The new look Beowulf Racing team of Dan Linfoot and Gino Rea got their European Superstock 600 campaign off to an impressive start at Valencia today (Saturday).
After an extensive winter testing programme onboard the all new Beowulf Racing Yamaha YZF-R6 both riders were able to fight at the front with Linfoot claiming his maiden podium and Rea backing up his team-mate with a solid ninth place finish.
Qualifying for the opening race of the season went well with both men securing their place on the second row with Rea sixth and Linfoot seventh. With the front row made up of factory supported Yamaha and Suzuki teams, the British squad were satisfied with their performance and confident in their potential for the race. The scheduled 11 lap race got underway in warm, sunny condition with Rea making his trademark strong start with Linfoot just behind, as the two British young guns became embroiled in a high octane opening four laps.
Linfoot soon began to make his way up to third position, but had his progress cut short when race leader Greg Black crashed his Yamaha, which subsequently burst into flames causing the race to be stopped. After a short delay, a five lap restart was declared with the final result calculated on aggregate times from the first and second heat. Starting from second position on the grid Linfoot initially dropped to fifth before clawing his way up to third place, but a slight lack of grip on the final lap meant he was unable to hold the position. Linfoot was relegated to fourth place, but with the subsequent disqualification of Daniel Arcaz for a technical infringement, Linfoot took the podium and 16 valuable championship points.
Meanwhile Rea was unable to match his initial pace in the restarted race due to a slight overheating problem on his Beowulf Racing Yamaha, but the determined 18 year old fought hard to secure a solid top ten result.
Dan Linfoot – 3rd, 16 points “The aim was to be on the podium, and after the disqualification that’s what we achieved so I’m really happy with the result. It was an aggressive race that’s for sure. I didn’t know what to expect so I just pushed as hard as I could and found myself fighting in the top six. I was gradually working my way through to the front and when it got stopped I restarted in second place. “In the final laps there was a lot of fairing bashing and I was happy to keep it upright and score some good points. Some of the title favourites have already thrown it away by crashing out so to get 16 points first time out is a great start for myself and the team.”
Gino Rea – 9th, 7 points “I’m disappointed with ninth to be honest, I was struggling a bit for grip and because of the temperature the bike was running at I think we lost some speed down the straight. It’s frustrating because I wanted to be on the podium today, but it’s also important to be in the points. It’s a ten round championship and we need to start racking up some good results. I’ll be going all out for a podium next time out, that’s for sure.”