Beech profits in the wet

ASHLEY BEECH . . . contended with wet conditions at Oulton Park

ASHLEY Beech moved up to 10th place in the National Superstock 1000 Championship standings after another noteworthy finish in round three at Oulton Park.

The Moorside rider picked up three points for crossing the line in 13th place at the rain-hit Cheshire venue.

With tight corners, climbs and descents, the circuit is regarded by many riders as a technical track and difficult to find the perfect set-up for a race bike.

Beech attended a test day at Oulton to try out various settings on his BMW S1000RR machine, but rain in the morning and technical issues in the afternoon spoilt any chance of gaining valuable data.

Starting the weekend in dry and sunny conditions, Beech finished the first of two practice sessions 10th quickest, but was troubled with the bike trying to wheelie out of the corners.

For second practice, the JD Racing team altered the wheelbase of the bike by adding an additional link in the drive chain but, despite improving his lap times, he was still plagued with the handling issues and he finished ninth fastest.

The bike's handling improved in qualifying, though, and Beech started from the third row of the grid.

Beech was running well in 10th place when, on lap seven of the scheduled 18 laps, it started to rain, causing the race to be red-flagged.

Changing to wet tyres, Beech slipped to 18th after the restart in what would be a nine-lap dash to the chequered flag.

However, as the track became wet, Beech overtook several riders and bypassed a crash ahead of him to eventually cross the line in 13th position.

Beech will be back in National Superstock action at Donington Park - included as a support race for the British round of the World Superbike Championship - on May 28.