Samsung Crescent Racing is heading north as it gets ready for the second round of the British Superbike Championship at Oulton Park in Cheshire this weekend.

After the mayhem of the incredibly-short Indy circuit at Brands Hatch, this weekend's prospect is altogether bigger: The 2.692 mile course, set in the estate grounds of the former Oulton Hall, combines rolling contours with breathtaking high-speed sweepers to create one of the season's most challenging circuits. After the close-quarters cut-and-thrust of Brands Hatch, this weekend will be about high-speed mastery; and for John Hopkins and Jon Kirkham, it'll be about putting together two high-points-scoring rides as they look to establish themselves in the crucial top six 'Title Fighters' league.

John Hopkins:

"Last weekend was certainly a tough introduction to BSB. I guess it was everything I expected - not for one minute I have imagined this task to be a walk in the park - but it certainly brought it back to me that I have to take this job step-by-step.

"Oulton Park is the next step; quite a big one at that. I first visited the circuit a fortnight ago for a track day on a road bike, so that I'd get an idea of where it goes and what the challenges will be. And, oh yes, there are lots of ups and downs and no question you have to know where you're going if you're to get a fast lap time. I'm in no doubt, this weekend I've a lot of work to do."

Jon Kirkham:

"After Brands Hatch, I want to bag two good finishes from this weekend. To not make the start of second race last weekend - because of one very small part - that was massively disappointing. So coming here I'm ready to pull in a lot more points.

"I feel for Hopper having to learn this place from scratch, but for me Oulton Park has to be my favourite track; I simply love this place. And tracks like this really show the difference between the true Superbikes and the Evo bikes in the class - which I rode last year - so I'm really looking forward to what I'm sure is going to be an exciting ride."

Jack Valentine - Team Manager:

"Coming to Oulton Park the team has a lot of work to do. The past two seasons we've led into this round - this year the lads are equal 10th. That's down to the manic nature of Brands Hatch and not a little bad luck. But both Hopper and JK showed they can do the lap times, they both took away a top-five finish and proved they can run at the front. So this weekend will be about hauling in as many points as we can to get the both of them closer to, if not in, the vital Title Fighters top-six bracket. That's an intermediate goal, of course. Both our riders can, and will, be podium contenders, we've 11 more rounds to run, so much can happen."

This weekend's BSB round gets underway with free practice on Saturday, with qualifying Sunday. Race day is May Day (Bank Holiday Monday).