Wigley Racing: Donington Park WSBK Race Report

Donington Park WSBK Race Report

This was the second weekend Matt had visited Donington Park to race this year.  This was good for the team as we was able to pick up where we left off. As the supersport class does not compete here we was down to one rider.

 Fridays Free Practice proved to be a step in the direction that we had hoped for as Matt was able to pick up where he left off and get up to race pace in the early stages of the session. Despite the 37◦C track temperature and sweltering heat, Matt was still able to put his best time in towards the end of the session, putting him in 27th Place.  Although there was plenty of room for improvement it was a good start to the weekend. 

Saturdays Qualifying however took a turn for the worst. Although Matt had high aspirations with a plan for improvement, his progression was stalled when an unbalanced tyre hindered his lap times.  As the session progressed Matt was unable to get any feel from the bike as the front end was juddering violently.  Despite this being the case Matt still matched the time from Fridays FP1 session but the lack of improvement put him 31st place on the Grid for Sunday’s back-to-back race.

Matt had a brilliant start to the 100 mile race as by lap 2 he had battled his way up to 23rd place.  As the race progressed and the pack fanned out it was harder to jump each gap.  By lap 10 we had used up all the good rubber and as Matt started to slow, he was swallowed up dropping back to 27th place.  For the restart Matt took his 27th place grid position. This put him at more of an advantage due to his inside positioning on the track.  This allowed him to gain places with fewer risks on the entry to the first turn.  With new tyres Matt was able to push through the pack and work his way up to 20th place. After an off track excursion on lap 2 at the Foggy Esses he had it all to do again.  Nevertheless as the race progressed Matt battled his way up to a respectable 19th place and knocked 1.9 seconds off his personal best.

It was a positive result for the team with yet another top teen finish in the Stock 1000 class.  We look forward to the next British Superbike round at Knockhill in just a couple of weeks’ time. 


*Held UK are pleased to supply gloves to Wigley racing! For more information on Held in the UK please visit www.held-uk.co.uk

Held Racer Report: Kurt & Matt Wigley, Superstock 600

Round 2 – Oulton Park

This weekend was the second race of the 2016 British Superbike season at a wet and cold Oulton Park. The team had an excellent start to the weekend with Kurt running in second place for the majority of the morning practice session and Matt in 4th. It was difficult conditions as some areas of the circuit was dry and others wet. We completed the session in 4th for Kurt and during the final couple of laps Matt got pushed to 10th out of the 40 competitors.

Qualifying one took place on the Saturday evening which began wet before beginning to dry up and finally followed by hail. The fastest qualifying times were set during the initial stages of the session due to the change in weather conditions which left Kurt in an impressive 6th position on the grid and after being in the top 5 also Matt completed the session with a strong 10th position.

The second qualifying session of the weekend was the most challenging as there was a tough decision between a new wet or new rear tyre, this was a last minute decision due to the instant changes on conditions presented. During the beginning stages the lap times were around 8 seconds off the previous session due to the water on track but this soon disappeared as the qualifying progressed and by the final 5 minutes new fastest lap times were being set. Kurt planned ahead and ensured he had a bit of clear circuit in front of him for the final lap where he crossed the line jumping up to 5th position after narrowly missing out on 3rd on the grid but leaving the team with great excitement. Matt spend the session building on his times and racing with other competitors but when it came down to the final laps when the dry line began to appear he struggled to put his lap together despite having faster sectors meaning he started the race from 15th.

The bank holiday race finally came around mid-day on Monday just in time for the rain. We were all in good positive spirits for the race especially with Kurt starting in the middle of the second row which also gained the team additional television coverage whilst the delayed start took place due to the standing water on the circuit. As soon as the lights went out Matt began his mission to battle his way to the front in the heavy rain with visibility due to the spray of other bikes. It didn’t take long for Matt to enter the top 10 but by this point Kurt had already been caught out by the slippery conditions and lost the front in the chicane crashing out. Matt continued to progress after watching Kurt’s race end early and found himself in 6th position. During the final two laps, Matt almost joined Kurt on exiting a turn as the bike pitched him out of the seat which unfortunately resulted in the two places previously gained being lost. Matt crossed the finish line to take 8th position for the second round of the season.

After such a great performance this weekend we are all looking forward to Brands Hatch in a couple of weeks and are feeling determined to achieve some good results.

To read more about Held in the UK 

please visit www.held-uk.co.uk