Held Racer Report: Sean Neary, Zoek Racing, Snetterton

ZOEK RACING SNETTERTON

Snetterton played host to round four of the Ducati TriOptions Cup this week with Sean Neary finishing his first race in fourth place but retiring from race two with a technical issue.

His Zoek Racing team mate Craig Currie was 14th in race one and 13th in the second race.

After qualifying on pole position for the first race, Lymm rider Sean Neary didn’t get the best of starts and completed the first of two laps in race one on Saturday in third place. Phil Atkinson demoted him to fourth on lap three but Neary powered back past to reclaim third one lap later. But his progress was short lived as on lap six Atkinson went past again and although there was less than half a second separating the two riders the red flag brought the race to a halt on lap eight and a result declared on positions on lap seven.

Neary commented: “The race didn’t go our way today as it was cut short which didn’t do us any favours for a podium however we didn’t have the pace to win.”

Neary lined up on the front row for race two on Sunday morning but things didn’t quite go to plan as, although he was running in fourth place for the first few laps he was forced to retire at half race distance with a technical issue. He said: “As race weekends go it was pretty poor!!  A technical issue with the bike meant we didn’t finish race two. Not ideal but on the positive side it can always be worse! We will work hard and come back strong for Brands Hatch. Thanks to the team for all their hard work.”

With a non finish to his second race Neary has lost his series lead but is holding a strong second place on 108 points.

Meanwhile Newark rider Craig Currie went well during qualifying to start the first race from the middle of the second row. He held eighth place on lap one but began to drop back and completed the 10 lap affair in 14th place to pick up two championship points.

Starting race two on Sunday from the fifth row it was always going to be a challenge to get up into the top 10 but Currie made headway and completed the race in 13th place to secure another three championship points.

Snetterton was a positive weekend for the Nottinghamshire rider as he got his first points of the new season on board and has made good progress with the Ducati.

The next round is at Brands Hatch over the weekend of July 20-22 when both Zoek riders will be seeking strong results to boost their points tally with Neary looking to regain his series lead and Currie to move further up the standings.

Held UK are proud to supply Sean Neary with leathers and gloves!

Held Racer Report: Leon Jeacock, Oulton Park BSB

The picturesque Oulton Park circuit in Cheshire hosted the third round of the Pirelli National Superstock1000 Championship. Leon and the Geo E Davies & Smirk Racing team were hoping to replicate the form shown in the recent official test held at the track here Leon put strong times in and the team were able to gain more data for further use.

For the first time this season the weather was consistent throughout the free practices and sole qualifying session. Dry, sunny and hot weather meant the team could fine tune the Suzuki to Leon’s requirements instead of having to make major changes as in the previous rounds. 

Free practice one and two were held on Saturday and Leon immediately carried on his good form finishing tenth in both sessions, he was confident for the Sunday qualifier. The pace in that session was scorching and even though he went half a second faster than free practice, he still only claimed tenth place on the starting grid.

Monday saw the all important race and Leon made a good start but dropped down to thirteenth in the first corner scramble. Moving back up two places in the next couple of laps to eleventh, he then settled into the race for the next few laps. Lap eight saw him move up to tenth and he started to close the gap to the two riders chasing them down, he slipped into ninth position on lap thirteen holding this position to the chequered flag.

A great weekend for Leon and the team and a well earned result for everyone concerned with the team, looking and riding more confidently with every meeting.

The team now moves onto Snetterton for the next round in mid June.

Pic: Jonny Lee

Held are pleased to support and supply Leon Jeacock. To learn more about Held in the UK please visit 

www.held-uk.co.uk

Held Racer Report: Zoek Racing, Thruxton

ZOEK RACING - THRUXTON

Both Zoek Racing riders brought championship points home from their fourth round races in the 2016 Ducati TriOptions Cup at Thruxton over the weekend. Sean Neary securing a second and third while Craig Currie was 17th in race one, improving to 14th in the second encounter.

