Knockhill knock for Thomas.
Just as the Samsung Suzuki team had turned a corner on bike development Dean Thomas suffered set back when he crashed during free practice injuring his ribs at Knockhill.
“It didn’t quite go to plan,” he said, “We made a few changes for this weekend with the bike to try and go forward a bit really. Dunlop have been trying to help us out too, they have been working with us and up graded the tyres to help us go forward. We were running in eighth to tenth in the session, came in for a few little changes went back out and was about twelfth.
They were progressing and working through tyres when the crash occurred, “We tried some different spec tyres in the second session and went forward again, I was comfortable to be honest in eighth and ninth which is great considering where we have been all weekend. Plus they were consistent laps which would do full race distance. I just got caught out, I came out of the chicane and I didn’t go over it any quicker I just changed direction marginally faster than I had previously.”
That was enough for the bike to flick him off, “I just flicked off and landed on top of the bike and did the old Randy Mamola style, you know legs off one side. I thought I had saved it and then we got onto the gravel and it started to tank slap and just as it pitched me off I caught the handle bars in the ribs again. It got me just in the same place as I got hit last year. So the top and bottom of it is I’ve cracked a couple of ribs again so that is me done for this weekend.”
His team-mate Sean Emmett has been drafted in by the team to run on the Superbike instead of his usual Superstock duties, “Sean loves the bike but he hasn’t found his feet with it, he has been a bit unlucky with the rain today but I think he will do well on it tomorrow,” commented Thomas.
Looking on the bright side of things Emmett will be able tot give the team another view on the bike, “It will be good for the team to have another rider on the bike so we have consistent feedback from two riders. It won’t do any harm, my ride is not at risk so it is just a matter of me healing up and getting back to it for Oulton Park. Sean can have a run round and it will be good for his confidence as well. He has had a tough year with the Superbike he was on and he is loving the Superstock but it doesn’t hurt to be back on a competitive Superbike. I think it will be good all round.”
He is a little disappointed with what has happened but is hoping to pull it all back at Oulton Park in just two weeks time, “It is just a shame as we had finally found our feet with some things, the tyres had moved on a little bit for us, and Dunlop have been great and an opportunity was there, I think, to run top six. It has gone missing now so we will have to see, hopefully at Oulton Park we can put it all back together and go from there.”
Round eight of the Bennetts British Superbike
Championship will take place on the 13th – 15th July at Oulton Park in Cheshire.
