Mechanical failures hinder Zanotti at Brands Hatch
AARON Zanotti’s hopes of dueling for points at the Brands Hatch GP British Superbike round were dashed by multiple mechanical and electrical failures.
The Loughborough man, all but recovered from his pre season crash injuries, said he felt on good form and knew he was capable competing for points based of lap times from previous outings at the Kent circuit.
Zanotti’s race began to falter when a snapped bolt foreshortened his first practice session resulted in an irreparably damaged swing arm - a problem the team were unable to resolve before free practice two.
A borrowed item got the team on track for the third session but slightly different specs didn’t help Zanotti find his way to a competitive setup.
A new, correct item was fitted just before qualifying, but Zanotti’s Kawasaki was far from being competitive and the Loughborough ace was doomed to start from the last spot.
The Loughborough ace fared no better in race one – retiring at two-thirds distance with another mechanical problem.
Josh Brookes led from flag to flag, closely pursued, but never challenged by Glen Irwin for second spot with Haslam climbing from fifth to take the third podium step.
Disaster struck on lap one of the final outing when Silvain Barrier went across the gravel, kicking a storm of stones which Zanotti sped through at 140mph, smashing the Kawasaki’s screen and battering his arms and shoulders leaving him 13 seconds behind the pack.
Battling on, the local ace found his lap times dropping dramatically and by mid distance was virtually matching Winfield and Hedger, though too far in arrears to make a difference, finishing the race 24th.
Brookes did the double by a whisker from Irwin again, with Haslam rounding out the podium places.
Speaking to the Echo, Zanotti said ‘ That was an incredibly difficult round – from a mechanical and setup perspective.
“With all the problems we had nowhere near enough track time to find a setup and we went in to the last race just half way there.
After the swing arm problem the rear wheel speed sensor failed in qualifying and they are linked, so it impacted on engine braking.
“In the first race I struggled to get the bike in to 4th and 5th gears. We managed to improve it enough afterwards to get out for the last race.
“When Barrier went through the gravel on the first lap I got pebble-dashed at 140mph on the back straight and my arm went numb. I carried on and found that as the rear tyre was wearing I was able to turn the bike better and better, lapping faster as the race went on, finally solving a problem we had had all weekend – too much rear grip.
“Still, we were two seconds slower than I have done here last year, so it was disappointing not to be in the running for points. Roll on Thruxton in two weeks time!”