A Northamptonshire firm entered history books at the weekend by winning the Thundersport GP3 support race at the British MotoGP, Donington, UK.
Kettering based Team Cougar “Racing Spirit” the factory race team of Cougar RED (Race Engineering Developments) Ltd triumphed with a stunning victory for their “Cougar” engine 125GP bike. The British engine designed and manufactured by the company is unique. The engine has been developed specifically to race on Bio-ethanol, a fully sustainable alternative eco-friendly fuel.
Competing under number 52, Adam Blacklock the 15 year old on loan from Replicast (the BSB Relentless 125cc team) raced the bike to spectacular victory on Saturday 25th July, as part of the British MotoGP weekend at the famous Donington circuit.
Starting from third on the grid following a strong qualifying session in difficult conditions, Adam moved up two positions to take the lead on the first corner. For the remaining 14 laps Adam continued to lead throughout, displaying a mature and fluid riding style. Adam increased his lead to over 11 seconds lapping back markers towards the closing stages of the race.
Crossing the line on lap 15 to take the chequered flag, Adam won with a comfortable margin of 11.6 seconds.
Mark Taylor joint team owner said, “We are very proud of Adam’s achievement. We knew our bike was very competitive and we had a great opportunity to challenge for the win starting from third place on the grid, but we were shocked at just how far ahead of the field the bike was, the 11.6 second gap far exceeded the team’s expectations. The win has made history being the first ever, British two-stroke Bio-ethanol fuelled racing bike to take the chequered flag. It was thrilling that thousands of spectators at Donington shared our historic win. We have now proven that Bio-ethanol is a serious contender in the race to save the two-stroke from extinction, it is better for the environment and the sport.”
Adding to the historic win, Adam also recorded the fastest lap time of the race, further underpinning the performance of the “Cougar” Bio-ethanol machine. The win has placed the team and their engine technology firmly in the media spotlight.
Mark confirmed the team is working on further engine innovation, which is expected to be race ready towards the end of the season, he said “We are just finalising our Bio-ethanol fuel injection system for the engine. It is an exciting development that will release more power, far exceeding the carburettor version we raced at Donington at the British MotoGP weekend.
On behalf of the team, I would like to thank our sponsors for making the win possible, special thanks to Replicast, AP Racing, Putoline, Goodridge and Rock Oil. I would also personally like to thank Adam for his winning ride and confidence he displayed in the bike. I would also like to thank the Thundersport GB organisers for an excellent event”.