The MWR Kawasaki Team made huge improvements this weekend at Oulton Park, round two of the MCE British Superbike Championship. In the Superstock 1000 Class James Egan secured 17th place overall and Nicolas Grobler secured 28th place. Andrew Irwin in the Superstock 600 class was unfortunate to crash out of second place.
In the Pirelli National Superstock 1000 Championship the two riders James Egan and Nicolas Grobler had a difficult qualifying session and ended up in 27th and 38th place on the grid for the scheduled 15-lap race. James had a good start and gained a place, while team mate Nic grabbed a fantastic start and made up 10 places to 28th. The safety car was deployed after the opening lap which James took full advantage of however, Nic lost his pace and rhythm for a couple of laps. The two worked hard and James made his way up 10 places to secure 17th position, just outside the points. Despite Nic dropping back to 33rd at one point he dug deep and got back through to 28th position.
James Egan - "I really enjoyed riding the MWR Kawasaki this weekend at Oulton. We struggled with set up in practice and qualifying one but fortunately found a setting I was very comfortable with for qualifying two. I managed 27th place in combined qualifying and really happy to turn that into 17th place in the race. I'm enjoying riding the bike hard now and being able to make it do what I need it to. We're happy with the weekend overall and look forward to the next round and progress out set up even further. A huge thank you to Mark, Dan and the whole MWR Kawasaki team, plus Rocket 88, Leatt, Mum and Dad and everyone else who is supporting us."
Nicolas Grobler - "This year will always be difficult for me as every track is new for me, Oulton is really different to anything I have ridden before but I really enjoyed it. I have to learn the circuits quickly but my race times were the best I'd gone all weekend and I made good progress through the field. I am enjoying my time on the MWR Kawasaki and looking forward to the next circuit."
In the Pirelli National Superstock 600 Championship Andrew Irwin made huge steps forward this weekend at Oulton Park and in each session he was considerably faster than the previous session. He managed to qualify in sixth place for the 14-lap race. The young Irishman got a brilliant start and he led the race for the opening lap, he was pushing hard and dropped back to second but was still looking comfortable and confident for a podium finish. On lap three he was unfortunate to crash out of second position.
Andrew Irwin - "I'm happy with the weekend although I ended up crashing out of the race. In qualifying we found the pace and I managed to get into the lead group so it gave me the opportunity to go strong from the start. I got a great start and managed to get into the lead and led for the first lap, I dropped to second and maybe I was pushing a little too hard and I ended up crashing out. I've learnt a lot this weekend and have learnt from my mistake, so I will continue to work hard at Donington and hope for a strong result there. I must thank the MWR team for all their help and support this weekend."
Team Manager/Owner - Mark Webster - "I'm really happy with the weekend and it's a huge contrast compared to how I was feeling at Brands Hatch. All three riders have left here with their spirits high after a good performance. The Superstock 1000 riders need to work on their qualifying positions for the next rounds and this will give them more opportunity of stronger results in the race.
Nic has only been here once for a test last week and he was able to learn the track quickly and make huge progress in each session out on track. If James can get his qualifying sorted out he has the race pace to run up in the top ten and proved today he's more than capable of passing other riders, with his current qualifying he is leaving himself with a lot of work to do come race day.
Andrew in the Stock 600 class did a fantastic job, he improved during qualifying and got a great start in the race taking the lead. He listens to advice given, takes it all on board and implements it whilst he's out on the bike. He was unfortunate to crash but he has proved that he is able to run up at the front.
We made huge steps forwards this weekend compared to Brands Hatch and we hope to keep progressing like this for the remainder of the season."
