鈥淭his was our first race weekend聽at the new Kart Silverstone.

鈥淜art Silverstone is the newest and most impressive facility on the British karting calendar. The 1,377 metre circuit opened in autumn 2025 and holds CIK-FIA International grade status. Designed with input from former Formula 1 drivers David Coulthard and Anthony Davidson, it is a predominantly sweeping, European-style layout with a tight final sector that tests every aspect of a driver’s ability. The wide surface opens up multiple racing lines and overtaking opportunities throughout.

鈥淚t was a frustrating weekend with the pace to fight at the front.”

Qualifying

“Quali saw some technical issues which stopped 20 drivers from going on to the track and setting a time.鈥�

Heat 1

“P26 鈥� P10.”

Heat 2

“P26 鈥� P14 (OTR): I was taken out at the start but managed to have a decent recovery.”

Super Heat

“P12 鈥� P16: I was taken out again at the start along with multiple other drivers.”

Final

“P29 鈥� P17: a very scrappy final, making as much progress as we could with the very poor driving standards. Ultimately finishing P17 out of 63 drivers.”

Test Days

鈥淔or a change, we did the Thursday track day due to the weather forecast. I had not ridden the Honda at Donington Park so needed some bike time. Thursday was cold and we had to be careful, but, surprisingly for a Donington track day, it ran quite smoothly. JR Performance鈥檚 Joe turned up to give us a hand with setup, which helped a lot. By the end of the day, I didn鈥檛 feel the bike was perfect, but good enough and that I was ready for Qualifying. With more time, I could have improved the bike even further.

鈥淔riday was very different. I decided to miss the first session as it was looking like rain. Went out for Session 2 only to be sent back as the track had been completely contaminated by an oil spill. Then the wind and rain picked up, one minute dry, the next wet, so we waited until Session 5 and then had to run in wet conditions. The setup we selected first wasn鈥檛 even close, but we gathered extra data and made adjustments to give us a better chance if Qualifying was on a wet track.鈥�

Qualifying

鈥淣o guessing this time. It was to be a full wet setup. Wasn鈥檛 quite sure how the bike would behave, but gained confidence and my early laps were strong, putting us into P3. Kept an eye on my pit board and felt I had more pace if it was needed. Caught Michael Needham as he lost grip from the rear tyre going into McLeans causing him to fall. I also lost the rear and despite having legs right off the bike, managed to land back on the seat and stay upright. We must have slipped on an untreated patch of oil. Was unable to improve on my time due to a lot of yellow flags and the warning just received. Finished on the second row in 5th. Happy with that.鈥�

Race 1

鈥淲et. Got a good start and elbows-out to find myself in third place behind Paul Bowerbank. With good drive out of Redgate, I got underneath Paul at Hollywood putting me 2nd, behind Tommy Fielding.

鈥淚n the early laps, my pace felt strong, but not enough to run with Tommy. Hadn鈥檛 been in this position all year and regretted not asking for a pit board. I thought 鈥渢his is going be a long race鈥� as the track started to dry out and it was difficult to know how much to push. I had a look round with three laps to go and couldn鈥檛 see or hear anybody which was a surprise. Decided to just keep my head down, not do anything silly and bring it home. Then, on the last lap, Tom Norton came inside me at Redgate. Tried desperately to get back past him, but he held the dry line and I had to go on the wet patches. With hindsight, I think I could鈥檝e made a move into Roberts, but it wasn鈥檛 to be. But guess what – I just got my first Pirelli podium and it felt great. Was gutted not to hold 2nd, but in those conditions the main focus was staying on.鈥�

Race 2

鈥淭his turned out to be one of the best races of the year. Started 6th on the Grid, got an okay start, but it was busy at Turn 1 and I had some work to do. Managed to pass Liam Murtagh and Peter Eccles by the end of Lap 1 and found myself glued to the back of Tom Norton Felt I had more pace and knew I could pass him. After taking a few laps to work it out, I managed to get up the inside at Redgate to move into P2 behind Tommy Fielding. I started to pull a little gap on Norton and felt good on the bike apart from having to dodge the damp patches. With four laps to go, Connor Cummins passed me, pushing me back to P3. I didn鈥檛 fully relax in this race as you had to ride very close to damp patches and it started to take its toll. My lap times were very consistent, setting a fastest on Lap 11, but Connor and Tom upped their pace that I couldn鈥檛 match. Started to get a little arm pump and with two laps to go, Tom Norton passed me back. This time I didn鈥檛 have the energy to do much about it.

