CHANGING HIS bike mid-season has failed to improve the fortunes of Moorside motorcycle racer Ashley Beech.
Beech has experienced a number of unexplained technical problems following his switch from Kawasaki to BMW.
The latest in his second race on his BMW came in round seven of the National Superstock 1000 Championship at Thruxton.
The main area of concern was the traction control system that has to be active when racing to limit the risk of high side crashes.
Beech explained: “I needed to slide the rear wheel in order to point the bike in the right direction out of the corners which was not happening.
“Once the bike was upright it felt like a missile and, if we can solve the cornering problem, I am confident the results will follow.”
In the first of two qualifying sessions a new tilt switch was fitted, but the bike was still not powering out of corners and Beech finished a disappointing 20th quickest.
A new fuel pump was fitted but again the problem persisted and Beech slipped to 23rd.
Overnight the team technicians worked to fit a new electronic control unit in time for the 10-minute warm-up session on race day morning and the problem was solved.
“For the first time the bike did exactly what I wanted it to do, but I still had a race ahead of me and starting from row eight was tough,” he said.
Beech got off the line with the pack but was baulked when entering the twisty Campbell and Cobb corners and dropped back a few places but once he regained his rhythm he started to move through the field to eventually finish in 18th place.
Follow Beech’s progress at www.jonesdorlingracing.com, on Twitter @JDR_Racing or on Facebook JonesDorlingRacing
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