THE 2015 National Superstock 1,000 Championship got underway at Donington Park over the Easter weekend and Honeybourne-based team Jones Dorling Racing arrived at the circuit full of confidence after the team and rider Ashley Beech successfully completed a four-day test in Spain last month.
The confidence was justified as Beech secured an excellent fifth place thanks to some solid racing.
Several technical issues were found during the test including an electrical fault which if undetected would have scuppered any chance of a good result at the season opener.
Free practice on Saturday went well although Beech was not completely happy with the handling affecting his entry speed into the Old Hairpin section of the track.
If Beech’s Kawasaki ZX-10R race bike was unstable when exiting this corner, several of the following corners would have slowed his progress and reduced this lap times, so it was important for the technicians to identify and adjust the settings.
In qualifying Beech managed to improve his lap times and finished ninth fastest to start from the third row of the grid.
He began well, although he dropped back to 11th place at the end of lap one, but steadily fought his way back up to seventh place with over a three-second gap ahead of the following group.
Not satisfied with this position, with skill and determination he passed another two riders and crossed the finish line in a very impressive fifth place.
“On the last lap I had a scary moment when I became ‘throttle happy’, which caused the bike to flick me into the air and I landed on the tank so I decided to settle for a safe fifth position and 11 valuable championship points.” said Beech afterwards.
This was a good start to the season and the team now move on to round two at Brands Hatch on April 19. Follow Beech and the team’s progress at www.jonesdorlingracing.com, on Twitter @JDR_Racing or on Facebook by searching JonesDorlingRacing.