Luca Wilkinson aka El Loco #76

Friday Practice

鈥淔riday鈥檚 practice went well. Small issue with the bike, but it wasn鈥檛 affecting my lap times, so we just rode around it.鈥�

Saturday

Qualifying

鈥淲ent out and pushed on a bit, I knew I didn鈥檛 have to put it on pole, so I just rode smart and pushed for a few laps and put it on P2 with Ollie Sims on P1, with our lap times separated by 0.03 of a second.

Race 1

鈥淪tarted the race but I noticed Ollie hadn鈥檛 gone to the grid. I pulled an 8-second lead after 3 laps and just brought it home in 1st place. Unfortunately, I came in to find out Ollie had crashed in the Minitwins qualifying and broken his collarbone.

Race 2

鈥淧retty similar to race 1; a good start, pulled a big gap and just kept at a consistent pace and brought it home in 1st place and secured the championship win.鈥�

Sunday

Race 3

鈥淚t was cold so I had to think about how to ride so I didn鈥檛 overdo it. I put a gap to 2nd and brought it home in 1st place.鈥�听

Race 4

鈥淢y 1st wet race! Good start and just rode smart but after a few laps I caught some back-markers and lost a lot of time letting a few other riders catch. Sean took me into turn 1 after I ran wide, but I retook the position and pulled a little gap to bring it back home in 1st for the last time of the year and with the championship win.

鈥淔antastic last round with 4 from 4 wins. Big shout out to Ollie who I鈥檝e battled hard with all year, not the way I wanted the year to end. GWS mate.

鈥淭hank you each & every one of our sponsors supporters and friends.鈥�

鈥淲e have just completed the penultimate round of the 2025 season, heading back up to Oulton Park for Round 10.

“After Luke put a lot of effort into his recovery, he managed to gain back the strength in his shoulder and was back on his Honda to take part alongside Jamie.

“Friday started off with both Free Practice sessions. Luke finished P7 in both of these after showing great pace. We also then had a Pre-Qualifying in which he took 11th place automatically being put through to Q2. A brilliant start to the weekend!

“As for Jamie, his engine blew after a few laps of FP1, resulting in an engine change for the team and now limited track time鈥� The team managed to get the engine swapped before FP2, however a technical gremlin meant he only competed 3 laps in the second session.

“Saturday morning, we were supposed to be out for our FP3 session, the horrendous rain however put a halt to any proceedings until further notice. Eventually we got out at 12:50 for the 10-minute session.

“We were ready to go for Qualifying. Jamie made his way out for Q1, he completed 4 laps with a best of 1:54.624. He would start race 1 from 22nd.

“Now it was time for Luke to go out. He was sat in P3 for most of the session but finished in P9, this was a 3rd row start and a great performance by Luke. His best lap time was a 1:46.084, just 1.463 off of pole.

“Race 1 was shortened to 14 laps after a red flag for rain. Luke had a great ride and finished in 12th, bringing home more points. Jamie didn鈥檛 make the end and pulled in due to a slight issue with the bike.”

“Sunday we had to 2 more races鈥� Race 2 Luke started from 16th and Jamie 23rd. We got underway and a few laps in then the red flag got shown due to contamination of the track.

“After a lengthy delay we got a rescheduled 8 lap sprint. Both Luke and Jamie were setting steady and consistent lap times and came across the line in 16th and 20th. 听

“For the third and final race of the weekend we were 17th on the grid with LH, and 22^nd with JD. Luke circulated 4 times before making his way down pit-lane with a technical issue.

“Jamie was still out to complete the race and was right on the back of a battle between B. Baker and J. Van Sikkelerus marginally ahead of him. He stayed with them throughout the whole race and took the flag 0.9 seconds behind them.听

“Overall, a very good weekend for the team despite the weather conditions.”

鈥淩ound 5 of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship took place at Brands Hatch in Kent, England.

鈥淥n Friday afternoon, we went out on track at 1pm for our first session, and 4pm for Free Practice 2. After both of the two 40-minute sessions ran smoothly, both Luke and Jamie were happy with how the bikes felt ahead of the rest of the weekend coming up.

鈥淭he next morning, we were out early at 9am for a 10-minute FP3. Luke finished P14 and Jamie P21.

鈥淏oth of our Honda machines were out for Q1; Luke went out for six circulations, setting a best of 1:26.221 鈥� just missing out on Q2! Jamie set seven laps 鈥� a 1:27.605 his fastest.”

