Moto Rapido Battle Through at Cadwell

Bank Holiday chaos, air-time, bar banging and a sellout crowd! Cadwell once again delivered a weekend like no other!

Friday evening’s 2.5-hour Superbike test saw Leon complete 28 laps, topping the session with a 1:25.909 and setting the tone.

With the Bank Holiday format shifting the schedule forward, Saturday brought official practice. Ben finished P3, just 0.275s from Rhys Irwin, and Leon P6 at 0.322s off. A good platform, but both garages felt there was more to come.

Sunday qualifying highlighted the highs and lows of racing. Ben delivered his quickest ever Cadwell lap with a 1:28.422 to secure fourth, while Leon’s Superpole ended in a crash on the end of his flying lap. It meant a rebuilt bike and a 15th place race start.

Ben fought hard in Race 1, climbing to third before slipping to fourth after pressure from Joe Talbot. A solid result but frustratingly close to the podium. Leon carved through from 15th, regrouped after a mistake and crossed the line eighth. Valuable points and a move up in the standings, though we knew there was more pace in the package.

Monday began with a clear, fresh mind with some of the crew watching the sunrise on a 6am track walk. With a sellout crowd packing every inch of grass banking, the stage was set for the big one. Leon launched strongly from eighth in the 12-lap sprint, making quick progress through the pack. By lap four the front group had already broken away, but Leon clawed his way up to fourth by the flag. His pace showed he had the speed to run with the leaders — only misfortune earlier in the weekend had cost him the grid slot to do so. Still, fourth felt like a breakthrough  and he bagged fifth on the grid for the Feature Race.

Ben’s Supersport Feature followed and the priority was simple: don’t drop points to his closest championship rivals. A trademark lightning start saw him rocket into Coppice second, then outbrake Stapleford into Park to hit the front. For lap after lap he controlled the race, leaving those behind to scrap amongst themselves. Eventually, Joe Talbot and Harry Truelove came calling. Joe muscled into second and set his sights on Ben. On the penultimate lap, Talbot’s move forced Ben into a mistake, dropping him to third at the flag. It was a tough pill to swallow after leading so long, but still an improvement on Saturday and crucially, he didn’t lose ground to his title rivals.

The final act was the 18-lap Superbike Feature — Cadwell’s headline “Party in the Park” showcase. Leon launched cleanly from row two and settled into the fight, looking strong in the early laps. But a mistake mid-race dropped him back, forcing a recovery ride. Regrouping into the 1:26s, he clawed back to scrap with Scott Redding in the closing stages, ultimately taking seventh. Not the points we wanted given our pace, but again, no damage in the championship fight to our closest rivals but it was a missed opportunity to gain on Kyle and Brad.

We left Lincolnshire with mixed feelings: Ben retained his championship lead and gained a couple of points over Rhys Irwin, while Leon climbed two places in the Superbike standings into third. But both riders knew more was possible and that leaves extra motivation with just 10 days until Donington Park.

Team Manager Ian ‘Hammy’ Darbyshire said:
“Ben leaves Cadwell still on top, but he’ll go to Donington with high expectations, after our perfect weekend there on our first visit. He’s been working tirelessly on himself this year, even outside of race weekends, so me and Wilf expect him to turn up switched on and ready to get the result him and the team deserve. Leon’s first visit to Donington was plagued with brake issues on what was still a new bike to him then, but now is a different story. We all have big expectations for his home round. People may be bored of me saying it, but this team is nothing short of epic. We’ve got the strongest set of individuals in the paddock and that’s why tough times look like speed bumps, not mountains. Wilf leads from the front with a solutions mindset and that ripples through everyone. I’m proud to stand back to back with every single one of them.”