By Carly Rathmell
March 30 2005

Northpoint Honda Racing rider Craig ‘Jonesy’ Jones took his first podium of the season on Easter Monday, in the opening round of the British Supersport championship, at the Brands Hatch Circuit in Kent. His team-mate, Cal Crutchlow, had a coming together with Eugene Laverty and Rob Frost at Clearways on lap 17, and was knocked off. Up to that point he was looking strong and feeling confident and sitting comfortably in seventh place.

Jones qualified eighth, with Crutchlow just behind him in ninth place. The pace throughout the weekend was extremely hot, with only 0.5s covering the first twelve on the grid.

Jonesy got a great start and was in fifth by the first corner, with Crutchlow making up one position to eighth. The front runners of Stuart Easton, Jay Vincent and Tom Sykes were quickly putting a gap between the chasing freight train behind them. But Jonesy was quietly catching them and made a move on Sykes into Druids. Positions were changing every lap for Jones and Crutchlow - the battle for fourth place consisted of a 14-wheeler including both Northpoint Honda Racing riders. Jonesy managed to secure third position on the last lap despite, being harassed by Leon Camier and Pere Riba, who both wanted the podium position.

Speaking with a disappointed Crutchlow, he said, “I’m gutted not to have finished the race, as I was feeling really confident and happy with the bike and the way it was handling. I’d had a few problems in qualifying but we had managed to get it all sorted for the race. The bike felt fantastic and I was catching the front runners. There wasn’t much distance between third position and myself, and I knew I could make up some time on them. I’m feeling very confident as we head to Thruxton in a few weeks time.”

An ecstatic Jonesy spoke of his podium position, saying, “It’s great to get a podium at the first race meeting, as it gives me confidence as we head into the next rounds. The bike felt great and the team have been working really hard all weekend to make things run smoothly. It was close between Leon (Camier) and I as we crossed the line, and only 0.05 split the two of us. It was a great race and I’m sure it will get closer as the season pans out, and I’m now just looking to improve on this weekend, and look for the win, because that is what I am here for.”

Team Manager David Trigg commented after the race, “It’s been a good start to the season for Craig and, although Cal didn’t finish, he was still looking extremely strong before he crashed. The team has worked very hard all weekend and Craig’s result is a positive start to the season. We have gained a lot of valuable information from this weekend, and I’m confident from this that the two riders will only improve on their results as we move forward. We have a long season ahead and this year the Supersport class is going to prove to be one of the closest, most competitive classes in the BSB series, and I think everyone would agree it provided the most exciting race of the day today. We still have a lot of work to do but are looking forward to Thruxton and are keen to gain some good results there also.”

The next round is a Thruxton near Andover, on 10th April.