BEN WILSON SCORES POINTS IN TWO CHAMPIONSHIPS AT CADWELL

Boston racer Ben Wilson rode to a points finish in each of his two races at Cadwell Park on Bank Holiday Monday scoring sixth in his regular championship and 12^th in a one-off ride in the British Supersport series.

Wilson was sporting a bright yellow livery on the Windmill Suzuki Superstock bike making the statement that he was proud to be a “Yellow Belly” racer at his local circuit of Cadwell Park and it certainly stood out as the bikes hurtled around the track.

Qualifying didn’t quite go to plan with Wilson not quite quick enough to make the front two rows of the grid. He had to be content with a third row start in round seven of the 2007 Metzeler Racetec National Superstock championship and said: “I am a little bit disappointed with ninth. We made some adjustments to the bike but it didn’t work out so we reverted back to the original settings and it went much better. But it was too little too late and I will have to be satisfied with a third row start. I will be looking for a quick getaway so I can run at the front with the big boys!”

Come race day that is exactly the way things went as he was off the line like a flash to slot straight into fifth position tucked in just behind the leading quartet. But as the race reached its half way stage he was constantly under pressure from Steve Brogan and fellow county rider Lee Jackson and Brogan finally made his move and swept past at Park Corner.

But Wilson never lost touch and maintained sixth place during the remainder of the race to finish less than a second behind Brogan, holding off Jackson for sixth place and a further 10 championship points.

“I got my good start as planned and stayed in touch with the leaders throughout the race,” said Wilson. “But towards the end my shoulder began to ache. The 1000cc machine is a heavy old thing to control and it did begin to affect the shoulder, which still isnt 100% after the crash at Snetterton earlier in the year.

“Doing two races in one day in two different classes at this circuit is quite demanding. You can ride one bike fast or two bikes fast-ish but you cant ride two bikes at this pace and at this level quite as fast as you need to. But we finished both races in the points so I am happy with that.”

The Supersport race didn’t go quite so well for Wilson who was riding the Crescent Performance Suzuki Supersport machine for the first time. After qualifying in a creditable 13^th place Wilson got a bad start to the 16-lap race and dropped down the order to 17^th after the first lap.

But he soon settled into his race rhythm and began to reel in the group ahead. He continued to make progress to complete the race in 12^th position and said: “Considering I havent ridden a Supersport bike for over five years I am quite pleased with the result. I didn’t get the best of starts and dropped right back but a couple of riders ahead tipped off and I managed to catch the group ahead of me and made up places every laps after that. The bike ran well and I didn’t really have any problems. I think I have found the championship I would like to be in next year. It seemed to suit me and I was completely comfortable on the bike.”

The championship takes a four-week break now with the next round being at Donington Park on September 23 when Wilson will have two races to contest in the Superstock series prior to the final two races at Brands Hatch on October 14.

Report by Helen Pask

Pic credit - Dean Owen