鈥淪omething I will work on for next year, but a great race. P3 again if you take out Connor Cummins.鈥�

Race 3

鈥淚 watched the replay of Race 2 to see what I could improve. I decided not to make any bike changes for the last race as I felt there was way more in me than the bike. From 5th on the Grid, I got a good start again. Found myself on the back of a train that consisted of Phil Crowe, Tommy Fielding, Conor Cummins, and Tom Norton. Tried my hardest to stay with them. My riding was better and I followed them into the 1.09 secs, but after Lap 6 they started to creep away.

鈥淚 was in 鈥榥o man鈥檚 land鈥�, but this time I had a pit board to keep me informed. Knew I couldn鈥檛 catch the group in front so kept an eye on the gap behind which I increased to six seconds. Kept my head down and after 12 laps brought it home 4th in Class. Again, taking Cummins out of it, would have had another strong 3rd.鈥�

Summary

鈥淭o say I enjoyed the meeting is an understatement. I鈥檓 very happy to finish the year this way. Mostly, it felt comfortable and if I continue these improvements the next step is very close. Managing and staying on the bike in those mixed conditions took some doing and there were many crashes.

鈥淲e managed our goal of securing 4th in the Championship. For a short while we even had our eye on 3rd as Luca Jennings went down in Qualifying and his bike was wrecked. Luca borrowed a bike to secure his well-deserved 3rd in the Championship.

鈥淥nce again, I had so much track side support. If that was a part of the Championship, we would take some beating! This season would not have been possible without friends, family and sponsors. Thank you so much to everyone.

Photos: Matt Sayle Photography

鈥淎 mega weekend at Whilton Mill, with great pace 鈥撀爓e weren鈥檛 outside of the top four all weekend.鈥�

Qualifying

P8

Heat 1

P8 鈥� P4

Heat 2

P8 鈥� P3

鈥淚n the final, I started P5. I got a good start into P4 but an incident on the first lap pushed me down to P9. However, with great pace and racecraft, I managed to finish in P4 鈥� my best result in juniors at Whilton and just 1/10^th off the podium.

鈥淲e are now 7th in the championship聽with 1 round to go鈥︹��

鈥淚 missed Saturday鈥檚 practice due to not feeling well, so it was straight into Sunday with only a three-lap warmup to get into the swing of things before the random grid heats.鈥�

Heat 1

P17 鈥� P26 鈥� P11

Heat 2

P6 鈥� P4

鈥淚n the final, I started P12 and after a very scrappy and hard-fought race, I finished P9 out of 56 Junior Rotax drivers.鈥�

鈥淩ound 9 of the British Superbike Championship took us to the iconic TT Circuit Assen, where Luke Hedger continued his impressive comeback following the serious injuries sustained after a fall from a second-story roof at work earlier this season.

鈥淭he weekend was focused on continued recovery, rebuilding confidence, and finding speed, and Luke delivered exactly that. Qualifying saw a significant step forward as he broke into the 1:38 bracket for the first time with a superb 1:38.8 lap, finishing ahead of three riders and showing clear progress throughout the session.”

鈥淩ace 1 brought even more encouragement. Luke lowered his lap time again, recording a personal-best 1:38.1 around the famous Dutch circuit. The improvement highlighted the hard work being put in both on and off the bike, with pace continuing to build despite the challenges of returning from injury.

鈥淭he final race of the weekend delivered another breakthrough. Luke dipped into the 1:37s with an outstanding 1:37.9 lap, comfortably his fastest-ever lap of Assen and a clear indication that both rider and team are moving in the right direction. While the race results themselves did not fully reflect the progress made throughout the weekend, the underlying speed and competitiveness were there for all to see.”

鈥淢ost importantly, Assen demonstrated that Luke’s recovery remains firmly on track. Each session brought improvements, with lap times consistently falling and confidence growing every time he headed out onto the circuit.

鈥淲ith plenty of positives to take away from the Netherlands, the team now turns its attention to the final rounds of the championship at Donington Park and Brands Hatch. If the progress shown at Assen is anything to go by, there is every reason to be optimistic about what lies ahead.

鈥淎 huge thank you to all of our amazing partners, sponsors, supporters, and everyone behind the scenes. Your continued support makes this journey possible, and we look forward to finishing the season strongly together!鈥�

The first episode is now live 鈥� viewable on Moto-1 and YouTube (link below). It鈥檚 a middleweight sportbike showdown that pits the Yamaha YZF-R7 against the Suzuki GSX-8R.

