Two top ten finishes for Charlie Atkins in British Talent Cup

Goole Racer Charlie Atkins took an excellent eighth and tenth place finish after a difficult qualifying. He was racing at Donington Park in round two of the prestigious British Talent Cup at the weekend and the results mean he now has 25 points and is seventh overall.

Qualifying

After two difficult free practice sessions Charlie Atkins was struggling in the conditions. FP1 was wet. The weather improved for FP2 but the track was cool and still damp.

Atkins started well in qualifying matching the early pace of the fastest riders. Then unfortunately, going through turn one the suspension bottomed out when braking hard into turn one and Charlie Atkins ended up in the gravel. The mechanics did a superb job in fixing the bike and getting him back out before the end of the session. Atkins still had the same issue with the front end and tucked the front again meaning he only qualified 16^th for the race.

Race One

Atkins was determined to try and recover as many positions as he could and got off to a superb start. He quickly made up six places to run inside the top ten in the opening laps. Atkins then spent a few laps watching the rider in front and realizing he wasn’t really making much progress got his head down and overtook. The rider in front now was some six seconds ahead. In seven or eight laps Atkins caught the rider but finished just behind in eighth but less than two tenths of a second behind.

Race Two

Looking to repeat his performance from race one Atkins again launched himself off the line. This time his start was even better and he found himself up in fifth place in the early laps. However, a couple of errors in a tightly packed group meant he lost some positions and eventually crossed the line in tenth place.

Charlie Atkins said, “Qualifying was not good. I had problems with the suspension settings which meant we had a hard task ahead of us in the races. In both I made great starts off the line, and overtook several riders. Two top ten finishes was a good recovery after the qualifying, so overall I’m happy. I would like to thank the British Talent Cup for a great bike and for giving me this great opportunity.”