The first full BSB event back after a long winter break saw some good results coming from the Wilson Racing riders. On Thursday BSB organized a test day for all teams and riders, however with the weather having torrential down pours overnight and that morning, the decision was taken as a team to miss the first 2 sessions of the day. By lunchtime the weather had cleared and the track had started to dry allowing the riders the final 2 sessions of the day on a damp track. This allowed for all of the riders to get a feel for the track again as Sullivan hadn’t ridden the track for 2 years due to missing the first few rounds last year, and it being Bens first time on the NSF250r around the circuit.
Friday saw Wilson Racing back on track for FP1 and FP2 for the first round of the British Talent Cup. After a cool and dry FP1 our riders were sitting in 1st,16th and 24th. Sullivan managed to bring it home in 1st with a best time of 1:01.697 with his fastest lap on lap 8 of the session. Harrison came across the line in 16th with a fastest time of 1:03.251 gained on lap 19. Finally, Ben came across in 24th with a time of 1:03.709 which he got on lap 7. FP2 was held later that afternoon with it still being dry and slightly warmer at 13 degrees Celsius. Sullivan managed to come in 2nd with a time of 1:01.642, Harrison moved up to 13th with a time of 1:02.615 and Ben also moved up the standings coming across the line in 22nd with a best time of 1:02.260.
Saturday and it was finally time for qualifying. With it being the coldest it would be all weekend the riders knew they had to try their hardest to be able to gain good times here for their first race later that afternoon. Sullivan pulled out all the stops and was running in 1st throughout the session, only to lose pole by 0.073 seconds to Amanuel Brinton on one of the closing laps of qualifying, placing him second on the grid for race 1. Harrison would manage to cross the line with a time of 1:02.479 placing him 12th on the grid, and Ben crossed the line with a time of 1:02.697 meaning he would start 18th for race 1.
Saturday afternoon and time for race 1. Everyone lined up on the grid ready to go and at the 3-minute mark bikes were started and ready to race. Lights out and the race began. Sullivan got an amazing start off the line and was battling his way through the first group, unfortunately a mistake was made at turn 6 on lap 3 causing Sullivan to run wide onto the dirt and loose all of his places gained. He managed to work his way back up to 6th position when unfortunately for him another rider high sided Infront of him and he had no where to go and had to lay the bike down on the grass before hitting the barrier. This incident bought an end to the race as a red flag was bought out to treat the other rider and this meant that Harrison finished in 12th and Ben finished in 18th.
With the times from race 1 the riders would be lining up on the grid, Sullivan in 2nd, Harrison 13th and Ben 19th. Sunday morning was warm up ready for the race at 11:30. Once more everyone lined up on the grid ready to go for the race. Finally lights out and away they went, all 3 riders getting a great start off the line. A close battle was fought between all 3 riders in their respective groups, and a great race was had by all. Sullivan managed to finish 5th after loosing his podium finishing position on the last corner of the last lap, Harrison finished in 12th and Ben crossed the line in 15th giving him his first ever point in the BTC class at his first full event.
We would like to thank everyone who has worked so hard to make this weekend possible, without the amazing team we have and the support we have behind us we wouldn’t be able to do what we love. Thank you so much to Gary, Ian and Rebekah for getting the bikes ready in such a short amount of time. As well as a big thank you to our amazing sponsors especially Scimitar customs and performance graphics for making the team and the bikes look smart ready for the season ahead.