A podium in the Highlands for Northpoint Honda

British Supersport
By Carly Rathmell
June 27 2005

It was another dramatic weekend for the Northpoint Honda Racing team, consisting of 20-year-old Craig Jones and 19-year-old Cal Crutchlow. Jones once again secured a healthy podium position with a third place, whilst main championship rival Tom Sykes crashed out.

Only five points now separate the top three in the championship standings - the closest the British Supersport class has been for years. Jones still heads up the championship table, with Crutchlow lying in a strong fifth position.

Round seven of the championship was held at Knockhill Race Circuit, Scotland, and the race was a mix of thrills and excitement for the two Northpoint riders. From his fall at Croft, Crutchlow is still suffering with seriously damaged nerves in his arm, which has left him without the use of his right bicep muscle. Despite this, the youngster from Coventry qualified seventh on the grid, with Jones in eighth.

Crutchlow was so eager to get off the start that he incurred a jump start penalty of twenty seconds, which put him at the very back of the field. Meanwhile Jones had got caught up in the incident between Tom Sykes and Jay Vincent. Fortunately Jones managed to stay upright and rejoin towards the back of the pack. Getting his head down, the Peterborough based rider quickly carved his way through the pack and managed to get himself from 27th position to eighth by lap ten.

A crash at the hairpin forced the race to be stopped on lap 14, and a 17-lap restart was called. The riders lined up in the order they had crossed the line when the race was stopped - Jones in eighth and Crutchlow in 20th. As the lights changed the two riders gained fantastic starts and both were working their way through the hounding field. As the pairing forced their way through the pack, Jones once again found himself on the podium for the fifth time this year. Crutchlow made impressive progress and secured a creditable eighth place.

Commenting, Jones said, “Obviously I would have liked to have gone for the win but, considering the circumstances, I’m happy with a podium - as I could have ended up in the gravel with Tom and Jay. I just wanted to get my head down in the restart and try and make some time up on the leaders. There are not many passing places at Knockhill, so I had to be slightly wary. I just have to continue to remain consistent for the rest of the season.”

Crutchlow said, “It was a tough race and I knew after the jump-start penalty I had my work cut out. It was fortunate for me that the race was stopped as it allowed me to rejoin the pack on an equal playing field. It was a strange race today but I’m happy with the result, and still have a good position in the championship. Hopefully by Snetterton I might have started to regain some feeling back into my bicep.”

The next round is at Snetterton Circuit on the 10th July.