Luke Mossey and the Quattro Plant TECcare Kawasaki team had tough weekend at round three of the MCE British Superbike Championship at Oulton Park. Luke was trouble during qualifying and race one with a technical problem and was forced to retire from the first race. He fought back in race two and finished in a comfortable 13th place.
Luke was looking forward to Oulton Park as it is a track he enjoys and that he has had some good results at in the past. It was a tricky weekend for the youngster from Cambridge as the heavens opened on Saturday and he has never ridden the Superbike in wet conditions, at a very tough circuit he found it hard to adjust to.
Qualifying was dry and he wanted to get a good grid position but a problem with the quick-shifter forced him to miss some valuable track time, so he started the race from 22nd place. The team worked hard over night and the problem was solved for warm-up but re-appeared in the race, forcing him to retire to the pit garage. He moved up to 19th place on the grid for race two, he really had to work hard through the race and with some consistent lap times he pulled his way through to 13th at the end of the 18-lap race.
Luke Mossey - "I knew this year would be tough but I never realised how tough, I have been told this is one of the most competitive years in a long time. The times are really close and everyone has upped their game. The lap times down the pack have improved with everyone from last year so for a learner like me I think I've been thrown in at the deep end, I do believe it is the best way to learn though.
Every time I go out on the Quattro Teccare Kawasaki I learn something new, a new line, a new way to ride and I am trying to learn the trade as fast as possible without making any stupid mistakes. The series is tough and the power difference and even riding style compared to a Supersport machine is massive.
Despite the results I am really enjoying it and I know I just have to work hard this year and absorb everything as fast as I possibly can and just keep improving as the year progresses. I know it won't happen overnight but I couldn't ask for a more supportive team than the Quattro team, everyone really has helped me and I want to do well for them.
The problem on the bike was just one of those things, it could have happened at any track any time but we got some good race distance under our belt which set us up for race two. I felt more relaxed for this, got a good start and learnt even more. I am actually really happy to get a couple of Championship points as it's a packed grid this year. I will be working hard and training well in the break and look forward to getting to Snetterton. Thank you to the team, my sponsors, especially TECcare and my Dad for everything they have done for me."
