Wednesday 22 July 2015

Held Race News: Podium for Tom Weeden at Olivers Mount

Tom Weeden Olivers Mount Cock o’ the North 2015

Tom Weeden was back in action last weekend at the Olivers Mount Cock o’ the North road races in Scarborough. After a successful week at the North West 200 back in May, Weeden couldn’t wait to get back on the bike and back to the Olivers Mount circuit. Unfortunately the meeting had to be reduced to one day due to an issue with the Scarborough council; despite this the team still made the long journey up in order to get some track time before the Manx GP in August.

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Tom Weeden: 3rd behind Lee Johnston and Dean Harrison
The rain came down heavily on Sunday morning, much to Tom’s delight after his success in wet conditions at the Spring Cup. After the first few groups had gone out for morning practice the rain started to come down too hard to continue. The organisers decided to call a delay of an hour for the rain to pass with Weeden’s 600 session being the first back on track. 

As forecasted the rain died down after an hour and Tom was out for the 3 laps of practice he would get to reacquaint himself with both the bike and the track before qualifying. Weeden took it easy in the wet conditions, short shifting and not taking any risks and was pleasantly surprised to see himself 4th fastest on the timesheets.

The track had begun to dry for qualifying and it would all be down to tyre choice. The nature of the Olivers Mount circuit meant parts of the track would be dry but the parts under the trees would still be wet. After a lot of nail biting and deliberation on what tyres to go for, Tom decided to go for an intermediate in the front and a heavily worn wet rear that he didn’t mind destroying which had been saved for a moment exactly like this. 

The call proved to be perfect with Tom taking two laps to get used to the tricky conditions without using up too much of the rear tyre on the dry parts. Then on the 4th and final lap Tom found himself a bit of space on track and put a quick lap in fast enough for 3rd position on the grid, 2.2 seconds faster than 4th position and only 1 second off of pole. 

The track had mostly dried up for the first 600cc race, full dry tyres being the choice for all on the grid. Tom’s once trademark flying starts have been something he’s been missing this year so he was hoping to at least consolidate third position into turn 1 front the front row. Unfortunately this didn’t happen, Weeden dropt to 7th into turn 1 after getting beaten up a bit off the line. He moved into 6th halfway through the lap but the front pack had begun to pull away. At the end of the first lap the red flags came out due to an incident that needed clearing, giving Tom another chance to sort his start out. 

The start was better in the rerun but still far from perfect, Weeden was in 6th but this time right on the tail of the chasing pack. On lap 2 he moved into 5th when a rider in front crashed causing Tom to take evasive action. The race continued and Weeden found himself behind Daley Mathison trying everything to find a way past. On the last lap Daley showed Tom half a gap at the end of the back straight and he didn’t need asking twice to come through into 4th. With half a lap to go Ivan Lintin had an off in front of Tom leaving him to take 3rd position. 

This boded well for the remainder of the meeting in which Tom had one more 600 race and then the main Cock o’ the North race. Unfortunately though an incident in which a sidecar spilt oil over a large proportion of the track caused a lengthy delay. Despite even getting the fire brigade to come and clean the circuit it was deemed too unsafe to continue due to the amount of oil covering the circuit. On a road circuit with very limited run off rider safety has to paramount and we respect the unfortunate decision to have to call an early end to an already shortened meeting. 

Looking at the positives Weeden can go to the Manx GP with himself and his bike in one piece and on the back of another great podium result at Olivers Mount. 

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Held Race News: Trayler 2nd at Brands

TRAYLER CELEBRATES PODIUM FINISH FOR MSS COLCHESTER KAWASAKI 

Jesse Trayler celebrated his first podium finish of his 2015 Pirelli National Superstock 1000 Championship at his home round of Brands Hatch last weekend, claiming a hard-fought second place, missing out on the win by just 0.0678s.

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Jesse Trayler celebrates 2nd place
Jesse had got off to a flying start from the second row of the grid and was posting consistent times to hold third as ahead of him the leading pair in the standings, Alastair Seeley and Josh Elliot were scrapping for the lead. This gave Jesse the opportunity he needed and he closed the deficit over the closing laps and in a position to pick up the pieces.

Jesse was determined to hold on to his podium finish and looked set to claim third until Elliot crashed out on the final corner, promoting him to second place for his first podium finish of the season.

Trayler said: “We have been building up some good momentum leading up to Brands Hatch GP at the previous two rounds with good results. The weekend got off to a good start in practice and after qualifying fifth on the grid we knew we had a good pace for the race on Sunday. Myself and Mike at K-Tech worked really well to get the handling better after each session with just a few changes over the weekend, and for the race the bike was really consistent the whole way through.

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Jesse Trayler on his way to second in the National Superstock 1000

“I got another good start and was up into fourth. The first few laps were banzai with some really strong lap times coming straight away. I was happy to hold third place strongly the whole way through unbeknown to me that I actually had a big gap over fourth come the end when I kept seeing +0 on the pit board!

