Date: 25 March 2007.

The second round of the Maxxis British championship has been a bitter sweet result for Molson Kawasaki’s Gareth Swanepoel. The 22-year-old South African proved to be the fastest rider on the day but a mechanical failure in the first moto while leading saw overall victory go up in smoke.

Swanepoel grabbed a good start in race 1 and quickly made his way past team-mate Tom Church in second spot. Swanie then put his sights on American, Mike Brown, and blew past to open up a 12 second gap. With 3 laps to go Swanie looked certain of victory when he was sidelined with a mechanical problem.

Race 2 would be a tough test for Swanepoel as he showed up in 16th spot on the score board after a bad start. The number 14 Molson Kawasaki blitzed through the pack and by the halfway mark was in second behind former team-mate Tommy Searle. Swanie did all he could to reel in Searle and going into the last lap he had closed the youngster down for a sprint to the finish. Searle managed to hold on but it was Swanie’s race from behind that impressed the British crowd most.

“We proved today that I was the guy to beat. I had the fastest lap times and was really happy with my riding and fitness. It was unfortunate about the DNF in the first moto but that’s racing and I’ll have to make up those points at the next round. This has really given me a boost for the first GP next weekend. If I can run the same speed I’ll have a good shot at the podium in Holland,” said an optimistic Swanepoel.

The first round of the FIM World championship series kicks off in Valkenswaard next weekend.

Race results:

Race 1
1 Tom Church
2 Mike Brown
3 Shaun Simpson
4 Sean Hamblin
5 Tommy Searle
6 Lewis Gregory
7 Jason Dougan
8 Ray Rowson
9 Martin Barr
10 Jake Nichols
DNF Gareth Swanepoel

Race 2
1 Tommy Searle
2 Gareth Swanepoel
3 Shaun Simpson
4 Sean Hamblin
5 Tom Church
6 Mike Brown
7 Lewis Gregory
8 Jason Dougan
9 Jake Nichols
10 Martin Barr

Championship standings:
1 Shaun Simpson 101
2 Tommy Searle 94
3 Mike Brown 88
4 Sean Hamblin 88
5 Gareth Swanepoel 79
6 Tom Church 74
7 Jason Dougan 68
8 Martin Barr 64
9 Lewis Gregory 59
10 Jake Nichols 41