ROUGH RIDE FOR WILSON AT
SCUNTHORPE
Things didn’t
go strictly to plan for British Superbike rider Ben Wilson at Scunthorpe on
Saturday when he was forced out with an engine failure in the third heat of the
Shorttrack Christmas Cracker event at Scunthorpe Speedway circuit.
The Boston based
rider was disadvantaged by the fact that he was riding a Yamaha 250cc machine
while most other competitors were on 400 or 450cc bikes. But that did not deter
Ben who also had to become accustomed to riding without a front brake.
“The
first practise was a bit of a disaster,” said Ben. “My front brake had to be
removed to bring me in line with the rest of the competitors and I promptly
tipped off. But I soon learned to manage without it and qualified for the first
heat without further problems.”
Heat one saw Ben
come through from the back of the field to challenge and take the lead on lap
two of five. He steadily put space between himself and the rest of the riders to
secure the win beating former World Superbike champion Neil Hodgson in the
process.
Heat two saw Ben
start from the third row but he made a mistake and high sided, nearly losing it
on the opening lap. He was quick to recover and battled his way through to take
up the lead by the end of lap two. Although the race was a lot more challenging
than the first encounter Ben again took the win, which gave him a front row
start to the third and final heat.
This time Ben
didn’t get away to such a good start. The rain had set in and he got bogged
down and was slow away. By this time the bike was beginning to play up which
hampered his progress. But Ben was undeterred and fought his way through to mix
it with the front-runners.
After a heated
battle with 2006 Shorttrack champion Lee Complin plus Pete Boast and Dijon
Compton Ben was poised to move into second place when disaster struck. The motor
seized and the bike spat him off – race over.
“I was
disappointed not to be able to make it through to the semis but the bike just
didn’t want to start again,” said Ben. “But I had a lot of fun and was
running ahead of the rest of the Superbike riders. This was my first attempt at
the Christmas Cracker but I will be more prepared next year and am already
looking forward to racing here again.
“As for 2007 I
am close to sealing a deal and will be in a position to announce my plans in the
near future In the meantime I would like to thank everyone for their support and
wish everyone a very happy New Year.”
Report by Helen
Pask
Picture courtesy
of Dean Owen
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