SOLIHULL rider Liam Delves travelled south to Kent for round five of the Bennett’s British Superbike Championship where he rode in the three races at Brands Hatch.
Delves battled to 21st and 23rd place finishes in the first two races but was unable to finish race three riding for the Rapid Training Rapid CDH Racing Kawasaki Fuelled by Cheshire Mouldings and Woodturnings Ltd team.
In his rookie year in the premiere class, Delves completed his qualifying in 31st place and started the first race on Saturday from the 11th row of the grid.
He rode well and made good progress through the field to complete the 15-lap affair in 23rd place – outside the points but making steady progress as the season continues.
And he was delighted to take second place in the season long eBay Fast Forward award and was awarded eight points which put him into third place overall.
In race two, on Sunday, Delves started from the middle of row 10 and once again made a good start taking up 26th place on the first lap.
He soon began to make up places, passing James East at the midway stage of the 20-lap race to move into 21st position.
And he held station through the remainder of the laps to cross the finish line for a very commendable 21st position.
Once again, Delves was awarded eight points in the eBay Fast Forward award and retained his third place on 37 points.
Delves said: “Race two was run in difficult conditions with the track temperature reaching over 40 degrees.
“My Kawasaki was moving around and trying to throw me out of the seat at every opportunity but I managed to stay on board and bring it home in 21st place setting another personal best lap time.
“We are making a few changes to the bike for the last race in an effort to stabilise the bike a bit more.”
However, the changes did not work as, after holding 27th place for seven laps, Delves was forced to retire to the pits.
Delves added: “After an amazing birthday weekend at Brands Hatch the third race didn’t quite go to plan.
“The changes we made after race two didn’t work out. There was lots learned and plenty of positives to take into the next round in two week’s time.
“Thank you everyone for your kind messages and support throughout the weekend for me and the Rapid Training Rapid CDH Racing Kawasaki Fuelled by Cheshire Mouldings and Woodturnings Ltd.”
The next round is at Thruxton over the weekend of August 12/14.
