Luca Wilkinson aka El Loco #76

Round 1 鈥� Oulton Park

鈥淔riday practice was OK. I didn鈥檛 feel great in the new leathers and had a small issue with the electronics on the bike (quickshifter and blipper), but it was OK. In qualifying I only got two laps in as the clutch failed, so we qualified at the back of the grid.

鈥淩ace 1 鈥� Great start from last up to 14th and trying to push forward, but the new leathers really caused me pain. I鈥檇 never had arm pump and it was the worst feeling. I eventually had to retire on lap seven as it was becoming dangerous. So disappointed, but the right decision.

鈥淩ace 2 鈥� Starting from P14 I had another brilliant start up to P8, settled in and was battling for P9, but the engine started overheating and I eventually got meatballed (black and orange flag). A really disappointing weekend, but the team worked so hard and we鈥檝e now resolved the mechanical issues that were causing the problems. Roll on Donington Park.鈥�

Round 2 鈥� Donington Park

鈥淪traight from my exams, it was a mad dash to get on track. Three laps to settle, then Nick pulled me in, told me what I needed to do, and I beat my previous PB by 2.1 seconds with a 1:41.9 to sit P9 by the end of the session. In qualifying I got onto the pace straight away and on my fourth flying lap went quicker still for a new PB of 1:40.8, putting me ninth on the grid. Really happy with a top-ten grid spot.

鈥淩ace 1 鈥� A wet race! Not the best start as I spun up off the line, and on the first lap through Starkey鈥檚 a rider ahead lost the rear and sent me across the wet grass at 100mph 鈥� new underwear time! I jumped the access road and managed to rejoin just before Coppice, dead last. The safety car came out and caught the riders in front, so we lost the pack and I was 12.5s behind at the restart. I settled in, pushed as hard as I could, had a few little slides but brought it home in 9th, setting a time that put me on the front row in P2. Well pleased.

鈥淩ace 2 鈥� I got a good start but Marley overtook, then up towards McLeans I dived up the inside of Ben to take P2, which I held until he got back past into the Esses. The first couple of laps we were all swapping positions, but with about five laps to go I got back into 2nd and tried to catch Marley. Unfortunately it started to rain slightly and I had a slide out of Melbourne which knocked my confidence, so I dropped back from the leading three. On the last lap Lewis came up my inside into Melbourne, then into Goddards I made a late dive up the inside and held it to the line, with Lewis only 0.01s behind. Very, very happy with the weekend and I can鈥檛 wait to go again at Knockhill.鈥�

Zack Weston 鈥� #35

Round 1 鈥� Oulton Park

鈥淒efinitely not the weekend I thought it would be 鈥� a bit of bad luck with technical issues that made the bike really difficult to ride. I did what I could in the races and brought it home. Donington is next weekend so we go again there. Thank you to everyone who makes it 辫辞蝉蝉颈产濒别.鈥�

Round 2 鈥� Donington Park

鈥淥verall we made a good step with the bike. The team did an amazing job every session, solving technical issues and putting together set-ups. Qualifying wasn鈥檛 amazing as I couldn鈥檛 get into a rhythm, but I got stuck in during the race and moved forward. Race 2 started well and I was battling with a group of riders, but I struggled with rear grip in the latter stages. A massive thank you to the team for all their hard work this weekend. Roll on Knockhill, and thank you to everyone who makes it 辫辞蝉蝉颈产濒别.鈥�

Craig Dance

Round 1 鈥� Oulton Park

鈥淎 difficult weekend getting used to the bike and bedding in all the new gear in FP1 and FP2. Qualifying was decent in P30. I had pace and felt confident, but something felt wrong with the bike as I was basically last in every speed trap, which is unusual for me 鈥� we鈥檙e looking into it.

鈥淩ace 1 鈥� DNF. On lap one a rider ahead had an issue and unfortunately I was directly behind him. I just managed to swerve in time but still ripped my fairings off, which meant I was shown the meatball flag to retire the bike. Race 2 鈥� P31. I definitely felt I could have done a lot better, but it is what it is and we roll on to Round 2. Thanks to the team for getting my bike ready and looking fresh, and thank you to my sponsors who make all this 辫辞蝉蝉颈产濒别.鈥�

Hudson Cooper 鈥� #27

Round 1 鈥� Oulton Park

鈥淭he weekend at Oulton Park started on a very positive note as I continued to build confidence and pace in my debut season in the Moto4 British Cup. After running around the top ten in class throughout free practice, I qualified an impressive P7.

鈥淚n Race 1 I had a great start and was running competitively inside the top five. Unfortunately my race ended on the penultimate lap while running P5, after I lost the front through the dip in the chicane and crashed out of contention. I鈥檇 also like to apologise to Luke Fitchett, who hit my bike during the incident.

鈥淒uring the crash I suffered a significant laceration to my neck after contact with the screen of the bike, as well as a knock to the head. The British Superbike Championship medical team were outstanding, providing exceptional care both at the circuit and during the assessments that followed. I was later diagnosed with concussion which, under championship regulations, ruled me out for 20 days 鈥� meaning I sadly missed Round 2 at Donington Park.

鈥淲hile it was disappointing not to line up, the positives from Oulton Park far outweigh that. Qualifying P7 and battling with the front group for a top-five position showed the progress we鈥檝e made and confirmed we have genuine top-ten pace in this highly competitive championship.

鈥淚 still attended Donington Park for Round 2 and took part in the Moto4 rider fitness test. It was great to support the NW Racing team all weekend, and I was also invited onto the BSB Radio commentary team for the Moto4 class, which was a great experience.

鈥淢y focus now turns to recovery. I鈥檒l keep working on my fitness programme with my personal trainer at Storme CrossFit Ashby and come back stronger, fitter and even more motivated for the next round at Snetterton. A huge thank you to everyone who has messaged and offered support since the crash 鈥� it鈥檚 been massively appreciated. Thanks also to the entire NW Racing team, my chief mechanic Simon from Powertech UK, my sponsors, and everyone who continues to support me on this journey.鈥�

The whole team now looks ahead to the next rounds at Knockhill and Snetterton, with everyone at 91传媒 wishing Hudson a speedy recovery.

Image credits: Torq Media

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�

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