NO REPEAT PERFORMANCE FOR GINO REA AT BRANDS HATCH

European Superstock 600 Championship 2007
Rd 8, Brands Hatch
Race 2, Sunday 5th August – 11 laps

The 2007 European Superstock 600 Championship has been a non-stop
series of ups and downs for Epsom motorcycle racer Gino Rea (17). After
making a spirited ride through to 11th place from a sixth-row start in
yesterday’s opening race at Brands Hatch, Rea who rides a Suzuki
GSX600-R for the Beowulf Racing team, thought he was on an up. Sadly,
Gino struggled to match his previous pace in today’s second race and
crossed the finishing line in 13th place, lapping half a second slower
than he had managed yesterday.

The signs looked good when Rea made his usual lightning start, jumping
4 places through to 18th position by the end of the first lap. It
appeared he was then set for another “Battle of the Brits” with Leon
Hunt (Honda), whom he had bettered yesterday. Despite his best efforts,
Rea simply couldn’t match his Brighton-based rivals pace and instead
made sure he brought the Beowulf Suzuki home in one piece. Crashes
further up the field and a ride-through penalty for Daniele Rossi
(Honda) pushed Gino four further places up the scoreboard to finish the
race in 13th position.

There was further misery for the Epsom teenager when he returned to the
team’s paddock base afterwards only to discover his paddock mountain
bike had been stolen.

“That’s really not what I was hoping for today,” said a disappointed
Rea afterwards. “I got a good start but was baulked at Surtees. I had
to run onto the inside kerb and lost a lot of drive along the straight.
I tried to get back on the pace with Leon (Hunt) but I just couldn’t
close the gap. Like other riders, we’ve struggled at times with grip
this weekend, which didn’t help either. I suppose we’ll just have to
put this behind us and get back on the case at the next round.”

Beowulf Team Manager has a reputation in the paddock for being hard but
fair. His assessment was brief and to the point: “It just didn’t happen
for us today,” he said.

Although Gino gained another three championship points from his result
today, he has been leapfrogged in the series standings by
seventh-placed finisher Daniel Beretta (Suzuki). This means the Epsom
ace ends the weekend back where he started – in 11th place overall.

The series now takes a month-long break before resuming at Lausitz in
Germany between the 7th-9th of September. No doubt Gino will be aiming
to repeat yesterday’s performance rather than today’s.

To learn more about Gino Rea and Beowulf Racing, visit www.ginorea.com

EUROPEAN SUPERSTOCK 600 CHAMPIONSHIP 2007
RD 8, RACE 2 RESULT

1. Maxime Berger, Fra (Yamaha) 16’56.852
2. Andrea Antonelli, Ita (Honda) +00’00.308
3. Greg Black, GBr (Yamaha) +00’02.337
13. Gino Rea, GBr (Suzuki) +00’22.585

CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS AFTER 8 OF 11 ROUNDS

1. Maxime Berger, Fra (Yamaha) – 153pts
2. Michele Magnoni, Ita (Yamaha) – 127pts
3. Andrea Antonelli, Ita (Honda) – 116pts
11. Gino Rea, GBr (Suzuki) – 38pts