The JG Speedfit Kawasaki team head to Knockhill in search of a return to winning ways this weekend as the MCE British Superbike Championship goes Scottish.
The team endured a disappointing round at Snetterton, with James Ellison suffering a broken rib during qualifying, before retiring from race one due to technical problems.
With his injuries affecting him during race two, Ellison could only manage seventh despite competition for a podium finish early one.
The weekend’s bad luck, along with Shane Byrne’s dominance, mean that Ellison has now lost the lead of the championship and finds himself down in third place, 33-points behind the reigning champion.
Despite his injury, Ellison is still confident that he will be able to challenge towards the front once again at Knockhill.
He said: “Following my crash in qualifying, it turned out I had actually broken a rib which is why we struggled a little bit towards the end of race two at Snetterton. Since then I’ve been having treatment on the area, including Pulsed Magnetic Field Therapy (PMFT), which has really helped. Thankfully it’s not a big injury and hasn’t stopped me training or even riding a bike so I don’t believe it will hinder me this weekend, although it might mean we struggle a little under heavy braking.
“As a circuit, Knockhill is a great track and I always enjoy going north of the border to Scotland as the support from fans is fantastic. Its short and twisty nature means the races will be tough but we were quick last year and I’m confident we can be pushing towards the front Sunday!”
The team’s bad luck at Snetterton didn’t end with Ellison, as teammate James Westmoreland suffered from a double retirement due to mechanical problems.
Westmoreland has been showing signs of improvement after a tough start to his season and is hopeful of finishing within the top 10 this weekend.
He said: “It’s no secret that we’ve had a tough start to the season but the team have been fantastic and we’ve made steps forward with every session and last time out we were comfortably running top ten pace. We’ve got some things to try this weekend that will hopefully give me the feeling that I want, which will see us up the front and challenging for strong positions.
“Knockhill is one of my favourites and is a really unique circuit that is great fun to ride. I’ve always seemed to have gone well there so I’m looking forward to getting out on the Kawasaki ZX10R Friday morning. Hopefully the weather stays good too, although with Knockhill the rain is never usually too far away!”
The weekend’s action gets underway tomorrow with the BSB riders taking part in two free practice sessions, which take place at 10:30 and 15:10.
