The Barnsley Moto3 racing team of Gary Wilson completed a rewarding weekend at Silverstone in the Hel Performance Motostar British Championship. Max Cook took a second and a first, Charlie Atkins had a fifth and a seventh, whilst Jake Clark had two top ten finishes.
This round saw riders from the North European standard class Moto3 championship invited to compete. Although racing at the same time they were scoring points in their own championship.
Free Practice
The rain affected both free practice sessions on Friday. It fell continually in the morning session. This year the Motostar riders have only had one wet session this year so conditions were difficult. In the afternoon the conditions had improved with the Wilson Racing riders facing a drying track. Championship leader Max Cook was able to register the third quickest time. Charlie Atkins was ninth and Jake Clark 13th.
Qualifying
The important business began on Saturday morning. The rain had stayed away and qualifying took place on a dry track. With Silverstone being such a long track the riders don’t get many opportunities to set a fast lap time in the time allocated. However, Max Cook continued to run at the front of the Motostar riders clocking the third best time, a 2:25.163. Charlie Atkins moved up to eighth in qualifying whilst Jake Clark also improved as he was twelfth quickest.
Race One
The rain had threatened but kept away. It was an enthralling encounter which saw Max Cook and two other riders swap the lead throughout the 8 laps. In a hard but fair battle, Max Cook had to settle for second position which the front three split by just half a second. Charlie Atkins made up two places off the line and ran in a solid sixth to the finish line. Jake Clark made up two places over the course of the race finishing tenth after an intense battle with two other standard class riders.
Race Two
Sunday morning didn’t bring any rain but the sky was overcast for the 10 lap race. Cook again was entangled in a three-way fight at the front, made more complicated by a number of riders from the North European Championship. Cook showed his determination and went one better than the day before, taking the race victory. Atkins had a difficult start among a large number of riders and dropped three places. He went on to finish in seventh position. Jake Clark put in another solid performance to make it two top ten finishes for the weekend, after avoiding two riders that crashed in front of him.
Championship leader Max Cook now has 391 points and his lead is 105 points over his nearest rival, with three rounds remaining. Charlie Atkins is fifth overall on 175 points and Jake Clark continues in twelfth on 52 points.
Gary Wilson said, “The start to the weekend was tricky with the weather, but the lads got stuck in as always. Max Cook got another win and maintained the gap over the second place rider, with 6 races left. Atkins left Silverstone with two solid finishes and I’m pleased with Jake Clark who continues to listen and learn in his rookie year.”