Jenny Tinmouth might not have got her British Superbikes season off to the perfect start, but she still wrote herself into the record books at Donington Park on Monday.
Ellesmere Port racer Tinmouth, signed up by Honda Racing as part of their three-strong team for this year’s championship, became the first female racer in history to compete in an official national race as part of a factory-backed team.
The 36-year-old, who raced as a privateer in the Superbike series last year, crashed out of race one before technical difficulties prevented her from making a return to the track for race two on the same day.
But despite her disappointment at not getting the start she had hoped for, Tinmouth remained upbeat following her first competitive outing on her new machine – and she already has one eye on the next round at Brands Hatch in Kent on April 17-19.
“It’s been a mixed weekend for me really,” said Tinmouth, who became the first-ever female racer to compete in British Superbikes in 2011 and also holds the record for the fastest lap set by a female racer at the Isle of Man TT.
“On one hand I’m disappointed not to have been able to get out for race two, but I’ve also learnt a lot.
“I’d like to just say a huge thanks to my team for putting the bike back together after my ‘off’ in race one and sorry to them to keep giving them some work. I’m chuffed to bits with the bike. It’s amazing and can’t wait to get back on it at Brands.”
Tinmouth, on board her CBR1000RR Fireblade, had suffered technical issues in qualifying and started from 35th on the grid. She suffered a ‘highside’ early on, crashing out and ultimately ending her involvment in the Easter weekend action.
Her team-mate Dan Linfoot managed to claim a podium finish in race two after being edged into second by Shane Byrne.
Tinmouth told her 27,000 followers on Twitter: “Gutted with my weekend, lots of spills. Unfortunately I got it going into the Melbourne loop by Ralf (Lo Turco) in race one which bent my exhaust.
“I came into the pits and the team got it straightened out and I rejoined the pack behind the safety car but unfortunately I had a rear-end slide into the start/finish and went down.
“The team did an amazing job to try and get me out for race two but there was more damage than first thought and there wasn’t enough time to get it fixed before the start.
“I’m gutted but still chuffed at the same time. The team have been brilliant all weekend and I’m still learning all the time.”
Honda Racing team manager Havier Beltran, who says this season for Tinmouth is about learning and development, was pleased with the opening weekend performances of Tinmouth, Linfoot and fellow team-mate Jason O’Halloran.
“At times it has been a difficult weekend with set-up issues and also with Jenny not able to start race two, but all in all we’re happy enough and look forward to getting to the second round and seeing what we can do there,” he said.
