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BEN WILSON -
DONINGTON PARK
Boston
racer
Ben Wilson left Donington Park in exactly the same position as he began the
weekend in the Metzeler Racetec National Superstock championship after scoring a
fine fifth place in the first race to move to fourth in the title chase before
crashing out of the second race.
Qualifying
didn’t go quite to plan for Wilson who could only produce a fast enough time
for a place on row four of the starting grid.
But
as the first of his two races got underway on Saturday he shot off the line to
his usual lightening start to move from 13th to seventh by the end of
the first lap.
He
continued to make progress to complete his race in a well-deserved fifth
position to claim a further 13 points and move from sixth to fourth in the
standings.
Race
two began in the same vein with Wilson again making a superb start. This time he
moved straight into sixth position and was poised to make further progress as
the race continued.
But
as he approached the Esses on lap seven of 16 he was baulked by another rider
who tried to claim the same piece of tarmac. Ben ran wide to avoid a collision
but was a little too hot on the front brake and went down.
Although
he was able to make a re-start – albeit down in 28th place he soon
discovered the clutch lever was broken and he reluctantly pulled into the pits
to retire.
“I
was running in a comfortable sixth position,” explained a disappointed Ben
Wilson. “But then the rider just behind me decided to dive underneath me at
the Esses. He ran wide and I in turn had to run wide to avoid him. I just
touched the brake a bit to hard and lost the front. I managed to get the bike up
but then struggled to get it going. Eventually it struck up but then I realised
the clutch lever had broken away so I had no alternative but to ride around to
the pits to retire.”
Wilson
began the weekend in sixth place in the standings on 87 points and, following
his fifth place in the first race found himself in fourth place on 98 points.
But the non-finish in race two allowed two riders to overhaul him and he dropped
back to where he started in sixth position.
There
are just two races left in the 2007 series and although unlikely there is still
a mathematical chance of Wilson taking the runner up spot. But to do that he has
to win both races at Brands Hatch on October 14 and both Hudson Kennaugh and
Steve Brogan fail to score points.
Report
by Helen Pask
Pic
credit - Dean Owen
Crash
pic credit - Adrian Smith
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