MOTORCYCLE racer TJ Toms, from Puriton, was in action again last weekend, in the ninth round of the National Superstock 600 Championship, at Cadwell Park in Lincolnshire.

Forced to miss the last round at Thruxton due to budget restraints, Toms was keen to impress in front of what is generally the highest attended meeting of the year, with more than 50,000 spectators expected over the three days.

Cadwell Park’s twisty and undulating nature, winding through open park and woodland, has marked it out as one of the best circuits in the country, but what makes it stand out from the rest is the spectacular mountain section.

It starts with a sharp left-hand corner, followed by a sharp right-hand corner and a 30 degree incline which launches the bikes up and over the crest of the ‘Mountain’.

With a lack of funds the team were forced to use the same tyres for both practice sessions, but despite this Toms posted some impressive lap times to finish 23rd quickest.

Cadwell Park is a technically demanding circuit, so for qualifying the team adjusted the suspension to allow Toms to flick the bike in and out of the tight corners.

A brief rain shower delayed his start and the first few laps were cautious, before he posted the 20th quickest lap to start from row seven on the grid.

Toms said: “We made major changes to the suspension for qualifying but when spots of rain started hitting my visor along the straight I had to ride cautiously through the narrow Hall Bends section, and this cost me a lot of time.”

The race started in dry and bright conditions and Toms made a great start, making up a few places, until there was a coming together with another rider going into the fast right-hand Chris Curve, sending Toms sliding across the grass.

He was unhurt in the crash, while initial assessment showed his Kawasaki ZX-6R race bike suffered damage to handlebars, foot pegs and the petrol tank.

His dad Kevin said: “It was a disappointing finish to the weekend but again TJ has shown his potential.

“TJ will miss the next round at Silverstone because it is an out-and-out speed track with long straights, and our bike is seven years old and down on brake horsepower compared to the other teams.

“So we have decided to focus on a return at Oulton Park on September 17.

“I would like to thank Shaun Wynne of SMW Maintenance & Building Ltd for his continued support.”

You can follow Toms’ progress at tjtoms.com, on Twitter @TJSquidge, or on Facebook (TJ Toms Racing).