NEWS Archive 2014

Thruxton Round 7

I was looking forward to Thruxton for round 8. A circuit where I scored my best Superstock qualifying and equal best race finish in 2nd and 5th respectively.

The weekend started well and I felt comfortable straight away in free practise even though I had not raced there since 2013. The times were close and expected big improvements on new tyres.

Despite improving my lap times I was disappointed at the end of the two qualifying sessions not to be further up the grid even though I had lapped faster than I did in 2013. Times were close however as I ended up 24th 1.5s off pole.

I got a good start in the race and maintained my position over the first couple of laps. I had a good battle and moved into 23rd and set about the group in front battling for the top 15.

I struggled to make any big inroads early on but hung in there and my tyre towards the end was holding up better than those in front. Unfortunately I ran out of time to make big progress although managed to move into 22nd into the final chicane on the last lap.

I am still not happy with the front end feel so the team and I have decided to try Ohlins for the next round at Cadwell.

Big thanks to the whole Boast Plumbing Supplies Racing team and all of my personal sponsors.

Brands Hatch GP Round 7

Heading to Brands I was hopeful of continuing where I left off at Knockhill and continue the run of point scoring finishes.

I used the Free Practice Session to familiarise myself with the circuit again not having ridden at Brands for a year. I felt comfortable on the bike but I needed to find more speed to close on the top 15.

I improved over the two qualifying sessions to qualify in 22nd and the times were close again with a second covering 10 riders.

Minor adjustments had been made as I continue to try and adapt my riding to suit the Superstock bike without making big changes to the bike.

The gearing was changed for warm-up and as it was damp it wasn’t possible to determine if it was better overall. It felt better in parts of the circuit so we left it for the race.

The race was difficult as the gearing in the dry was not as good as the slightly longer set-up I had used all weekend. I got close to my qualifying times and my consistency kept me close to the pack in front. I finished in 20th not far from the battle for a top 15 position.

Next up is Thruxton.

Big thanks to the whole Boast Plumbing Supplies Racing team and all of my personal sponsors.

Knockhill Round 6

Despite the long journey I was looking forward to going back to Knockhill which is a circuit that has favoured me in the past with good results. There’s no time to rest at one of the shortest circuits on the calendar particularly on the big Superstock Kawasaki.

Having got close to my PB time at Snetterton I was determined to improve on that at Knockhill. The weekend got off to a good start and I was able to post some decent times early on in Free Practice. I followed this up with my best qualifying of the year posting a time fractionally off of my PB which was good enough for 15th.

We had made no changes to the bike since Snetterton as I continue to improve my times as I become more confident particularly in the braking area.

I was expecting to improve my times further in Q2 but this would eventually be cancelled as a result of heavy rain overnight damaging the track surface requiring repairs to be carried out. The grid positions were determined from the results from Q1.

Warm-up on Sunday morning was the next opportunity to try a few things before the race. With such a short lap there were enough laps in the short warm-up session to assess the changes so much so I was able to improve on my qualifying time and better my PB to go 7th fastest.

This set me up well for the race. I got a good start and made up a couple of places on lap one. Apart from a small mistake early on I had a good race making a move around third race distance into 12th. Two of the front runners crashed out moving me into 10th place which I held having built up a comfortable gap.

I’m now looking forward to Brands Hatch where I hope to make further progress and continue to score more championship points.

Big thanks to the whole Boast Plumbing Supplies Racing team and all of my personal sponsors.

Snetterton Round 5

Having made reasonable progress at a track day a few weeks ago the aim was to make further improvements to close the gap on the front runners.

I managed to improve my times during each practise and qualifying session to close within a second of my best time set the last time I raced at the circuit 2 years ago.

This put me 28th on the grid.

In the race with more confidence on the brakes I was able to improve lap times breaking into the 1m 53’s and overtake a few riders ahead.  Having got up to 21st after 8 laps I had a big gap to cross to be able to make up further places but had the pace to run with the group fighting for 15th. I finished 21st maintaining consistent race pace.

