The first race weekend for Wilson Racing in 44 years that Knockhill hasn’t rained! Our weekend got off to a warm start on Saturday morning with FP1, as all of the BTC weekend was shortened due to GCSE’s. FP1 saw all riders on track and getting the feel for the circuit again, especially Ben as it was his first time here. FP1 finished with Harrison in 17th, Ben 19th and the all-new Smooth Sully coming in at 4th. Lunch time bought about FP2 for our riders who by now were more comfortable with the circuit, the session was the hottest of the day at 19 degrees. This session saw our riders come across the line, Harrison 17th, Ben 23rd and Sully in 5th. Finally, it was time for qualifying after an action-packed day. After struggling to find the pace in qualifying Harrison crossed the line with a best time of 55.359 seconds but would continue to improve over the next day. For his first ever qualifying at Knockhill Ben came back with a best time of 55.554 seconds, improving from his earlier sessions, and Sully would finish with a best time of 54.128 seconds, continuing to prove his consistent smooth riding throughout the day.
Sunday started with the morning warm up with all 3 riders going out to warm up and not pushing the limits and risking a crash as there was only 2 hours between warm up and race 1. Finally race 1 and the riders lined up on the grid then lights out! The race got off to a good start with all riders quickly progressing through the grid to gain vital positions. However, after only 5 laps the red flag was waved and all riders had to enter the pits. The team worked quickly to get the bikes back onto their stands, warmers and ready to go back out at a moment’s notice. After a few minutes the track was cleared and racing would continue with a QuickStart procedure and 2 warm up laps then lights out again for a shortened 12 lap race. All riders pushed hard to gain vital positions through the groups and proved they were able to have a nice clean race. The chequered flag came out and Sully managed to cross the line in 3rd gaining vital championship points, Harrison crossed in 13th and Ben in 16th beating riders who had rode here before.
After the podium ceremony for Sully, it was time to get the bikes ready for race 2 only a few hours later. Race 2 was to see Sully lining up 3rd on the grid, Harrison 19th and Ben 15th. Lights out and away they went, all riders getting another good start, Sully managed to gain ground on and stick with Belford and Brinton for the first few laps, after that they pulled away from him this allowed him to have a good clean, tight and smooth race against McCabe. The racing was close however the 3rd position would ultimately end up going to Sully as the red flags were bought out once again on lap 18 of 22. Further down the grid and Harrison was pushing hard to make up ground and stick with his group of riders, ultimately finishing the race in 14th, with Ben not far behind in 16th.
Overall, it was a great weekend for Wilson Racing who were able to gain vital championship point for both Sully and Harrison, as well as lots more experience for Ben. We were saddened to hear of the passing of a friend of the team Glen Shaw on Thursday 15th June. We are all sending his family lots of love and support through this difficult time.
