donnington park gp Circuit | 27 june – 29 JUNE 2025
Rider: Tommi | Team: DART Motorsport
Round 4: Just don’t mention the truck.
Forgetting all the antics around the weekend as a whole and focusing just on the racing… we went fairly well 💪
Four test sessions (in the wrong group) and two rear tyres later, we still weren’t quite where we wanted to be setup-wise. First time racing the GP layout and my first go on a 1000 here too — so plenty of unknowns going in!
Quali –
A quick catch-up with James from @racesupport and a slight tweak to tyre pressures before heading out. Late to assembly, so I figured we’d have some clean air to get a good lap in. That plan went out the window with traffic all over — managed just one flying lap, and it was the first of the session.
Even with three overtakes during that lap, we clocked P2 early on. But with no more clean laps and a red flag ending things early, we got bumped back to P4 by the time the session was called. Still, the grip was solid and the tyre came back looking perfect — credit to James for the spot-on setup call 🤟
Race 1 –
Got off the line better than usual for a change and slotted into P4. A crash on lap one bumped me up to P3, and from there I kept it steady and consistent to the flag. Not the most exciting race, but a podium’s a podium! 🏆
Race 2 –
Another strong start, found myself in 3rd again and settled into a good rhythm, managing the gap behind. With a few laps to go, I started reeling in P2, and on the final lap, they ran into issues — I swept past to take 2nd at the line! 🤙🏆🏁
Race 3 –
Rear grip wasn’t quite there from the off, and I struggled to hold pace late in the race. Got caught in a scrap for 4th/5th in the closing laps. Made a last-lap move into the chicane to take back 4th — it was a bit of a send and I had to come off the brake to avoid tucking the front, but it stuck! Good fun battle to finish it off 🏍🏁
Race 4 –
Another tyre pressure tweak to chase that rear grip again, and we lined up P4. The front end juddering under heavy braking that had been haunting us all weekend came back with a vengeance in this one. Dropped back to P5 mid-race but latched onto the rider ahead and kept the pressure on.
A crash from the leader opened the door for a podium scrap. I sat behind in 4th, waited for the right moment — and made the move with two laps to go. Juddering meant I had to brake early into Melbourne and Goddard’s, and got passed straight back. Last lap, I sent it under the rider at Old Hairpin, pushed to open a gap, but got dived again at Melbourne. This time I turned under him, got the drive to Goddard’s, parked it on the apex and held it tight to the line to take 3rd! A cracking battle and a satisfying way to wrap up the weekend 🥉🏍🏁
Overall –
Mega weekend with consistently strong results and more silverware for the DART Motorsport crew. Buzzing with how things went and proud to be stacking up points every round. Big turnout from friends and supporters — couldn’t have done it without the noise from the sidelines 💪
Now it’s eyes forward to Round 5 at Anglesey — another track I’ve never even seen before. Time to learn fast!