Held Racer Report: Leon Jeacock, National Superstock 1000, Oulton Park

Leon and Geo E Davies & Smirk Racing returned to Oulton Park for the second time in the Pirelli National SuperStock 1000 Championship season. A real riders track that Leon enjoys and was looking to continue his recent run of good form and consolidate his top ten position in the Championship. Both free practices held on the Friday were in wet and rainy conditions. 

Leon excelled in both sessions and you could tell he was enjoying the conditions as he posted a fourth and a sixth in the respective sessions. The team and Leon were confident for the all-important qualifying session on Saturday morning. An outstanding performance by Leon saw him take tenth position on the grid for race one. Another good opportunity to score some solid points again. 

Leon in action at Oulton Park. Photo: Neil Pidduck

Making a great start in race one Leon made three places up on the opening lap and was riding well within himself and a good pace. Just off the leading group he held seventh position until late in the race when he slipped to eighth place and took eight points. 

Confident of another good result in race two bad luck struck Leon and the team. Starting eighth in race two he made another great start and was up to fifth place on lap one and looking forward to moving further up the field. Lap three Leon felt a problem with the rear of the Suzuki and was losing grip badly and as he came in the first corner on lap five Leon crashed out finishing the weekend with a DNF, a result that his efforts certainly didn't deserve. 

The final round at Brands Hatch in a months time certainly cannot come quick enough for the team to finish the season on a high. There is of course the small matter of Leon racing in the Dutch Superbike Championship very soon in Assen! 

Held are pleased to support and supply Leon Jeacock and Geo E Davies & Smirk Racing. 
To learn more about Held in the UK please visit 

www.held-uk.co.uk

Held Racer Report: Leon Jeacock, Geo E Davies and Smirk Racing, Silverstone

Leon and the Geo E Davies & Smirk Racing Team rolled into Silverstone for the latest round of the Pirelli National SuperStock 1000 Championship. This was a weekend of considerable progress for the team and left with confidence sky-high. A change from the norm as the Silverstone National circuit was being used instead of the GrandPrix layout due to the MotoGP debacle a couple of weeks before.

Leon quickly settled into a good rhythm on the National circuit and was inside the top ten in both free practice sessions. Having found a good set up this all went out the window for the qualifying session on Saturday morning as it was held in wet conditions, however Leon put in a faultless display and took a brilliant fifth place on the grid for the first of the triple header race weekend.

Leon took a ninth place finish in race one after losing a number of places in the closing stages as his tyre started to delaminate. This problem would rear its head all weekend. Race two proved fruitful for Leon again as he battled hard and came in eleventh place gaining valuable points after more tyre issues. 

Race three was held on Sunday and once again he was in the mix and put in a gritty performance as his tyre gave up laps before the end of the race. He made it a clean sweep of points finishes in the three races by taking twelfth place.

The outstanding performance of Leon and the team over the weekend have pushed him into the Top Ten of the Championship which is well deserved. Speaking after the round Leon said “Overall it was a great weekend for the team as it showed our pace and I am happy with the results despite the tyre problems which held us back in the races.

Held are pleased to support and supply Leon Jeacock and Geo E Davies & Smirk Racing. 
To learn more about Held in the UK please visit 

www.held-uk.co.uk

Held Racer Report: Sean Neary, Zoek Racing, Silverstone

ZOEK RACING SILVERSTONE

The two Zoek Racing riders, Sean Neary and Craig Currie were racing at Silverstone last weekend in the penultimate round of the Ducati TriOptions Cup where Neary from Lymm in Cheshire secured a sixth and third place and Currie from Newark an 11th and 12th place in the two races.

Zoek Racing's Sean Neary!

 The racing was transferred to the short National circuit at the Northamptonshire venue because of problems with the International track normally used. This was because of the problems encountered two weeks ago which caused the MotoGP round to be cancelled.

Neary completed his qualifying in fifth position and began the first 15 lap affair from a second row grid position. But he was unable to match the pace of the leaders and completed the race in sixth position.

After some considerable changes to the bike overnight Neary once again started the race from the second row and maintained sixth position on the opening lap. But then he made his move forward and took up third place on lap two. Try as he may he was unable to make a pass on Lewis Rollo and although he remained within touching distance he crossed the finish line in third place just over a second behind his rival.

He said: “I cannot thank the lads in the team enough and Lee Jackson for their help in getting the bike sorted for me which gave me a podium finish in the second race. Massive changes were made to the bike overnight and it was so much better. It was a gamble but it paid off. I was gutted on Saturday as our team deserves better but I always give 100%. Thanks go to Zoek and our amazing sponsors for their support. I must also congratulate Rob Guiver for sealing the title today. I've shared a good few podiums with this lad over the last few years and for him to come back from a career ending smash last year to win it this year is unreal.”

Meanwhile Craig Currie was in good form at Silverstone and began Saturday’s race from a fourth row grid position. He rode well to claim 12th place at the flag to pick up another four championship points.

Starting Sunday’s race from the fourth row once again Currie made up places to 11th on the opening lap and soon became embroiled in a battle for position with Paul Slade and David Shoubridge. He passed Shoubridge on lap eight and began to pull away from Slade one lap later. He looked set to finish the race in 10th position but didn’t reckon on Michael Tustin homing in on him at a fast rate of knots.

With three laps to go Tustin overtook him and Currie was left to cross the finish line in 11th position to pick up five championship points bringing his total to 22.

The final round of the current campaign is at Assen in the Netherlands over the weekend of September 28-30 when both riders will be seeking some good results to end their season on a high note

pic credit Dave Yeomans.

For more information on Zoek please click here

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Held Racer Report: Leon Jeacock, National Superstock 1000, Cadwell Park

The latest round of the Pirelli National Superstock1000 Championship was held at the highly challenging Cadwell Park, Lincolnshire. Leon and the Geo E Davies & Smirk Racing team were looking to continue the good form at a circuit that isn’t a particular favourite of Leon’s. It was going to be a tough weekend but at the end a fruitful one for rider and team in more ways than one.

Leon Jeacock, Geo E Davies & Smirk Racing

Free practice one went well for Leon as he found a good set up and put in competitive

lap times and took eighth fastest in the session. The team and Leon were pleased with the result and knew they had more to come with some changes to try. Session two went even better and he went significantly faster and finished in tenth position, confidence was soaring in Leon and the team for the qualifying session to be held on the Saturday. Leon went faster still in the sole qualifying session, despite this with the class being ultra- competitive he set a time good enough for tenth, a great effort by all.

Enthused with his weekend so far Leon was looking forward to the race and as he lined up tenth he knew he had the pace to take a good result. Dropping to eleventh on lap one then fell a further place back on lap two to twelfth place, Leon though was playing the long game and as the race went on he was running a good pace and on lap nine he jumped up two places to tenth and was closing in on ninth at the end of the race.

Leon said after “Overall we had a great weekend, in the top ten fastest in all sessions at a track that is my least favourite, we as a team are now looking forward to the next round at Silverstone with relish”

Held are pleased to support and supply Leon Jeacock and Geo E Davies & Smirk Racing. 
To learn more about Held in the UK please visit 

www.held-uk.co.uk