Lamonde Racing 2025 - Round 1, Brands Hatch - Season Opener

Last weekend(15/16 March 2025) was the season opener at Brands Hatch for Bemsee.

This year, Leigh and Tom are competing the the Thunderbike Sport and Clubman 600 championships respectively. Matt is not competing in any championships this year, taking a year out from the pressure of racing and chasing pots, instead he's supporting other riders as an instructor, with several championships under his belt and vast training experience, he is well placed to help others achieve more.

Leigh #8
Leigh dipped his toe into Thunderbike sport last year onboard his Suzuki SV650 minitwin, he now has a Suzuki GSXR600, prepared by team mate, Matt, who was 2024 Thunderbike Sport champion on the same model bike, so he knows a thing or two about them. The rules of TBS are based on, among other things, power to weight ratio. This was the first weekend that Leigh had ridden the bike, let alone raced it.

Leigh in action, Saturday 15/03/25, Brands Hatch, Paddock Hill bend
Leigh in action, Saturday 15/03/25, Brands Hatch, Graham Hill bend
Leigh in action, Sunday 16/03/25, Brands Hatch, Druids

Tom #74
Tom is again competing in the Clubman 600 championship onboard his Yamaha R6, he has a stock R6 (118bhp) and also a supersport R6 (136bhp).

Tom was not happy with the suspension on his Supersport bike, so he raced the stocker for the weekend having qualified on the Supersport.

Tom in action, Saturday 15/03/25, Brands Hatch, Paddock Hill bend
Tom in action, Saturday 15/03/25, Brands Hatch, Paddock Hill bend
Tom in action, Sunday 16/03/25, Brands Hatch, Druids
Tom in action, Sunday 16/03/25, Brands Hatch, Druids

Racing

Leigh:
Leigh qualified 6th for his first race on Saturday, finishing 7th, the second race on Saturday , again finishing 7th. This was the last race of the day, and to say that it was bitterly cold would be an understatement.

Sunday's first race saw a bit of drama for Leigh as he stalled on the start line, luckily those behind passed around him (start line incidents can be very dangerous). As everyone got away, Leigh was starting from the back of the grid, taking off like a scolded cat, picking off competitors throughout the 12 lap race, finishing a commendable 6th - a great result after the bad start. The last race for Leigh on Sunday saw him bring home 7th. 

After round 1, Leigh is 6th in the Thunderbike Sport championship.

Tom:
Tom was out first on Saturday, this was an 18 lap race, he qualified 14th and finished 11th. 

On Sunday Tom finished 12th in his first race, getting his best lap time on lap 8 of Sunday's first race and getting 11th in his second Sunday race.

After round 1, Tom is 12th in the Clubman 600 championship.

Next round:
is at Oulton Park, Friday and Saturday 4th and 5th April.

Photos by Rachel Bourne - Bourne Photo.