Martin Jessopp

The Rapid Solicitors-Bathams Ducati team returned to the podium at Brands Hatch last weekend as Michael Rutter took a strong second place in the first of the three MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship races to close in on the top six in the overall standings.

Martin Jessopp had his strongest qualifying to date in sixth, but opting for the wrong tyre choice in race two saw him miss out on a points scoring finish. In race two he fought back to take ninth place, but was unfortunate in the final race to suffer a problem with the foot peg that forced him to retire.

Jessopp said: “It was an up and down weekend for me really. I had my best ever qualifying performance when I ended sixth to start from the second row and I was really happy and looking forward to the three races. In the first race we made the wrong tyre choice, but at the time it seemed the right decision and several of the riders around me on the grid had done the same. I had to pit and change to slicks just to get a time to put me somewhere better on the grid for race two. In the second race I didn’t get the best of starts and then I had to try and make my way through the field and I was close to Jon Kirkham for eighth but at the line there was only 0.005 seconds between us! I was riding hard but it shows the competition level that I was ninth but I was happy with our improvements. In the last race the pin in my foot peg had broke and I tried to ride around it, despite it flapping and making it difficult to down shift but in the end it just fell off and I had to retire. It was unlucky but other than that is was a positive weekend for me and the Rapid Solicitors-Bathams Ducati team.”

Rapid Solicitors-Bathams Ducati team owner Phil Jessopp concluded: “Martin had his best qualifying session to date and it had been a positive weekend for him, apart from the disappointment of the third race. The whole Rapid Solicitors-Bathams Ducati team are now looking forward to Cadwell Park to try and take the fight to the other riders to secure that place in the top six.”

The Rapid Solicitors-Bathams Ducati team return to Brands Hatch this weekend for the eighth round of the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship as Michael Rutter and Martin Jessopp bid to close the point’s deficit to the top six in the overall standings ahead of the Showdown.

Rutter made a return to the BSB podium at the previous round at Oulton Park and now he is targeting a strong points haul in a bid to close down on sixth place in order to secure a place in the end of season Showdown. Martin Jessopp had a difficult weekend at Oulton Park, but back to full fitness after his crash he will be looking to build on his best result of a sixth place at Snetterton.

In the Metzeler National Superstock 1000 Championship Michael Booth is determined to bounce back from his crash in Cheshire and is focused on a stronger qualifying performance in a bid to put him in a position to challenge for a top five position.

Rutter said: “It feels like a long break since Oulton Park and this weekend couldn’t really come soon enough. It was great to be back on the podium for the Rapid Solicitors-Bathams Ducati team at Oulton Park but we know that we need to repeat that again this weekend in order to get closer to that top six. We have three races so there are plenty of points available we just need to work hard and get the best results we can. There are still six races before the Showdown so we need to do everything to be back on the podium this weekend.”

Jessopp said: “I can’t wait for the weekend as the Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit has to be my favourite on the calendar and we have three races to get the best result we can for the Rapid Solicitors-Bathams Ducati team. Oulton Park was a tough weekend and we want to put that behind us and build on what we learnt so far this season. The track has been a good track for us in the past and now we have had a few weeks’ off I just want to get back out there.”

Booth said: “I like the Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit but I haven’t had much luck there in the past. I am feeling good for the weekend though as I know we have the potential to have a good weekend and the Rapid Solicitors-Bathams Ducati has been feeling great on track. I think if we can have a good qualifying session then we should be able to have a stronger race because that is currently where I am losing out. I really want a strong qualifying position and then try and get away as then I should be able to run with them.”

The Rapid Solicitors-Bathams Ducati team are preparing a return to Oulton Park in Cheshire this weekend for the seventh round of the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship as Michael Rutter and Martin Jessopp bid to close in on their title rivals.

Jessopp is also looking to carry the momentum from the previous round at Snetterton, when he took his best finish of the season with a sixth place.

Jessopp said: “I think Oulton Park will be a better round for us than Snetterton and we have a set-up now that we can carry across to this weekend as a starting point. I think we need to get our heads around qualifying as the past few rounds I have been giving myself a lot of work to do in the race as I have started so far down the grid. It is good going back to a circuit we have already raced on this year and everyone is moving forward so we know we need to work hard again this weekend. We have a few new things in regards to the settings that we want to try and hopefully that will put us closer again.”

