DESPITE his best efforts, Evesham’s Mike Tustin and the TeamMTR Ducati Oxford outfit were unable to fully bounce back from the disappointment of Brands Hatch as they endured more frustration in round three of the Ducati TriOptions Cup at Oulton Park.
After qualifying in a much more respectable 14th place and only 0.2 seconds a lap off P9, Tustin was quietly confident of a strong opening race in Cheshire and looking forward to getting up the rankings and trying to grab a top ten finish.
Unfortunately, while on the warm-up lap, the team’s Ducati developed an electrical fault, meaning the bike was stuck in gear and lost all electronic aids. This meant Tustin had to pull out of the race, unable to put a lap together and missed out on valuable track and race time.
After failing to complete a full lap in race one, Tustin was forced to start the second race from the back of the grid in 38th position.
However, with the bad luck from the day before firmly behind them and with the team doing a good job in repairing the bike overnight, Tustin and the team set themselves a realistic target of getting somewhere near a top 20 finish, with the aim of getting the lap times down consistently.
Tustin produced a good start and on a great opening lap he shot straight up the field, gaining ten places on the first lap.
Tustin continued this form throughout the race and came over the line a very creditable 14th and back in the points. Tustin also managed to drop his lap times considerably and posted consistent lap times capable of a top eight finish.
Tustin said: “After an extremely difficult last meeting at Brands Hatch and the bad luck in race one at Oulton Park, it was a welcome return to some points-scoring riding in race two, albeit from a difficult starting position.
“We’ve clearly shown both the bike and myself are back on track now and, with five weeks between Oulton Park and round four at Snetterton, the team will be going through the bike over the break to try and prevent another mishap similar to race one.”
The next meeting is at Snetterton 300 between June 15-17.