Round Eleven. Brands Hatch Finale. Kent.

Everyone loves the Brands Hatch grand prix circuit with its undulations through Kent woodland and an amphitheatre section around the infield  paddock, our home for the weekend. But maybe not so lovely when it’s cold and pouring with rain. That’s how we were greeted on Friday morning with the proceedings delayed while the rain blew over.

Weather aside, the final BSB round of 2026 marked the completion of the first season of our bimota project which started way back in the summer of 2025. It’s fair to say that our AJN Steelstock bimota KB998 Riminis have made quite an impression on the championship in the hands of Max and Joe.

However, there was still work to do with the aim of maximising final championship positions. With extra points on offer over the three races, 35 for win instead of the main season’s 18, there was all to play for. Max hoping to outscore Haslam by 14 points to secure fifth place and with Joe having the possibility of jumping up to P8 overall. We were already pretty much nailed on for fifth place in the teams’ championship.

Free practice testing

Max sat out the shortened morning session as there really wasn’t much to be gained on a cold and wet track. Joe on the other hand likes to get his laps in and managed 14 while posting competitive times in iffy conditions. The afternoon run was extended to 45 minutes. It would be busy with riders and their engineers catching up for lost time and preparing for pre-qualifying.

Max made three runs. The first was nine laps on ‘scrubs’ - used tyres saved from the last round. On to new tyres earlier than usual for seven laps and a place at the top of the timing screens. Max’s time was soon bettered by others on new tyres, including Joe whose new tyre run was 0.3 faster than Max’s time, replacing him at the top of the timing screens. Skinner then popped up with the fastest time as Max rolled out for a final three lap time attack. Max managed to post a faster time and when the chequered flag went out it was Max P1, Joe P3. Nice way to start the weekend and prepare for pre-qualifying.

Pre-qualifying.  Max P2 Joe P10

By late afternoon the conditions were perfect as the green light at the end of the pitlane came on to signal the start of the 20-minute session. Fastest 12 times go straight through to the Q2 session on Saturday. The rest go in Q1 chasing one of the three fastest times for promotion to Q2.

Max and Joe waited a few minutes before going out together, just to avoid the early mad rush for track position. Joe was following Max in the hope of picking up a few Brands Hatch tips as high corner speed and a smooth rhythm are key to a fast lap. Joe posted two of his three fastest times behind Max and after three laps they swapped positions so Max could study Joe’s approach.

Others were posting very fast times including Championship leader Ryde with a 1.24.6 on the fourth lap of a short run. Fastest lap of the weekend so far and a target to aim at. Max got to within just over 0.1 with a late lap for P2 as Joe recorded his best on his last time round for P10, only 0.4 from Ryde’s time. As usual at Brands, it was so close with the first 13 riders covered by 0.6 of a second!

With both Max and Joe comfortably through to Q2, we were ready to compete for those critical top six times for a first or second row start. Getting away in the lead group is always critical but especially so at Brands.

Qualifying. Max P2 Joe P5

Bright blue sky and very chilly autumn air for the 10 minutes warm up runs. No dramas. Max pipped for P1 by Ryde in the dying seconds, Joe a comfortable P9.

Most of the field went into Q2 on worn tyres to dial in before coming in for their new set. Joe did but Max went straight out on new Pirelli slicks. Ryde had already posted a very competitive time on his old tyres, fractions faster than Max posted on his first flying lap. Second and third times around Max matched his earlier time so set off for one final attack lap before the tyres were past their best. Crossing the line to complete his fourth flying lap, Max stopped the clock at 1.24.49, 0.1 faster than Ryde, for provisional pole. On his new tyres, Ryde just managed to better Max’s time by a mere 0.092 to snatch pole position.

While all that was going on Joe was doing a great job on his worn tyres. Three laps run to get dialled in and a very decent lap time on the one flying lap. In for new tyres and on his fourth and final lap he recorded his fastest lap for P4 only for Vickers to to edge him out to P5 in the dying seconds of the session.

Great performances from both boys.

Feature race one.   Max P5 Joe P8

Dark clouds overhead but the rain in the area was holding off. 20 laps to come.

Strong start by Max and after a brief tussle with Skinner he settled into P3 hard on the heels of Ryde and Vickers as they edged away from the pack to establish a gap of nearly three seconds by lap eight. A decent enough start by Joe but Kent made a better one and pushed him back to P6, followed by Haslam and Ray over the next two laps, P8. Well up for the fight but it’s never easy to get into a rhythm when six or seven very fast riders are jockeying for position. By lap six a recovering Redding was through leaving Joe racing his old adversary, Kent.

Half distance and a few spots of rain brought out the rain flags at the far end of the circuit. Ryde and Vickers slowed slightly giving Max an opportunity to pass both and take the lead! At the end of lap 10 Max had a 0.3 second lead but relentless Redding was closing fast after a poor start and with nothing to lose in his championship battle with Ryde he was attacking hard and went through on Max on lap 11, pushing him a bit wide and allowing Vickers and Ryde to get back through, P4. The rain had brought the field back together. The leaders were being cautious as they were first to meet the rain while those behind can close up, judging their speed against the leaders. So frustrating for Max.