Neary (30) from Lymm in Cheshire qualified in third place and began the first of two 10 lap races from a front row grid position. As the race got underway Neary completed the first two laps in second place before overhauling Robbie Brown to take the lead which he held to lap seven.

Brown briefly took the lead once more but was beaten back by Neary on lap eight. It looked as if he would take the win but on the very last lap Leon Morris made a pass and made it stick to secure the win ahead of Neary, the gap being just one tenth of a second.

Such was the pace between the top four riders that Neary set the fastest lap to establish a new lap record of 1m 20.349s - 105.55mph.

Starting race two from pole position Neary maintained his lead through the first lap but was overhauled by Phil Atkinson on lap two. Pushing hard, Neary was able to snatch the lead back and became embroiled in a four rider battle for supremacy. He held the lead until lap six when he was demoted to second and then third when Leon Morris passed him on the penultimate lap. Although the action was very close, the four riders came across some back markers at the club chicane just a few yards from the finish line and Neary was unable to find a way through to make a pass on the two riders ahead. He crossed the finish line in third place to pick up another 16 championship points to add to the 20 scored in the first affair which secure an overall position of third on 121 points in the rider standings at the half way stage of the championship.

Sean Neary commented: "Overall I am happy with my results. I did really want the win but it wasn't to be this time. But I got some solid points under my belt and we are now going to some of my stronger circuits, my favourites being Cadwell and Oulton Park so I will be looking to get my win there. I would like to thank my loyal sponsors for their continued support, Zoek, Charlestown Engineering Services, Different Money, CA Drillers, Held Rider Equipment, JHP Racing/Ducati Coventry, Battery Components, toiletspares.com, Motul, Shark Helmets, Evolution Waste Management, Filtro Filters and Science in Sport.

Meanwhile, Craig Currie from Newark in Nottinghamshire qualified for a sixth row start to the first race which he completed in 17th position just outside the points.

Starting race two from the sixth row once again he made better progress and was 14th on the first lap. He lost a place to Nicky Wilson on lap two but continued to circulate in 15th position until, with two laps remaining he moved up to 13th place. On the drag to the flag on the final lap he was just beaten by Carl Stevens and crossed the finish line in 14th place to pick up two championship points. Currie is lying 13th in the overall rider standings on 24 points with four rounds, eight races remaining.

The next round is over the Bank Holiday weekend of August 27-29 at Cadwell Park in Lincolnshire.

To see more about Held Rider Equipment in the UK please click here

Blood Bikes Manchester recruiting tomorrow!!

Blood Bikes Manchester will be hosting a volunteer rider recruitment day on 31 August 12-4pm at: 

Inner Circle Training
Meyer Street,
Stockport 
SK3 8JE.

Blood Bikes Manchester has been operating for three years, making free deliveries of urgent blood, samples, medication, records and donor breast milk to NHS hospitals and other health charities such as St Ann's Hospice. It's manned by volunteers who are out every night, weekends and bank holidays clocking up the miles on their purpose-designed fleet of blood bikes and saving about £145,000 for the hospitals they support.

www.bloodbikesmanchester.co.uk

Held Race News: Trayler climbs the standings to 4th!

TRAYLER MOVES UP THE STANDINGS WITH MSS COLCHESTER KAWASAKI

Held wearer Jesse Trayler overcame one of his toughest rounds on the Pirelli National Superstock 1000 Championship calendar at Thruxton to claim a hard-fought eighth place and move up to fourth place in the overall standings.

Superb season for MSS Colchester Kawasaki rider Jesse Trayler

Trayler and the MSS Colchester Kawasaki team had a challenging start to their weekend before qualifying on the fifth row of the grid, but this didn't faze the Essex-based contender and he delivered one of his best performances of the season to fight through to eighth place.

Trayler said: “Thruxton for me, I knew was going to be tough after struggling to find any pace at all there last year. So this weekend I knew I just had to be realistic. After a bit of a disappointing end to qualifying in 15th I knew I had work to do and it was just a case of salvage operation and try push through for some points! I knew my race pace was going to be better and actually the times weren't far off and I was only 0.9 off pole! 