“Teaming up with Aaron allows us to push these platforms to their mechanical limits and provide deep-dive technical reviews based on real-world riding,” said Adam Waheed. “Seeing the early audience engagement on Moto-1 and YouTube shows that American riders respond to detailed, unscripted evaluations by real professional riders.”

Aaron Colton also emphasized the show’s format: “We wanted to evaluate these machines dynamically rather than just reading spec sheets. The Yamaha and Suzuki middleweight showdown established the baseline for what聽Head 2 Head聽covers, focusing on how these bikes perform during spirited sport riding on the street.”

Stay tuned for more news on the 2026 events that the 乐播传媒 team plans to attend 鈥� coming soon…

Whilton Mill 鈥撀燫ound 6

鈥淪aturday practice went well consistently in the top 5 in very wet conditions.鈥�

Qualifying: P9

鈥淪unday was a very different day with sunny dry conditions.鈥�

Heat 1: P9 鈥撀燩7

Heat 2: P9 鈥� P5

鈥淚n the final, I started P10 and after a hard-fought race I finished in P8. (OTR)鈥�

鈥淭he result means we now sit in P9 in the championship with 2 more rounds (123 Entries to date).鈥�

Kimbolton 鈥� Round 7

鈥淪aturday practice was dry and we showed strong pace on very old tyres so I was confident going into Sunday.

鈥淥n Sunday, we woke up to very different weather conditions so I knew the random grids for the heats were going to be challenging.鈥�

Heat 1: P1 鈥� P4

Heat 2: P29聽鈥撀燩19 鈥撀燚NF (throttle cable snapped)

Heat 3: P22 鈥撀燩10 鈥撀燚NF (electrical failure)

鈥淚n the final, I started P22 due to having two DNFs and finished P7 with 15 places gained and most out of everyone in the final. Not a bad recovery!鈥�

Test Day

鈥淔irst session, I had to pull in with a technical issue and in the second session it started spitting with rain half way through. Then the storm hit and the day was cancelled. It was that bad it wrecked my gazebo setup.鈥�

Qualifying (P4 on Grid)

鈥淩ain wasn鈥檛 forecast, but trust me when I say we got it! So, it was going to be my first ride on the Honda in the rain. I had no expectations, but thanks to my JR Performance Wet Race Engine Mapping, the bike felt mega. I had a fair bit of grip which I wasn鈥檛 expecting at Anglesey. 聽I chipped away and on the last three laps pushed as much as I dared, which was good enough for the second row – so happy days.鈥�

Race 1

鈥淕ot a good start on the outside and was well positioned until Steven Duncan ran me wide into Turn 2, putting me in 5th. I re-passed him at Rocket and then got onto the back of Luca Jennings. I spent the rest of the race trying to get past Luca, but with little track time I couldn鈥檛 make a pass that I could be sure about.

鈥淚 felt strong, but not having been in that position for a while, perhaps I was too cautious. Finished 4th. My best result in the class so far and I was buzzing. I really enjoyed that one.鈥�

Race 2

鈥淎ll Sunday鈥檚 races were shortened due to a serious incident in the first race of the morning. We send both riders involved our very best wishes for a full and speedy recovery.

鈥淪tarting P6 on the grid 聽鈥� which is on the inside 鈥� isn鈥檛 ideal because of the short run to Turn 1. I got a good start and beat Phil Crowe to Turn 1 only for him to squeeze me on to the inside curb. So, my run to Turn 2 was impeded and I got swamped. I wasn鈥檛 having that, so got a great run out of Church and tucked in. It was getting busy up to Rocket In and I made a great move to get right back onto Luca again. I got picked on in the bar the night before by the lads saying I was too soft in Race 1. I said if I got the same chance again, I鈥檓 making passes and that I did. I passed Luca several times, but didn鈥檛 defend well enough to be able to gap him. It was a lot of fun trying to get past him and, fair play, he doesn鈥檛 give up easily. On Lap 4 Duncan grasped the opportunity to pass both of us and our battle continued.

