Martin Jessopp will be riding in the Superbike class, as well as, Supersport.
He’ll be riding on a spare Stobart bike - though in Jessopp’s colours. Martin commented “We’ve been testing at Mallory and very happy. In the limited time available we’ve managed a good base setting to go to Brands … and I can’t wait!”
Keep an eye out for the Number 40 in Superbike & Supersport at Brands.
Cheers, PTJ
Martin Jessopp and the Riders Racing Ducati team salvaged 13th place this weekend at Donington Park in the Maxxis British Supersport Championship. After struggling throughout the weekend to find a good rhythm Jessopp forced his way into the points after qualifying in a low 18th position.
Jessopp was unable to break into the top twenty positions throughout most of the weekend and he struggled to get the Ducati 749 set up to how he likes it. After his strong result of fifth at Cadwell Park last month he was eager to gain another good result at Donington but it was not meant to be.
During the first part of the race Jessopp managed to work his way through to 15th position and was one of the unfortunate riders to crash out on the oil, which was dropped by John Rob’s bike down Craner Curves. After a red flag situation Jessopp was able to get back to the pits and re-start in the second 8-lap race.
A poor start saw the 21-year-old from Yeovil drop down the field and he was left fighting for a point scoring position. Commenting he said “I’m not sure what went wrong this weekend. I just couldn’t get myself into the groove and struggled to get myself to push forward. I can’t put my finger on it, I’m disappointed as I know the team worked really hard all weekend and the bike was running well. Hopefully I will be able to get myself sorted out for the final round at Brands Hatch in a couple of weeks time.”
The final round of the Championship is at Brands Hatch on the 12th – 14th October.
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Carly Rathmell
Freelance Sports PR
www.carlyrathmell.com
carlyrathmell@yahoo.co.uk
Martin Jessopp and the Riders Racing Ducati Team secured their best result of the season so far at Cadwell Park in the Maxxis British Supersport race. Jessopp achieved a solid fifth position in the 16-lap race in front of the huge Cadwell Park crowd. It was a welcome return for the youngster from Yeovil who has suffered a run of bad luck and misfortune this season.
Running smoothly all weekend Jessopp was eager to gain a strong result and be back at the top end of the pack. Qualifying in ninth position on the Ducati 749 he was keen to work his way through the pack, a strong start saw him gain one position at the end of the first lap and another by the end of the fourth.
He could see a podium position in his sights when he got onto the back of R6 Cup winner Tom Grant and TT legend John McGuinness. The trio were locked in a tight scrap for a number of laps but front tyre problems for Jessopp forced him to back off the pace a little and settle for fifth. Running consistently fast times he proved that he can run up at the front end of the field and was the confidence booster that he has been looking for all season.
A pleased Jessopp said “It seems to have been a long time coming, my best result was at Brands at the start of the season but I had that taken away from me due to a minor problem after the race. I’ve had so many strange things happen this year on the racing front that it’s good to be back up there and getting decent points. I’m hoping that I will be able to get some more strong results at the final two rounds at Donington and Brands Hatch. It would be nice to finish off the season on a high note for myself and the team. I’d like to thank them all for working so hard this weekend it was very much appreciated.”
Jessopp’s next race is at Donington Park on the 14th – 16th September.
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The Riders Racing Ducati Team are hoping for a change of luck when they go to Cadwell Park in a couple of weeks time, after another problem struck weekend at round ten of the Maxxis British Supersport Championship at Croft this weekend. 21-year-old Jessopp from Yeovil was hindered throughout the weekend with mechanical and electrical problems on his Ducati 749’s.
A variety of issues hit the team which tested them and also meant that the youngster only managed to gain a total of 15-laps throughout the entire practice and qualifying sessions and he was unable to find a comfortable set-up on the Ducati without being hindered in the process. Despite the issues, which saw him qualifying in a low 27th position he got his head down during the 18-lap race and managed to secure 15th place, a strong result considering the circumstances.
In front of a huge crowd at the Yorkshire circuit Jessopp really had to focus and battle his way through the packed grid. With two incidents on the first lap, the safety was dispatched to allow debris to be cleared, which meant that Jessopp had to hold his position until the end of the fourth lap. Once the car came in, Jessopp was soon battling his was through the riders in front and was 15th by lap 15.
