The nail biting finish saw less than a quarter of second between first and seventh at the finish line. Finn now lies second overall in the championship 12 points behind the leader and 28 points ahead of third with four races to go.

The team would like to thank the Kent based business who got behind Finn for this round, E-Street Music and Dedicate Recruitment Ltd in Faversham, Nova IT solutions in Sittingbourne and Maidstone Motoliner. 

Finn’s older brother, Tom Weeden who was himself racing this weekend, at Olivers Mount, had this to say after watching the race on EuroSport “The best I’ve ever seen Finn ride. From 23rd on the grid to finish second. Rode so aggressively yet so smooth. Absolute masterclass. Proud”

Speaking after the weekend, Smart-Weeden, said: “My qualifying session wasn’t great and race one was a bit of a disaster. We knew it was a a big ask to get on the podium starting from 23^rd but there was no way I was going down without a fight and I knew I had to get to the front pack in the first lap.

“It was a mental race and I have never ridden better – I just had to get my head down and dig deep. The real fun started once I got into the top 10 and was really going for the win but it was so close and I am not disappointed with second.”

We now have a seven week break to rounds 13/14 at Oulton Park in mid-September followed by the season finale at the end of September at Donington Park. Before then we have a few club races on the Triumph 675 and Finn will also be going out to support his brother who will be racing at the ManxGP/Classic TT on the Isle of Man at the end of August.

You can follow Finn’s progress on Facebook (@Fatboyfinn14), Instagram (@fatboy_finn) and Twitter (@fatboy_finn1

Images courtesy of

1. Preparing to go out racing: photo credit – Photostrada Motorsport Photography
2. On track at Brands: photo credit – Arthur Devlin )
3. FatBoyFinn team on the Grid for race 2 – Georgia Smart
4. In the winners enclosure after finishing 2^nd in race 2 –  Georgia Smart