Held Racer Report: Leon Jeacock, Snetterton BSB

The Snetterton300 Circuit held the latest round of the Pirelli National SuperStock1000 Championship and Leon and the team were hoping for a good result after the last couple of rounds. Sadly this didn’t prove to the case as it turned into a very testing weekend for both rider and team.

From first free practice, right through to qualifying Leon suffered numerous niggles with the Suzuki and all in all it was a difficult few sessions for the team. In free practice one Leon posted a time good enough to be in the top fifteen and held on to this position in free practice two. Qualifying was held in hot conditions and as the temperature soared the fortunes of the team dipped. 

A brake problem raised its ugly head and Leon was struggling to get the Suzuki stopped at the end of the two long straights at Snetterton. This problem dropped Leon down the order and he took eighteenth place on the grid.

Making a good start and holding position for the first couple of laps, the front brake problem resurfaced and after taking evasive action on lap three he dropped down the field to twenty fourth place. Now he was not only fighting the technical problem but having to claw his way back through the midfield pack and this he did very well. He had made it back to twentieth when he had to retire from the race due to the brake problem becoming un-rideable.

Speaking after Leon said “we have had a disappointing weekend but we now have two weeks till the Brands Hatch round to sort the Suzuki and we will be going for it from the off” He also added “he wanted to thank all his sponsors for the help and backing they are giving him this season”

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 at Snetterton

The two Zoek Racing riders Sean Neary from Lymm in Cheshire and Craig Currie from Newark in Nottinghamshire were at Snetterton in Norfolk for a round of the Ducati Performance TriOptions Cup at the weekend where Neary recorded a brace of fourth places and Currie a brace of 11th in the two 10 lap races.

Sean Neary was struggling with set up at the 2.9 mile Norfolk circuit during free practice but managed to qualify for a second row start to race one. As the lights went out Neary got away to a good, clean start and was third into turn one. He was challenging for second place from the start and on lap two he shot up the inside of Josh Day to secure second place. He then set his sights on Joe Collier who was half a second away in the lead but although he got within a whisker of him he was unable to make a move on him. He began to lose ground and fell back into the clutches of Rob Guiver who managed to overtake him on lap six of 10. The top four riders pulled clear of the pursuing pack but as the race progressed Neary was caught and passed by Josh Day on the penultimate lap. Although not able to match the pace of Day the Cheshire rider crossed the finish line in a strong fourth place, some 11 seconds ahead of Jonathan Railton who was fifth.

 Neary said: “We made a massive gamble with set up for the first race which didn’t quite pay off. We were competitive and up there with the leaders but not quite able to get ahead. We will tweak the settings again for race two and see where we get to.”

As the second race got underway Neary settled into fourth place and although the top two riders pulled clear Neary was edging nearer to Josh Day to fight for third place. He was almost alongside him and ready to make his move when the red flag came out to halt his progress. As two thirds distance had been completed a result was declared at six laps and Neary was once again awarded fourth place. Although disappointed not to have made it up onto the podium the 26 points accrued at Snetterton move him up the rider standings to seventh place on 55 points.

Meanwhile Craig Currie started the first race from a fourth row grid position and was running in 15th through the first two laps. He overtook Jon Waghorn on lap thee and two laps later passed Louis Dawson to move into 13th position where he remained to the chequered flag. However a rider ahead was given a penalty for overtaking under a yellow flag and was penalised one position which elevated Currie to 12th place. There was also one rider ahead in a different class thus Currie was again elevated to 11th.

Lining up for the second race on the fourth row Currie again completed the first few laps in 15th place before beginning his move forward. But when the race was red flagged and the result declared he was awarded 13th place. This time two riders in the other class were ahead and so he was promoted to 11th once again. Currie is now in 10th place in the rider standings on 40 points.

We're pleased to support Zoek Racing. To see more about Zoek recruitment please click here

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Held: Price drops and prizes!

The title says it all, we've dropped our prices and we're giving away stuff. Let us explain, we'll keep it very short and sweet!

The Price Drop

Public awareness and demand for Held in the UK is at an all-time high, so more than ever we wish to deliver great value for money for customers here in the UK. We regularly keep an eye on European prices, even more so since the vote for Brexit and the General Election.