Lap 15 and the rain at the back of the circuit suddenly got heavier and the leaders as one raised their arms to signal to race control that conditions were now too dangerous to race on slick tyres. Red flag and as the race had just passed two thirds distance the result was called at the end of lap 14. Max had lost another place to Haslam in the rain induced confusion leaving him P5. Joe had prevailed in his battle with Kent to finish P8.

Frustrating race as if the rain hadn’t arrived maybe Max could have held on for his maiden BSB win. Joe got more hard racing laps under his belt, all of which are helping him gain invaluable experience. Two more chances tomorrow on the last day of the season.

Sprint race. Max P6 Joe P7

Steady warm up session to start the final day. Bright and very chilly again. All eyes on the weather apps.

12 laps this time, weather permitting. Max off the front row again, this time P3. Joe further back at P10 as he’d been unable to post a decent lap time for grid position as he had been racing in a busy group in race one with no clear track to run his lines.

Starting from P3 on the front row of the Brands grid isn’t ideal as the track slopes down to the pit wall and rises towards Paddock Hill Bend, turn one. In the event, Max got a good launch but was boxed in allowing Vickers and Ray past and then on the back straight, through Pilgrim’s Drop, Haslam powered past on his Ducati. P6 and effectively race over as the Ducatis and Vickers Honda have a critical speed advantage over our bimotas making it hard to make a risk-free pass.

From the outside of row four Joe also got a good launch and was able to keep wide, passing Kent, Jackson and Skinner in the process. P7, right behind Max and hanging on to the lead group. Frustrating race for Joe and Max as they were unable to use the excellent handling of the bimota through the highspeed turns as there was always a Ducati or a Honda able to pull a small gap on each straight. Max eased away from Joe mid-race but with two laps to go had a huge moment going into Druids Hairpin. With the leaders closely bunched a move ahead caused everyone to brake a fraction earlier and the concertina effect caught him out as he braked at his usual point. Missing Vickers’ seat unit by millimetres, he avoided contact but as a result dropped back crossing the line 1.4 behind Vickers and a second head of Joe who had managed to hold off Skinner at the line for a well-earned P7.

Big news was Ryde finishing third and scoring enough points to secure his third championship on the trot. Well done Kyle😊

Feature race two. Max P5 Joe P3

Final race of the year, nothing to lose but all to play for to go into the winter off the back of strong results. P6 on the grid for Max, even further down the notorious slope. Joe just above him in the middle of row three, P8.

Just to keep things interesting, the rain arrived just after the sprint race and track conditions were iffy, to say the least. By the time we were on the grid the rain was pouring down and as the bikes left on the formation lap the heavens opened and the start was red flagged. After a wait of 45 minutes there was a break in the weather giving enough time for a distance reduced 14 lap race.

Still spitting with rain, the track was very wet making the conditions a real challenge. Joe is something of a wet weather specialist – but not so far on a superbike – and he was raring to go. He made an excellent start from his third row position making up three places and slotting into P5 behind Haslam who he passed a lap later for P4. Taking reasonably measured risks, Joe was able to keep some heat in his soft compound wet weather tyres, critical for maintaining grip in full wet conditions.

Max made a slightly more tentative start. After making up and losing places off the line, he lost one position overall and came round to complete lap one P7 in a tight group, including Joe. After a couple of big moments, Max got caught up in a battle with Iddon and Stacey, both wet weather specialists, which slowed him and allowed his tyre temperature to drop. By the time he cleared them on lap 6, Joe and the leaders already had a big gap behind them. Past Haslam at half distance Max was now P5 but from then on, the race was all about Joe.

Surviving all sorts of moments, Joe was posting fastest laps and slowly catching the leaders, two seconds further up the road. By lap eight he was with them and with six laps to go all results were possible, the win or a crash! Joe hung on in there and with four laps to go it became clear that Redding in P3 was struggling. Lap 11 and Joe was through and into the final podium spot.

Max finally managed to get some heat into his tyres and began lapping at around the same pace as the leaders – too little, too late as by now he was six and half seconds behind Redding. Hearts in our mouths and everything crossed, Joe hung on to score his maiden superbike podium finish. No shame in Max bringing his bimota home for P5 as both our boys did a brilliant job in treacherous conditions.

An added bonus for Joe was he got to stand on the best podium of the year with crowd allowed onto the track to join in with the ceremony. Alongside his good mate and champion Kyle Ryde and race winner Ryan Vickers, Joe had the biggest smile on his face😊. Great moments.

Final championship standings.

Riders’ championship: Max sixth, Joe eighth. Teams’ Championship: AJN Steelstock bimota by FS-3 Racing fifth. As always in racing, there are a lot of ifs and buts to the story, but overall, Max and Joe and all the crew back in the garage and the workshop should be very proud of their efforts.

Here they all are…

Next time.

Whole new engine and electronics formula for BSB next year. Biggest change for over a decade and designed to slow things down a bit and create more of a level playing field across all the manufacturers. We know we have a good chassis courtesy of bimota and first class K-Tech suspension so we are quietly confident we’ll be competitive from the off. But as always there will be plenty to do over the winter preparing engines and electronics to meet the new rules.

NEC show 21 – 29 November. Come and see Max’s bike on the Kawasaki/bimota stand. Hope to see you there.

One last thing. Thank you to all our sponsors and trade suppliers we really couldn’t do it without you and you know how much we appreciate your support.

Regards Nigel Team Principal.