Buildbase Kawasaki’s James Hillier was forced to miss his opportunity to take part in the Swan Combi 50 Role for Pole this afternoon in the MCE British Superbikes season finale at Oulton Park due to mechanical failure.
Hillier prior to this weekend has been running in the Senior Superstock championship in which he currently sits eighth overall narrowly missing out on a podium a couple of times.  Things have been challenging yet positive for the Ringwood based rider and then it was discovered the head gasket had gone causing an engine rebuild and him to miss qualifying completely.
Talking about this weekend Hillier said: “It’s been good, I only found out Wednesday I would be on the bike, I hadn’t sat on the bike until Friday.  We had a few problems through the practice sessions I had to keep coming in so lost a bit of track time which was a bit frustrating.  At the end of the second session I had an off but we got the bike back together and I am alright.”
“This morning was wet, the weather is a bit funny at the moment so it makes it hard to learn a bike and its settings.  There’s a lot more power, the whole chassis and riding the bike is a big change, but for the better.  It is a case of adapting to the bike and using all of its advantages to bring the lap times down and get on the pace of the guys.”
Even though he now has to start at the back of the grid he still intends in making the most of the unusual format of a three race weekend and hopefully show his capability to put him on the radar for next year.
Hillier said: “It’s good to be in Superbikes, you are with the right guys to learn from.  In Superstock when trying to get a good tow there is about five to eight riders that you want to follow, but in Superbikes everyone out there is fast.  The general pace is faster, braking into corners you are carrying a lot more momentum on these Superbikes through the bends.”
“It’s great to be in Superbikes I am really enjoying, it is great to get out on this ride and I will have a lot of riding with three races.  It’s great to get out on this bike and I will try to get some good results for the team, to go on my CV and show what I could do.”
Even though the team has told him to ride around and enjoy it Hillier was aiming to finish in the points or at least the top twenty which he knows was never going to be easy in the category. Now this will be an even harder task with starting at the back of the grid, but he still will certainly be one to watch.