XPress Racing - Donington Park report
By Carly Rathmell
September 22 2004
22-year-old Dave Johnson from Hinckley, Leicestershire enjoyed an encouraging end to the season by joining forces with XPress Racing and running in the Superstock Championship on board a Suzuki GSX1000.
The Superstock Championship saw a double-barrelled race weekend at Donington Park for the last round of the Think! British Superbike Championships. Johnson scored an impressive fifth and eighth place respectively over the two days of racing, and ended his season on a high.
Originally from Adelaide, South Australia, Johnson jumped at the chance of riding on board the super fast Suzuki at the last round. Two short test sessions at Mallory before the race weekend allowed him to adjust to the bike, and make some slight alterations before they headed to Donington.
The more time Johnson spent on the track the faster he became. More adjustments through the weekend saw the young Australian qualify very strongly on the second row, in eighth place. The first race, which was run on the Saturday (18th September), saw him gain a positive start and he was soon battling in amongst the front runners. Over the 16-laps, Johnson was locked in a tight encounter with Ben Wilson and Les Shand. Fighting and pushing himself all the way, Johnson secured an impressive fifth place on his first time out on the bike, and was looking forward to the second race on Sunday.
Weather conditions improved overnight, and the second race proved to be full of drama for the tenacious young Aussie. Another good start saw him running in a healthy sixth place, and was setting the pace early in the race by gaining one of the fastest laps. A false neutral saw Johnson run off the track at the Old Hairpin, after an impressive detour across the wet grass and, graciously avoiding to crash, he managed to rejoin the pack but down in fourteenth place. He quickly got his head down and began to pick away at the riders in front of him. One-by-one, lap-by-lap, Johnson plucked away his fellow rivals and rescued a well-earned eightth place.
Commenting, he said, “It’s been a great weekend for me, and a fantastic end to the season. I’m really grateful to Nigel for allowing me to ride for him this weekend. I would also like to thank Stuart from the Astro Van Centre for supporting me throughout the year, and especially this weekend. Fifth is the highest I have finished all year and it’s been awesome. I’ve really enjoyed it and hope I’ll be back again next season. I was aiming for a podium but I had a good tussle with Ben Wilson in the first race who just got the better of me as we crossed the line.”
Speaking with a delighted team manager Nigel Broomhall, he said, “Dave really has worked hard this weekend and has given 110% effort throughout. It’s been a great way to finish the season and the whole team has finished on a high. I’d like to back up Dave’s comments and thank Stuart from the Astro Van Centre, Steve from Rhencullen and also Shaun ‘Big Wol’ Whalley for all their help and support. We’ll be back again next year and we’re already looking forward to it.”
Race one result
1 Tinsley, 25:25.182
2 Da Costa, 25:56.164
3 Beaumont, 25:59.402
4 Wilson, 26:08.155
5 Johnson, 26:08.396
6 Shand, 26:08.891
7 Palmer, 26:09.367
8 Jackson, 26:13.442
9 Zanotti, 26:15.775
10 Mainwaring, 26:17.672
1 Beaumont, 25:43.997
2 Da Costa, 25:48.014
3 Laverty, 25:57.597
4 Jackson, 26:00.211
5 Shand, 26:03.137
6 Zanotti, 26:03.381
7 Mainwaring, 26:03.412
8 Johnson, 26:12.223
9 Wylie, 26:16.890
10 Neill, 26:17.890