By Dennis Smith
June 1 2005

Tom Gazzard, riding under his new team banner TCG Motorsport, suffered all emotions at Cadwell Park this weekend. Racing in the BMCRC Rookie 600 Class in front of several of his commanding officers, the Trainee RAF Aircraft Maintenance Technician crashed heavily whilst leading the first of his races His Suzuki GSX-R600 was totally wrecked after it and Gazzard parted company at around 130 mph on one of the fastest corners on the circuit. The bike flew through the air before completely destroying itself on impact. Tom was taken to the Medical Centre and, after a thorough check, was declared fit to continue racing despite a very sore and bruised lower back and neck. A fellow competitor, Paul Goodman, who was not riding this weekend, in an act of extreme generosity, offered his Yamaha R6 as a replacement machine to allow Gazzard to maintain his battle for the championship. An offer Gazzard gratefully accepted.

As a result of his accident Gazzard started race two at the back of the grid, but by the first corner had already moved into mid-field and, as his confidence in the new bike grew, he continued to pick off riders ahead of him, finishing a highly creditable seventh to score valuable championship points. An amazing achievement after his crash, and on an unknown machine that he had ridden out of the pits and one warm up lap only!

Race three on Monday morning was a very different affair. Gazzard started on the front row and was never headed, at one time having a 14 second lead. His two closest rivals, John Angel and Pat Sheridan, both crashing out at the same corner on the same lap on a still damp track after a heavy downpour.

In his final race of the weekend, the three main protagonists battled race-long, with Gazzard finally finishing a creditable third on the unfamiliar loaned bike, still ahead in the championship and hoping to have something to ride for the next meeting at Croix-en-Ternois in France in two weeks’ time.

Gazzard’s team-mate, Southend-on-Sea based Stewart Willetts, again rode strongly, showing the whole field how to make lightning starts on his home prepared Suzuki GSX-R1000. He was at last rewarded with his very first podium and trophy when he finished third in his class in the 1000-600 Clubman Shootout. Willetts is now steadily moving up the championship table with regular solid performances, having raced from 26th on the grid to finish ninth in his first race of the weekend. The unsponsored Willetts’ main handicap, like many others, is the lack of funds for basic essentials such as tyres, entry fees and travelling costs, which deprives this talented rider of the opportunity to compete at all rounds of the championship.