By Dennis Smith
July 22 2005

Stewart Willetts fulfilled his early season promise by winning his class in the last race of the weekend at Brands Hatch, the mixed class Clubman 1000 – 600 Shootout, on the legendary GP circuit.

This success was even more remarkable as his bike had been seriously damaged when he was taken out in an earlier race, giving his new TCG Motorsport team a frantic time rebuilding the bike, including using the fairing from team-mate Tom Gazzard’s bike - which had also been damaged in an accident on Saturday.

© Wildcard Photography

Emotions ran high when Willetts returned to his pit having finished second on the road to Supersport 600 rider John Paul Scott, whom he was catching at a furious rate after having seen off a stern challenge from Saturday’s Rider of the Day, Sam Bishop. Although the joy was evident when Willetts punched the air as he passed the chequered flag, it took a while for the accolade of recording his first win on the historic GP circuit to sink in, a feat rarely seen on two wheels or four. This victory will serve to boost the whole TCG Motorsport team, but especially Willetts, who is making steady progress up the Forza Xtreme Championship table, although it may be that the end of the season will come a little too early for this hard charging rider.

Willetts’ team-mate Tom Gazzard once again showed his courage and determination, after suffering accidents in both his Rookie 600 races on Saturday, by riding on Sunday with a badly swollen and very painful leg. The first accident on Saturday occurred when Gazzard challenged John Angel for the lead going into Druids, unfortunately collecting Angel on the way round the tight hairpin. Both riders escaped serious injury and the two teams had both bikes ready for the second race of the day.

Gazzard’s second accident occurred on the starting grid. Relegated to the back row after his first race accident, he was determined to make a good start. However, when the lights went out, a rider a couple of rows ahead of him stalled. Gazzard had nowhere to go, struck the stationary bike and was thrown into the pit wall at 60-70mph, causing the damage to his leg and the front end of the bike. Gazzard was taken to the medical centre and given the all clear to continue the meeting, but there was a long night ahead for the pit crew making the machine rideable for the next day’s races.

Sunday dawned hot and sunny and the gutsy Gazzard was clearly ready for the challenge ahead despite his injury. Forced once again to start from the back of the grid, Gazzard rode bravely, carving his way through the field to finish a highly creditable fifth just over 20 seconds behind race winner Angel. Thanks to this finish Gazzard started his final race on the second row of the grid, and a race-long battle ensued between the four title contenders. Angel and Pat Sheridan took the lead, with Gazzard hunting down Michael Collins from fourth. The gap diminished at a remarkable rate, with Gazzard using the pain of his injury to fire him up for the job at hand. The order was finally settled when Collins pulled up on the last lap with a mechanical problem, handing third place to the flying TCG rider.

This championship will certainly go to the wire, with any one of Gazzard, Angel and Sheridan potential winners, and Collins always there to pick up points should any one of them falter.

This weekend has shown TCG Motorsport to be one of the most focused and determined teams in the paddock, with the whole team pulling together against the odds to get the riders back out on track, not just to make up the numbers but to bring home yet more silverware for the TCG trophy cabinet.