2022 British Superstock 1000 Championship - Round 2 - Oulton Park

Round 2 of the British Superstock 1000 Championship was held in support of the British Superbikes over the weekend at Oulton Park, in Cheshire. It's one of the most undulating circuits we race at, I really enjoy the circuit and I hold the Ducati Tri Options lap record around there. The 1000 is quite a handful around there but that always make it a fun weekend trying to wrestle a 200hp bike around this roller coaster!

Some weekends we have two races, other weekends we only have one race. This weekend was a one race weekend, which was also to be held on the Monday being a bank holiday (public holiday for Australians). Our two practice sessions on Saturday went well, rounding out the day in 7^th position and some good data collected on the bike. Qualifying on Saturday felt good and I managed to get a decent lap time in. The weather soon turned and it was spitting with rain half way through the session. No one was going to improve, including me, which was a shame as I knew we had a bit more in the tank, but it wasn't to be! I'd be starting Mondays 14 lap race from 10^th position. As is always the case with Superstock 1000 (and most BSB classes for the matter) the depth of the field is crazy competitive, that you could go from getting a top 5 result, to getting a top 20 result, without much difference in your riding! I was really looking forward to the race and seeing how we could get on.

I got a decent start in the race but got a little beaten up in a few corners on the opening lap. It took me a few laps to regroup and I was probably riding a little too aggressively to maintain the group of riders in front of me, I was in the battle for 7th, but my rear tire wasn't giving me a real good feeling with about 5 laps to go and was only able to manage to do the best I could with it sliding around quite a bit! We managed to bring it home in 11th position, bringing home points in three out of three races so far, which wasn't too bad to end the day that way. It wasn't my strongest ride ever, but it gives us a lot to build on when we return to Oulton Park in September. Knowing how competitive this field is, to be in the mix is always a positive, and keeps the fire burning inside me to keep working hard to do better at the next round!

We had Bathgate Group as our title sponsor for round 2. A big thank you to them for sticking with me this season, they will be title sponsor at both Oulton Park rounds, along with featuring on the belly pan of the bike for the other rounds throughout the season. Thank you to everyone who is making the season possible! We still have a little way to go to get the necessary funding together to complete the season but we continue to push forward and hope we can make the entire season a reality. A huge thank you to everyone who has helped so far, it truly means so much to keep me out on track doing what I love.

I currently sit in 11th position in the championship standings, and top Suzuki, and can't wait to head to Donington Park in three weeks' time.

Wishing my team boss Brad Clarke and team manager James Ellison all the very best as they take on the North West 200 next week.

Photos: Bonnie Lane, Camipix, Walker Sport Pics