The last round of the British Superbike championship kicked of this weekend at Oulton Park. As most of the riders are still unsigned, every rider and team where out to do the best job possible as contract time was just around the corner.
“The week prior to Oulton Park, I was really looking forward to racing there, and I was more focused than ever to get the Hydrex Honda on the podium, as well as getting Tommy Hill back on the map for 2010. I had not rode at Oulton Park for over two years now, But after the first session I was happy and straight back into the groove, enjoying the circuit. Ending first free Practice in 3rd we all new as a team we made a good start. This weekend there was going to be three races so we knew we had to make decisions on tyres fairly early. I decided to work with a harder compound front, and worked hard with my team to get the best out of this before the first race on Saturday. Sticking with this tyre we found a good improvement, and a good setting. We qualified on the front row for the races, in fourth position.”
RACE 1 “Race one kicked off with a bang, with Easton getting the Holeshot at the start, I was eager to make a move early on, as if you don't, before you know it you would be swallowed up, so I stuck a pass on Easton into Island leading onto shell hairpin, as I was on the brake, I come together with Harris, causing him to run of the track and crash out. After a red flag we then restarted the race, and I managed to stick with the leading pack, and just missed out on a second place ahead of camier. Overall finishing in 3rd was absolutely mega, It was fantastic to be smiling again”.
RACE 2 “Race two on the Sunday started with a little drizzle, causing the track temperature to drop a slight bit, I decided to go a click or two softer on the front suspension to get the harder front tyre working more, to keep the heat in it throughout the race. I made a mistake, just this small change caused me to loose a little confidence in the front tyre. Which was then causing other problems. I pushed on to get a strong 4th”.
RACE 3 “Going into the final race of the season, the whole front row, and the top 4 finishers over the weekend had nothing to loose. I wanted another podium, and was going to hold nothing back to fight for a win. I managed to get a good start and took the lead for the opening laps, until Camier made a move, I was determined to not let him go, I managed to keep the pressure on for most of the race, we both eventually broke the riders behind, I eventually crossed the line 10 seconds in front of third place, and took an emotional second place finish.”
“I was totally over the moon, After a year out in 2008 with serious injuries, I’ve managed to come back enjoy my racing, fight for podiums, and find some new friends and build some fantastic relationships with team managers and mechanics in the process....... Roll on 2010!!!”