Beech battles back

Ashley Beech

MOTORCYCLING

ASHLEY Beech displayed plenty of grit and determination to finish a highly-respectable 19th in round six of the National Superstock 1000 Championship at Thruxton.

The Wiltshire circuit of 2.4 miles was originally a Second World War airbase and is one of the fastest in the country, with speeds reached in excess of 170mph on the straights.

Moorside ace Beech and Team JD Racing have had a disappointing season so far, struggling with an unexplained lack of power on their Kawasaki ZX-10R race bike.

After the last round at Brands Hatch two weeks ago, the bike was sent to tuning specialist MSS Performance Kawasaki, and after running initial diagnostic checks found the engine to have just 173 brake horse power instead of an expected 190 BHP.

The engine was stripped and rebuilt, replacing many parts, and when the engine was tested again the power output was 195 BHP.

Beech and the team arrived at the circuit with high expectations, but their run of bad luck in practice continued.

A rider in front of him crashed out and when another bike tried to take avoiding action he collided with Beech which also caused him to crash.

Fortunately, Beech was unhurt and the bike suffered only superficial damage.

The team made final adjustments on the front suspension to improve the handling of the bike and during the morning warm-up session Beech lapped almost a second quicker than his best time in qualifying.

Although a small mistake at the start of the race cost Beech a fraction of a second, it was enough for him to slip from his grid position of 26th to 30th position at the end of the first lap.

However, he fought his way back up through the field, passing riders with ease to finish in 19th spot.

“After such a disappointing start to the season this result is just reward for everyone’s hard work,” said team manager and sponsor Ben Blackmore, of Paxford Engineering.

The next round is at Oulton Park, Cheshire, on Sunday.