Tom Weeden Triumph Live Races
Tom Weeden had a brilliant weekend at the Triumph Live race meet atMalloryParkto celebrate 110 years of Triumph. On the back of a disappointing last round in the Triumph Triple Challenge atCadwellPark, Tom bounced back brilliantly at Mallory to secure his first podium positions on a 600cc bike.
Weeden went 5th fastest in the free practice session. Tom felt confident going into qualifying. He posted the 2nd quickest time of the session and was looking forward to battling it out at the front in the races.
Tom took the holeshot in race 1, getting a great drive off the line from 2nd position. He braked very late for the Edwina’s chicane on the first lap and almost ran straight on, however somehow he managed to turn the bike with the rear tyre trying to come round on him into the entry of the corner. He remained in 1st position and tried to get his head down to gap the riders behind him. Midway through the race Phil Atkinson passed Tom on the entry to Gerrards. He was looking for a way past again when the race was red flagged due to an incident on lap 10 of 15. Tom was over the moon with second position as he pulled into the podium area. However it soon became clear that Atkinson had actually been given a 5 second penalty for short cutting Edwina’s early on in the race and Weeden had been promoted to 1st position. He was delighted with the result as not only was it Toms first win but also his first podium on a 600cc bike.
Tom got another great start in the second race and was again the first rider into turn 1. He put in some quick laps to try and break the field before being passed midway through the race by Philip Atkinson. Tom settled in behind him and decided to sit back and figure out where he could make a move on Phil. Weeden was much faster through the fast Gerrards bend and tried a move round the outside however he couldn’t pull it off. He remained confident he could make a move in the final few laps as he could see Phil was suffering with rear grip. However his chances of making a move for the lead went as he made a mistake going into the Edwina’s chicane, almost crashing and saving it on his knee. He managed to get around the corner however was too far to make a move. Tom had closed the gap to only 0.5 of a second but was still delighted to take second position and his second podium.
Weeden is back in action next weekend atDoningtonParkwith the Triumph Triple Challenge where he will be hoping to replicate his good form from this weekend to push for further podium finishes.
