Motorcycling Hedger out of luck during tough Silverstone weekend
THE CPD Kawasaki team made their way to Silverstone for what they hoped would be a smooth weekend after a streak of bad luck.
However, they suffered all weekend with technical problems, starting with 17th in FP1 and 15th in FP2, which Hedger and the team could not quite fathom out.
Qualifying saw Hedger move further back down the grid to 19th, but to put it in perspective he was still only 1.1 seconds off the leading time. With the Superstock 1000 class being so competitive, there really is no room for mechanical or any other type of failure. With the CPD Kawasaki team run by Chris Cunnington, they were determined to move further up the grid to where they know they can be. Hedger, from Yate, was to start the first of two races of the weekend on row six of the packed grid.
Cunnington brought the team together two years ago and has moved from strength to strength, so this technical problem in a year already hit by Covid-19 was not going to dampen his outlook on the overall picture.
The team remains strong and determined that they can iron out the small issues which have affected them - and get Hedger back up to the top seven.
Race one saw Hedger storm off the line and ruthlessly make as many overtakes as he could over the 23 laps, managing to bring the CPD Kawasaki across the line in 12th place. The team were ecstatic as their hard work had finally paid off, the team were heading in the right direction.
Race two got off to a good start but Hedger again found himself having issues with the bike, forcing him to pull in on lap 21 of 24.
Hedger said: “It wasn’t the weekend me and the team had hoped for with a few bike issues which are now sorted. I feel very confident and ready for Oulton Park. I absolutely love this track and I am very keen to get back on the bike and
put all the bad results behind me and hit the reset button.”
Cunnington, the team owner, said: “It’s annoying we did not get the result we wanted, but I have the utmost faith in my team and know we can progress to Oulton Park in a positive manner. Luke Hedger is an incredible rider and has really taken everything in his stride. I am certain we can move on to Oulton
Park and get some solid results. Thank you again for all of the support that sponsors and Luke’s personal sponsors give us throughout this testing year.”
» The next round of the Bennetts British Superbikes will be held at Oulton Park Circuit this weekend. You can watch it live on Eurosport,
TSL Timings and catch up on ITV 4.