Rapid Solicitors-Bathams Ducati’s Martin Jessopp secured his best result of the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship season on the new Snetterton 300 circuit last weekend with a strong sixth place in the second race of the day.

Qualifying on the new 300 configuration was tough for team mates Michael Rutter and Jessopp as the pair worked hard on set up for the new layout with the pair starting 14th and 16th on the grid respectively. In the first race both riders were still focussed on further improvements and Jessopp and Rutter finished just outside the top ten in 12th and 13th respectively. However in race two the Rapid Solicitors-Bathams Ducati team had made some big improvements and Jessopp was able to claim sixth place; his best result of the season so far whilst Rutter was forced to retire with a technical issue.

Jessopp said: “It was a good weekend really for me and I wasn’t expecting it to turn out that way as we had struggled in practice and in qualifying and I was starting from the fourth row. We worked really hard before the race with some new data we had from the Althea Ducati team and it just clicked for me. We made some more changes after race two and after the restart I was able to run the pace and although I couldn’t quite reach Michael Laverty it was a good result and I was happy with sixth.”

Martin Jessopp Knockhill

The Rapid Solicitors-Bathams Ducati team had a challenging fifth round of the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship at Knockhill at the weekend.

In the opening race Martin Jessopp struggled with set up in the changing conditions and was disappointed to have crashed out of race one. In the second race  Jessopp was able to make further improvements to the Rapid Solicitors-Bathams Ducati to finish twelfth.

Jessopp said: “We messed up qualifying as I thought I had done enough and then by the time I switched to the intermediate tyres it was too late so I had to start from 25th for race one. The conditions then changed and as we hadn’t had any real track time we struggled with the electronics being too aggressive. I was annoyed to have crashed but it wasn’t a big one and I just slid a long way; it was more annoying than anything. In race two I didn’t get a good start and that just made it more difficult for me as I just had to fight back. We scored some good points but we need to push on again at Snetterton to get back up the order.”

Jessopp At NW200

Martin Jessopp shot round the North West 200 course during the second Superbike qualifying yesterday on the Riders Bathams 1198 Ducati.

Thursday’s session was delayed for some time due to an earlier Red Flag incident during the Superstock qualifying and Jessopp who was fighting with a faulty quick shifter came 23rd.

Despite the delay and the ever changing wind and temperature the Ducati performed magnificently in the Superbike qualifying over the 8.970 mile circuit.

During the live BBC commentary Jessopp was described as ‘the dark horse of the race’ and took P1 with 30 minutes of the session to go. With 15 minutes remaining after emerging from the garage his team mate Rutter took P1 with a blistering time of 4:26.336.

Jessopp then slipped down the rankings but pulled it back with a final flying lap of 4:26.906 to secure P2 whilst recording a speed trap reading of 198 mph which followed 198 mph and 197mph recorded on the laps before.

Combined qualifying results are for Saturday’s Superbike Race are P1 Rutter and Jessopp P2.

Jessopp said ‘I was really happy with the bike, we got out first so I had a clear road ahead of me, I got my head down and gave it my best. When I pitted the team made a few changes and I was really happy to get my final flying lap. On my final lap I did make a tiny error, it’s really hard not to on a circuit like this, so potentially I could have been even quicker. The weather forecast is really bad for Saturday so no one really knows what will happen on the day.

I would like to wish Stuart Easton a speedy recovery after his accident; he’s a good friend of mine so hope to see him back on the track soon.”

Tuesday’s first qualifying session gave a glimpse of what the Ducati and the team can achieve with Jessopp third with 4:36.121

Jessopp at NW 200

Following Tuesdays Superbike qualifying race at the North West 200, Rutter currently in position 2 with a best time of 4.32.096 and speed of 118.679 and Jessopp in position 3 with time of 4.36.121 and speed of 116.949, well done guys.

Through the speed trap Rutter was fastest recording a blistering 193 mph and Jessopp was only 1 mph slower at 192 mph, wow that’s fast.

Jessopp at Croft

The Rapid Solicitors-Bathams Ducati team scored a top eight finish at the third round of the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship at Croft as Michael Rutter overcame the disappointment of a retirement in the opening race to finish eighth in race two.

In the opening race Rutter was running as high as second on the opening lap from his front row start before settling into third when he was forced to retire with a broken gear lever. Martin Jessopp had a challenging race after opting for wet tyres in changing conditions and as the track dried it was a case of damage limitation and he ended nineteenth. 
 