Sadly the front runners had already bridged a big gap in front of Jessopp and although he was putting in some strong lap times he was unable to claw back the distance they had made. A disgruntled Jessopp said “I’m just really disappointed. I could do with a bit of luck heading my way as I’ve had a pretty bad year so far and hoping that we can take a turn for the better at the final three rounds of the Championship. We had a total disaster with the bikes this weekend and both of them seemed to have small problems. Once we fixed them another problem seemed to occur, I don’t know what was going on. The race was difficult as being so far back on the grid meant I had a lot of work to do to try and catch the front runners. With only having done a few laps throughout the weekend I didn’t have the set up I wanted on the bike and didn’t feel as comfortable as I would have liked to. I’m hoping Cadwell sends me a bit of good fortune.”
The next Maxxis British Supersport race is at Cadwell Park on the 25th – 27th August.
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Carly Rathmell
Freelance Sports PR
www.carlyrathmell.com
The Riders Racing Ducati Team were once again struck with bad luck this weekend at the ninth round of the Maxxis British Supersport Championship at Mallory Park, Martin Jessopp secured a solid 11th place. Torrential rain suspended play after the first practice session on Friday and a brief wet session was held on Saturday, where the Rider Racing team opted not to go out in the extremely wet conditions.
Race day on Sunday proved to be sunny and dry and for the first time throughout the weekend the riders were allocated a half an hour slot to have a practice session and find a good set up for the bike. Jessopp suffered minor electrical problems on both the 749 Ducati’s during the practice sessions which, without having the practice and qualifying sessions as normal the team were unable to discover these problems earlier. He ended the dry session in 13th place.
This left the mechanics some work to do on both machines before the start of the 28-lap race a couple of hours later. Unable to test the bike Jessopp took the chance and took his place on the grid, running from overall Championship positions this put him in 12th position.
A difficult start saw Jessopp slip down the pack, having to swerve to miss an accident into Charlie’s chicane, taking the wide line he had to run down the grass on the run into Edwina’s. Crossing the line after the first lap in 22nd place the youngster from Yeovil had a lot of work to do to get back in the points at the tight twisty 1.4-mile circuit.
Working his way through the field Jessopp was on a mission and was passing riders every lap. Moving quickly and setting some steady and consistent lap times he was pushing hard and was soon into a points position. A last minute lunge saw him move up to 11th place as he crossed the line. Speaking with him he commented “It’s been a very strange weekend and I can’t say that I’ve been in a situation like that before. Due to the bad weather we hardly got any track time and when we did finally manage to get out we had a few problems which we had to try and rectify in a small space of time. I got involved in a first lap incident which put me at a fairly big disadvantage and I really had to work hard at the position that I got. It was once again another sad weekend and I would like to pass on my thoughts to the family of Ollie Bridewell who sadly lost his life in a crash on Friday.”
The next Maxxis British Supersport race is at Croft on the 10th – 12th August.
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It was another disappointing weekend for the Riders Racing Ducati team when Martin Jessopp succumbed to the terrible weather conditions and crashed heavily out of the Maxxis British Supersport race at Oulton Park . Jessopp had been running strong all weekend on the Ducati 749 and was unlucky not to finish the 14-lap race.
He had ridden well throughout the weekend and had made progress with the bike and found a good set up in both the wet and the dry. Friday’s practice was extremely wet and Jessopp suffered a heavy crash at Druids which left the mechanics with a lot of work to do for the afternoon session, he was back out and put in a healthy time which saw him lying in 10th position.
Saturday treated the paddock to some glorious sunshine and Jessopp set some extremely good times, fourth fastest in the morning qualifying session and ended up with a grid position of sixth after the afternoon session. Race day however, was once again wet and unfortunately Jessopp was unable to secure a strong start and slipped down the pack to 13th after the first lap.
He got his head down and started chipping away at the riders in front of him and was making good progress through the field. A strong pass on Joe Dickinson on lap five saw him move up to 10th but on the following lap disaster struck when he had an almost identical crash to the one he sustained on Friday at Druids, forcing him out the race.
