Xpress Racing, Sixth at Silverstone in Superstock

Xpress Racing
By Carly Rathmell
August 24 2005

22-year-old Hinckley based rider Dave Johnson, riding for Xpress Racing, gained a creditable sixth place at the ninth round of the National Superstock Championships, at Silverstone at the weekend.

Johnson managed to qualify his Drayton Croft/Xpress Racing Suzuki GSX-R1000 K5 in eighth place, and went on to ride a consistent and positive race.

Suffering with tyre problems for the last eight laps of the race, he was unable to catch and make a pass on the freight train in front of him. Gaining a good start, the young Australian soon settled into a rhythm and was making tidy passing manoeuvres on his fellow rivals.

Once again soaring temperatures proved to be the downfall of Johnson as the grip in his tyres began to fade. In a valiant effort to remain with the front runners, Johnson ended up riding in a race of his own, beating his nearest rival by three seconds.

Commenting, Johnson said, “I’m fairly disappointed with my results today, as I was hoping to be a bit further up the pecking order. My tyres started to go around mid distance, and I really had to pace myself to ensure that I lasted the full race distance. We’ve had a long break off from racing - just over five weeks - so it was a case of getting back into the flow of things again. I’m feeling confident as we head to Cadwell Park next Monday, and would like to think that I can gain a podium position there.

“It’s been a good break - I had a holiday to Cyprus and also a trip back home to Australia, where I managed to catch up with a few friends and family. It’s good to be back racing again, though, and now there doesn’t seem to be much longer left of the series, and I hope I can make the most of it and gain some healthy results.”

Nigel Broomhall, Team Principal, added, “I am pleased overall with sixth place, although like Dave I was also hopeful of a rostrum finish. Unfortunately we were not able to get the tyres to work in our favour, and David rode a very sensible and mature race to put some more points on the table.”

Race result:
1 Coates
2 Bridewell
3 Jackson
4 Fitzpatrick
5 Allan
6 JOHNSON
7 Shand
8 Neill
9 Rainey
10 Hickman

Championship standings:
1 Young 141
2 Coates 118
3 Jackson 116
4 Fitzpatrick 98
5 Bridewell 91
6 Rainey 83
7 Tinsley 76
8 Johnson 73
9 Shand 67