SUPERBIKES - Putting the woes of Knockhill firmly behind him, Nuneaton’s own ‘Track Ace’ Leon Jeacock, rode a blinding race to steal eighth place in Race 7 of the Metzeler National Superstock 600 Championship at Oulton Park this afternoon.
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| Leon Jeacock: an excellent 8th at Oulton |
Despite a fantastic result, Leon’s weekend was not all plain-sailing with both mechanical gremlins and the unpredictable British weather both playing their part. The Cheshire circuit didn’t escape the summer deluge and torrential rain hit the circuit on Friday resulting in racing being suspended to allow the circuit to drain. The weather inevitably took its toll on the timetable and resulted in Leon’s qualifying sessions being moved to Saturday.
“The rain on Friday was unbelievable” said Leon “the surface water sitting on the track made the racing conditions virtually impossible. Thankfully the Organisers recognised the danger and track activity was held up for a while which meant that my qualifying sessions were delayed until the next day”.
Thankfully the sun made an unprecedented appearance in Cheshire on Saturday and both of Leon’s qualifying sessions took place in the dry. However first qualifying did not go to plan; gearbox problems hampered his chances and finishing the session in 21st place left him bitterly disappointed:
“First qualifying was a nightmare” commented Leon “the gearbox went and I had no chance after that. I came off the track and the Team were absolutely amazing. A huge thank you to Mike Dorey of BMC Racing who basically changed the whole engine in just over an hour, otherwise my weekend would have been over!”.
“The rain on Friday was unbelievable” said Leon “the surface water sitting on the track made the racing conditions virtually impossible. Thankfully the Organisers recognised the danger and track activity was held up for a while which meant that my qualifying sessions were delayed until the next day”.
Thankfully the sun made an unprecedented appearance in Cheshire on Saturday and both of Leon’s qualifying sessions took place in the dry. However first qualifying did not go to plan; gearbox problems hampered his chances and finishing the session in 21st place left him bitterly disappointed:
“First qualifying was a nightmare” commented Leon “the gearbox went and I had no chance after that. I came off the track and the Team were absolutely amazing. A huge thank you to Mike Dorey of BMC Racing who basically changed the whole engine in just over an hour, otherwise my weekend would have been over!”.
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| Gearbox probs: BMC Racing came to Leon's rescue |
With everything depending on the second qualifying session Leon dug deep and produced his best finish of the season, laying claim to fifth fastest in the session.
“The second qualifying session was great!” said a delighted Leon sporting a grin from ear-to-ear “the bike felt fantastic and it all fell into place when it counted and we produced the best result of the season so far, absolutely delighted with that!”.
Starting this afternoon’s 12 lap race from P5 Leon slipped just two places from the starting grid and at the halfway stage was holding seventh position and keeping up with the leading pack. An eventful second-half saw fellow competitors falling but battling hard Leon held his nerve and managed to cross the line in eighth place, bagging himself another 8 vital Championship points.
“I’m absolutely delighted with today’s result” said Leon “After the problems we had at Knockhill and again in yesterday’s qualifying the whole Team have been amazing and we’ve managed to turn it round and finish the weekend on a high!”.
“The second qualifying session was great!” said a delighted Leon sporting a grin from ear-to-ear “the bike felt fantastic and it all fell into place when it counted and we produced the best result of the season so far, absolutely delighted with that!”.
Starting this afternoon’s 12 lap race from P5 Leon slipped just two places from the starting grid and at the halfway stage was holding seventh position and keeping up with the leading pack. An eventful second-half saw fellow competitors falling but battling hard Leon held his nerve and managed to cross the line in eighth place, bagging himself another 8 vital Championship points.
“I’m absolutely delighted with today’s result” said Leon “After the problems we had at Knockhill and again in yesterday’s qualifying the whole Team have been amazing and we’ve managed to turn it round and finish the weekend on a high!”.
Today’s points haul takes Leon to a total of 28 and into fifteenth position on the Championship Leaderboard. The next round of the 2012 Metzeler National Superstock 600 Championship takes place at the Brands Hatch Race Circuit in Kent from the 20 – 22 July 2012. You can follow Leon’s progress throughout the weekend at www.tsl-timing.com or at www.leonjeacock.co.uk, or leave him a good luck message on his Facebook fan page; Leon Jeacock- Road Racing (BSB Support Series).
Leon is actively seeking sponsorship to enable him to finish the 2012 race season and would love to hear from anyone who may be able to help in any way. If anyone would like to get involved or receive a sponsorship portfolio, please do not hesitate to contact Leon directly at leon@leonjeacock.co.uk or Richard Johnson at richard@leonjeacock.co.uk
Leon Jeacock wears Held. For more information on Held Rider Equipment please visit www.held-uk.co.uk
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