Kent’s three riders in the Pirelli National Superstock Championship had mixed fortunes last weekend at Oulton Park.

Alex Olsen finished fifth after an issue on the last lap, whilst leading the race on the last lap, he had a moment and as a result his suit airbag went off which meant that he was struggling to breathe coupled with the fact the bike was also running out of fuel, so all in all fifth was a good result.

It was a relieved Olsen who crossed the line in 5th place, speaking after the race he said: “The weekend was good actually, the team has worked hard. We made some changes before warm up and went faster than in qualifying so we knew we’d gone in the right direction.

“I had a plan to get to the front try stop Billy (McConnell) running away with it and that’s what we did – until the last lap when we hit the problem and it slowed us down. We ended up finishing fifth but we did set a new lap record so that was great.

“I had a big moment on the last lap and it made my airbag suit go off which meant I couldn’t breathe so I was pleased to get over the line. It’s a shame we weren’t on the podium but I do feel happy with our pace and progress.”

Meanwhile teammate Jack Nixon also had a more challenging weekend than that of the season opener. 

A small change to the bike was enough to upset it for Nixon who was in just his second weekend in the class, it meant that he finished in 13th place, and a further three points to his seasons tally. 

Giving his thoughts after race weekend two, Nixon said: “I did struggle a bit in the race, we had we made a tiny change and it really kind of upset my bike and rhythm. I made a few places up on the first lap and then had a few moments so we just struggled in terms of setup a little.

“Other than that I’d say it’s been a positive weekend. We’ve learnt quite a lot as a team. I knew it would be tricky here at Oulton and it’s my first time here on a big bike so we couldn’t ask for too much but I think overall, to come away with more points, more information for next time, we have to be pleased.”

Meanwhile on his In Competition Aprilia Canterbury’s Tom Ward was hoping to build on his podium in the opening race weekend.

Having qualified in 17th place he certainly did that by riding through the field and coming home inside the top ten with a solid P8 finish.

The eight points for finishing in P8 means Ward heads to Donington Park in fifth place in the championship.  

Giving his thoughts after the weekend, Ward said: “I was happy to salvage a good result after the problems we had in practice and qualifying, it was fun cutting through the pack from 17th on the grid to 8th.

“We showed strong pace which is positive going into Donington Park in a few weeks! Thanks to my team and sponsors for all the efforts

FHO Images courtesy of Double Red Photographic