"I got another good start which helped then I got a bit beaten up and pushed back mid-race. Come the end though I'd managed my tyre well and a gaggle of riders in front started to come back to me and I successfully passed them to come home in eighth and push myself one place forward into fourth in the championship! So a job well done I think come the end of the weekend at Thruxton! 

"I would like to say a massive than you to the guys at MSS Performance, Colchester Kawasaki, Linxcel, Leonard Brookes, Held Leathers and Shark helmets for their support for this season and also to a few other individuals that have kept faith in me and helped me progress this year especially."

If you'd like to learn more about Held in the UK, including an online catalogue and a list of UK stockists please visit www.held-uk.co.uk

Held wearer Jesse Trayler: strong Brands performance

TRAYLER CELEBRATES SIXTH PLACE WITH A CONSISTENT PERFORMANCE AT BRANDS HATCH  

Jesse Trayler delivered a strong performance at Brands Hatch last weekend at the second round of the Pirelli National Superstock 1000 Championship to score a sixth place finish and move up the order in the standings.

MSS Colchester Kawasaki racer and Held wearer Jesse Trayler

Trayler had made a solid debut at the Donington Park season opener, but as the team and the Essex youngster clocked up more laps after a lack of pre-season testing, the improvements continued during the weekend.

The steps forward put Trayler in a position to improve his pace, qualifying in tenth place before carving his way up the order in the race to finish in sixth place.

Trayler said: “The weekend instantly got off to a much better start for me compared to the first round at Donington Par two weeks ago - we were in the top 10 all weekend and never far off the pace at the front.

First race outing for Jesse's new Held gloves

“The team have done a great job and we have worked together with my feedback from Donington, to get the bike working much better and we have been chipping away to improve all weekend.

“The race started brilliantly from tenth place on the grid and I was up to fourth place after a good start. I just really wanted to soak it all up in the race, being amongst some really good riders, and hang with the lead bunch for a while without doing anything too silly.

“We came away with a sixth place and some more solid, consistent points. It has also bumped me up into sixth in the championship standings now too which I am pleased with ready for round three. We now need to keep chipping away and keep edging closer to the front.

“I also want to say a massive thank you to my MSS Colchester Kawasaki team and especially to Nick Morgan.”

The second round of the Pirelli National Superstock 1000 Championship takes place at Oulton Park, Cheshire on 2/3/4 May.

If you 'd like to learn more about 

Held motorcycle gear please visit www.held-uk.co.uk

Held's Cool Dry Shirt

I've never tried 'temperature regulating' T-Shirts until now. In the past just regular T-shirts have sufficed, and been peeled off after many rides with the customary sweaty patches. Nice...

So, enter the Held Cool Dry T-shirt. Supposed to keep you warm in Winter and cool n' dry in Summer. RRP £18.99 (Polo version £24.99).

Enjoying the sun in the Held Cool Dry T-Shirt

I first tried the shirt out a few weeks ago when the weather was chilly. Under a hoodie. The really spooky thing was as soon as I put it on it felt warm- as it's supposed to do. Popping a hoodie on top it continued to feel warmer than a normal T-Shirt. I guess it must be able to use the body heat in a way that's more efficient than cotton.

Nice design with the Held logo on the side

Next test was riding in the sun over the last few days. OK, we still haven't reached the dizzy temperature heights of the English Summer, but it was warm enough with the black Held Sixty-Six jacket on and the Held Cool Dry T-Shirt underneath. So far so good- no sweaty patches and felt nice and comfortable all afternoon. 

The Held Cool Dry T-Shirt rear view

It's extremely comfortable to lounge around in too. Will keep you posted when (if!!) the temperatures sore ;) The T-Shirt is Cool-Dry material (100% polyester) and comes in sizes S to 3XL. It offers maximum breathability and it's main job is to regulate your body temperature.

You can check it out on page 150 of our online catalogue