Anvil Hire Tag Racing’s Richard Cooper will start his first MCE British Superbike race of the season from the second row after he ended up being one of only a few riders who stayed on their bike and didn’t succumb to the slippery and wet track conditions on the Brands Hatch Indy circuit.
It’s not a bad feat for the youngster who spent last year in the Motorpoint Supersport series – and on his return to the premier class managed to out-pace more experienced riders, including triple champion Rapid Solicitors Shane Byrne, and Millsport Ducati’s Jakub Smrz.
But Cooper is being realistic and is not aiming for podiums or race wins tomorrow. He is after some solid points and wants to continue to improve throughout the season.
“I'm happy enough - this morning’s wet free practice taught us a lesson that was really valuable, as I made a mistake this morning and luckily it gave us the opportunity to put it right this afternoon. I managed to stay on the bike during qualifying and we scrapped through every time. To go P6 in the final one made me very happy,” said Cooper, speaking to bikesportnews.com.
“A lot of people were crashing and I could see that on track and I wanted to keep pushing and it’s the first time for the team being in the Superbike class and we are on the second row – which is great and we have been given the best chance possible.
"If we can get away with the people who are running faster times then we can tag along with them and hopefully get a good start. I just want to get two solid results – as that is what we need.”
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