TAG Racing Honda’s Charlie Nesbitt and Fraser Rogers suffered a torrid second round of the ZYN British Superbike Championship at Donington Park, with five DNFs from three races, but are ready to regroup and come back stronger at Knockhill (June 19/20/21).
Following a positive Friday, where Nesbitt and Rogers worked hard with the team to refine the Honda CBR1000RR-R SP Fireblade, ‘Spud’ progressed directly into Saturday’s second qualifying session, whilst Rogers was left to fight it out in ROKiT Oxygen Performance Qualifying 1.
After qualifying 13th and 18th respectively, Nesbitt and Rogers were determined to achieve solid results from their opening race on Saturday. However, due to technical issues, the pair were forced to retire from the race on laps three and eight.
However, it would be an even more frustrating day for the team-mates on Sunday, with ‘Spud’ taking 14th place in race two and Rogers suffering a DNF after a crash at Redgate at the start of lap two.
The third and final race saw the duo both make errors, with Rogers once again crashing out at turn one as he looked to make ground on the field, whilst Nesbitt suffered a high-speed crash on lap four.
Nesbitt said: “I don’t have a lot to say really, other than I’m sorry to the whole team. It was a strange weekend. I felt good in Friday Free Practice and Saturday Qualifying, but then the races were just my fault and I’ve got to learn from them.
“I’m making too many mistakes and it’s cost us badly. I want to say sorry to the team, they work so hard for me and I want to ensure this stops happening. I’m a little bit battered after the crash, I took a big hit, but thankfully I’m not too badly hurt. The break will do me good and I plan to come back stronger at Knockhill.”
Rogers said: “I have no words, to be honest. I came into the weekend feeling confident we’d be able to fight hard within the top ten after our pre-season test, but it just didn’t happen. I struggled all weekend and the two mistakes in Sunday’s races were my own fault, and for that I have to say sorry to the team and all the sponsors. I’ll regroup now and come back stronger at Knockhill. I have amazing memories there and I want to replicate that.”