Two Wheel Centre sponsored rider Taz Taylor ended his season on a high at Brands Hatch this weekend, with his second podium finish of the year and an enviable sixth place overall in the Championship standings.
Round 12 of the British Championship 125 Grand Prix took place at the Kent circuit in less than ideal weather conditions. The free practice sessions on Friday were held in damp and overcast conditions, but the Mansfield Woodhouse youngster still took the ninth fastest time. This bode well for the qualifying sessions to follow on Saturday, and Taz did not disappoint.
Despite the track being officially classified as dry in the first qualifying session, the riders were unable to ride as such and even reported that the track had an “icy” feel to it. Still, Taz took no prisoners and recorded a time of 1:46:020, which gave him the sixth fastest qualifying time and a place on the second row of the grid.
As the crescendo of bad weather increased, the second qualifying session looked to be a wash-out. Taz sat this one out, knowing that nothing was to be gained from joining the wet session, and knowing that he had already secured the perfect grid position from which to hunt another podium finish.
Going into Sunday the weather did not improve and by race time there was a thick, dark cloud covering. Typically, no sooner did the race start and all 34 riders funneled through the Paddock Hill bend, the heavens opened with a whole new level of intensity.
The rain become so heavy and visibility so poor that the race was red flagged before the first lap was even over. With all the bikes navigating safely back into the pit lane, the riders dashed for cover from the torrential rain into the nearest garages. Much to Taz’s pleasure, he found himself in the Milwaukee garage and under the hospitality of Jez Wilson (pictured right), who is James Ellison’s current mechanic and a past mechanic for the likes of Bautista, Haga and Capirossi. Jez proceeded to look after Taz, drying his bike and cleaning off his visor, for which Taz was very grateful!
After the short hiatus and once the worst of the rain had passed, Jez and Taz parted company and the riders took to the track once again. Time restraints meant that the race had to be shortened to just eight laps, which caused even more apprehension and excitement in the riders.
With rain still falling and the track still positively wet, Taz made an excellent start passing Tom Carne who had been in fifth on the grid ahead of him. Taz battled strongly throughout the first five laps and gave Carne a strong run for his money, clearly in contention for the top spot. However, after the fifth lap Taz’s bike started to suffer from water ingress, and he began to lose 2-3 seconds per lap. 
Ever cool and calculating, Taz used the lead he had built up and continued the race with a tactical approach, riding safely to the limit of his bike’s reduced capability whilst riders ahead of him fell victim to the conditions and crashed out. This cool approach paid off, with Taz still crossing the finish line in fifth overall, and third in the 125GP class. This meant only one thing for the Mansfield Woodhouse teenager – another podium!
This brought to a close an incredible season for Taz Taylor. Having not joined FPW Racing until the third race of the season and even then having to familiarise himself with the new bike and new tracks, Taz still ended the championship in sixth place overall (from 30+ riders). This is quite a feat, given that other riders had two more races than Taz in which to allot championship points. Taz’s team and parents firmly believe that, had Taz had those two additional races under his belt, he would have been in contention for the overall championship podium.
Taz Taylor now looks forward to next year, when he will again race for the FPW team on his Luyten Honda RS125GP. With a full championship to look forward to, Taz is aiming high – that is, podium high.
If you would like to help Taz Taylor’s racing effort, sponsorship (however much or little) is always gratefully received. Please contact Shane Taylor (Taz’s dad) on 07800627640.