It has come to our attention that certain Held products were available in parts of Europe at a cheaper price. We know that UK motorcyclists would rather buy from UK retailers- supporting them and also having a greater peace of mind should they need to exchange goods purchased, etc. 

So, we've acted! Held UK RRPs will be reduced in all categories except GORE-TEX apparel (i.e. including GTX gloves) by an average by 12%. GORE-TEX apparel will be reduced by an average of 18.4%!!. These reductions took place on June 12th. There is no better time to purchase Held products- speak to your local retailer NOW! If they don't already stock Held and they're keen to get them to email us at mail@held-uk.co.uk

The Prizes

Naturally we want to spread this message far and wide- and we want your help. In return for spreading the word we'll be giving away, over the next three weeks, three pairs of the RiDE Magazine recommended dual-chambered Held Air N' Dry Gloves.

*All you have to do to be in with a chance of winning is:*

a). Make sure you like / follow us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram (or all!)
b). Share this blog post on one (or all!) of the above social media platforms- make sure you tag us, then we'll know- and you'll be entered!! You can use the hashtag #HeldPriceDrop as well :)

We will, over the next three weeks, pick three winners who've helped spread the word, at random. 

Thanks for reading this! Please help spread the word and grab yourself some quality Held kit, at a great price!

To see more about Held in the UK please click here

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

Le Mans report from Talan Racing!

Le Mans - 2017 International Bridgestone Handy Race

On the 20th May I took part in the first International Disabled World Cup motorcycle race at Le Mans, France. This historic event was an official support race at the HJC sponsored French MotoGP. As one of the two British racers invited to attend the event, I was excited and honoured to be representing Great Britain in the 600cc category.

My preparation did not go entirely as planned. Thirteen days before the race, whilst demonstrating at the Donington Endurance Legends event, I suffered a jammed throttle as I hit the brakes at the end of the start/finish straight. Unable to slow down sufficiently to take Redgate corner, I barrelled into the gravel and went over the front of the bike, spearing myself head first into the gravel. Whilst I wasn’t too badly injured, the bike needed new fairing and investigation into why the throttle stayed wide open. After eight frantic days I was heading into the Channel tunnel with a repaired, but untested, race bike on my way to France.

Arriving at Le Mans, the International Bridgestone Handy Race paddock was found to be some distance away from the actual main paddock and pit lane, just outside of the actual Bugatti Circuit and along the 24Hour circuit. Surrounding us were campsites....campsites that had bikes being bounced off the rev limiters non stop, and I mean non stop. Never have I encountered such fanatical petrol heads, who were feeding engines with fuel and exhausts with combustible materials without cessation.

Whilst waiting in the transport to get to the track for Practice and Qualifying, we were treated to a thunder and lightening storm that brought hail down so hard the current session was red flagged. The circuit became wet, really really wet. Our practice began in light rain and that got gradually heavier throughout. Everyone was cautious to begin with, but soon found that the newly surfaced track was giving amazing levels of grip. Having a new fairing changed my sitting position as the race tail piece with hard foam seat covering sat me considerably higher than being on the standard seat piece. The new position put a lot of strain on my wrists, not so much of a problem in the wet as I wasn’t braking hard, but it would be an issue in the dry.

In our qualifying we were red flagged half way through, the thunderstorm once again brought hail and standing water. Once it was safe we headed back out to finish the session. I was lucky enough to know the Data Engineer from the Mistral Moto2 team, so I was parked outside the garage which offered a bit of shelter. One of the riders fathers popped out to offer his thoughts.....Mr Wayne Gardner simply thought we were all mad! At the end of qualifying I was 7th out of 30. A decent position to be in considering my top speed was between 10-20kmh slower than all the other top nine racers.

Later that evening my team and I were able to; visit the Mistral Moto2 garage, have about 30 minutes chatting with Wayne Gardner (Ex MotoGP World Champion), get a good look at the Moto2 bikes, tour around the Tech3 MotoGP garage and finished off meeting with Karel Abraham (MotoGP racer). Karel was interested to hear about the racing as well as The Bike Experience (a charity I founded to teach disabled people how to ride motorcycles). It was great to see the interest from all the racers, and ex racers, in what we were doing.

