After qualifying in fourth and re-affirming that position in the subsequent super-pole session, Bradshaw found himself mixing it up with rivals Bryan Mackenzie and Mel Pocock throughout the day’s races. In the first race in fifth around the sweeping start right-hander, Bradshaw rapidly dispatched Steven Clarke before setting his sights on his rivals in the top three. Although he continued the pressure throughout the race, Bradshaw was not able to progress past Pocock in third, streaking across the finish line in fourth.
In the second race, Bradshaw found himself in fourth in the first lap. A solid run throughout without any mistakes allowed him to defend his position against any advances from behind whilst keeping tabs on Mackenzie mere metres in front of him. Much to his chagrin, he was not able to close the gap far enough to make a pass for third place. The final race also got off the start well; shadowing Mackenzie again, Bradshaw pushed past Pocock to improve on his position, and harass Mackenzie for his until the very end.
With racing over, the three fourth places translated into a fourth overall on the day, and a seventh place in the championship after only five rounds of participation.
Says team principal Matt Hutchins: “It was a good end to the year, it’s a shame we missed the podium by a few points, but we’re very pleased with the way it’s gone this season. We carried on developing the bike to the end of the year with new suspension and a new motor, so it is a good base to go into the new year with.”
Neville Bradshaw: “The weekend was good, we did some suspension testing in the week and it paid dividends, right from qualifying we were on the pace. I gave 100% in all 3 races and came away with three fourth places and had good speed in all the races. It’s been an awesome year and we’ve built some solid foundations for 2012 with Evotech Stevens Honda.”
The team intends to tackle the much-celebrated Weston Beach Race this coming weekend, after which it will contest the British Supercross Championship, starting at Sheffield in late October.
