DROMORA rider and Dromore High School student Alexander Rowan had a blistering weekend at Donington for round two of the Honda British Talent Cup, which is part of the Bennetts British Superbikes.
Alexander crossed the chequered flag in P5 in race one on Saturday 20 May, followed by a P6 in race two on the Sunday. After completing a History GCSE on Thursday morning, he then flew accompanied from Belfast to East Midlands airport, just in time to make the class track walk around the renowned Grand Prix circuit.
On Friday, the British Talent Cup class had two free practice sessions to acquaint themselves with the track. Alexander last did the GP track in October 2021, coming home with no points, and a lot of kitty litter, so he was determined to get to grips with Donington. Free Practice 1 (FP1) started in the afternoon to allow for other riders in the 13-18 year old class to arrive after their GCSE’s. Alexander meant business from the start, beating his best ever time around Donington by more than two seconds and achieving a best lap time of 1.43.128, finishing the 30 minute session in P6. FP2 took place in the early evening, with temperatures falling, yet clear skies and dry tracks gave almost ideal conditions, he further improved his lap-time by 1.029 seconds. His best lap time was 1.42.099 and P10 in the overall standings. After a good night’s sleep, qualifying kicked off early Saturday morning in the beautiful sunshine, dry track and rising temperatures.
He completed 15 solid laps with his personal best of 1.41.053 placing him P5 on the grid for the race later on Saturday afternoon. The middle of row two was to be the best grid start for Alexander in his time at the British Talent Cup, exciting times for Team Rowan. Alexander was nervous and adjusting to being deservedly further up the grid in the blistering sunshine, but those feelings soon disappeared as the lights went out. He went speeding into Redgate on his Honda NSF250r and settled into an exciting 14 lap race. The 5ft 2inch rider, who was last years’ Ulster Superbike Moto 3 Champion, took his highest ever finish with a P5 and best lap-time of 1.40.835. Notably, Alexander and three other riders also broke last year’s lap record by Rhys Stephenson. Elation and smiles all around, as this progress was well earned for Alexander and his team. Race two on Sunday saw Alexander start from P4 on the grid, in windy but very warm conditions.
The race start wasn’t as sharp as Saturday’s and he fell back a few places to P7 and then P8. He had a race long battle with Ollie Walker, but was seemingly teeing him up for a last lap takeover going into Redgate. He held onto the lead, and with a faller on the last corner, Alexander earned a P6 and more championship points.
Overall, a very positive weekend, overcoming some psychological gremlins at a track he has always found challenging. Alexander is now sitting 11th in the British Talent Cup championship, with 23 points after round two. We thank all our sponsors, friends and family for their ongoing support and encouragement.