Saturday brought sunshine, clear skies and a crowd of thousands of race fans. The start was a ‘Le Mans’ style grid line up, followed by two lap formation behind a safety car, then eight laps for the chequered flag. In pairs we lined up behind the safety car and I set about warming up my tyres. I was on brand new Bridgestone R10s that were stone cold due to a mechanical failure of the generator. Initially the under-pressure tyres caused me to bounce around and slip under braking. After the first lap they were beginning to get some heat and the bike began to turn as I expected. At the end of the second lap the safety car pulled in, we rolled down towards the start line, all waiting for the French National flag to be waved. The noise of the crowd went through my helmet, my ear plugs and into my very core, it was intense and massively addictive. The flag dropped and we were racing.

As expected, the litre bikes came shooting up past me and the ones in front pulled away. I was cautious with the cold tyres and didn't want to get involved in any fairing bashing at the first chicane. Through the chicane and down to Chapelle the group was slightly spread out, and by the time we went into Garage Vert for the first time, there was a bit of order about the race. I was gapped by the faster bikes on each straight and was forced into some very late braking in order to catch up. After the third time of locking the front on the brakes I decided it wasn’t going to be safe to continue this style of riding for the race. 

I went back to what I knew best, smooth riding. The sitting position proved to be a problem for me. With a very dry and grippy surface I was able to brake hard, but that meant my backside started lifting from the seat and bouncing me off the centre line of the bike. I do not have stomach muscles, and so the act of trying to straighten myself up on the bike means lots of pulling and pushing on the bars whilst dragging my tummy onto the tank. As a result I cannot simply focus on going fast, as I can’t be sat on the ‘upside’ of the seat in a corner at pace. Nevertheless I enjoyed a decent battle with two litre bikes and another 600. 

The chequered flag came earlier than I had expected, as I didn’t see the last lap flag waved to us. Suddenly it was all over, the marshals lined the circuit, the crowds waved and cheered, we all gave thumbs up to the other racers and waved back to the spectators. I was ninth overall from thirty starters. The position translated to fourth in all of the 600s (twenty of us) and second place in the 600cc paralysed class. A very respectable finishing position and one I and be proud of. The victory in my class went to fellow British rider Michael Reynolds, and congratulations go to him.

There were so many memories to treasure: being part of a MotoGP event, getting invitations into Moto2 and MotoGP garages, meeting the racers you see on television, wheeling out onto eh start/ finish straight and hearing the cheer of five thousand people. The most important part was that we, the disabled racers, got to show the world that anything is still possible.

My thanks go to you; my sponsors, my supporters, my friends, my family, my fellow racers.

Held Racer Report: Zoek Racing, Oulton Park

ZOEK RACING OULTON PARK

It was a disappointing weekend for Sean Neary at his home circuit of Oulton Park when, despite securing a podium finish in the first race, he was forced out with a technical issue in the second 10 lap affair on Monday in round three of the Ducati Performance TriOptions Cup at the Cheshire circuit. His Zoek Racing teammate Craig Currie from Newark fared much better securing two strong points finishes in the two races over the weekend.

Zoek racing's Sean Neary

Starting the first race on Sunday from a second row grid position Neary from nearby Lymm was eighth on lap one and began to make his way forward but a rider crashed on oil at Hizzy’s chicane resulting in a number of riders following suite. Luckily neither Zoek Racing rider was involved and they took their place on the grid for the restart. This time Neary got a good start and moved up into fourth place on lap two and up into third on the fourth and penultimate lap. He held his position to cross the finish line in third place to pick up

16 championship points and a place on the podium.

He said: "Great work by the Zoek Racing Team today with third place. It's been a tough start to the season but nice to get back on the podium.  This was my first race on the Maxton Suspension and can't thank them enough for all the support. Great result for Craig and both bikes in top 10. Roll on tomorrow."

