Held Racer Report: Wigley Racing, Oulton Park

Oulton Park Race Report

As the end of the season approaches, we revisited Oulton Park for round 10 of the British Superbike championship. The weekend commenced with some unfortunate luck as we hit the track for a very wet FP1, on the opening lap the steering damper bracket snapped causing Kurt to almost lose control of the Sorrymate.com Yamaha on a straight exceeding 100mph. He got the bike safely back round to the pit lane where the team worked franticly to create a quick fix, however, this only lead to one other completed lap meaning we began the event on the back foot having completed 2 out of a possible 15 laps.

FP2 began on a more positive pathway, by this point the circuit had dried up and Kurt wasted no time in putting down some strong lap times. He worked his way up into the top 10 and continued up to P7 by continuously beating his previous lap. Once again, the session abruptly came to a stop for the team as the bike lost all power and cut out exiting turn 1. Kurt was forced to retire from the session. Further investigations following the session lead to the discovery of a blown fuse which was a relief that it was something so simple but at the same time frustrating that it halved the session.

Saturday mornings qualifying session was the first full session of the weekend meaning we had a lot of work to get the bike set up closer to perfection in time for the race. With Oulton Park being on the opposite end of the scale to Silverstone in terms of the bumps, cambers and twisty sectors there was minimal information we could carry over for the new Mupo suspension. The session was tough to make vast improvements on lap times whilst sacrificing time on track to make adjustments to the setup, but this didn’t stop the team from securing a P10 finish in class putting us on row 4 in P11 for the race.

Race 1 on Saturday afternoon proved to be somewhat dramatical. Kurt had a strong start to the race as he broke away with the top 10 on the opening few laps, feeling positive he was ready to fight for a best finish but soon became aware that the brakes were fading and quickly. We have never experienced this issue previously and Kurt was coming ever closer to running off track or colliding with another rider entering corners. Fortunately, the race was red flagged because it began to rain allowing the team to change the pads and bleed the brake fluid through the system along with swap the wheels to wets in the desperate attempt to make the restart. Other than a few burns from the disks and pads it was a success and Kurt made his way onto the grid where he once again got a strong start and managed get to the front of the group he was in to take a P7 finish. In his bid to break away from the group when at the front, he put down the 6th fastest lap time of the race putting us on the second row of the grid for race 2. 

Moments before the second race it began to rain heavily which was a shame for us as we were hoping for a damp circuit as this is where we get our best results. The wet race soon began, unfortunately for Kurt a few close moments when finding the limit set him back on the opening couple of laps resulting in him being pushed back to P13. He spent the first half of the race trying to get into a rhythm and reduce the mistakes in a bid to not repeat last weekend’s Silverstone race. When Kurt finally settled down, he began closing the gap to the bike in front and at one stage was lapping a couple of seconds faster than those directly ahead as he made his way up to P11. With 4 laps remaining and the track drying out, he had a big push catch those in sight and obtained another 4 positions before the final lap completing the final race of the weekend with another 7th place finish. 


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Held Racer Report: Sean Neary, Oulton Park National Superstock 1000

SEAN NEARY OULTON PARK SUPERSTOCK

With no Ducati race at Sean Neary’s home circuit of Oulton Park the Lymm based rider decided to have a ride in the Pirelli National Superstock championship round at the Cheshire circuit to see how he would fare against the regular riders in the series.

Sean Neary, Oulton Park Superstock. Pic: Dave Yeomans

He said: “I am really excited to be doing a one off round in the Superstock 1000 this weekend at Oulton Park. Huge thanks to Evolution Waste and 2 Works for making it happen. Also thanks to Jenko and JB for getting the bike ready. After years on the Ducati it's going to be tough but I can't wait! The BMW pulls like a train so there will be plenty of accidental wheelies!”

It was a baptism of fire for Neary in the highly competitive championship but he held his own and completed his qualifying in 27th place for a start to the first of two 14 lap races  from a ninth row grid position.

As the lights went out Neary was 28th on the first lap but once he settled into his race he began to make up ground, moving through to 26th on lap two. He was elevated to 24th when two riders tangled on lap nine and finally passed Joe Morphett who he had been in close company with, on lap 11. Too far away to the rider ahead he was unable to make further progress but brought the BMW home safely in 23rd place.


Sean said: “It has been great fun so far on the BM in my first Superstock 1000 race. A terrible start saw me dead last but I worked my way back to 23rd and set a new personal best lap time around Oulton Park. There is still so much to learn and feel I like a novice again but I am enjoying the experience!”

Starting the second race once again from the ninth row Neary got a good start and gained places on the first lap. But it was all over for him on lap 2 when he crashed at Shell Oils, his race over.

Sean said: “Today was a disaster! Terrible start again and then crashed on lap two trying to get back through. The weather made it a really tough weekend as I needed as many laps as possible. Still a great experience though and thanks so much to Evolution Waste, Craig Currie, 2 Works, Charlie and Lisa Kerford.

