The following companies are pleased to sponsor Robbie...

The Real Cycle People
44 George Street, Perth

Brands Hatch 7-9 April 2007

Following on from successful pre-season testing in Spain, Robbie went in to the first round of the 2007 125GP series at Brands Hatch in confident mood.

Warm and dry conditions throughout the Easter weekend meant that lap times around the full 2.6 mile Grand Prix circuit were always going to be fast, and Robbie ended Saturday’s two free practice sessions in a comfortable 2nd place with a best time of 1.35.938. He then maintained his strong position with a series of consistently fast laps during the two qualifying sessions on Easter Sunday, and finished the day with a fastest lap of 1.35.154 – good enough to put the KRP Honda in 2nd spot on the 40 strong grid.

Race day saw a massive crowd of over 40,000 spectators turn up at the Kent circuit for BSB’s season opener, and the 125s undoubtedly provided one of the best races of the round.

Although Robbie got off to a poor start, and had lost a number of places in the first lap, he quickly set about making up ground and soon fought his way back up to 4th, just behind team mate Anthony Rogers. The two KRP riders then upped the pace and slowly managed to reel in 2nd placed Kev Coghlan. The three-way dice for second place made for some of the day’s most exciting racing, and as the pace quickened further, Robbie set not only the fastest race lap of the day, but also a new 125 lap record for the full GP circuit (1.34.274).

A place on the Championship podium would have been the perfect end to the weekend but, as so often happens, the last corner of the last lap proved to be decisive. As the riders came out of Clearways for the final time - with Robbie sitting in 3rd just ahead of Kev - Anthony got into a slide and Robbie had to take avoiding action. The two KRP bikes touched and, although both riders stayed on track, it was enough to let Kev through to 2nd place and shuffle Robbie back to 4th. In the end, just nine thousandths of a second covered 2nd to 4th places!

While this dramatic start to the new season was not quite the result Robbie was hoping for, his 4th overall also secured him 2nd place in the Cup competition and a healthy haul of points to take to Round 2 at Thruxton in only six days time.

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