The progress made left me feeling positive and with improved confidence I am looking forward to Knockhill where I hope to close the gap to the front further.

Big thanks to the whole Boast Plumbing Supplies Racing team and all of my personal sponsors.

Oulton Park Round 3

I was really looking forward to Oulton Park and my return to the National Superstock 1000 series. However I was still realistic about my chances given the lack of pre-season testing but the positive test at Cadwell Park gave me a good starting point to work from.

Unfortunately the first day of practice and qualifying was affected by rain which limited dry track time.  

Second qualifying on Sunday was dry and the first opportunity to measure myself against the competition. I was pleased with how my times improved throughout the session but 25 minutes wasn’t enough for me to challenge the top 15 which was my aim for the first round back. I ended the session 28th with a time around 1.5 seconds off of my best at Oulton.

I was determined to improve in every session and I bettered my qualifying time in warm up which was encouraging leading into the race.

I knew I would need a good start to stand any chance of a top twenty result and even a possibility of scoring a point. My start was good and first corner was even better as I made the most of a coming together moving up at least 10 places. My early pace was lacking which is something I will concentrate on improving during the upcoming tests. I was passed by a couple of riders and did what I could to hang onto them which improved my times but not by enough to challenge the top 15.   

Photos courtesy of Nigel Shearing

I had a good battle at around two thirds distance moving into 19th position. On lap 12 a rider crashed and the bike was left in the middle of the circuit. The race was subsequently red flagged and the result stood at the end of lap 11. This meant I had finished 18th which I was pleased with considering this was only my second ride on the Boast Plumbing Supplies Kawasaki ZX10R and first National Superstock race in over a year.

I am now focused on the test before the Donington Park WSBK support round at the end of May where I hope to continue my progress and move into the points scoring positions.

Big thanks to the whole Boast Plumbing Supplies team and all of my personal sponsors.

2015 is GO!

After what seems like a long off-season I am pleased to announce that I will be riding a Kawasaki ZX10R in the BSB Superstock 1000 class for the Boast Plumbing Team. It will be Boast Plumbing’s first foray into the Superstock class having competed in the Ducati 848 Challenge during which time I enjoyed some great racing with them. I will be joined in the team by Robbie Brown who will be riding the team’s Ducati 899 Panigale in the Ducati TriOptions Cup.

During the off-season I have continued to enjoy running and cycling as well as strength conditioning. To stay bike fit I have taken up Pit Bike racing which is a great entry level series to bike racing but is also a great way to get out on a bike during the winter months and enjoy riding. These events are held at kart circuits across the UK, the majority of which I have seen when I raced karts.

Testing got underway at Cadwell Park at the beginning of April. The first couple of sessions were spent getting myself back up to speed. After the test I stayed on for the first day of the NG Road Racing Club Championship where I managed to win the Open and Powerbike classes.

Following my first outing of 2015 I was called up to attend the Le Mans 24 hour race as reserve rider for the Prime Factors Racing BMW Team. This was a great opportunity for me to experience the event and The FIM World Endurance Championship has been a focus of mine for some time and this was another step closer to fulfilling my ambition of competing there.

I was able to gain knowledge of the Bugatti circuit, the BMW S1000RR and Pirelli Slicks during day and night practice as well as qualifying. I assisted the 3 main riders during the race which gave me an insight into the challenges faced during one of the most iconic motorcycle races on the planet. I hope to have the opportunity to race in a World Endurance event soon.

My focus now is Oulton Park next weekend and I am really looking forward to competing in the National Superstock 1000 series again.

I’m also pleased to confirm the support from the following partners Boast Plumbing Supplies, Magdalene Ltd, Corby Kawasaki, Bohn Body Armor, Silkolene, RS Workshop Equipment, The Key Collection, Weise, Oxford Products, HJC Helmets & GPR Steering Dampers.