Derby Phoenix Debut Win At Brands Hatch plus Two Wheels Only coverage

Sam Middlemas rode to a successful weekend at Brands Hatch taking top five finishes and a debut race win on the Triumph 675.

Riding in the seventh round of the Derby Phoenix championship, Sam started the day in the Thunderbikes class starting 21st out of 25 riders. Riding against two classes, including his own and the Pre-Injection 1000cc class, the 20 year old Leicestershire rider fought his way up to third position, and second in his class as the leading bike was the 1000cc Yamaha of David Eckersley who had started from the front rows.

Sam crossed the finish line under a second behind Michael Booth. He describes, “I didn't realise I was that well up I thought maybe top five. So it was really good to hear I was third overall. I got the fastest lap of race and I felt like I could go on to win the second race.”

The next race up for the Triumph rider was the Formula 600, a class which Sam is more used to riding in. For race one he was down in 16th position on the grid. As the lights went out the Triumph launched off the line and made up over seven places round the outside of Paddock Hill Bend.

This daring move put Sam and his Triumph into fifth place and positioned him in an ideal place to chase down the reigning champion and current series leader, Mick Daly. “That big number one plate was the target, I couldn't quite get close enough though as we were riding at a similar pace and I ended up fifth. The top three were MRO or BSS cup lads so I was happy enough to finish there.”

The second Thunderbikes race saw Sam make a reasonable start from third on the grid by only losing a few places and dropping back to fifth. The Triumph rider soon got back into rhythm and passed his way back up to the leaders and started a battle of the British against two other Triumph mounted riders, Ricky Chadwick and Michael Booth. A race long battle ensued with Sam gaining an edge on his rivals allowing him to slipstream them, and also being stronger out of Clearways which gave him a good line down to the final corner. Sam was currently running in second but with having a slight advantage over Ricky Chadwick went for the lead, he describes, “I managed to get the lead back at Druids for the final time from Chadwick and start to check out for the victory.”

The final result over the line was Middlemas leading Chadwick over the line by half a second, “I felt confident all race that I was going to win it as I felt I was the strongest of the three of us and having had a good ride in the previous 600 race. I got the fastest lap again with a 51.00s. It was good to see a British bike in first, second and third with the three of us on Triumph 675’s, and over seven seconds ahead of fourth placed David Eckersley on a Yamaha R1.”

In the 4th race of the day and the final for Sam, it was the Formula 600’s again. Lining up in fifth on the grid Sam made a poor start dropping back to ninth position into Paddock Hill Bend. Undeterred the Triumph rider set off after championship leader Mick Daly and his Honda 600.

Sam comments on the race, “This time I was making a few mistakes trying to catch Mick so I decided after about 5 laps it wasn't going to happen and started focused on hitting the apexes and keeping the pressure on. I got another 5th but got a 50 second lap time so I was pretty happy.”

Sam illustrates on the days racing, “I feel very happy to of broken into the 50 second bracket and I'm pleased with the win in the Thunderbikes and the first 600 race. I felt my poor start let me down in the 2nd 600 race as I really wanted to try and beat the Derby Phoenix champion Mick Daly. Overall though I've had a great days racing and considering just 6 days ago I was in a neck brace I didn't even know if I was going to make it to brands or not. Thanks to Liz Corby for lending me her spare rear tyre warmer after mine packed in. A big thank you also goes to Brian Nicholson from BN Race Science for all his help with Brands Hatch and his advice on suspension setup.”

Make sure to look out for Sam in the pages of T.W.O (Two Wheels Only) Magazine next month, available from all good newsagents.

By: Robin Goodwin