鈥淲e started the first race of the weekend from 16th and 24^th respectively. We had a dry track under us for Race 1. Following on from Luke鈥檚 point scoring streak, we hoped to gain a few more this weekend; he rode a great race to bring home another point in P15.

鈥淛amie finished 22^nd; he was feeling very confident in the bike and happy with finishing the 20-lapper. We still had more to come!

鈥淥n Sunday morning, we headed out early for the warm-up session ahead of the two races later on in the afternoon.

鈥淒ue to Race 1鈥檚 lap times, Luke lined up 16th (1:26.605) and Jamie slotted in 23rd (1:28.107). This race was strong from both of our riders. On the #23 side of the garage, Luke scored his best finish this season, crossing the 12-lap sprint race in 13th after battling with Swann, Stacey and Mcconnell. On Jamie鈥檚 side of the garage, he took half a second off his best lap time and crossed the line P20; a brilliant race for both of our riders and a great setup for us headed into the final race.

鈥淟uke started P14 and Jamie 21st for Race 3. Luke had another very strong race, fighting throughout the whole race for another point finish. He finished 14th 鈥� less than half a second off Mconnell.”

鈥淎 little unlucky on Jamie鈥檚 side as he pulled into the pit after a mechanical issue.”

“Overall, a very strong weekend from both of our riders. A haul of points added to the riders鈥� Championships, with both feeling confident and happy with how their bikes feel and the direction we are heading in. Roll on Thruxton!鈥�

Luca Wilkinson

Round 2 鈥� Oulton Park

鈥淪o, after the incredible (until it wasn鈥檛) weekend at Brands, it鈥檚 been a full-on two weeks to get the bike fixed & ready for听Bemsee听Round 2听Oulton Park.

鈥淲e owe a massive thanks to Team听NW Racing听and a lot of other people for the huge effort to sort the bike 鈥撎齳ou sure are the best!

鈥淲ith beautiful weather, it was amazing to be at this iconic track for Luca’s first time.

We knew we would have some teething issues with the bike having such a big rebuild, but the team worked flawlessly and by the last three sessions, we were in a good position.

鈥淔riday Qualifying went great, finishing P8 鈥� P3 in class.

鈥淩ace 1 – Great race with Luca taking the F400 lead and finishing P9 鈥� P3 in class. Very happy with that, having never ridden the track before and knowing the calibre of the riders in the F400.

鈥淩ace 2 – Another great start and again fighting for 3rd, Luca finished P4 in class behind the flying听Team Marshall Racing.

鈥淩ace 3 – Great start and into the class lead down into Cascades, Luca pushed hard and again managed a P3 in class behind听David Lindemann and听Craig Dance.

鈥淲e are so happy with the results, learning every lap, following some amazing riders who are happy to help and give advice to help Luca improve 鈥� we have to say a huge thanks for this it鈥檚 an incredible gesture and much appreciated. Each race Luca managed to close the gap to the class leaders, which is our aim this year.鈥�

Zack Weston

Round 2 鈥� Oulton Park

鈥淨ualifying – After a good practice, I was feeling good on the bike and was happy with the setup. I didn鈥檛 get out at the front, but I was still able to set my laps on my own and put it on the front row!

鈥淩ace 1 – I got an amazing start from P2 and pulled the holeshot. After leading for a few laps and setting good pace, Nathan Harrison came past so I stuck in and tagged onto the back of him, finishing P2.听

鈥淩ace 2 – After a good race 1, I was hoping for the same in race 2, it was a good first half of the race starting in P2 and pulling on P3, but the second half I struggled really bad with rear grip and dropped back into p3.听

鈥淩ace 3 – After a disappointing race 2, I put everything into race 3. I didn鈥檛 get a good start, dropping back to P3, so I sent it into the lead down cascades T3. After a lot of moves and close racing, it came down to the last corner. I tried to drag it to the line but missed out on P1 by 0.03 seconds.

鈥淥verall, a great weekend of racing, time with family and friends and some of our amazing sponsors.

鈥淗uge thank you to all of my sponsors.鈥�

Image credits:

Luca Wilkinson

鈥淭he dust has settled on the first race weekend on the new听Kawasaki UK听ZX-4RR at Brands Hatch and what an amazing weekend it was.