A disappointed Jessopp commented “I was gutted to crash again as I’d felt pretty strong all weekend. I wish we could have a dry race as I found a really good set up on my bike for the dry. The weather keeps changing every weekend but we’ve not had a dry one for a long time. It was a big crash I had in the race, thankfully I am ok but I did a lot of damage to the bike. I feel gutted not for just myself but for the whole team as the boys have worked so hard this weekend to get everything right. I’m hoping at some point this season my luck my take a turn for the better and that I can bring home the bike in one piece and get some decent results in the process. I’m trying to keep focussed for Mallory this weekend.”
A full timetable for Mallory Park can be found by clicking here.
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Carly Rathmell
Freelance Sports PR
www.carlyrathmell.com
For an urgent response please e-mail me.
Martin Jessopp and the Riders Racing Ducati Team got their season back on track this weekend at a soaked Knockhill Circuit. Jessopp managed to gain sixth place in the Maxxis British Supersport Race at the tight 1.27-mile circuit.
Jessopp who is still recovering from a fractured hand was in need of a strong result to regain his confidence after a run of bad luck at the last few meetings. The youngster from Yeovil ran strong and consistent times throughout the weekend and managed to qualify the 749 Ducati in fifth position on the full grid.
Only a poor start let the 21-year-old down and he got blocked into the first corner and was pushed back to eighth after the first lap which left him with a lot of work to do, in what turned out to be a very interesting and close fought 20-lap race. With riders exchanging positions on every lap, the horrendous weather conditions thankfully held off for the Supersport race after already being delayed due to torrential conditions earlier in the day.
Jessopp was locked in a tight battle throughout the race with various riders including James Hiller, Sam Owens and Billy McConnell with the riders changing positions on every lap. Jessopp fought a hard race to finish in sixth and is now lying in 12th in the Championship after three DNF’s. Commenting he said “I’m pretty happy with the result as I’ve had a couple of bad meetings and needed to get back into the top six and hopefully move up the Championship tables. The team have worked really hard this weekend to get things moving back in the right direction. I felt a lot more comfortable on the bike and my hand hasn’t given me as much grief as it has done in previous rounds. We’re heading down to Croft for the test on Tuesday and hopefully we will be able to get some good track time there too. I’m looking forward to Oulton Park in a couple of weeks time.”
Supersport Result
Laverty Suzuki
Young Triumph
Grant Yamaha
McConnell Yamaha
Lowry Suzuki
Jessopp Riders Racing Ducati
Hobbs Honda
Hutchinson Honda
Amor Honda
Owens Honda
*Photo courtesy of Chris Martin at www.chrismartinphotography.co.uk,
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Carly Rathmell
Freelance Sports PR
www.carlyrathmell.com
For an urgent response please e-mail me
Mondello Park – Round 6
After missing round five of the Maxxis British Supersport series at Snetterton Circuit with a fractured hand, Martin Jessopp and the Riders Racing Ducati team made a welcome return to the Championship gaining ninth position. Still struggling with swelling on his hand Jessopp was pleased with the overall result.
Having struggled throughout the weekend with qualifying after not riding a bike since Oulton Park at the beginning of May, Jessopp had to readjust to the bike and get a good feeling at the bumpy circuit of Mondello Park , in the wet conditions throughout the practice and qualifying sessions.
A crash in Friday’s practice left the already wounded Jessopp in more pain and discomfort, not deterring him he could only gain 24th position over the two qualifying sessions which left him with a lot of work to do in the race. A good start saw the 21-year-old from Yeovil move through the field into a points scoring position.
With the race being stopped and rescheduled and then stopped again, it was a long drawn out affair for the riders to remain focused on the job in hand. On the eventual restart and planned nine lap race Jessopp worked his way through the field and moved into ninth position. Gaining a good start he fought his way through to 12th by lap six he made a move on TT winner Ian Hutchinson and Honda rider Joe Dickinson and slipped into ninth place after passing Sam Owens on lap seven.
Commenting he said “It’s been a strange and difficult weekend to be fair in all aspects, the weather, my injury and the crashes that occurred in the races. It was hard to remain focused and keep your mind on what we had to do. In the final restart I got a good start and really wanted to gain a top ten position. I’m still in a lot of discomfort with my hand still and it’s still very swollen. Hopefully I will be back on the pace at Knockhill in a couple of weeks time.”
