600 Superstock Championships
Ross is once again contesting the 600 Superstock Championships as part of the British Superbike series. After last years steep learning curving, having joined the 600cc series from 125 races, we are all hoping for a better season this year. BSB Superbike website - for full details, timings & standings.
Thruxton, Hampshire April 16 - 18
Thruxton is the UK’s fastest mainland track and a track that Ross likes.
The free practice session on Friday morning went well finishing in nineteenth place with a time of 1:24.644. First qualifying on Friday afternoon and the pace was hotting up, although Ross took a second off his earlier time he could not get down to a 1:22 lap, and recorded his best time of 1:23.6 on lap 7 of 16.
The second qualifying session on Saturday was once again dry and warm. Obviously everybody was by now on the money and Ross managed to take another second off with a best lap of 1:22.6. The number of riders entered meant qualifying had to be split into two groups. When the combined qualifying times came out Ross was in 50th place out of 63 riders, and with only the first 30 riders automatically going through to the final, this left the last 10 places to be fought over in the shoot-out race.
The shoot-out was over 8 laps, but after being red flagged twice the race was declared a result on lap 5 leaving Ross out of the Top 10. On the positive side Ross was over 2 seconds faster than last year and there is definitely more competition than last year.
Brands Hatch, Kent (Indy circuit) April 02 - 05
The first round of the British Superstock 600 Championship for 2010 was at Brands Hatch, Kent on the "Indy" circuit. We arrived on the Thursday evening to set up - it would have been the Thursday afternoon but the M25 put paid to that!
Ross's group managed a dry first practice session, however the forecast was for a cold, cloudy day with showers we knew it couldn't last. Ross had gone out on last years Metzelers (tyres) to get a feel for the track again but after that it was on with brand new 2010 rubber for first qualifying. Unfortunately, the rain gods intervened at the last minute, and it was a quick swap to full wets to see if we had a decent wet set-up. We didn't!
Second qualifying and the track was damp but drying. Ross went out but a slight shower soon saw him come back in again. Having been told it was just "mental rain", he stayed out for the rest of the session but just missed the qualifying time. The only chance now was the shootout.
Since having the new Öhlins Shock Absorbers, Ross has been struggling for feel from the back tyre, so off we went to the Öhlins Technicians for a bit of advice. Armed with new settings for pre-load compression and damping, Ross took his place on the grid for the Shootout Race.
After a delayed start, the race got underway and Ross initially made a good start but a lack of aggression saw him drop down the order. Two riders in front of Ross seemed to be involved in their own race, rather than trying to qualify for the main event, destroying any chance of catching up with the lead group. Needless to say after the race we had one angry and frustrated rider.
Ross is confident that with the way the bike is set up he should be in with a chance of qualifying at the next race - Thruxton - thereby avoiding the need for the shootout and all its problems.