Monday, May 3, 2010
Race Report. Round One: Oulton Park, 3rd May 2010
If you were lucky enough to spend Bank Holiday Monday at Oulton Park for the inaugural XR1200 race, please chip in and let us know what you thought of the event.
For those who missed it – and it's very different at the trackside compared to the telly – it was a real spectacle: the people involved have taken the concept of racing Harley-Davidsons in the UK, put it into practice and are well on their way to building a credible and entertaining race series.
The dealer-based teams did the Harley-riding public proud – they produced beautifully finished and colourful bikes which they then proceeded to ride the wheels off – with no quarter given to the bikes, fellow competitors, team budgets or gearboxes (as the team mechanics will be able to tell you!).
Jeremy McWilliams claimed pole position in this morning’s qualifying session and looked good for a race win – in fact he led the race from start to finish – but the record books won’t get across the battles going on behind him on track.
Stratstone’s Alex Gault and Lea Gourlay qualified second and third respectively but Gault left the track early on in the race which left him fighting down in the lower orders on team mate Dave Wood’s bike. Wood is out of action after a crash at Mallory last week, and Alex trashed his own bike in free practice yesterday – hence the last-minute swap.
For the first five laps Gourlay battled with Mike Edwards of Rider’s Motorcycle’s for second place and secured it with the outright fastest lap – and the lap record for the XR1200 at Oulton, at 1:50.785 – before crashing out at Old Hall, leaving Edwards to chase down McWilliams alone for the second half of the ten lap race.
Edwards' team mate Sean Emmett (whose speed on his paddock scooter post-race was impressive) sadly had to retire from fourth place due to a mechanical failure.
Dijon Compton acquitted himself well on the Leeds Harley-Davidson bike, dicing with Emmett for the first six laps and then putting in consistently fast times to take a confident third place.
Just behind him, Robinson’s Foundry’s James Webb and Edinburgh’s Torquil Paterson duked it out throughout the race to come in fourth and fifth. Gault made up places to catch them and looked strong enough to make a pass - but went off-track a second time and lost his chance.
A special mention must go to Gary Byrne who is riding to promote Great Ormond Street Hospital on one of the Blade team bikes – do check out www.justgiving/garyandlewisbyrne. He came in fifteenth and nets himself a point towards the championship.
Thanks guys – for a great day out and a terrific start to the championship - we’re already looking forward to the next race at Mallory Park on the 26-27th June!
For those who missed it – and it's very different at the trackside compared to the telly – it was a real spectacle: the people involved have taken the concept of racing Harley-Davidsons in the UK, put it into practice and are well on their way to building a credible and entertaining race series.
The dealer-based teams did the Harley-riding public proud – they produced beautifully finished and colourful bikes which they then proceeded to ride the wheels off – with no quarter given to the bikes, fellow competitors, team budgets or gearboxes (as the team mechanics will be able to tell you!).
Jeremy McWilliams claimed pole position in this morning’s qualifying session and looked good for a race win – in fact he led the race from start to finish – but the record books won’t get across the battles going on behind him on track.
Stratstone’s Alex Gault and Lea Gourlay qualified second and third respectively but Gault left the track early on in the race which left him fighting down in the lower orders on team mate Dave Wood’s bike. Wood is out of action after a crash at Mallory last week, and Alex trashed his own bike in free practice yesterday – hence the last-minute swap.
For the first five laps Gourlay battled with Mike Edwards of Rider’s Motorcycle’s for second place and secured it with the outright fastest lap – and the lap record for the XR1200 at Oulton, at 1:50.785 – before crashing out at Old Hall, leaving Edwards to chase down McWilliams alone for the second half of the ten lap race.
Edwards' team mate Sean Emmett (whose speed on his paddock scooter post-race was impressive) sadly had to retire from fourth place due to a mechanical failure.
Dijon Compton acquitted himself well on the Leeds Harley-Davidson bike, dicing with Emmett for the first six laps and then putting in consistently fast times to take a confident third place.
Just behind him, Robinson’s Foundry’s James Webb and Edinburgh’s Torquil Paterson duked it out throughout the race to come in fourth and fifth. Gault made up places to catch them and looked strong enough to make a pass - but went off-track a second time and lost his chance.
A special mention must go to Gary Byrne who is riding to promote Great Ormond Street Hospital on one of the Blade team bikes – do check out www.justgiving/garyandlewisbyrne. He came in fifteenth and nets himself a point towards the championship.
Thanks guys – for a great day out and a terrific start to the championship - we’re already looking forward to the next race at Mallory Park on the 26-27th June!
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1 comments:
From Ian McLeod, Harris Performance
Well, what a weekend and a sight that I had personally been waiting for the last 18 months to see. 22 beautifully prepared XR1200 race bikes all lined up for first practice, it was a credit to the BSB paddock. I’ll admit to getting just a little emotional when they all left pit lane, what a sight and sound.
And then we had the practice session, all very close and who’d have thought we’d see these bikes doing low 1:50’s around Oulton, all very impressive and above expectation.
Inevitably there were the normal racing incidents but Harley were fantastic and had set up an impressive marquee facility for all the dealers where the camaraderie and atmosphere was superb. Everything sorted and we’re all out again for qualifying. Faster again!
Then came the race. They all roared off and the first corner melay we were so worried about did not happen thankfully and everyone got through safely. Jeremy McWilliams rode a faultless race and the battle that ensued down the field was enthrowling. I watched the race on TV when I got home and it looked just as impressive.
By Mallory Park, I think many teams and riders will have worked hard on ironing out as many issues as they can and be much stronger so potentially, (and especially on a shorter circuit) an even closer race, can’t wait! This series has the potential to be absolutely massive – bring it on!
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