Buildbase BMW’s Richard Cooper has his sights firmly set on clinching the Riders Cup during the MCE British Superbike triple-header at Brands Hatch, but he will be battling through the pain after breaking his hand at a crash in Darley Moor last Sunday.
The diminutive racer missed the opening free practice session as he was in the medical centre under going tests to see if he would be able to be passed fit to take part in track proceedings today. He did pass all the relevant tests, and did make it out in FP2.
He is on 156 points and currently leads the charge for the Riders Cup, followed closely by Quattro Plant Kawasaki’s Luke Mossey. Cooper set some respectable times and was the fifth fastest rider this afternoon in wet conditions.
The S1000RR racer did make it on to the podium during the last round here at the Kent track, but he was on the Kawasaki and not a BMW, but he hopes to make the same impact this weekend.
“Last time I rode in wet conditions at Brands I was on the Kawasaki and the BMW is quite a different beast, and we missed this morning due to an injury that I am carrying as I had to pass a medical as I broke my hand last Sunday at Darley Moor," said Cooper, speaking to bikesportnews.com.
“But that aside this afternoon was much better and I had to tame the bike a bit as it has so much horsepower and we worked on that during the session, but the bike felt good and I am feeling confident.
“We have the Riders Cup to contend with and we are currently leading that, but Luke Mossey and Peter Hickman are riding really well, and we have three races to decide that and it’s not going to be easy. But if I go about it like I always do then I should be there or there a bouts.”
