A Monster weekend for Stirling’s Tarran
Stirling racer Tarran Mackenzie was crowned King of Brands Hatch, after kickstarting his British Superbike championship charge with a sensational weekend.
The 25-year-old McAms Yamaha rider took first, second and third place finishes at round three of the championship in Kent - earning the Monster Energy King of Brands trophy and being named Rider of the Weekend.
Tarran’s results also see him jump to third in the championship standings, just 26 points behind the leading Ducati of Christian Iddon.
Reflecting on a good weekend’s work, Taz was already looking ahead to this weekend’s races at Thruxton
He said: “It’s been a great weekend with two podiums and a win.
“I was a bit annoyed with third in the second race today as I felt I had the pace for more but I lost some positions in the early stages after some hard passes.
“The podium was a good result though. I was really happy with that.
“It’s great to win Kings of Brands as a
Monster-backed team and this weekend means I’ve had five races with five podiums in a row, so I couldn’t have asked for a better start to the season.
“We’re now third in the championship and have closed the gap, so we’ll have a few days off and then get ready for Thruxton.”
Delighted team boss Steve Rodgers added: “Tarran really came into his own this weekend, his win in race one, plus two further podiums to win the Rider of the Round and King of Brands was remarkable.
“We can’t ask for more than what the guys are doing and we can’t wait to get to Thruxton.”
Meanwhile Tarran’s brother Taylor also maintained his strong start to the season in the Superstock class - as he sits just three points behind leader Billy McConnell.
The Bathams BMW rider battled back from 13th in qualifying to finish third in the weekend’s opening race, following that up with a fourth place finish - despite battling technical gremlins on the all new BMW M1000RR.
He commented: “That was a really challenging race weekend for everyone in the team.
“We had a technical issue with the bike, then I was on the wrong tyre for the last bit of qualifying that meant I gave myself some extra work to do in the race. But we worked away at it, and came away with some really good points for the championship.
“Hats off the team in the garage for putting a massive shift in.
“I’m happy for them that after all their effort I was able to get a podium and close the gap on the championship lead.
“It’s straight to Thruxton now, which is a mega circuit, it’s been ages since we were there, so I can’t wait to get out there on my bike.”