Oxford TAG Triumph's Richard Cooper enjoyed a change in fortunes at Oulton Park in the free practice sessions, ending up third overall, but admitted that he received a 'good tow' off of the eventual pace setter Stuart Easton, and it shouldn't hide the fact that both the team and himself are up against it this weekend.
The former Superstock 1000 champion went on to say that the first two rounds being back to back and a lack of testing means that his new Triumph 675 Daytona is not as strong as last year and that development is key before he can match his form of last year.
"I'm not going to lie, I got a good tow today. Third is good but I was really pushing hard. We're up against it again this weekend but in the time between Thruxton and here we have made some progress. The chassis on the new bike is much better but at the moment the engine and electronics are not just there yet in comparison to last year. I have to keep reminding myself we're just three rounds in so improvement and development will come first before any sort of results," said Cooper, speaking to bikesportnews.com this evening
"There isn't a rider in the paddock that doesn't like Oulton Park so it would be great to get the season going here. So far I've had two mechanicals and two ninths, which is nothing to write home about, so if I can get into that top six I'll be thrilled. At this moment in time I don't think there's a podium in myself or the bike. The Smiths team are two steps behind everyone else and through almost no testing we're a step behind them, which I think speaks volumes. A lot of people think that with a new bike we'll go fast straight away but that just isn't the case. It's hard work."