BMC Racing: April 2011

We were at Oulton Park recently for some valuable track time...and what a day it turned out to be! The weather was pretty much perfect really, and we were all in optimistic spirits. Leon was out to do some testing on the R6, and I was out to have some fun on my favourite track in the Formula 400s.

So how did we get on? Well, Leon was out in the second 600 heat, and he was flying. He hit the front early on and his lap times were getting quicker and quicker each lap. He was looking good for the win, that was until a high-side coming out of the hairpin put Leon out of the race. The frustrating part of this for Leon is that his lap times were plenty good enough to put him on the front row of the grid for the final, probably on pole as his times were improving as the race went on. He made the final though, but would have to start from the back of the grid, so it was going to be a very tough race indeed, particularly when you consider the fact that there were many national 600 superstock riders out there too. And a coming together with a swerving idiot on the warm-up lap meant that Leon missed the start of the race. However, a bad accident delayed caused it to be red flagged, which gave Leon and the gang time to get the bike back in to some sort of shape, and he made the final restart. When the lights did finally go out, and the race actually started, Leon got stuck right in. And by the end of lap one he had already climbed up to tenth place. The race was only a five lapper though, so there wasn't much time to pick the riders off in front of him. He did manage to move up to finish eighth though by the end of the race. And his lap time of 1:46.201 was a fantastic effort when you realise he did it coming through the traffic. Well done Leon, it was a quality ride.

We wish the riders who were involved in the incident a speedy recovery too. I believe Wirral 100 regular Tim Kermode was one of the riders, so get well soon and hope to see you back on track in the very near future.

I had a pretty good day in the Formula 400s. The qualifying race was good fun and I remember having a battle mid-pack to finish twelfth to put myself on the third row for the points race. And I managed to go one better in that race to finish eleventh. I was pleased with this as I got a bad start and found myself behind riders that I knew I was quicker than. So I picked off the ones I could but unfortunately missed out on getting a tow from some of the quicker riders. But I thoroughly enjoyed myself, as I always do when I ride at Oulton Park.

So there you have it, a day that will add a tremendous amount of experience to the team, and one that left us feeling excited about the first round of the BSB season.