Clarke must settle for Superstock 23rd spot
Aaron Clarke. Photo: David Yeomans.
Aaron Clarke rode to a creditable 23rd place in round two of the Pirelli National Superstock 1000 championship on Monday at Oulton Park in tricky conditions.
In Sunday's qualifying session he was the 24th fastest rider from the 47 riders out on track.
He was unfortunate to slip off at Island Bends in the latter stages of the session and although he was fine the KCB Racing BMW was not so lucky.
But the team pulled out all the stops and got it back up and running in the evening ready for Monday's 18 lap race.
Racing was delayed because of track contamination which caused the morning warm up to be cancelled and, after early morning rain left the track wet, the Stock 1000 race was reduced in length to 14 laps and a wet race declared.
Starting from row eight of the grid Clarke made a good start and moved straight up into 19th place.
But after encountering problems with the quick shift he lost ground to 23rd on lap nine where he remained to the chequered flag.
Clarke said: "I got off the line at the start really well and made up a few places through the first couple of corners but as the race progressed and the field settled down I did drop back a bit.
"My quick shift was intermittent which made changing gear a bit more difficult and I had a few problems with the rear wheel spinning and sliding in the wet.
"But I learned a lot from the race and was pleased to find the bike was really good on the brakes.
"Having moved up from the stock 600 class this year all this is new to me and it's a huge learning curve but I will persevere and it will all come together with a few more races under my belt.
"The stock 1000 class is full of very experienced and fast riders but I am enjoying the experience and the bike is awesome."
The series moves on to the National circuit at Donington Park for round three which takes place over the Whit Bank Holiday of May 24-26 and will see the stock 1000 riders contest three races, two back to back on Saturday and the third race on Sunday.
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