GINO REA BATTLES BACK AT BRANDS HATCH --- GALLERY TO COME

European Superstock 600 Championship 2007
Rd 8, Brands Hatch
Race 1, Saturday 4th August – 11 laps

Beowulf Racing’s Gino Rea (Suzuki) put in another one of his trademark
gutsy performances to recover from a sixth-row starting position with a
battling 11th place finish in the first of this weekend’s two European
Superstock 600 Championship races at Brands Hatch today. The
17-year-old teenager, who hails from Epsom in Surrey, finally declared
himself happy with his performance in front of his home fans – albeit
only “reasonably” happy!

It had been the usual sequence of highs and lows for the Shepton
Mallet-based squad going into the race, which was rescheduled from
Silverstone due to adverse weather conditions earlier in the year.
Running as high as fifth during opening free practice, Rea had sunk to
22nd place by the end of the two qualifying sessions. But the Epsom
ace, who was desperate to put on a good show for the British crowd,
could take solace from the fact that his lap times were only a fraction
away from race pace, so all was clearly not lost.

When the lights went out to signal the start of the race, Gino shot
straight through the field into 17th place. Italian Danielle Rossi
(Honda) was dispensed with on the third lap and then Rea entered into a
mid-race battle with fellow Briton Leon Hunt and Italian Guiseppe
Barone. After stalking the two Honda-mounted rivals for several laps,
Gino took the lead on lap 6 and then pulled steadily away. Crashes
further up the field moved Rea further ahead on the scoreboard and he
crossed the finishing line in 11th place with a lap time only
six-tenths of a second slower than winner Maxime Berger (Yamaha).

“I’m reasonably happy with that,” said Rea afterwards. “I made a good
start but got boxed in and had to back off a little. I lost a bit of
time getting past Rossi but then I was able to get moving again. I
lapped quicker than two riders who finished ahead of me, so it’s all
going to be about getting a good start in tomorrow’s second race and
getting stuck into the main pack as quickly as possible.”

Team Manager Andy Stone concurred with his protégé’s assessment: “We’ve
raced really well this afternoon, but the opening turn at Paddock Hill
Bend is very tight for a pack of 30 bikes. Provided Gino can get a
clear run through tomorrow, we should be in for another belter.”

In the championship standings, Rea moves back up one place to tenth
position, five points adrift of ninth-placed Dennis Sigloch (Yamaha).

As for what could happen in the tomorrow’s second race, given the
up-and-down nature of Beowulf’s season so far it’s probably safe to
predict only on thing – that the outcome will be completely
unpredictable!

You can learn more about Gino Rea and Beowulf Racing by visiting
www.beowulf-racing.com and www.ginorea.com

EUROPEAN SUPERSTOCK 600 CHAMPIONSHIP 2007
RD 8, RACE 1 RESULT

1. Maxime Berger, Fra (Yamaha) 16’59.101
2. Domenico Collucci, Ita (Ducati) +0.617
3. Michele Magnoni, Ita (Yamaha) +2.777
10. Gino Rea, GBr (Suzuki) +13.331

CURRENT CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS

1. Maxime Berger, Fra (Yamaha) – 128pts
2. Michele Magnoni, Ita (Yamaha) – 114pts
3. Andrea Antonelli, Ita (Honda) – 96pts
10. Gino Rea, GBr (Suzuki) – 35pts