When we arrived at Brands Hatch for Round 4 of the 2026 No Limits Racing Championship, the atmosphere felt a little different.
We were excited to be back.
There was plenty of anticipation, as there always is on a race weekend.
But if we’re honest, there was probably a little apprehension too.
There was one question quietly sitting in the back of all our minds.
How would Evan feel returning to the circuit where our 2025 Brands Hatch weekend ended before it had really begun?
Looking Back
Last year, our visit to Brands Hatch lasted just four sessions.
No qualifying.
No racing.
By around 3:30 on Friday afternoon, Evan’s newly purchased Yamaha R6 was already strapped down in the trailer looking very sorry for itself and we were heading home.
The crash happened at McLeans.
One of the quickest sections of the full GP circuit.
Even today, we can’t point to one single cause. It was most likely a culmination of several small factors rather than one obvious mistake. Tyres, setup, slipper clutch, blipper, rider input… perhaps a little of each.
That’s racing.
The R6 cartwheeled across the circuit before finally coming to rest on top of the tyre wall.
The damage list was long.
- Front subframe.
- Rear subframe.
- Forks.
- Fairings.
- Countless smaller parts.
Thankfully, Evan climbed to his feet with nothing more than a friction burn on his right forearm. The bike looked considerably worse than the rider.
It was also the first time we’d actually witnessed one of Evan’s crashes.
Standing behind the garages, we had a clear view of McLeans. We saw the front tuck. We saw bike and rider slide away together before separating as the rear wheel caught the kerb, launching the Yamaha into the air. With every flip it seemed to climb higher, until it finally struck the catch fencing and came to rest on top of the tyre wall.
Evan tumbled across the circuit, came to a stop and, for what felt like an eternity, didn’t move.
In reality it was probably no more than a second or two.
Then he jumped to his feet and instinctively ran towards his bike.
Like any rider, his first thought wasn’t about himself. It was the motorcycle.
As parents, it’s difficult to describe that feeling. Knowing your child has crashed is one thing. Watching it happen, while being completely powerless to do anything about it, is something else entirely.
It wasn’t the last time we’d see Evan crash.
But it was the moment we realised that supporting someone in motorcycle racing isn’t just about celebrating the good weekends. It’s about learning to cope with the difficult ones too.
What happened next probably tells you more about Evan than the crash itself.
He never once questioned whether he wanted to race again.
He never suggested avoiding Brands Hatch.
He simply wanted another opportunity.
Fast forward fourteen months.
The same rider.
The same motorcycle.
The same GP circuit.
The same McLeans corner waiting on the horizon.
Only this time, the story would be very different.
Friday – Starting Again
Unlike many No Limits Racing rounds, Brands Hatch doesn’t have a dedicated ACU test day. Instead, racers share the circuit with normal track day riders. It’s a unique atmosphere, where seasoned racers preparing for the weekend share the tarmac with riders experiencing their very first track day. It makes for an interesting day, and everyone has to be a little more aware of what’s happening around them.
The goal wasn’t lap times.
The goal was simple.
- Go back out.
- Re-familiarise ourselves with the circuit.
- Build confidence.
The first session was exactly that.
- No pressure.
- No stopwatch.
Just riding.
More importantly, riding through McLeans without it becoming anything more than another corner on the circuit.
Mission accomplished.
Everything after that was a bonus.
Before heading out for the second session, Evan had set himself a target.
He’d been told that anything in the low 1:40s around the Brands Hatch GP circuit would be a respectable pace.
A few laps later he came back into the garage.
1:39.
Target achieved.
As the day wore on, track temperatures climbed beyond 50°C. We’d achieved everything we’d come to accomplish. Evan was comfortable on the bike again, the confidence was back and, with little to gain and plenty to lose in the hottest part of the day, we decided to sit out the remaining sessions rather than simply chase laps for the sake of it.
As it turned out, we’d made the right decision.
The afternoon was eventually brought to an early close following a serious incident elsewhere on the circuit. It was a sobering reminder that, whilst we all love motorcycle racing, safety will always come first. Our thoughts are with the rider involved, and we wish them a full and speedy recovery.
For us, Friday couldn’t really have gone any better.
The confidence was back.
The pace was there.
Now it was time to find out what that meant when the racing started.
Now it was time to go racing.
Saturday – When Qualifying Doesn’t Tell the Whole Story
Saturday morning brought slightly cooler temperatures after overnight thunderstorms.
The track was still drying as qualifying approached, but everyone opted for slicks.
The session started positively.
Then came the red flags.
After just two laps, everyone was brought back into pit lane where we sat waiting for around fifteen minutes.
