Thrux is a tough trial for Beech

ON TRACK . . . Ashley Beech at Thruxton

MOORSIDE speedster Ashley Beech secured a hard-earned 16th place finish in round eight of the National Superstock 1000 Championship at Thruxton in Wiltshire.

However, it proved to be a tragic weekend for bike racing fans as rider Mark Fincham was killed in an accident during the race, although Beech was nowhere near the horrific incident.

Last season Beech was riding a Kawasaki which was having performance issues, so the team arrived at the ultra-fast 2.4-mile Thruxton circuit this time with no set-up data to compare, so it was a matter of starting from scratch.

Beech uses second through to sixth gears, so a base set-up was used for gearing, while suspension was set to cope more with the fast and bumpy straights and less for heavy braking and he finished the first practice session 15th quickest.

In qualifying, Beech improved his lap time by almost 1.5secs, finishing 16th fastest to start from row six on the grid.

For this meeting, the Superstock class has two races, one each on Saturday and Sunday.

A good start in race one saw Beech involved in a battle in midfield, until at half-race distance the rear tyre deteriorated and was wheel spinning even on the long straights. He began to drop back, eventually crossing the line in 23rd position.

The grid for race two is determined by lap times in the first race which meant that Beech started from 23rd.

Overnight the team made changes to the suspension to help cope with tyre wear.

Beech got off the line well and was holding position until the crash incident between two riders exiting the chicane on to the start/finish line brought out the red flags.

The race was restarted but reduced to only eight laps and Beech put in a stunning performance, carved his way through the field to cross the line in 16th position.

Beech will be back in action at Cadwell Park on August 28.

Follow his progress at www.jonesdorlingracing.co.uk, on Twitter @JDR_Racing or on Facebook JonesDorlingRacing.