The opening weekend of the MCE British Superbike Championship was a steady one for Aylesford’s Howie Mainwaring-Smart.
The rider aboard the Smiths Racing BMW S1000R struggled and finished 18th in race one and 17th in race two, showing that he did make improvements as the races went on.
Unfortunately he and new teammate Jakob Smrz found themselves battling at the bottom end of the leader board, with his teammate scoring a point in the final race of the weekend.
It means that Mainwaring-Smart can now take some positives into the second round of the season and target the top ten and point’s finish, as he finds his way with a new team and on a new bike.
Speaking after the opening weekend, Howie said: “We’ve made steady progress all weekend and have been making changes to the chassis throughout, trying a lot of things we didn’t get to try during testing.
“The Smiths BMW is very different to the bike I’ve ridden for the last two years and it’s an unbelievable package but we just need to find the sweet spot and get it to work for me and my riding style. I’m obviously not happy at all with the results, but it’s a new bike and a new team and the changes we’ve made have all been positive so we’re moving in the right direction.”
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