Jenny Tinmouth declared herself ‘delighted’ with her start to the British Superbikes season after she made the second round of qualifying for the first time in her career.
The 35-year-old from Ellesmere Port was in impressive form on the track at Brands Hatch on her TWR Honda as she coped well with the wet conditions on Sunday to claim 17th place on the grid for Monday’s races.
It was Jenny’s final lap in open qualifying that booked her place in the second round of qualifying for the first time and, in doing so, forced experienced riders such as eight-time Isle of Man TT winner Ian Hutchinson out of contention for Q2.
Having qualified in a downpour, Jenny took to the track in warm, sunny and dry conditions on race day, finishing 27th in race one following a red flag stoppage, and 23rd in race two.
“The weekend was really great and it was a great feeling for me to get into Q2 for the first time,” said Jenny, who also works as a mechanic at the Two Wheel Workshop on Rossfield Road, Ellesmere Port.
“We had two days of dry practice but the rain made the track quite slippy for qualifying and it proved pretty tricky.
“There were quite a few riders who were struggling with the conditions and going down so the biggest thing for me was to make sure that I stayed on the bike and gave myself a good chance.
“I managed to get round OK and I was absolutely made up, if a little surprised, to make it into Q2.”
Jenny, who also set a new personal best lap time for the Brands Hatch track, operates in this year’s Superbike championship as a single rider, but revealed she had some helpful advice from her rivals in the pit lane.
“It was a brilliant weekend for me as we were sharing a garage in the pits with another team, Padgetts Racing, who had all the equipment to analyse data, and they helped me out,” she said.
“They were able to look at the data of how I was riding, which is something that I have never been able to do.
“It meant that I could have a look at where I was maybe going wrong and areas where I could improve. It proved pretty invaluable to be honest and has helped me out a lot.
“Things such as making less gear changes through corners can save me a lot of time, so knowing that is really helpful as it’s something that I wasn’t aware that I was doing.
“I’ve already taken on board that advice and ordered some new parts for the bike which should hopefully help me improve a few aspects of my performance.”
Jenny, the first woman ever to race in British Superbikes, is taking on her third campaign in the competition and is hoping she can build on her strong start.
Jenny will not have far to travel for the second round of racing, which takes place at Oulton Park on the weekend of May 3-5.
“It’s great to have a positive start to the season as it gives you confidence and something to build on in the later rounds,” said Jenny.
“Hopefully, with the advice I’ve been given and the performance I put in at the weekend, I can keep on improving and put in a strong showing when we go to Oulton Park next month.
“It’s been a great weekend and the important thing is to keep on improving and build some momentum and keep on building.”
