Snetterton BSB review - Colin Appleyard Racing

Pic moto-racer.com
By Carly Rathmell
May 5 2004

Kieran Clarke suffered a few problems this weekend at the third round of the Think! British Superbike Championship at Snetterton, Norfolk. Renowned as being one of the fastest tracks in the country, horsepower is a high priority on everyone’s agenda.

Picture by moto-racer.com

Kieran, who is running the 2003 R1 Yamahas with the Colin Appleyard/Hydrex Racing Team, is still getting to grips with his new Superbike, but is bedding himself in well and learning new aspects at every meeting. A massive off during Friday’s practice left Kieran very second-hand for the rest of the weekend. Riders who were following Kieran at the time commented on how big his crash was and how heavily he landed.

Still feeling sore on Saturday for qualifying, Kieran put on a brave face and tackled the fierce track. Qualifying in fifteenth, and on the fourth row, it meant that Kieran had a big task in front of him.

A good start in race one and he managed to get past some of the riders in front of him. But by lap six Kieran was suffering with a mechanical problem and had to pull into the pits with a retirement. Keen to get some points from the weekend Kieran was determined to get back out there for race two. A steady start and he was away with them. Even the top factory bikes were struggling to find the top end speed they needed to stay in touch with the front runners.

Kieran hung onto fifteenth place and gained himself two valuable points for the championship. He is currently lying in thirteenth position overall, and is looking forward to the next round of the championship at Oulton Park, Cheshire, on Bank Holiday Monday, 5th May.

Kieran commented, “It’s been a bit of a nightmare weekend. What you normally learn in race one, for race two, I had to learn in the second race. Again it was good experience for me, and I gained a lot of positive things. I’m looking forward to Oulton as it is a lot less demanding on top speed power. The other factory bikes have had huge development and were well suited to a fast track like Snetterton. I’m confident of gaining some positive results at Oulton on Monday.”