Grip problems hinder Iddon
IT wasn’t the weekend it promised to be for Christian Iddon, as the British Superbike Championship crossed the North Sea to Holland for the series’ annual visit to Assen Circuit.
Iddon started his visit to the Netherlands in great fashion, going second quickest in the opening Free Practice session of the weekend, backing it up in the second session by going quickest overall, and going faster than the circuit’s lap record too.
The Stockport racer backed up his pace in Free Practice Three with another second spot, but suffered a fall in Qualifying, holding him back to ninth place on the grid for Race One.
Suffering with a lack of grip in the opening Race around the World Superbike venue, Iddon dropped to twelfth on the opening lap.
Iddon coped with the grip issues as best he could, and a great effort saw him crossed the line just ten seconds shy of Race winner, Leon Haslam [Kawasaki].
Starting sixteenth, Iddon had it all stacked against him, as he went out to prove the pace of his Tyco BMW with a hard earned ride to eighth place.
Grabbing two places on the opening lap, and with pace for a potential podium, Christian steadily climbed to eighth by half distance, which is where he would cross the line.
“It’s been revealed Iddon.
“Everything was great and the team worked really well all weekend. great” We changed nothing for the first race but unfortunately I had no grip from the very first lap and there was nothing I could do.
“The bike was back to normal by Race Two, but starting from sixteenth it was always going to be a big ask.
“I used too much tyre getting through the pack so struggled towards the end. Eighth isn’t bad from sixteenth but nowhere near where I had hoped to be after such a strong build up.”
It followed last week’s podium finish at Donington Park, with third place in the second of two races at the former British Grand Prix venue.
Iddon is back in action in a fortnights time at Brands Hatch in Kent, for the finale of the 2016 season, on the 15th/16th October.