Eventually the session restarted.
Some riders headed straight back out hoping to squeeze one final flying lap from tyres that had long since cooled.
We made a different decision.
Cold tyres, a greasy circuit and one lap to find a qualifying time simply wasn’t a risk worth taking.
Sometimes discretion is the better part of racing.
The decision left Evan with a best lap of 1:46, placing him 26th on the grid.
If we’re honest, it was frustrating.
Qualifying had barely begun. One out lap, then just as everyone was starting to find their rhythm, the red flag came out as Evan began lap three.
After a lengthy wait in pit lane, some riders chose to head back out on cold tyres. Dad made the decision to call it, telling Evan to return to the garage rather than risk chasing one last lap.
It meant the timing sheet didn’t really reflect the pace we’d already seen on Friday.
It meant the grid didn’t really reflect the pace we’d already seen the previous day.
But that’s racing.
There was no point dwelling on it.
It was time to see what we could do from row nine.
Race One – The Fight Begins
Starting from row nine meant there was work to do.
Evan settled into his rhythm and gradually worked his way through the field.
By the chequered flag he’d climbed to 19th overall and 9th in class.
The result was encouraging.
The lap time told an even better story.
1:40.548.
Still not the 1:39 he’d produced during Friday’s track day, and Evan wasn’t particularly happy climbing off the bike because he knew there was more to come.
Ironically, that probably pleased us more than the lap itself.
Not long ago, a 1:40 around Brands Hatch would have felt like a huge achievement.
Now he was disappointed.
Expectations had changed.
That’s progress, That’s racing.
The improved race pace also moved Evan up to 16th on the grid for Sunday’s opening race.
Sunday – Everything Clicks
Sunday morning felt different.
The bike felt good.
The rider looked relaxed.
There was no talk of lap times.
Just the quiet confidence that comes from knowing the pace is there.
When the lights went out, everything started coming together.
Lap after lap, Evan settled into a rhythm we’d been searching for all season.
Then came the breakthrough.
1:37.481.
A new personal best.
More importantly, it wasn’t a one-off.
He backed it up with another consistent run of laps to finish 7th in class, earning a place on the third row of the grid for the final race.
Race Three – Proving It
Starting ninth overall, Evan lost a couple of places as the lights went out.
By the end of the opening lap he’d already fought his way back into 8th overall and 7th in class.
From there, the race became something we’d never really seen before.
Consistency.
The lap chart tells the story better than words ever could.
- Lap 1 – 1:43.939 (standing start)
- Lap 2 – 1:37.306 (new personal best)
- Lap 3 – 1:37.756
- Lap 4 – 1:38.874
- Lap 5 – 1:37.797
- Lap 6 – 1:37.696
- Lap 7 – 1:37.512
- Lap 8 – 1:37.374
- Lap 9 – 1:37.897
One quick lap can happen.
Repeating it, lap after lap, is what racing is really about.
For us, that consistency was the biggest achievement of the weekend.
Looking Back
If you’d looked only at the qualifying sheet, you’d have thought Brands Hatch had been a disappointing weekend.
The reality couldn’t have been more different.
Across three races Evan progressed from:
- 26th on the grid
- to 16th
- to 9th
- before finishing the weekend 8th overall and 7th in class.
Every race moved him forward.
Every session built confidence.
Every lap reinforced that the pace we’ve been searching for is becoming repeatable.
As we packed away on Sunday afternoon, I found myself thinking back to the previous year.
Back then we’d left Brands Hatch with a broken motorcycle strapped into the trailer and plenty of questions.
This year we left with new personal bests, two seventh-place class finishes, an eighth overall, and perhaps something even more valuable.
Brands Hatch was no longer the circuit where Evan crashed.
It had simply become another race circuit, perhaps even his favourite track.
For a rider who only started racing motorcycles last season, that’s a significant milestone.
Thank You
As always, none of this happens without an incredible team of people around us.
Thank you to the marshals, medics, recovery crews, officials and everyone at No Limits Racing who give up their weekends so that riders like Evan can chase their dreams safely.
A huge thank you also goes to our partners, our Patreon supporters, everyone who’s bought Evan a Dr Pepper or two, and every single person following this journey. Your encouragement, messages and support genuinely make a difference.
One thing has become crystal clear this season.
The faster Evan goes, the more demanding this sport becomes. Tyres wear faster. Components work harder. The smallest details make the biggest difference.
It’s all part of the journey.
And we’re incredibly grateful that so many of you have chosen to come along for the ride.
The next chapter takes us to RND 5 Cadwell Park.
I’ve got a feeling that one might have a story of its own.