鈥淲ilf Turner had enough of watching me fail so he passed me and had a couple of laps to try to do what I couldn鈥檛. I lost the rear out of Church and lost time and they gapped me. I tried to make it back up, but the rear grip wasn鈥檛 great in Race 2 and I tensed up a little, so just brought it home 6th in Class. Luca stayed in front of Wilf, so I felt better that it wasn鈥檛 just me struggling to get the job done.鈥�

Race 3

鈥淧10 on the grid because my lap times and rhythm suffered by battling with Luca for too long. With nothing to lose, I was on the outside and got a good start again.听 Got duffed up at Turn 2 and lost places again so elbows had to come out. I got past Paul Charman after Turn 2 then up the inside of Jamie Boyce at Rocket. Knew I had to get that done early or I would have been waving 鈥榞oodbye鈥� to Turner and Jennings. They had a gap on me, but with clear track ahead, got my head down and worked hard. Pulled away from the lads behind and slowly closed the gap to Wilf. Luca was holding him up slightly, but speeds were quicker than all weekend. I was desperate to get back onto them as I felt strong and wanted one last shot at a podium. Felt good on the bike and dropped into the 1:09s, just 0.2 secs. off my PB from last year.

鈥淭hen a red flag, so I鈥檒l never know if I could have challenged to them, but the fact I鈥檓 think that during the race, shows I鈥檓 getting the new bike in the window I can work with.鈥�

Endurance

鈥淰ery experienced riders, Phil Crowe and John Ingram, invited me to join them in the three-hour Endurance Race. Needing the track time to make up for the Test Day, it was pretty cool and a privilege. We qualified 4th fastest, but had to start from the end of the Line due to Phil using Dunlop tyres. I did the Le Mans Start from last on the Line and by Lap 3 had taken us into 3rd place then 2nd on Lap 6. Phil and John took us to a WIN on track, but no trophy. A great experience and I learned a lot from them. Total legends.鈥�

Summary

鈥淟ots learnt this weekend. Had great fun and have built a lot of confidence with my racing and the bike set up. Matt Sayle鈥檚 photos show I鈥檓 much more relaxed, but not 100% because I know only too well how Anglesey can bite you if you get too greedy. 聽I hated the bike at Knockhill, but love it again now and can鈥檛 wait to see what鈥檚 possible on it at Donington where there is a tonne of grip. Feel it鈥檚 going to be a positive one.

鈥淏ig kudos to Justine and Rob of RT Motors for making the long trip again and, of course, the main man Jason Hugill, whose support is invaluable.听

鈥淭hank you to all my support and sponsors for sticking by me. I say it all the time but it鈥檚 100% not possible to do this without you. We have more to go yet, but feel like the hard work is paying off and some success is close now.

鈥淐ongratulations to Tommy Fielding on being crowned the Pirelli Super Series Champion. He 100% deserves it. I鈥檓 very pleased for him and grateful for all the help he gives me off-track. He鈥檚 a good egg. He is looking to go to BSB next year and deserves every chance. If any companies want to sponsor him, I am sure they won鈥檛 regret it!

鈥淔inally, 鈥榃ell done鈥� to No Limits Racing, the Marshals and the medical professionals, who we are very lucky to have when things go wrong.鈥�

Photos by Matt Sayle Photography

鈥淭he final round of the 2026 BHR Championship at Cadwell Park brought the racing season to a close, with Brook Built Racing competing across two classes and with two very different machines.

鈥淭he聽Honda CB350K4聽continued its Classic 350 campaign in聽Race 14B 鈥� A. Read Associates Ltd. Classic 350, while the newly acquired聽Brook Built Racing Kawasaki ZXR400聽made its short-circuit debut in聽Race 29A 鈥� Pre-2000 Sports Production up to 400cc.

鈥淭he Cadwell weekend delivered some close racing, challenging conditions and valuable development work on the Kawasaki, providing an excellent conclusion to the team’s 2026 programme.鈥�

HONDA CB350K4 鈥� CLASSIC 350

鈥淭he Honda produced four competitive races at Cadwell, with the weekend featuring everything from dry conditions to a damp track following overnight rain.鈥�

Race 1 鈥� 3rd in Class

鈥淎 poor qualifying position left us with plenty of work to do from the start.

鈥淎 strong opening lap moved us into聽4th in class, before the focus turned to closing down Joe Taylor.

鈥淎t the front, Paul Hogan and Paul Wood established a strong pace and eventually finished first and second respectively.

鈥淭he battle for third went right to the flag. We managed to make the decisive move and聽pip Joe Taylor on the line to take 3rd in class.

