Tom Weeden BSB Round 4 Snetterton Triumph Triple Challenge

Held racer Tom Weeden was in action at the Snetterton 300 circuit last weekend for round 4 of the Triumph Triple Challenge. He felt confident going into the meeting and was hoping to be pushing for a podium position to get some solid points on the board. Prior to the meeting Weeden held 4th position in the championship, however controversy in race 2 at Snetterton left Tom with the solid points he required to move up into 3rd position overall.

Tom Weeden: International Man of Mystery- and 3rd in the Championship

 Tom got off to a steady start in practice working on learning the track and finding a set up. He ended the session 9th fastest but Weeden remained confident and felt he could easily reduce the lap time for the qualifying session.  He went a full 3 seconds faster in the qualifying session; however it was only enough to give him 7th position on the grid as everyone else upped their game as well. 

Tom's going from strength to strength

 Tom got a great start in race 1 from the inside of row 2 and slotted into 3rd position into turn 1. He held 3rd for two laps before being passed and relegated to 4th position. Weeden tried to respond and push for the podium position; however he made a mistake on his downshifts at the end of the Bentley Straight. He hit neutral instead of first and had to sit up mid corner to get the bike back in gear. This lost Tom time and places as he dropped down into 6th position and lost the slipstream of the riders in front. Weeden pushed to close the gap and get close enough to make an overtake on the last few laps. 

Tom  Weeden- top step on the podium must be coming soon

 By lap 8 he had closed the gap right down and was preparing to make a move for a top 5 position.  However on lap 9 Weeden was overtaken by Patronen and relegated to 7th position.  Tom tried to overtake Tom Hayward at the end of the Bentley Straight; however Hayward fought back and held 6th position. Weeden tried a very brave move up the inside at the  Bombhole but as he tipped in to get his knee down the rear lost traction and started to slide right out, it looked as if he had crashed however Tom instinctively jabbed his foot down and somehow managed to steady the bike. He crossed the line in 7th and was delighted just to have finished the race after such a scary moment on the last lap. Based on his fastest lap in race 1 Tom was promoted to 5th on the grid for race two on Sunday and Tom was confident he could get off to another great start from there.

Tom made another great start in race 2, moving up into 3rd position by the end of lap 2 after Weeden narrowly missed a fallen rider ahead of him at the exit of Nelson and was lucky not to be brought down in the incident.  He dropped to 5th on lap 3 where he remained until an incident caused the safety car to come out. This allowed the riders to bunch up again and they were off again for a sprint to the finish on lap 7. Phil Atkinson received a ride through for overtaking under the safety car and this moved Weeden into 4th position. Tom had sight of the podium position but just didn’t have the pace to fight for 3rd at the end of the race. Weeden was over the moon with 4th and some more solid points on the board; however whilst packing up the awning ready to go home the news arrived that protests had been made that left two of  the riders in front with 21 second penalties . This meant that Tom actually finished 2nd on the final sheet and the 20 points moved Weeden up into 3rd place overall in the championship.  Tom is next out at his local circuit for round 5 of the Triumph Triple Challenge at the Brands Hatch GP circuit on 20th to 22nd August.

Photos Credit;    www.swaffs.co.uk and Chris Pearce 

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