James East at Brands Hatch

Motor cycling

ROYSTON racer James East won the Supersport Cup at Brands Hatch at the weekend in round seven of the British Superbike Series.

He qualified in 11th position for race one after technical issues affected his lap, and he was dealt a blow straight from the off after a collision with fellow Supersport Cup runner Luke Jones left him with just a stub for a break lever, and having to fight his way back from 16th spot – breaking with just one finger.

East pushed hard over the 10 laps to earn a 12th-placed finish with a best lap time of 1min 29.889secs, which was good enough to give him a 15th-placed start for race two.

East got a much better start on his second outing on the Kent race track, and was right in the mix from the off. He moved up to 11th place with a gap gap to both cup runners Glen Irwin and Luke Jones in a battle with Pauli Pekenan and Sam Warren.

However just as East was getting into his stride the red flag came out after a nasty collision involving two other riders and the race was suspended. Following the restart, where East started from 11th on row three on the grid, he got a good launch and held a tight line at Druids.

He breezed past Irwin at Graham Hill Bend and carried the momentum past Luke Mossy at Surtees to end lap one in the lead of the cup and eighth overall in a battle with Mossy. The Royston racer held his nerve to finish ninth on a time of 1min 29.561secs to win the Supersport Cup.

A clearly delighted East said afterwards: “I was furious after the first corner incident in race one but got through it. It was difficult braking after I was left with just a short stub for a lever, and definitely did some harm to my pace, but I rode my own race and salvaged what I could.

“I am over the moon to get my first win in the cup, the engine felt stronger in the restart and I could run a faster pace. The top step is where I’ve been aiming for all season and now it feels possible to fight in the top 10 where I feel I should be.

“I want to thank my team and mechanics for working hard with the set up and engine changes. All of my sponsors helping me to be on track and everyone who came down to support me, I’m going to work hard to find the extra second I need to be battling for main championship podiums now, and my goal is to follow up this result at Cadwell Park with a similar finish and a win in the Cup once more.”