The Riders Racing Ducati team would like to express their sympathies to the family and friends of Guy Sanders who sadly lost his life in a racing incident yesterday in the Supersport race.
Maxxis British Supersport Result
Hobbs Honda
Robinson Honda
Lowry Suzuki
McGuinness Honda
Easton Kawasaki
Grant Yamaha
Fitzpatrick Yamaha
Westmoreland Honda
Jessopp Riders Racing Ducati
Owens Honda
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Carly Rathmell
Freelance Sports PR
www.carlyrathmell.com
It was yet another disappointing weekend for the Riders Racing Ducati Team and their rider Martin Jessopp at the fourth round of the Maxxis British Supersport Championship at the picturesque Oulton Park. Holding a strong top ten place Jessopp suffered a mechanical failure which saw him being black and orange flagged from the circuit and having to retire from the race.
The 21-year-old from Yeovil had worked hard all weekend and yet again luck was not to be on his side. He struggled to find a comfortable race set up for the Ducati 749 and ended up qualifying on the fourth row in 16th place. A strong start saw him settle comfortably into 13th and it was not long before the youngster was stringing together fast lap times, which allowed him to pass James Hiller, Jamie Robinson and Richard Cooper and moved him into a healthy top ten position.
Moving up to ninth place on lap nine it was detected by the Race Director that small amounts of smoke could be seen coming from the exhaust of the 749 and to avoid a crash or injury the decision was made to show the Ducati rider the flag which forced him to pull in on lap 10.
A disappointed Jessopp commented “I seem to have had some form of problem at every round so far which has stopped me getting some decent points and a good position in the overall Championship. I am hoping that my luck will change for the better at the next round at Snetterton. I’d finally managed to get myself into some good times during the race and was moving pretty well through the field until my bike had a problem, I’m gutted but hopefully, like I say, things will get better at the next rounds.”
The next round of the Maxxis British Supersport race is at Snetterton on the 20th May. For a full timetable please click the link below: -
http://www.mcrcb-events.co.uk/gallery/SNETTERTON%20FINAL.pdf
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Carly Rathmell
Freelance Sports PR
For an urgent response contact me on
07790 247836 or email me
www.carlyrathmell.com
British Supersport – Thruxton
Riders Racing Ducati rider Martin Jessopp secured a confidence building seventh position in the British Supersport Championship at Thruxton circuit this weekend. The 21-year-old from Yeovil rode a strong race despite the fact that a stone had put a hole in the radiator in the early stages of the race causing the Ducati to overheat throughout the race, this also effected the power delivery of the bike and therefore he had to bring the 749 home in a good top ten position.
Despite the problem Jessopp made the most of his first ever-front row start in the Supersport class gaining a great start and was second into the first corner. He was pushed to third by Jamie Robinson and was holding off the chasing pack well until the hole caused the damage forcing Jessopp to fight for all he could.
It has been a mixed couple of weekends for the Riders Racing Team when Jessopp scored his first podium position last weekend at Brands Hatch but was later excluded due to the machine not starting parc ferme after the race. This problem was caused by a failure internally in the starter motor, a problem which the team have never experienced before.
Commenting he said “I’ve had a really mixed couple of weekends but glad to finally get on the points table in the Championship results. I had a couple of problems in the race, we were advised to run a slightly harder tyre compound and I just couldn’t get it to work right and I was struggling to get grip. I didn’t know about the radiator problem until after the race but I knew the bike was loosing power and was running at and exceptionally high temperature. I’m hoping Silverstone will be more encouraging and that we can improve on seventh place. Obviously I would have liked to have finished higher up and everything had been running well all weekend, we just had a couple of niggling problems on race day that we really could have done without.”
The next British Supersport race is at Silverstone Circuit on 27th – 29th April.
British Supersport Result
M Laverty - Suzuki
J Robinson - Honda
B McConnell - Yamaha
J Westmoreland - Honda
S Easton - Kawasaki
I Hutchinson - Honda
M Jessopp - Riders Racing Ducati
D Cooper - Honda
J Kennedy - Honda
A Lowes - Honda
