Round Five. Summer Holidays. Brands Hatch Kent.
- Nigel Snook
- 2 days ago
- 6 min read
We travelled south hoping for better weather than we had experienced at the previous round in Scotland. The school holidays had started so naturally the heatwave was over but at least the forecast was for comfortable cooler conditions, albeit with the possibility of a shower or two of rain.

Both Max and Christian enjoy racing through the trees and up and down the dips of the iconic Brands Grand Prix circuit layout. Our AJN Steelstock ZX-10RR Kawasakis suit the circuit so we were looking forward to a strong weekend.
Times around the 2.4 mile circuit are always close. The new for 2025 Pirelli SC0 compound rear slick has been a major factor in the improvement in lap times this season so we were sure the lap record of 1.24.6 would be under serious threat.
Free practice and qualifying
The first ten minutes or so of free practice one is usually a good indicator of how the weekend is likely to go. We were certainly off to a flyer. Christian matching championship leader Ray’s time and just 0.1 from Ryde’s fastest lap – P3. 0.4 further back, Max P8. Game on. However, with the top 13 covered by less than one second there was no room for complacency.

Christian maintained his front running pace in FP2. P6 on a 1.25.5, 0.4 off Ray’s dominant time – a quarter of a second better than P2. Max had more of a job on his hands as he hung onto P12, the last position to earn the place in the final qualifying session. Miss out and you must make the top three in Q1 to go through to Q2 and even if you do, you are compromised by having to use the same tyre for the Q2 run.
In BSB you really do need to start in the top six - the first two rows on the grid if you want to go off with the leaders for a strong race.
Just to add to the tension there was a brief shower of rain before the green light for Q1. In the event the track dried quickly but all the riders were wary of the odd damp patch under the trees at the far end of the circuit. Max and Christian went out early to set ‘banker’ lap times, in case it started to rain again. Max found 0.6 for P9 while Christian recorded a 1.25 dead for P4. Ray was 0.4 clear of the field and 0.2 under the lap record! Still great positions for us to have a real go in the 20-lap feature race later on Saturday afternoon.

Race one
Great start from Christian who slotted into P2 behind Ray. Lap six and Ryde relegated Christian to P3 and they commenced a race long battle to the flag. All the while Redding was closing and at half distance, he used the superior speed of his Ducati to pass Christian on the back straight, pushing him back to P4. Although he missed out on his maiden podium for the team, Christian was delighted with his performance, just over three seconds behind winner Ray at the line. He was already looking forward to Sunday’s races. Max got pushed out of position on the opening few corners of his race and ended up in a scrap with Andrew Irwin while the leaders edged away. Settling into a fast rhythm running P8, Max gradually closed in on 2023 champion and last season’s runner up Tommy Bridewell, eventually crossing the line 0.2 seconds behind in a very creditable P7.
Race two
No dramas in Sunday morning’s 10 minute warm up session as our bikes were pretty much unchanged from race one.

The grid for the 12 lap sprint race was, as usual, based on race one lap times and placed Christian P4 on the outside of row two and Max P8 in the middle of the third row. The grid at Brands slops down to the pit wall and up towards turn one so an outside position should be an advantage. We would see.
Good starts from both. Christian completed lap one P4 with Max close by, P6. Lap four and Ryde slipped passed Christian while Skinner out dragged Max down the back straight into Hawthorn Bend. P5 and P7. Big crash for Nesbitt brought out the safety car on lap six and closed up the field. The restart gave Ryde and Christian an opportunity to jump Kent’s P4 but he soon managed to repass Christian. Max was battling hard with our old mate Skinner and managed to repay the compliment and repass him into Hawthorn. All change as Ray crashed out of the lead under pressure from Redding, promoting everyone up the order – Christian P4, Max P5. Unable to make any headway against Kent, Christian dropped back a couple of seconds but with Max closing all the time over the last four laps. Max had a look at Christian into Hawthorn which made us just a bit nervous but they eventually crossed the line safely with Max alongside Christian but 0.067 back on the clock. Both riders within three seconds of Redding’s race winning time.

Before his crash, Ray set a new lap record in 1.24.5 a 0.2 improvement. Max’s fastest lap was a 1.24.9, only 0.2 outside of the old record.
Race three
Max P6 on the grid courtesy of his race two lap time. Unfortunately, he’d be on the low side of the grid slope but at least he had a clear view ahead. Christian would go off P8.
As forecast, light rain arrived about an hour before the scheduled start time. Arriving on the grid both riders reported a dry line all the way around the lap but with areas of wet offline at the far side of the circuit. Tyre choice was easy, dry weather slicks.

As we feared, Max made a poor start from his uphill grid slot. Christian on the other hand got another flyer from the third row and slotted into P5 which became P4 a lap later as he passed Redding who was more cautious in the condition. Max had lost three places off the line and was P9 hard on the heals of Haslam, the most difficult person to pass in a tight scrap. Big crash at Clearways for Jackson brought out the safety car for a lap. Following the restart the positions were unchanged. Two laps later and Andrew Irwin had a huge high side crash as he touched a wet patch at Sheene Curve. Rider okay but his Honda comprehensively destroyed. The riders behind had to take evasive action which opened up a big gap to Redding in P4. Max eventually got past Haslam at half distance in the 20-lap race and held on until three laps from the end when the ever tenacious Haslam was able to use the power of his Ducati to repass him. Max crossed the line P8 sandwiched between former champions Brookes and Haslam. Christian worked hard to hang on to the lead group and survived a major moment when he touched the wet patch at Sheene Curve which had led to Irwin’s crash. Fortunately, he managed to hang on to his Kawasaki. After that warning and unable to make up ground on the leaders, Christian eased his pace slightly and settled for P5.
Best weekend of the season so far for the AJN Steelstock Kawasaki team. Christian now fully at home on his new bike and Max continuing to show his talent as he matures into a front running superbike rider.

Next time
Thruxton. High speed tyre management around the old Hampshire aerodrome. The circuit and races it creates really are something different. Tyre wear is such an issue that everyone has to use a harder compound Pirelli SC1 compound rear tyre. Good news for us is that the circuit plays to the strengths of our Kawasakis and coming off the back of a strong weekend at Brands Hatch our confidence is high. And Thruxton is the scene of Max’s first BSB podium last year and Christian has had a string of strong results at the venue.
We can’t wait to get going and hope to see you there.
Regards. Nigel. Team Principal.

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