| Dominic Cann at Brands Hatch |
| Written by BBC Somerset | |||
It was the first time since October 2006 that all 60 competitors were in attendance, and the tension was being felt by all. "Several of the guys have been impressive during pre-season testing but none of the front runners have really crossed paths, so none of us really knew how we'd match up - you could cut the atmosphere with a knife," said Cann. The 30-year-old web designer qualified his Louigi Moto/OD2 Racing Ducati in second place, just 0.27s behind his 2006 team-mate Kyle Hinton. 2005 champion Geoff Spencer was third, with fellow Lincolnshire rider Tim Pritchard on the Ultimate Finish Ducati completing the front row. The first of two 10-lap races quickly turned into a four-way battle between the front row from qualifying. Hinton led the first four laps, with Pritchard, Spencer and Cann swapping positions and paintwork in a bid to head the pack.
Eventually, Spencer got to the front whilst Pritchard fell out of second place on lap eight directly in front of Cann, who had to take avoiding action so as not to run over the stricken rider. This also handed Spencer a two-second lead. Things went from bad to worse as a back marker repeated the exact same accident a lap later. Cann was forced to settle for second place, only to be passed by Hinton right on the finish line. Spencer took the race win by 3.6 seconds over Hinton, who was 0.03 seconds ahead of Cann. Race two was a similar affair until around half distance when Pritchard dropped off the back of the group, later remarking that he wasn't prepared to risk another crash in the pursuit of a race win. Cann struggled to keep up with Hinton and Spencer who were on lap-record pace for the remainder of the race, eventually pulling out an eight-second advantage over the Somerset ace. Hinton went on to take his first Ducati DesmoDue victory and is now joint-series leader with second-place finisher Spencer on 65 points. Cann is third overall on 52 points. "I feel a bit weird really as I've come away with some solid points but I'm disappointed at being beaten," said Cann. "To be honest, the other guys were just faster today. I rode my best and finished third twice. I guess you can't win every race." The next round will be held at Mallory Park in Leicestershire on Sunday 20 May. |
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