Beech plagued by problems again

ASHLEY BEECH . . . Brands Hatch woe

THERE was more disappointment for Ashley Beech in round seven of the National Superstock 1000 Championship at Brands Hatch.

Following a strong start to the series, the Moorside racer has been plagued with brake problems in the last two rounds and the gremlins continued at the famous Kent track.

Using the full 2.43 mile Grand Prix circuit, Beech was hoping for a change of luck.

He was in good spirits after clinching a win, second and fourth-place finish at a club meeting at Oulton Park, although the main aim was to test new brake discs and pads from a different manufacturer ahead of Brands Hatch.

Beech was 14th after second practice, after which Jones Dorling Racing mechanics stripped and replaced the brakes.

They found some wear on the radiator cover caused by the front wheel rubbing against it under heavy braking. The most likely cause of this would be a damaged front fork. This was removed and checked and found to be 8mm out of alignment, enough to cause problems with brakes and handling.

A new set of forks were borrowed from a fellow competitor and the team worked late into the evening to rebuild the bike.

Beech noticed a difference when he started the qualifying session and and moved up to eighth quickest and a place on row three of the grid.

New for the 2017 season, organisers have introduced a two-part race consisting of 17 laps each with a 10-minute gap between to allow teams to change tyres and refuel ready for the second part.

Grid positions for part two are determined by lap times in the first half, but a rider must complete part one to be eligible for the second start.

Beech started well and was holding position before the dreaded brake problems struck again and he dropped to 26th before several crashes on lap nine caused the race to be red-flagged.

Because less than two thirds of race distance was completed, the first part of race one was ran in two parts. Confusing? Even the circuit commentators were referring to the rule book, but eventually part one was completed and Beech crossed the line in 24th position.

The second part was also brought to a premature end because of heavy rain, but this time sufficient laps had been completed for a result to be declared and Beech start the Sunday feature race on the sixth row of the grid.

After a great start, Beech was forced to return to the pits, bringing his race to a premature end.