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Oxford TAG Triumph's Christian Iddon signed off on his 2011 British Supersport
campaign with yet another podium at Brands Hatch. The 26-year-old scored a pair
of fourth places and a third at the triple-header season finale as he continued
his excellent run of late-season form.
With Saturday's race making up for the postponed Oulton Park event, Iddon was
only 11th on the grid. He didn't make the best of starts as he got boxed-in at
Paddock Hill bend. Iddon found himself down in 13th position, but was soon
carving his way through the field. Diving down the inside of AJ Venter at
Stirlings, Iddon was back up to 10th back the end of the opening lap.
On lap 3, Iddon passed Pauli Pekkanen and was up into 8th, but he was now over a
second down on the group ahead. Only race-leader Ben Wilson was lapping quicker
than Iddon as he soon caught up to the five-way battle for 2nd.
The hard-charging Iddon scythed through the group and into 4th. With three laps
to go, he was right on the wheel of his Oxford TAG Triumph team-mate Billy
McConnell. Try as he might, he was unable to get the better of McConnell and
missed out on the podium by an agonising 0.055s, finishing 4th.
Iddon qualified 6th for the first of Sunday's races. After heavy overnight rain,
the track was still very damp off line as the riders lined up on the grid. The
field made a cautious start, with Iddon running in 6th place.
On Lap five, Iddon passed his team-mate Paul Young. A lap later he was up to 4th
after going by Dan Cooper, who was now struggling on his intermediate tyres.
Iddon was catching the leading trio until on lap nine he made a mistake and ran
wide. He was then unable to catch the leaders but finished 3rd after Sam Warren
crashed out in the closing stages.
Iddon set the fastest lap of the second race and therefore claimed pole position
for the final race of the year.
Alastair Seeley beat Iddon off the line before Wilson and then Kennedy both
forced Iddon wide around Paddock Hill. By the time the field rounded Druids,
Iddon was 5th. He did get back in front of team-mate McConnell before lap was
complete.
Iddon closed the gap to the front three but then had a huge front-end slide at
Clearways which meant he lost touch. Again he chased down third placed Kennedy
but was unable to find a way past. Iddon took the chequered flag in fourth.
"We have had another good weekend with a third and two fourths. I am a bit
frustrated that I wasn't able to get on the podium in all three races."
"I made things difficult in the first race with a bad start. I got caught up in
the middle of the pack and dropped back to 13th. I knew I had to make up places
early on so that I could get away with the front group."
"My lap times were good and I was able to work my way through the field but
frustratingly I didn't manage to get it on the box."
"In the second race my visor steamed up really badly which meant I was having
trouble seeing. I missed a gear and ran wide, then I couldn't see how damp the
track was offline. The conditions were pretty difficult and especially when you
had to go offline to make a pass."
"I got mugged at the start of race 3 when Wilson and Kennedy went up the inside
of me at Paddock Hill. That ran me out wide and I lost a few places."
"I had a big slide at Clearways and the next lap around I could see the big
black line that I had left. I caught Kennedy but there just wasn't any way past.
I was quicker than him, but he rode really smart and was able to keep me
behind."
Iddon's excellent run of results over the last four rounds have seen him climb
the championship standings. He ends the campaign joint fifth overall in his first
full season.
"The season has been a fantastic experience for me. We really struggled at the
start of the year, not with raw pace but consistency and results. Towards the
end of the season we have been getting stronger. I didn't finish outside to top
four over the last nine races, and I think we can all be proud of that."
"I want to thank all my sponsors and everyone from Oxford TAG Triumph, everyone has
been great and the bikes have been on the pace all year." |
