It was a weekend of two halves for the INCompetition Sencat team this weekend at Snetterton. Without any doubt the biggest highlight was securing the teams first ever Bennetts British Superbike podium with Lewis Rollo, also in the process he gained another trio of Pathway Superbike race wins.
Freddie Barnes was caught out with the lovely British Summer Time that struck Snetterton this weekend which saw him crash out of race one but secured a solid 18th place in the main race on Sunday.
Josh Owens had a tough weekend with crashes and technical problems, it was just one of those weekends and the team will re-group and be back on form at Brands.
Bennetts British Superbikes
To say the weather conditions were mixed this weekend would be an understatement! The series has not had rain at the Snetterton race since 2008 and it certainly made up for it over the weekend. With numerous red flags and sessions stoppages it was a difficult weekend to keep on top of.
Lewis Rollo on the RSV4 Aprilia flourished in the wet conditions and went quickest in free practice three, sadly followed shortly by a crash. The team worked tirelessly to rebuild the back for qualifying which followed straight after but could not get Lewis out on track. This forced him to start from the back of the grid in 26th position.
Lewis took advantage of the conditions and got a fantastic start in race one, working his way through to 11th place when the red flag came out due to an incident. On the re-start he got a flying start and was soon knocking on the door of a podium position. With is being a 5-lap dash it was important to progress as fast as possible. He soon hit the front, leading his first ever British Superbike race. He was locked in a battle with Storm Stacey who took the win at the flag but gave Lewis and the team their first podium in second place!
Sunday was set to be dry, so it was always going to be difficult to achieve the same result against the bigger, more experienced full Superbike teams. He started on the front row in second place and although he lost some places, he still battled hard to take another Pathway win. The race was red flagged again due to rain but by the time the restart came it was dry again.
He was placed in 17th on the grid for the final dry race of the weekend and worked hard to secure the Pathway win, his 12th consecutive of the season!
Lewis – “What a weekend at Snetterton! It started off dry on Friday where I did my quickest time I’ve ever done around the circuit. Saturday and the rain came, I was quickest in FP3 but unfortunately had a crash which made me miss qualifying and forcing me to start from the back. The first part of the race was really good, I made up a lot of places. Changed to wets after the red flag, we got another good start and I managed to get up to the lead, leading my first British Superbike race was incredible. To get second overall for me and the team in our first season was just amazing, so pleased!
To start race two on the front row was another thing ticked off the bucket list. We held our own in the dry but did drop back, we had a small issue towards the end but happy with the result. In race three I managed to set my fastest ever lap around Snetterton which is brilliant as it has always been my bogey circuit. Thank you so much to all the team, sponsors, my family, and everyone that always supports me, this weekend was brilliant!!”
Pirelli National Superstock
It was not a weekend to write home about for Josh Owens in the National Superstock class on the Aprilia RSV4. The weather was a crucial factor, ever changing and hard to find the correct set-up to suit Josh. A crash in qualifying saw him start the race from 14th place. He worked hard in the opening laps and was riding well but unfortunately suffered a small brake issue forcing him to retire.
Josh – “It was a tough weekend, not our easiest time. We had a couple of issues and with the weather we lost a bit of set-up time. The team worked so hard to re-build the bike for the race. We made a step forward in warm-up but unfortunately in the race after a good start I had a brake problem and didn’t want to risk crashing at such a fast circuit, so I opted to pull in. Looking forward to being back up at the sharp end at Brands Hatch.”
Quattro Plant British Supersport
Freddie Barnes showed really good form this weekend on the Yamaha in the wet and dry conditions in the Quattro Plant British Supersport class and it was looking set for a good weekend. He managed to qualify in 17th place for the opening Sprint race on Saturday. This turned out to be wet, very wet! He was riding well but got caught out, like a number of others with the wet conditions and sadly crashed out, uninjured.
He re-grouped for the main feature race on Sunday, he started from 21st place and finished as 18th Supersport rider.
Freddie – “This weekend has been another stepping stone. Despite the crashes we have taken away a lot from Snetterton and cannot wait for Brands Hatch now. Thank you to all my sponsors, the team and all the people that help get me to this position.”
Ian Newton – Team Owner – “With a combination of Lewis and the RSV4 Aprilia and amazing INCompetition Sencat team, to stand on the podium in our first season of BSB, also becoming to be the first Aprilia RSV4 to finish in a podium position is an incredibly special achievement. Also to have a BSB front row start, which many teams dream of was also so special.
So all-in-all it was not a bad weekend! Well done to Lewis and all the team, magnificent work!
Josh had a tough weekend which ended up by having a brake problem and not being able to finish the race. We are not used to DNFs in the team, and I know we will be working even harder to make sure it does not happen again!
Freddie showed his determination, commitment and calmness having had a tumble, like many other riders over the weekend but continued to make positive progress on the steep learning curve that he is on.
Really proud of all the team this weekend – thank you!!”
Photography – Camipix
For Press Features please email Kerrie McFadden: info@firstturnmedia.co.uk