鈥淔irst, we have to thank the听NW Racing听team for all the support coming into this weekend. We have worked hard and everything was in place with the setup looking听great.

鈥淲ith the weather bright and sunny but very cold, in Friday practice we just chipped away. Happy with progress and with the whole team having put in good times, we were ready for qualifying.

鈥淩acing on a mixed grid consisting of SuperTwins, Thunderbike Sport and the F400s made for an interesting mix of bikes. Qualifying went really well and Luca ended up P6 overall and P2 in class behind the ever-quick听Craig Dance.

鈥淩ace 1 – Great race where Luca ended up in P1 in class and 11th overall. Not a bad start.

鈥淩ace 2 – With the sun setting, it had gone very cold. Luca carried on pushing and put in a PB but didn鈥檛 have the pace to go with Craig and came home P2 in class and P12 overall.

鈥淩ace 3 – Great start and into the class lead down into Paddock Hill, after that Luca lead from start to finish to get P1 in class and P6 overall.

鈥淩ace 3 鈥� Again, last race of the day and the sun was going down and the temperature was again dropping. Another great start and following Craig who was setting a great pace. Hitting PBs on every lap, Luca took advantage of a back marker and managed to pass Craig on the Brabham Straight. Unfortunately, that鈥檚 where the weekend went down fast. Coming into Graham Hill Luca lost the front on the brakes. He was fine but the bike decided to protest.

“Overall, it was a fantastic weekend for not only Luca but the whole team.鈥�

Zack Weston

鈥淧ractice: I went out thinking it would take some time to get up to speed, but I felt really comfortable and confident on the bike, and I was able to get up to speed straight away, surprising myself and the team.

鈥淨ualifying: After a good practice, I was confident going into qualifying. I didn鈥檛 quite get out where I wanted to but I was able to dig in and set a lap time that put me on the front row!

鈥淩ace 1: After an amazing qualifying, I was ready for race 1. I didn鈥檛 get the best start but it was a long race so I knew it was fine, it was a difficult race as it was 18 laps and I was struggling with rear grip but I managed it to the end and missed out on a podium by 0.1 seconds, to achieve P4.

鈥淩ace 2: After missing out on a podium in race one, I went for it in race 2, I got a good start getting into P2 into turn 1 and then taking the lead into turn 2 鈥撎齣t was a good race with lots of changes in positions and I was able to get up into P2 and finally get the podium.

“Race 3: After a good start, I had a huge slide out of T3 and dropped back 6 positions, I thought my race was finished, after a couple of laps I got back into my rhythm and picked riders of one by one, going onto the last lap I was in p4 and gave it everything and was able to get P3 on the line.

鈥淥verall, a great weekend with some amazing racing, time with friends and family along with a some of our amazing sponsors and Club35 members.鈥�

鈥淩ound 4 saw us go to the spectacular听Donington Park听鈥� another new track for Luca, but we had enlisted the awesome听NW Racing to help learn the track on Friday morning with our mega instructor, Andrew Wales, booked for the afternoon. It was tough and Luca worked really hard learning the track, especially the section from Redgate to McLeans. Pleased with the pace, we were ready to go.”

Qualifying:

鈥淲e had a target, and Luca absolutely smashed it, with his first ever qualifying pole position and 0.5 under the track record.”

Race 1:

鈥淕ot the holeshot, but this was no walk in the park. Beat the official track record with a blistering 1:21:920听and finished 2^nd behind Zack 鈥� just in front of听Kade Watt after a race-long battle which was cut short due to a red flag.”

Race 2:

鈥淕reat start and another race-long battle with Zack and Kade. Lost the lap record to Zack but gained the win 鈥� very happy with that.”

Race 3:

鈥淪traight into the lead and Luca and Zack started to pull away. With a 1.8sec lead, it was looking comfortable until Luca lost the front in the last chicane and down he went, taking Zack with him so a disappointing DNF for both but no injuries and bikes fixable.”

Race 4:

鈥淒espite the DNF, Luca and Zack were still 1 and 2 on the grid. The pace was a little slower this race which played into Luca鈥檚 hands as he settled in after the off in Race 3. Lots of place swaps ensued and with a bit of luck encountering the back makers on the last lap Luca, finished 1^st.

鈥淪o, to summarise, we went from a DNF to PRETTY AWESOME! As always, thanks to all our sponsors and all the help we鈥檝e had along the way.鈥