It was another solid weekend for the Centurion Racing team at round seven of the Fuchs-Silkolene British Supersport Championship at Oulton Park. The two riders James Westmoreland and Dan Cooper once again scored two healthy top ten finishes with a sixth and seventh place respectively.
James Westmoreland had been running in a good position throughout the weekend despite the inconsistent weather conditions, which played havoc through all the practice and qualifying sessions. He was looking all set for a front row start in the final qualifying session and was just bettered by Ian Lowry and Glen Richards in the closing stages, qualifying in fifth position the youngster was eager for a good result.
Dan Cooper had been riding a new bike all weekend and was trying to adjust to the new machine and find a comfortable set up for the 16-lap race. Struggling through all the sessions Cooper could only manage to qualify in 18th position on the grid.
As they sat on the grid it was confirmed that Marty Nutt would take no further part in the race and Honda's Steve Brogan went out of the race on the opening lap. Both Centurion riders got good starts with Westy lying in sixth at the end of the opening lap and Cooper making an incredible lunge through the pack and was already sitting in 12th position.
Westy was battling with Rob Frost in the early stages of the race and was soon chasing down James Webb who he was unable to make a move on and had to settle for sixth position overall. Cooper was picking off riders on every lap and was surging through the fierce field. He made strong passes on Ben Wylie, Sam Owens and Ian Hutchinson and was left fighting with the wild Rob Frost. Cautiously making a move on him on the penultimate lap to secure him a very strong seventh place and equalling his best result of the season so far.
Westy commented: "I'm pretty pleased with the result I got today is more solid Championship points in the bag. I'm disappointed that I couldn't get away with the front runners and put up more of a fight but I still got sixth so can't complain too much. I got stuck behind James Webb and was struggling to find a good safe place to pass him. I'm looking forward to Knockhill in a couple of week's time."
Cooper added: "It was a whole new experience for me this weekend, as I had a new bike, which I love but it took a little getting used to and setting up. My mechanics worked really hard through the weekend and by the time the race came I was feeling pretty confident. I rode a very hard and solid race and I knew I could do ok if I got a good start, thankfully I did and worked my way through the pack. I just need to work on my qualifying position now as if I get that sorted the results will be a bit easier to obtain."
