MOORSIDE MOTORBIKE racer Ashley Beech has endured a frustrating and disappointing start to his fifth National Superstock 1000 Championship campaign.
After finishing 18th and outside the points in the opening race at Silverstone, Ashley was forced to pull out of round two at Oulton Park through mechanical problems.
Ashley was hoping to get his challenge for the title off and running and initially things went well at Oulton Park as he finished with the eighth quickest time in the free practise session on his Kawasaki ZX-10R and ninth after the first qualifier.
The following day the weather deteriorated before the second and final qualifier and, with no chance of improving lap times, the majority of competitors sat out the session and grid positions were decided from the previous day meaning Ashley started on the third row.
“We haven’t had any real problems so that lets me concentrate on fine tuning and sorting out race plans with Ashley instead of having to sort out issues,” said crew chief Mike Elliott.
The 27-year-old started well but almost immediately he realised something serious was affecting the handling of his bike as it was almost impossible to steer.
He retired to the pits to find that the steering damper had broken and to continue would have been too dangerous.
In the opening race of the series at the iconic Silverstone circuit, Ashley got to test his new bike, the first major upgrade by Kawaski since 2011, having been on a four-day test at Cartegena, Spain.
“It usually takes time to get used to a new bike, but this felt comfortable straight away and the new frame helps place more weight on the front which increases stability and helps me flick the bike from one side to the other giving me confidence on corner entry,” explained Ashley.
After returning from Spain, Ashley and his team attended test days at both Silverstone and Donington Park ahead of round one of the championship.
Ashley finished 17th quickest in qualifying at Silverstone and made a good start to the race and battled mid pack until crossing the line in 18th place.
Despite finishing out of the points, Ashley knows the bike will improve as the season goes on and many of the top finishers today were on BMW machines which have had over five years’ development whereas the new Kawasaki ZX-10R has had just a few months.
Ashley will be back out on track in three weeks at Brands Hatch for round three of the championship.
Ashley would like to thank new sponsors R Adams & Sons Haulage, of Henley-in-Arden for their support this year and you can follow his progress at www.jonesdorlingracing.com on Twitter @JDR_Racing or on Facebook JonesDorlingRacing
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