In race two Rutter was running inside the top four in the early stages of the race before traction issues dropped him down the order to eighth, but he was able to score solid points for the Rapid Solicitors-Bathams Ducati team. Jessopp suffered disappointment in the second race when a technical problem forced him to retire.
 

Jessopp said: “In qualifying we were struggling with the last section of the track, which is always the case for the Ducatis here. In the first race the conditions were changing and we chose to run wet tyres which in the end was the wrong choice, but that was the luck of the gamble. I just did what I could and made my way up to 19th and the tyre was ruined by the end of the race as the track dried. In the second race we had a problem which we think was with the injectors and that ended the day, which was disappointing really but now we are looking forward to Thruxton.”
 

Team Manager Phil Jessopp concluded: “It has been quite a hard weekend for the Rapid Solicitors-Bathams Ducati team, but it wasn’t completely unexpected as this track has never been kind to us in the past. It was tricky conditions in the first race which caught Martin out on tyre choice, whilst Michael was unfortunate to have an issue with the brake lever. In the second race Michael was able to score some good points and Martin suffered a technical issue, but we move on now to Thruxton and in the past that has been a better track for us.”

It was a hard weekend as we had expected to come to Oulton Park and be on the pace but the new electronics threw our settings so we were just chasing the set up all weekend. In the first race we gambled on a soft tyre to try and put ourselves up there but I just got a terrible start and then had to try and work my way back up again. I was suffering from some chatter so I was happy to finish in the points. In between the two races we made big changes, which we wouldn’t normally do and it did feel better in the second race on the harder tyre. When the pace car came out it was like heaven for me as it gave my leg a bit of a rest; seeing the flag for that was like seeing a chequered flag at the time. I then had a moment with Chris Walker and Peter Hickman; Walker high-sided and I went to avoid him and Hickman then hit me. I was all over the grass and didn’t want to roll off and lose too many places. It was pretty crazy really, but that seemed to be what the rest of the race was like! I am happy that we were able to score points and make some improvements, so now we need to turn it around for Croft.

Going to Mallory Park my collarbone was better but still not 100% and my general fitness was also down because I have not been able to train as much due to my shoulder. From friday I knew it was going to be hard beacause Mallory is probably the most demanding circuit we visit.
 
Friday saw a dry session in the morning which we set out to try and sort the gearing and set up of the bike and ended the session 26th overall and 6th privateer. The next session of the day was half wet and half dry so we decided not to go out and risk crashing.
 
Saturday was warm and dry and in the non timed session we made progress with a soft race tyre which I had not really used that much in the season. I ended up a dismall 24th and 6th privateer. Next was the session that counts – qualifying. The weather remained good and I managed to do a load of laps and get the Riders Racing machiene to 4th privateer and 23rd on the grid on my fastest lap of the weekend 58.3 seconds.
 
Race 1 saw me have a poor start and have to overtake some slower riders and end up in a battle with Zanotti and Tunstall. We went with the soft race tyre which seemed to pay off and the grip was good. In the cloing laps of the race the two riders were on my tail as the leaders were making their way through us but Shakey and co managed to get passed them and they were held up by myself. This is quite obviously something I did not want to happen. From my experience of lapping other riders last year in the supersport class I allways found it easier to pass them if they stayed on the racing line and me being the faster rider would go around or under them knowing that they are not going to suddenly sit up or swerve in one direction or the other. Having looking back at the footage after the race 1 I was not going to make the mistake again, which I didnt in race 2. Mallory park is such a tight and twisty circuit that it allways throws up this problem and unfortuantly for myself and a couple of other riders we made it hard for the overtaking leaders. Im completely gutted about the comments made by a few of the EuroSport comentators beacuse in every interview after the race they singled me out when there was quite clearly another rider who hindered as much as me. Being a family run privateer team who depends on volunteers it is a great shame for us as a team to be slated in that way and my team are also very disapointed. In the end I finnished 17th and 4th privateer.
 
The second race saw us have a technical problem on the grid and I had to run back and get my spare bike and start from last on the grid. We chose to go with wet tyres which at the time seemed to be the best choice as it was still raining. By the second lap I had made my way up to 15th but then the sun came out and track dried so quickly the wet tyres were useless and I just went backwards and ended up 22nd and 4th privateer again. I am still 3rd in the privateer cup and will back to 100% fitness at the next round.
 
Thanks,
 
PTJ #40.