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Himmelman takes the podium, but Hill loses the lead on Murrays exit (@Snetterton, not Wimbledon)
8th July 2012
TTXGP Press Office
TTXGP R2 Euro at Snetterton delivers a thrilling race with Zongshen's Ho Chi Fung and Newcomer Jeremy Hill from BMCRC on a Mavizen TTX02 taking it to the wire in monsoon weekend.
In a weekend marked with drizzle and rain, broken with an occasional thunder storm, it felt as if the sun had taken a wrong turn when it appeared 20 mins before race time. The weekend had been wet with bikes exiting the tracks in lots of unwelcome places with Murrays at turn 11 being a popular spot on the Snetterton 200 1.984 mile circuit.
Matthias Himmelmann, the 2011 TTXGP World Champion led the field out with Ho Chi Fung and Tang Yu. Emma Franklin from Performance Bikes and Jeremy Hill from BMCRC were each on a Mavizen TTX02.
After a formation lap, the race starts with a jack rabbit launch from Fung with Hill taking second and Himmelmann slipping into 4th sandwiched between Yu and Franklin. They take the first turn bunched with the two Agni powered leaders taking the lead. As the leaders stretch away, Himmelmann drops into third and with Hill and Fung taking the fight on a turn by turn basis. Over the next 9 laps of the 11 lap race, Hill and Fung battled it out in a thrilling and exciting race. For 7 of the 8 laps there were no more the a sec apart.
With the heavy wet conditions acting as a leveller, Jeremy’s 20 years of rider training and perverted intimacy with the circuit led him to lead on arguably the weakest bike on the field. Riding an unmodified Mavizen TTX02 from the 2010 season, he led a master class display of how much a rider can determine the outcome. The team from Mavizen worked through the night to get the battery pack up to scratch when they discovered a faulty board had dischraged some of the sub packs and damaged cells.
Thanks to the team, the red TTX02 for once seemed to fly, setting an incredible pace. In what looked set to be a podium position, Jeremy lost the front at Murrays with only a lap remaining. You could feel the disappointment ripple through Hill’s home crowd.
Talking of crowds, it was like watching the movie Fields of Dreams. People just started to appear on the pit lane fencing. The crowd grew to cover the entire pit wall. with the race speeding past to a jet engine sounds, the disbelief at the performance of the TTXGP field was palpable. Whatever happened on the track, the campaign for hearts and minds was certainly won. Race it and they will come. And they did.
Ho Chi Fung, a TTXGP regular again delivered his enthusiasm and talent. With the mighty Zongshen corporation and the Chinese state TV camera team in tow, he put on an incredible show leading the race for 4 laps.
“I did very well in these conditions because the bikes were evenly matched – wet then dry then wet..” said Fung, “but the changing weather is something we can’t predict and that has been the biggest challenge this weekend”
Himmelmann held back in 3rd from most of the race, narrowly missing joining Hill on the Murrey turn 11.
“I’m waiting after the start to see what happens in the race. I was not sure about our motor conditions, so I waited for one time to use full power” said Himmelmann, “on the last straight to victory”
Third place with taken by Tang Yu. He was disappointed about his results. The wet conditions were challenging.
“I want to put this race behind me” said Yu, “it was a difficult weekend. I hope to have a good rest of the season.”
The field was joined Emma Franklin from Performance Bikes. She improved every lap and put in a very credible performance for a new comer to electric racing.
R3 of TTXGP Euro Championship 2012 returns to Assen on Aug 4th/5th with new bikes and teams debuting for a tremendous grid in front of a 60k crowd. See you there!
TTXGP ELECTRIC BIKE SERIES
Snetterton 200
1.984 miles (very Wet)
Race (11 Laps)
8th July 2012.
| Pos | No. | Name | Laps | Total Tm | Diff | Best Tm | Sponsor/bike |
| 1 | 49 | Matthias Himmelmann | 11 | 18:27.5 | 01:37.3 | Muench Racing Muench TTE | |
| 50 | 59 | Ho Chi Fung | 11 | 18:29.7 | 2.195 | 01:38.3 | Zongshen ZPE 001R |
| 3 | 26 | Tang Yu | 10 | 19:53.6 | 1 Lap | 01:56.5 | Zongshen ZPE 001R |
| 4 | 5 | Emma Franklin | 9 | 18:36.2 | 2 Laps | 02:00.2 | Performance Bikes Mavizen TTX02 |
| DNF | 53 | Jeremy Hill | 8 | 13:28.7 | DNF | 01:39.0 | Lifestyle Transformation Mavizen TTX02 |
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