BSB Rained off
Persistent heavy rain at Oulton Park on Sunday brought the meeting to a premature end with only one BSB race run in the diabolical conditions.
It wasn’t a great day for the Quay Garage Tyco Honda team with both riders falling foul of the rain-lashed track on the opening lap.
The weekend started well enough for both riders with Peter Hickman qualifying eighth and Patric Muff fifth fastest in the Evo class.
Both riders got great starts Muff was leading the Evo class for the first time all season but spun up the rear tyre exiting Old Hall on the first lap and was high-sided out of the action.
He was unhurt and said: “I think I got a little bit excited to be leading the class. Of course I’m really disappointed but the conditions were really bad out there.”
Hickman was in fourth place behind Shane Byrne, John Hopkins and Tommy Hill but his race ended on the first lap too when he lost the front as he touched the front brake going into Lodge. He wasn’t the only rider caught out by the skidpan conditions at that point on the track with Hopkins also falling foul there three laps later.
Hickman said: “I got a great start and was right up with the leaders and was preparing to have a good scrap with them. I was bolt upright and only just started to squeeze the brake lever and the front tyre folded under me. I was down without any warning. It was like trying to ride on ice.”
Team owner Ian Woollacott added: “The conditions made racing a lottery and our riders just copped some bad luck. I was pleased with Patric again because he made good progress in the both the wet and dry conditions over the weekend. “Peter did a great job too in qualifying and, if you’re going to crash out on the first lap, I’d sooner he was right in the mix at the front end having a go to try and get on the podium. “We’ll put this behind us and look forward to the triple-header Brands Hatch round on August 7.”
The second Oulton BSB has been rescheduled for Cadwell Park and will now run on Sunday afternoon (August 28), making it another triple-header weekend.
