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.

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Held Racer Report: Kurt & Matt Wigley, National Superstock 600, Rd 6

Round 6, Snetterton 300 Race Report

The weekend of the 9th & 10 July was the 6 round of British Pirelli National 600 Superstock where we had a rollercoaster of race meeting. The sixth round kicked off to a bad start with Kurt being taken out mid-way through Fridays practice session when someone crashed into the back of him entering the hairpin of turn 2. After spending the past two weeks building Kurt a new bike the whole team was disheartened. Matt had a better session with getting to grips with the circuit and the tricky wet conditions.

Later that day was the first Qualifying session of the event and looking at the forecast it was to be the only dry session meaning this one had to count. Matt was sent out on circuit with no pit board or crew in pit late as the team were working franticly to get Kurt’s bike fixed from the mornings incident and passed through technical control. Kurt eventually made it out on circuit with 6 laps remaining of the session where he began late 20’s and every lap jumped up another handful of positions until the final lap which put him in 13th. Matt had ‘a bad day at the office’ as he struggled to settle down and piece together a lap time which put him on the backwards foot for the race in 24th.

Qualifying two was a wet session as predicted by the forecast therefore nobody could improve their times which wasn’t our best interest as we felt there was more to give with additional time, however the morning warm up session on Sunday was a step in the right direction. Matt lead for most of the short session as he was determined to get up to pace ready for the race later on. Kurt spent the session in the 30’s testing out some changes the team had made to the suspension in order to allow the bike to turn in easier when carrying speed, on the final lap Kurt got his head down and set a time that was 0.4 of a second faster than his qualifying session leaving him 4th and Matt 9th out of the 40 competitors.

This weekend was an early race at 11:30, just in time before the rain returned. As the lights went out both lads began to barge their way through those in front, unfortunately for Matt, he only made it to turn two before a repeat of Kurt’s Friday incident was duplicated and he hit the ground following another racer crashing into the back of him smashing his back wheel. Once it was established that Matt was okay the attention of the team was turned to Kurt. After the first lap he made it up to an impressive 8th place and continued to better his lap times picking people off throughout the sprint. The end of the race came and Kurt crossed the line in 5th place as by the time he got to the front of the group the leading 4 had already broken away. This was a solid finish putting Kurt up to 8th in the championship.

Interested in learning more about Held motorcycle gear in the UK? Visit www.held-uk.co.uk

Held Racer Report: Leon Jeacock, National Superstock 1000, RD6, Snetterton

Once again Leon finishes in the points in the Pirelli National Superstock1000 Championship with Black Horse at the Snetterton 300 circuit. 

The Norfolk track holds multiple challenges for both rider and machine encompassing tight hairpins, fast flowing corners and two flat out straights.

Historically not one of Leon's best circuit's for results but that all changed over the weekend.

Leon with his confidence soaring after his recent string of competitive results clocked a time good enough for eighth in free practice. 

In qualifying one his good form carried on and he was ninth fastest but was still disappointed as he knew he could go quicker and more importantly where improvements could be made. However, once again the British weather put pay to his plans for qualifying two as a torrential downpour left the Snetterton track awash with water and with no one going quicker grid positions were set from the earlier dry session.

Starting eighth on the grid after another rider was demoted, he made a great start and held his position into the first two corners. Leon made a couple of places up coming out of turn two as some of the front runners came together, leaving Leon in fifth place at the end of lap one. 

He set about pursuing fourth place as a chasing pack of four riders started to hunt him down. The pack finally caught him midway through the race and despite some stoic defending Leon fell to eighth place at the chequered flag. This leaves Leon in eighth in the Championship and his confidence sky-high for the next round at the fastest circuit on the calendar next Thruxton.

For more information on Held Motorcycle Gear 

in the UK please click here

To see the superb products sold by Team Owners 

Geo E Davies please click here

Held retailer raising money for Midlands Air Ambulance

Held retailer Brindley Honda is involved in this awesome event, raising money for Midlands Air Ambulance and having fun along the way. Check it out. Please share this post, donate etc- it's for a great cause! Here's the story:

Monte Carlo Rally Or Bust 2016 (Champagne Charlie)

Our mission is shown below, We now have a car and a road map to some of Europe's spectacular locations and Roads. It started as a holiday to remember and has now snowballed into a Quest to raise donations for Midlands Air Ambulance Charity. With the support of Brindley Garages LTD and our key suppliers we hope to raise awareness and donations for this fantastic and lifesaving charity. 

