Held wearing racer Josh Harland: European Junior Cup - Magny Cours Round 8 Weekend Report

Here's the final report of the season from Josh Harland- who has been wearing Held and doing well at the World Superbike rounds in the European Junior Cup:

I had been looking forward to the final round of the season at Magny Cours as it's a track I took pole position at the previous season and have had a lot of success at.

I headed into practice confident that I would find pace quickly ready for for qualifying 1.

Josh Harland

I managed to post the 4th quickest time in qualifying one, but I wasn't totally satisfied as I wanted to be on the front row.


I entered qualifying 2 knowing what I needed to concentrate on to improve my time. Unfortunately I spent the session unable to put a good lap together and found myself down in 9th position. Then in the final few minutes I was able to put together a good lap and post the 4th quickest time, improving by over 1 second and secure 4th on the grid for Sundays race.

Race day had arrived and so had the rain. It became clear that the weather wasn't going to change and we were going to have a wet race.

The conditions proved difficult as 2 riders crashed on the out lap, and 1 rider on the warm up lap before the race had even begun. Despite this I was confident I would be strong in these conditions.

I had a great start heading into the 1st corner in 3rd and I was able to drive through the inside taking the lead into the 2nd corner.

I felt confident that I could run a fast pace and by the end of the first sector I had pulled a gap of 1.5 seconds. As I went into the chicane at turn 4/5 on the change of direction I lost the rear and crashed out of the lead. Another 13 riders crashed out during the race.

I'm disappointed that the final race of the season didn't go as planned.

However, I'm glad I tried my best to fight for the win and showed that I can be aggressive in such a competitive class.

Due to the crash I narrowly missed out on what could have been 3rd in the championship. I ended the championship in 5th position which I still think is a great achievement after being taken out in two races this season, which ultimately cost me a potential 41 points.

I'd like to congratulate Augusto on winning the championship in great style and thank all the EJC riders for some fantastic battles and races this year.

Huge thank you to everyone that helped me this season:

THE TOOLBOX PROJECT for their support this round, HELD motorcycle equipment, ARAI helmets, my mechanic Simon who made sure the bike was perfect every weekend, my family for all the support and everyone for the messages via Facebook and twitter through this season.

I appreciate all you guys do for me!

I'd also like to thank every member of staff at the European Junior Cup for another great year and putting on such a fantastic championship and making me feel so welcome over the last few years.

I hope to be back competing in 2015 in European Superstock 600 where I can continue to progress as a rider.


We'd like to extend a big congratulations to Josh for a strong season which has seen him on the podium. Looking forward to 2015! For more information on Held, the gear Josh wears, please visit www.held-uk.co.uk

Held wearing National Superstock 1000 racer Joe Burns at Silverstone

Following the good result at Donington and the character building BSB debut in Assen, Joe and his team were looking forward to an outing at Silverstone, the early October weather was its usual variable self, with dry and sunny conditions for Free Practice and Qualifying, rain on the Saturday followed by dry conditions for the race on Sunday.

Joe Burns at Silverstone- pic: Jon Jessop Photography

Free Practice ended with Joe in 5th place, 1.8 seconds of fastest man Danny Buchan, however the good news was that the team felt they could find more speed from the bike.
True enough Joe went out in qualifying and set his fastest ever time around the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit, and this with a setup that was not quite perfect, the end result was 7th on the grid, but with 0.5 seconds covering positions 3 to 7.

Sunday morning warm up and again Joe was 7th with a slightly larger margin, but generally things were looking positive for a good race, his 7th position on the grid being the outside of row 3, directly behind Buchan.

The race started well for Joe, he picked up 6th place by the end of lap 1 and then settled in to consistent lap times, by lap 6 he had secured 5th place and was in a tight group of three fighting over 3rd place, the result of this battle was a 5th place.

After the race Joe said’ “This was a tough race, the pace at the front of Superstock 1000 this year has been incredible, it seems like the top 6 riders are all making huge steps forward at every race meeting, it is great to be in amongst this group. 

The team is working hard to keep in the hunt, and once again I must thank all my sponsors, particularly JG Speedfit, Refresh Recovery and EACS, I am a little disappointed to have slipped to 8th in the Championship, but it is only by 2 points, roll on Brands Hatch.”

With this result Joe now lies 8th in the Pirelli National Superstock 1000 Championship.
The next race takes place at Brands Hatch 19th October.

www.held-uk.co.uk for more information on the fantastic motorcycle leathers worn by Joe Burns