鈥淎 strong recovery from the qualifying position provided a positive start to the weekend.鈥�

Race 2 鈥� 2nd in Class

鈥淥riginally postponed from Saturday’s programme, Race 2 was eventually run on a聽damp and wet but drying circuit聽following overnight rain.

鈥淭his presented a new challenge, being our first race in these conditions on a classic bike. With wet tyres and tyre warmers not permitted, tyre feedback and rider confidence were particularly important.

鈥淭he standard tyres performed extremely well, providing good feedback as the circuit dried.

鈥淲e initially聽led the Classic 350 class and ran 3rd overall, but Joe Taylor’s experience in the damp sections proved decisive. He made the pass for third overall and the class lead.

鈥淲e ultimately finished聽2nd in class, with Phil Hogan completing the podium.鈥�

Result:
1st 鈥� Joe Taylor
2nd 鈥� Brook Built Racing
3rd 鈥� Phil Hogan

Race 3 鈥� 2nd in Class / Fastest Lap

鈥淩eturning to a dry circuit, we started from a good grid position and made what initially appeared to be a strong start.

鈥淗owever, the faster 500cc machines quickly came through, forcing us to concentrate on limiting the positions lost during the opening lap.

鈥淲e remained at the head of the 350cc class until Paul Wood produced an excellent pass at Mansfield.

鈥淧aul then used the traffic to his advantage, placing a couple of 500cc machines between the two 350s through the chicane. This gave him clear track and allowed him to establish an advantage.

鈥淥nce clear of the traffic, we began to close the gap and pushed hard through to the finish.

鈥淭he effort produced the聽fastest lap of the race, but Paul held the advantage to the flag.鈥�

搁别蝉耻濒迟:听2nd in class, with Phil Hogan 3rd.

Race 4 鈥� Class Victory

鈥淭he final Honda race of the weekend provided the perfect conclusion to the CB350K4 campaign.

鈥淪tarting from a strong grid position, we made an excellent start and immediately tagged onto a couple of the faster 500cc machines.

鈥淭heir pace helped us establish a gap over the rest of the 350cc field, and we successfully maintained the class lead to the chequered flag.鈥�

The result was a聽Class 350 victory.

Result:
1st 鈥� Brook Built Racing
2nd 鈥� Paul Wood
3rd 鈥� Phil Hogan

KAWASAKI ZXR400

鈥淐adwell Park also marked the beginning of an exciting new chapter for Brook Built Racing, with the first short-circuit race meeting for our newly acquired聽Brook Built Racing Kawasaki ZXR400.

鈥淭he bike was entered into the聽Pre-2000 Sports Production up to 400cc聽category, competing within a mixed grid that included 400cc machines, 650cc twins, 750cc multi-cylinder bikes, 800cc air-cooled machinery, open singles and 1000cc twins, alongside the superbikes and Supersports of the era.

鈥淔or this first meeting, the priority was very clear:

鈥淒evelop the bike, gather information and understand what is required to make it competitive.

鈥淭he Kawasaki was not fuelling correctly, so the weekend became an important development exercise. We worked progressively through the problem, making improvements throughout the meeting while gathering valuable information about the bike’s behaviour and identifying the work required over the winter.

鈥淭he races themselves were enjoyable, although the mixed-class nature of the grid meant that there were relatively few direct class battles.

鈥淒espite the development focus, the ZXR400 produced some very encouraging results.鈥�

ZXR400 鈥� Class Results

Race 1 鈥� 2nd

Race 2 鈥� 1st

Race 3 鈥� DNS

Race 4 鈥� 4th

鈥淭he class victory in Race 2 was particularly encouraging for a bike at the beginning of its development programme.

鈥淢ore importantly, Cadwell provided valuable track time and helped establish a clear direction for the winter development work.

鈥淭he objective now is to address the fuelling issues, further develop the Kawasaki and return in 2027 with a much better understanding of the machine and its potential.鈥�

2026 SEASON REVIEW

鈥淐adwell Park brought the curtain down on what has been an exceptional year for Brook Built Racing.

鈥淭he 2026 season has been a journey into聽classic motorcycle racing, taking the team from its BHR Championship programme through to the聽Classic TT.

鈥淭he Honda CB350K4 has provided competitive and enjoyable racing throughout the year, while the introduction of the ZXR400 has opened a new avenue for the team and given us an exciting development project heading into 2027.

鈥淭he season has provided an enormous amount of experience, both on the circuit and behind the scenes, and has given the team a strong platform from which to continue developing.鈥�

Photos: Mark Barthorpe & Paul Foster