There was disappointment for ILR Kawasaki's Victor Cox as he finished 11th in the latest round of the Metzeler National Superstock 1000 Championship at a weather hit Cadwell Park on August Bank Holiday Monday, his team-mate Ash Beech rode strongly to bring the second Ninja ZX-10R home in 21st place.

Free practice saw Cox again on the pace from the start as he finished 4th just over half a second off the pace and fourth quickest through the second and third sectors. Beech was down in 35th, a placing that didn't however paint a true picture as the young Moorside rider had little, if any, experience round Cadwell Park on a four stroke before the weekend so he had lots to learn round the narrow, twisty and undulating 2.25 miles Lincolnshire circuit.

Wet conditions greeted the riders for the start of First Qualifying, but as conditions improved mid-session Cox began to push for provisional pole. Sixth and third quickest through the first two sectors, he would eventually finish in the hunt in 5th place. Beech meanwhile was going about things in a calm and measured way, joint fourth through the finish line speed trap, Ash completed the session in 17th place.

The second session the following day began in dry conditions but there was drama to come, with the riders on their fourth lap the rain again made its presence felt forcing a premature end to the session. Victor had been down in 40th position in the early stages but his fourth lap was good enough to qualify him in 8th position. Ash meanwhile was nearly caught out in the worsening conditions as he almost came to grief, thankfully he didn't and he qualified in 30th and facing the prospect of a lot of traffic to contend with in the race itself.


So as both riders looked forward to a strong race the weather again prepared to play a part in proceedings. As the teams arrived on the grid the rain which had plaqued the meeting all weekend returned, forcing the organisers to delay the start and enable the teams to make any necessary tyre changes. When the race got underway Cox got a good start and was up to 6th at the end of the opening lap but his good work was undone on the next lap. In extremely tricky conditions, and struggling for grip in places, Victor attempted to pass Jonathan Howarth at Park Corner and ran on to the grass. He re-joined the race in 12th and, lapping strongly he soon fought his way back into the top 10 before eventually finishing in 11th just 0.38s away from a top ten finish. Further back Beech was riding steadily, down in 28th place for the opening few laps he then gained a place to 27th but at half race distance he began to find his rhythm and lapping close to the times of his team-mate, he began a charge which would take him to 21st position.

So Victor's hopes of closing the gap to the championship leaders were dashed by his second lap excursion off the track, but his spirited ride to 11th earned him 5 valuable points and he still retains his third place in the championship, level on points with Jimmy Storrar whilst Ash Beech again impressed on what was effectively his four stroke debut on one of the more physically demanding circuits on the BSB calendar.

Victor Cox:

'The weather has been a real pain at Cadwell. I thought we could have had a good result here but unfortunately it just didn't work out. Again massive thanks to the team for all their hard work and I can't wait for Donington Park now.'

Ash Beech:

'I always knew I would struggle round Cadwell due to never having been round there on a big bike before. In practice I struggled to get to grips with the bike but I stuck at it and got more and more confident with every lap. I qualified 30th which wasn't ideal due to being caught out with the rain in second qualifying. In the race the conditions were tricky but I was getting faster with every lap, however it's a difficult circuit to pass on. Now this race is out of the way, I'm looking forward to getting back to the fast flowing tracks. A big thanks to Nigel and the team as they never stopped working.'


It's a two week break now before the action resumes at Donington Park on the weekend of September 7-9.

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