“It was good while it lasted but now I have to turn my attention back to the Ducati championship where the final round takes place at the Cathedral of Speed, Assen in the Netherlands on October 1. Although the championship is already won there are still two races for me to try to win.”

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Held Racer Report: Zoek Racing, Ducati Tri-Options Cup, Silverstone

ZOEK RACING SILVERSTONE


The two Zoek Racing riders Sean Neary and Craig Currie were at Silverstone for the penultimate round of the Ducati Performance TriOptions Cup resulting in four good results for the team.

Neary from Lymm in Cheshire was running in the top four throughout free practice and qualifying and despite a crash in the dying seconds of qualifying he put the Zoek Racing on the front row in third position for the start of race one.

He said: “I am happy enough with third in a very wet qualifying session. I was unfortunate to crash on my last lap and although I am ok the bike is a bit poorly. I am so sorry for the lads who have a lot of work to do on the bike in preparation for the first race tomorrow but we should be good to go. Thanks to Maxton for helping get our wet settings sorted.”

As the lights went out for the start of the first race Neary got a good start and was first away but Joe Collier was quick to overtake him on lap two. But it was all in vain as the rain started and the race was red flagged. At the restart over five laps in wet conditions Neary slotted into third place but was demoted to fifth on lap two. He was briefly passed by David Ferns and Sam Middlemas but Ferns retired and Neary was able to overtake Middlemas on the penultimate lap to cross the finish line in fifth place to pick up 11 championship points.

He said: “It was not the best of finishes in fifth place. I started well chasing Joe but then the rain came and the race was stopped. In the wet restart we just couldn’t get the bike to do what we wanted so had to just salvage some points. Thanks to the Zoek Racing boys for all their hard work rebuilding the bike after my crash in qualifying.”

Starting the second race from the front row of the grid in second place, Neary got the hole shot into the first corner and led the race for the first two laps before being overtaken by new champion Joe Collier. Although he was matching Collier’s times for most of the race he couldn’t find a way past him and the pair pulled clear of the pursuing pack to cross the finish line some eight seconds ahead with Neary finishing in a fine second place to pick up 20 championship points to take his total to 161 and move up to fourth in the rider standings. The final round is at Assen on October 1,

He said: “I really tried for the win but wasn't to be. Still I am happy enough with P2. So grateful to the Zoek Racing Team who worked so hard after I crashed on Friday. I have a good bit of bruising but that serves me right for pushing in qualifying when I didn't need to; also thanks to all the sponsors and Craig Currie for helping to salvage the season.

Meanwhile Newark Racer Craig Currie was making a return to racing following his withdrawal from the last round at Thruxton with a recurring shoulder injury. Although still very sore Currie decided to complete qualifying and if he felt ok was to race. He qualified for a sixth row start to the first race and was running in 24th place when the race was red flagged for rain. At the restart the wet conditions suited Currie as the pace would not be so hot and he completed the five lap dash in a commendable 17th place.

Starting the second race from the eighth row Currie got an amazing start, moving through from 24th to 17th on the first lap. He then moved up the field as far as 13th before fading slightly to complete the race in 16th place, just outside a point scoring position. He is now in 11th place in the rider standings on 52 points with one round remaining at Assen on October 1,

pic credit Dave Yeomans

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

Cadwell Park was the latest stop in the Pirelli National SuperStock1000 Championship. A technical track with a tight twisty section, a long straight and the infamous “Mountain” it is not a track for the faint hearted. It was certainly going to be a challenging, tough weekend of racing for Leon and the Geo E Davies Racing team.

The two free practice sessions were held in dry conditions and after posting a time in the top thirty in session one the team made changes to the Suzuki in preparation for the following practice laps. The adjustments made for session two proved to make a big improvement and confidence was high for Leon. Nevertheless, due to the competitive nature of the class and despite going nearly two seconds quicker he was placed twenty third.

As preparation was made for the sole qualification session of the weekend the team were hopeful of a good grid position. However, the vagaries of the British weather put pay to that as a rain shower dampened the circuit just as qualifying started. Leon put in a decent lap and finished just outside the top twenty in twenty second.

Dropping a place on the first lap in the midfield hordes Leon made up two places on lap two and then settled into a decent race pace running in a group of six riders for the majority of lap fifteen race. As the race rolled into the closing laps he made up four places in the hoisting Leon up to sixteenth place just outside a points finish.

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Held Racer Report: Kurt & Matt Wigley, Thruxton

Thruxton Race Report

Last weekend British Superbikes were down at Thruxton for the seventh round of the championship. Due to the lack of time following our discovery of the reduced bhp of the Supersport R6, we were to attend the fastest circuit on the calendar knowing that top speed would be a struggle.

Nicely showing off the Held Gloves!

