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British Superbikes
One step backwards then two steps forward for MSS Discovery.
Pulling success from the jaws of defeat is perhaps overstating the case, but to the casual observer, the pre-race qualifying of the two MSS Discovery riders at Thruxton did little or nothing to suggest the impact they would make on the meeting.
Billed as the season opener in light of the cancellation of the Brands Hatch round, the official Kawasaki Motors UK entry in the 2008 British Superbike Championship had their fare share of challenges in qualifying as team principle, Nick Morgan, explains.
“With not one but two rogue tyres to deal with on the Friday, and some issues with the set up of Stuart Easton’s bike, we all had our work cut out and qualifying was mediocre to say the least. However, the infectious optimism of the team and riders meant that even when the grid positions were settled we were sure we could do better”.
The first race illustrated Morgan’s point well with Easton aggressively launching his new Ninja ZX-10R off the line and gaining places almost immediately while fellow rider Billy McConnell fought hard and made progress in the chasing pack. Having started from 16th and 20th places on the grid, Stuart and Billy were understandably pleased to finish the first outing of the year in 9th and 14th places respectively.
Race two saw another good start from Easton, and a better placing by mid race for McConnell, who had admitted to some uncharacteristic pre-race nerves for the second outing.
“The boys were doing really well and Stuart was among the fastest bikes through the speed trap when the race was red flagged”, commented Nick. “When it was restarted both lads showed they were not at Thruxton to make up the numbers. Stuart was fast and smooth and gave no quarter to anyone riding to a fantastic sixth place, while Billy more than overcame his pre-race nerves to end up solidly in the top ten. The sense that we are making real progress with our Kawasaki Superbike programme with is now tangible for all to see”.
For his part, team co-owner Stuart Simmonds of Discovery Contractors Ltd was equally delighted. “For all the work the guys have done over the Winter this was a fitting reward. Stuart and Billy have both recorded their best ever finishes in a Superbike race and drawn some of the spotlight away from bigger and more established Superbike teams. Add to this our podium success with Jamie Hamilton in the National Supersport 600 race, and you can perhaps understand why we feel that we’ve taken such a major step forward”.
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