Mixed fortunes for speedster Beech at Brands Hatch

Ash Beech in action at Brands Hatch

The first of three scheduled 2018 visits to Brands Hatch for Moorside motorcycle racer Ash Beech came in the form of round two of the National Superstock 1000 Championship.

For this round the racers used the shorter 1.2 mile Indy circuit, and with each lap taking less than 50 seconds to complete the fans witnessed some fast and furious racing across two 24-lap races.

After a crash at Donington Park two weeks previously, the team had been working hard to have Beech's Kawasaki ZX-10R race bike repaired in time for the second round.

In the second practise session, Beech put in a string of consistent laps to finish 20th quickest.

In dry and sunny conditions, Beech then impressed during qualifying, eventually posting the 20^th quickest lap and would start from row seven on the grid.

As Race One got underway it was frantic as over 30 bikes enter the first corner at Paddock Hill and then drop down the dip before climbing up to the slowest corner on the track at Druids, one of the few passing points.

It is vital to stay out of trouble.

Riders then drop down Graham Hill Bend, the only left hand corner and with cold tyres this section of the circuit can catch many riders out.

After a lot of bumping and barging, Beech dropped two places on the opening lap, but quickly moved back up the field to cross the line in 15^th place.

Race Two was a similar story, losing a few places in the opening lap, before Beech fought hard to finish one better in 14^th.

“Two points scoring finishes was a good result," said Beech.

"But there is still work to be done on the bike before I can threaten the top ten.”

Beech will be back out on track on May 7 at Oulton Park for round three of the Championship.