FP1 began looking positive, however as the session progressed, Kurt struggled to improve his lap time due problems with the bikes handling. Exiting the fast sweeping corners, the bike was sliding and bouncing around in the attempt to high side. The team put their heads together to establish a solution following the 13th place finish which is not where we aimed to be. This lead to a series of suspension changes to compensate for the bumpy flat out circuit.

The second free practice session began to look positive as by lap 4 Kurt had knocked 0.6 of a second off his best lap from the previous session, however, this came to an abrupt stop as it became apparent that we were facing similar problems to the mornings FP1. The session came to an end with a 15th place finish and confusion as to where we had gone wrong.

Saturdays qualifying session was later in the day leaving us some more time to understand what we were up against. Under further inspections we identified that there was a mechanical fault with the rear shock meaning there was nothing we could do to the settings to resolve the handling issue. The shock was removed and serviced in preparation for Q1. Kurt took another 0.6 off his best lap time but because of the series of events leading up to this we were playing catch up and had to start from scratch back at the original base setting for the suspension as any alterations previously made were obsolete. The session came to a close with another 15th place finish.

Saturday afternoon brought the 10-lap sprint race for the Supersport class. Further changes were made leading up to the race which always hold a risk that it wasn’t for the better, however, this was not the case and Kurt’s personal best lap time was improved again. Kurt was in a heated battle with another 5 riders making his way up to 11th position at one stage. On the final but last lap, Kurt over ran the chicane leading onto the home straight and in the attempt to revert the advantage gained he fell back to P14 for the chequered flag.

Sunday brought an 18 lap feature race meaning tyre wear was a problem that everyone faced due to the abrasive circuit of Thruxton. The second race proved the difficulty faced with competing when down on power as every lap Kurt was overtaken on the back straight reaching speeds in excess of 150mph. This meant that he had to try and outbreak someone leading to him failing to stop and missing the chicane on several occasions each time knocking him out of a rhythm. The race came to a close with another 14th position finish picking up points in the championship but frustrated with the circumstances of the weekend.

Cadwell Park is right around the corner and we aim for a better performance with plans in place to replace the engine.

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Held Racer Report: Sean Neary wins at Thruxton

ZOEK RACING THRUXTON

Sean Neary completed his qualifying in fourth place and started the first of two 10 lap races from a second row grid position. He got away to a good start and was up to second place at sector two on the first lap. He was demoted a place when Joe Collier came past but he never lost touch with the two leaders and by lap four the top six riders had pulled clear of the pursuing pack.  Neary was not content with third place and both he and Collier made a pass on Levi Day who had been leading the race up until then. One lap later and Neary was flying, he set a new lap record of 1m 19.818s on lap five and both he and Collier pulled away from Day to argue over the lead. Despite there only being a 10th of a second separating Neary from Collier in the lead he was unable to make a pass stick and at the finish line he crossed the finish line a fifth of a second behind Collier to secure second place.

Neary said: “Being over six foot doesn’t help my cause as I was just getting eaten down the back straight so I will have to lay off the pies!! But to be fair it was a great race, I just didn’t have the legs on the straight in the sector when I really needed but will work on that for tomorrow. But for now it is great to be back on the podium and to set a new lap record. We'll make a few changes for tomorrow race. A massive thank you to all the Zoek Racing Team and all our sponsors; the team has worked so hard to improve the bike. Big shout out again to Lee Jackson Snr for working with me after each session to improve setup as well. Just need one more step to get JHP Ducati Coventry back at the front where they deserve to be. Unfortunately Craig is out for the weekend due to an old shoulder injury rearing its head.

Starting race two from pole position Neary settled into second place behind Levi Day with Joe Collier following in close formation.

The three pulled away from the pursuing pack and it was clear the winner would come from within the group of three. Collier moved to the front but Neary was not letting him get away and as they rounded Church he took the lead, but it was short lived as Collier fought back at the next corner. This was repeated at Church again with sparks flying from the Ducati as Neary hit the tarmac with his knee slider and on the penultimate lap Collier ran wide at the Club chicane and was deemed to have gained an unfair advantage by race control. Unbeknown to Neary and Day he was issued a half second time penalty so all Neary had to do was to follow him home as close as possible to secure the win.

Neary said: “We finally got the bike right and I am back to winning ways. I was determined I was going to win that race and was intending to make my move at Church on the last lap. But then Collier cut through the chicane and I knew he would get a penalty so all I had to do was stick on his back wheel and I would get the win. I am absolutely made up for the Zoek Racing team and Ducati Coventry both the team and sponsors deserve that.

“It was a very sad day for all of us with the news of the accident in which we lost Mark Fincham. My thoughts are with the True Heroes team and Mark’s family and friends. I have no hesitation in dedicating my win today to his memory.”

Sadly Craig Currie was forced to pull out of the races this weekend because of a recurring shoulder injury. He is hoping to be back in action for the next round at Silverstone on September 10.

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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”

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