“The last few laps were exciting as Alastair (Seeley) and Josh (Elliot) started to come back to me and I was catching them at quite a rate due to them tripping one another up battling for the lead. It was just out of reach for me on the final lap to be in a position to do anything about them and I think it was just as well I kept my nose clean with Josh sadly crashing out on the final corner on the last lap.

“We have been in the top five the past two meetings and it was so nice to finally top it off this weekend with a strong finish and my first podium in the Superstock 1000 class for MSS Colchester Kawasaki. It is so nice to repay everyone with this result for their hard work and commitment to get to this level now and be up the front, and I feel I can continue to do so.”

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Thursday 9 July 2015

Held Race news: TRAYLER SCORES SEASON BEST RESULT IN SCOTLAND

TRAYLER SCORES SEASON BEST RESULT IN SCOTLAND 

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Held wearer Jesse Trayler - 4th at Knockhill

Held wearer Jesse Trayler edged closer to his first podium finish of the season at Knockhill last weekend as he continues to battle for the top three in the Pirelli National Superstock 1000 Championship.

Trayler and the MSS Colchester Kawasaki team have been working hard to close the deficit in the previous rounds and as the season hit Scotland the team continued their building momentum, qualifying on the third row of the grid to battle through to fourth place.

Trayler said: “After not riding at Knockhill since we were there in 2014 on different suspension this year, it was just a case of trying to suss things out to start with and get the bike working without it trying to chuck me off! Qualifying was mediocre for me in Q1 but track activity was hampered come Saturday for Q2 so we didn't manage to get on track and try the changes we had made.

“For the race I got another solid start from eighth on the grid, there were a few crashes throughout the race which helped bump me up a couple of positions, but  I am delighted to continue our form coming to Knockhill and another step closer to that podium! The changes we gambled on helped and paid off for the race which made life a little easier on the bike too. I'd like to thank my Team MSS Colchester Kawasaki and also my sponsors, it was good to repay everyone with another solid result. I'm really looking forward to Brands Hatch GP in two weeks time, a track that I love that's also local to me.”

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Wednesday 8 July 2015

Held Race News: Knockhill – Round 4 – Sean Neary

On the up! Race report from Held wearer Sean Neary, Ducati Tri-Options Cup:

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Sean Neary
It felt like a year had passed between Donington and Knockhill so I was eager to get racing again. If I’m honest, after the issues we have encountered at the last 2 rounds I was at an all-time low after Donington Park. The Paraplus Team work so hard alongside me and we really don’t deserve the luck we have had (Violin just about now!) We get our bike prepped by reputable companies the same as the other teams in the championship however someone is trying to test me to the limit! However always remember rule number 1. NEVER GIVE UP!

Paul Nolan from Charlestown has taken over the management of the team since Donington which has really allowed us to turn the corner. He entrusted Ducati Coventry/JHP Racing with the task of repairing the engine after Donington Park. With Paul’s help it also takes the pressure off me and allows me to focus on riding rather than managing the team. I CAN'T THANK Paul and JHP enough for the work they did with the bike as it has been transformed. I was also much more relaxed going into the weekend without the usual running about. (Paul did this instead!!!!)

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Qualifying – Position 13th

Qualifying was held in difficult conditions. The track had a few damp patches and light drizzle during the session which is always a mental test. After the recent run of luck I didn’t want to risk crashing in the conditions so 13th was the result. 5th row start is less than ideal however we made some drastic changes after the qualifying session which transformed the bike. Nigel from Ducati Coventry changed the geometry of the bike by 16mm which may not sound like a lot but trust me it is like riding a completely different bike.

Race 1 – 9th

The first lap was absolute carnage! A few near misses and I then settled down into a rhythm. Although I am never happy finishing 9th I was pleased to finish a race with the bike in one piece. Furthermore the bike felt fantastic which gave me great optimism for the forthcoming races.


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Race 2 – 6th

Sean Knochill hairpin

I really enjoyed this race. Sean Gilfillan nearly crashed coming out of the hairpin on the 2nd lap which meant I lost around 2 seconds on the group in front due to taking evasive action. Fair play to Sean as I have no idea how he stayed on!! I was gaining on the group in front during the closing stages however I didn’t have enough laps to make up any further time. The bike was great and I could feel my confidence coming back with each lap. I just need some time on the bike now to get the best from it. The drastic changes have improved the bike immensely however it’s completely different to ride in every aspect so I just need to continue working on this.

To finish both races and have a bike capable of winning is a great feeling. I know I can compete for race wins as I have done this before and we are on our way back. It really has been a tough period but I want to thank my loyal sponsors for sticking by me and also the lads in the team who work faultlessly as they want the results just as much as me. I really do feel humbled that I have such support and I can’t wait to repay the faith. We will test now before Cadwell so we can be up at the sharp end come the race in August.

I go away on holiday to Cyprus on 18th July which is my first holiday in four years. I can’t tell you how much I am looking forward to this and it will mean I am even fresher for the next round!

Once again thank you so much for all those that keep the faith in me.

Sean #10



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