Zoek racing's Sean Neary on the podium

Starting the second race from a front row grid position Neary was shuffled back a place at Old Hall Bend but moved back into third place at the end of the first lap. He fell back into the clutches of Phil Atkinson and Levi Day who both managed to make their move at Shell Oils on lap five. But Day fell back with a problem and Neary passed Atkinson to retake his third place. But on lap six his Ducati suffered a problem which forced him to retire to the pits at the end of the lap, his race over.

Neary leaves Oulton Park in 10th place in the overall rider standings on 29 points which is not where he wanted to be and he said: "The bike began to cause me problems from as early as lap two and that is why I began to drop back.  Although the technical gremlins kicked in I did try to finish the race to get a few points but it just became unmanageable and I had to pull in.

Meanwhile Craig Currie started the first encounter from the fifth row and made good progress up to 11th on the first lap. He was running in 10th place when the red flag brought the action to a halt and at the restart he got a good start and moved straight into eighth place and held station to the chequered flag at the end of the five lap affair to pick up eight championship points.

Craig Currie- a good 8th place in race 1

Starting the second race from the third row Currie again got a flying start, moving up to ninth place on the first lap. But in the final laps he was reeled in by Mark Cheetham and Louis Dawson and crossed the finish line in 12th place to earn a further four championship points bringing his total to 33 and moving him up to eighth in the rider standings after three of eight rounds.

The championship takes an eight week break now to allow for the two major road races, the North West 200 and the Isle of Man TT and they reconvene at Snetterton on July 2.

pic credit Action – Dave Yeoman, podium Bonnie Lane  #10 Sean Neary  #42 Craig Currie

We're pleased to support Zoek Racing. To see more about Zoek recruitment please click here

To see more about Held in the UK please click here

Held Racer Report: ZOEK RACING BRANDS HATCH INDY

ZOEK RACING BRANDS HATCH INDY

Sean Neary's bad luck continued at Brands Hatch when he crashed out of third place in the first of the two races in the TriOptions Ducati Cup championship but he made up for his mistake by recording a fourth place in the second encounter on Monday. Zoek Racing teammate Craig Currie took 11th in race one and ninth in the second 15 lap affair.

Qualifying for Neary went well and he qualified for a front row start as third fastest rider. As the first race got underway Neary got away well and got the hole shot into Paddock Hill Bend. But on lap three Rob Guiver demoted him to second place and two laps later Joe Collier went past leaving him down in third place. The pace was hot on the short Indy circuit and on the eighth lap Sean made a mistake and went down at Druids Hairpin his race over.

Held wearer Sean Neary

He said: "My nightmare start to season continues as I crashed out of third place. Sorry to my team and sponsors who don't deserve that. They are a brilliant team and great people. I can't get the bike setup how I want it at the moment. I've done enough testing so it's my own fault. Will start p2 tomorrow so will give it another go!"

On Easter Monday Neary started the second race once again from the front row and was third away but was soon pushed back to fourth as the riders headed towards Druids for the first time. Although he remained in close company to the top three he was unable to make a pass on them and as the race wore on the top four riders pulled well clear of the pursuing pack. He was embroiled in a close battle for position with Jonathan Railton and Phil Atkinson but finally had to settle for fourth place.

"After crashing in the first race I was always just going to bring it home safe this time. I didn't feel too confident as still not happy with the set up so didn’t really push it. At least I have picked up some points and we intend to go to Oulton on Thursday for a test to see if we can find out what the problem is."

Held wearer Craig Currie

Meanwhile Newark rider Craig Currie rode a steady race in the first encounter from a fourth row grid position to secure a good, safe 11th place. In the second race he again started from the fourth row and this time was circulating in 11th place over the first four laps before moving forward to 10th on lap five. He remained in 10th place throughout the final laps and was elevated to ninth when Taryn Skinner crashed out on the last lap.

Craig said: "I enjoyed that last race and am delighted to have picked up ninth place. I am now 10th in the championship on 21 points and am really happy with that. I am aiming for a top 10 end to the season this year so am on course so far."

The next round is close to home for Neary at Oulton Park, over the May Monday weekend of April 29/May 1.

pic credit Dave Yeomans


To learn more about Held motorcycle gear in the UK please visit www.held-uk.co.uk

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