The Brindley car- sponsored by Held amongst others :) 

Please support our cause by donating  through the link below, Thanks very much in advance.

http://fundraising.midlandsairambulance.com/monte-rally

What's happening

Buy a car for £300 or less and hit Europe’s greatest roads and cities for 3 days to Monte Carlo.  Complete challenges, laugh lots and raise some cash for your favourite charity. Monte Carlo or Bust is the ultimate European banger rally adventure.

As featured in The Sunday Times and Sky Sports News, The 3-day crusade takes your banger to some of Europe’s most exciting locations on spectacular roads with backdrops of sun, sea, sand…and even snow!   Racing is off the cards as you concentrate on solving daily challenges, both on and off the road, competing for a variety of prizes and regrouping each evening at the Rally Rendezvous to relax, socialise and explore the local area.

Your banger should cost no more than £300 and we encourage all teams to put less effort into their engines – and more effort into dressing the car and crew.  The MCoB team will be on hand before, during and after the rally to provide you with any support you may need.  Many teams take part to celebrate special occasions or raise funds for charity. 

In 2015 over 160 cars and 500 people successfully completed the challenge and raised over £100,000 for UK charities.  In 2016, we are running two fantastic routes to Monte Carlo; Black Forest Gateau and Champagne Charlie.  Each event is limited to 80 places.

Event Details

Contact: Marcus Wortans
Phone: 07970 722654
Address: Europe, Monte Carlo, West Midlands, WV3 9BY
From: 20/07/2016 
To:         31/07/2016 

Want to learn more about Held motorcycle gear & accessories in the UK? 

Visit our website www.held-uk.co.uk

Held Racer Report: Leon Jeacock, National Superstock 1000, RD4, Donington

Another points finish for Held wearer Leon and the Geo E Davies Team! 

A well-deserved result for their weekends work at Donington Park where they were supporting the Acerbis UK Round of the WorldSBK event. This result keeps the momentum gained over the last couple of rounds rolling.

Free practice went extremely well for Leon and he and the team used it to fine tune the BMW S1000RR for the only qualifying session this weekend. After posting a time just outside the top ten he was confident of improving on it for a grid position in the race. Qualifying was a tense affair with just half second covering fourth to tenth place by the end of the session, but Leon kept a calm head and posted tenth fastest and achieved his coveted top ten grid position.

Making a good start Leon held his position and settled into a good race pace. Fighting hard over the sixteen laps he picked his way through and finished in a fantastic eighth place. A great result for rider and team as they build confidence and impetus every time they go out on track.

Speaking after he said “The weekend started great, we had good pace in free practice and knew that with just a couple of changes we could aim for Top 10 in qualifying. We did that with a 10th place grid spot and backed that up with 8th in the race. We weren’t lapping much behind 5th place times so can take the positives from the weekend and aim better next time out. Just want to add my thanks and appreciation to my sponsors, family and friends without them this adventure wouldn't be possible.”

Interested in finding out more about Held in the UK? Check out our website at 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

Held Racer Report: Leon Jeacock, National Superstock 1000

Character building weekend for Held wearer Leon

After a solid start to his campaign in the opening round at Silverstone, Leon had high hopes going into round 2 of the ‘Pirelli National Superstock1000 with Black Horse Championship’ at Oulton Park Cheshire.

However bad luck struck and he went into free practice on Saturday morning feeling decidedly under the weather after falling ill the evening before. The session was held in driving rain and the circuit was sodden. Using the conditions to gain some wet settings he brought the Geo E Davies BMW home in one piece. Qualifying one was held four hours after free practice and the fickle British weather had turned from an unsettled and wet morning to a bright and dry afternoon. Leon provisionally qualified nineteenth despite his poor health. This proved to be his starting position on the grid as qualifying two on Sunday turned out to be a total washout.

Despite everything Leon was confident of a points score in the race even starting from row seven as he said “the BMW was mega around Oulton” Going for a wet front and dry rear tyre combination, the race plan went out of the window at the first corner as he was caught up the midpack shuffle. He was pushed out wide onto the extremely wet outer edge of the track and it took some skilful manoeuvring to keep out of trouble. Ending up thirty fifth at the end of lap one Leon put his head down and set about carving through the field and gained places lap after lap. Putting in a great comeback ride he just missed out on a points finish as he crossed the finish line in sixteenth position.

Speaking after he said “I am happy after the weekend I had to come through with the result I did especially after being pushed out wide onto the dirty wet part of the track at the first corner, we showed great pace and the BMW was awesome. It's been a great team effort in trying conditions”

To learn more about Leon Jeacock please visit www.leonjeacock.co.uk

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