Buildbase BMW Motorrad are will be hoping last weekend wasn't a sign of things to come, after the team had a luckless time at Brands Hatch.
John Laverty will be relieved just to be involved after a nightmare weekend. The Northern Irishman was the innocent party in a race one accident which left him with a finger injury, ruling him out of race two.
Ian Lowry didn't fare any better after he was also taken out in the first race of the day. Reliability problems struck in race two as an electrical problem prevented Lowry from challenging for points.
Barry Burrell did provide some cheer for the team with a consistent display in the BSB-EVO class. After finishing sixth and seventh in the day's two races, the Bishop Auckland rider is sixth in the Evolution Championship, 26 points behind Glen Richards and Alex Lowes who share the championship lead.
Richard Cooper also made a solid start to his National Superstock 1000 campaign as the BMW Motorrad outfit looked to replicate the success they enjoyed with Jon Kirkham. The Nottingham rider brought the S1000 RR home in sixth place after narrowly losing out in his battle with MSS Colchester Kawasaki's Howie Mainwaring.
Team Principal Stuart Hicken feels the team has learnt the lessons of Brands Hatch, and is hoping his riders will have a trouble-free weekend at Oulton Park.
“The lads are chomping at the bit to get out on track at Oulton Park. Brands Hatch Indy was a real learning experience for us, we’d had so little time on the bikes that every time we went out on track, we were trying something different. But the very good news is that every session we were improving, so we’re all moving in the right direction.
“We could have done without Ian Lowry and John Laverty both being knocked off by other riders, of course! Ian’s none the worse for it but John’s had the tip of his finger removed after the fall. We’ve had a fair bit of work to do to get their bikes rebuilt and improve the setup ahead of Oulton Park. Richard and Barry both brought their bikes home with solid finishes and got us our first points of 2011, with lots more to come. All we’re hoping for now is that this glorious weather holds out, as our BMW S 1000 RRs will really get to grips with the longer, faster Oulton Park circuit.”
