Here you will be able to view all the latest Press Releases on Ben Wylie, Dan Smith and Steve Heneghan.
The Wylie and Holland Racing team had yet more of their season long bad luck at the Penultimate round of the Fuchs Silkolene British Supersport Championship from Silverstone, when injuries and technical problems hindered them further in a problem prone 2008 season.
The weekend started with the free practice session delayed due to the foggy conditions at the Northamptonshire circuit. When the first outing of the weekend finally got underway, visibility was still poor, but Ben put the hammer down and recorded a good time to start the weekend off with, provisionally placing him in the twenties. When the track had warmed and the fog had had definitely disappeared, the Market Drayton local took over a second off his time, but only pushing him up one place.
In the first of the two qualifying sessions, yet again in foggy conditions, Ben knocked another second off his time, but did not improve position wise, from the previous sessions. He was recorded through the speed traps at an impressive 141mph. Again the warmth grew in the afternoon, but Ben suffered problems with the wheels being imbalanced, and therefore, did not manage to improve on his time at all, leaving him in thirtieth position, on the eighth row of the grid.
“The problems in qualifying ruined the weekend for me, as although I was only two seconds off of pole position, I couldn’t do much from thirtieth place on the grid.” Commented the down heartened local rider, “If I did these times last year, I would have been sixth in the race. Just shows how much this class has developed this year.”
The race started with as usual, a great start from Ben, but his injuries to his ribs, from a few months ago, when asked to guest ride in another championship hindered him, meaning he couldn’t run at 100%. He did however manage to pass plenty a rider, and finish in a well deserved twenty second place, after a three way battle that he came out on top of, ahead of a factory Honda rider.
Team Principal, Tony McPhillips added, “Our season is over really, due to our continued bad luck, and we hope to finish on a high at the last round, where we will hopefully have three riders under the Wylie and Holland Racing banner.”
When asked to comment on next years plans, the forever smiling co-owner, Anne Wylie said, “We will have to sit down and think about it, when the season has finished, but we hope to be doing something similar next year”
Simon Deaville, another Shropshire local, finished his first race in over a year and half aboard the Wylie and Holland Racing Yamaha R6 Superstock bike, and did well when he finished in the top thirties.
Connor Behan also rode a Superstock 600 bike, but he had a miserable introduction to the class, when he crashed in the first session, and had a mechanical failure in the second. Sadly he didn’t qualify but was so close in the few laps he completed. He did however impress the team, with his riding and especially in his first class the GP125, where he finished on the rostrum in third position, after a failed last corner move for second that amazed everyone.
The Wylie and Holland team now have a short break before heading to the final round where they will be going all out to finish on that elusive high at the Kent based circuit, Brands Hatch.
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Local rider, Ben and the Wylie and Holland Racing team rode the wheels off the Yamaha R6 this weekend, at the North Yorkshire based, Croft Circuit in the Fuchs Silkolene British Supersport Championship, when the Market Drayton rider finished in the top twenty.
The soggy Croft Circuit was host to the tenth round of the British Superbike Championship last weekend, which is not one of Ben’s favoured tracks, as he is never happy with the results he produces there. The first free practice started with a top thirty position for Ben. He was, as usual, quick through the speed traps, clocking an impressive 141.6 miles per hour, which he sustained throughout the weekend. He improved again in the second session, knocking almost another second off his time, surpassing his times from last year. He was 24th in the session, improving on his time and placing in the dry weather conditions.
Qualifying began on the Saturday with a drying track after a downpour throughout the night. In the final session, Ben did a brilliant time, placing him in twenty fourth position, almost a second under his 2007 times. This put him on the sixth row of the grid, ahead of one of the factory Yamaha riders.
The race started well, with Ben making a good start, taking a couple of places on the first lap, but the race was soon stopped, when a big crash on the first corner called out the paramedics and ambulance. The track was cleared, and the riders came out to form on the grid for a second time. The race would now be a ten lap sprint to the finish, with the previous racing deciding the new start places. Ben started from the sixth row still, but in twenty second position. Again he started well, and on the first four laps, over took a rider each lap. He then played cat and mouse with the European Superstock rider, Alex Lowes. Lowes finally just managed to get an advantage over local rider, Ben Wylie, over the line, when he took seventeenth position by 3 tenths of a second.
Ben was as usual not overly impressed with his result, but knew he had struggled with pace throughout the weekend, “The race stoppage was actually an advantage for us, as we were worried about the tyres lasting the whole race, so we had a new tyre for the second half.” Commented Ben.
In the remaining two rounds, Ben wants to be in and around the top ten again, fighting for points. Manager, Tony McPhillips, was happy with the progress from Ben within the race, but knew he struggled at this particular circuit.
Ben and the team have not yet finalised their plans for next year, but there may well be some suprises before the season is up. In the meantime however, they will focus on the penultimate round of the Championship, at the historic and famous track, Silverstone in a weeks time.
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Ben Wylie rode to a safe result at the recent Lincolnshire based track, Cadwell Park, in the Fuchs Silkolene British Supersport Championship aboard his Wylie and Holland Racing Yamaha R6, when he took 22nd place in what was a difficult race.
Ben started the weekend well, by setting a good time in the first of the two free practice sessions on the Saturday, and placing him in the top thirty, and being clocked through the speed traps at almost 150mph. In the second outing Ben improved on his time by over a second but only putting him in 29th position.
The first of the two qualifying sessions took place in dry weather on a damp track after a large amount of rainfall during the night. As the afternoon sessions were going to be dry, the riders just took the time to practice in the wet. When the track had dried, Ben put in a brilliant time, after stoppages due to smoke on the track from a fire in the campsite, and was placed on the ninth row in twenty sixth place. Due to the thin track, there was only three on a row, compared to the usual four to a row grid formation used at all other tracks.
The race took place in the sunshine, and the Market Drayton rider made a brilliant start, making up eight places off the start, but the race was red flagged before the first lap had ended, due to a crash at the first corner, causing a large delay.
The race restarted and Ben didn’t make as good a start, and had to ride as hard as possible to catch up, and then made a mistake in the last corner of the first lap, so was riding the wheels off of the bike to make it up to his impressive finishing place of twenty second place. A brilliant result in the circumstances, and still recovering from an injury at an endurance race he was invited to ride in, where he chipped the socket in his shoulder and bruised his ribs, meaning he was strapped up inside his leathers, but still managed to ride at record pace, surpassing his time from last season by almost two seconds.
Ben commented, “The injuries didn’t really effect me too much, which is good, but I am really looking forward to Croft now.”
Team Manager, Tony McPhilips was pleased with the teams continuing improvement and welcomed aboard the newest addition to the team, Simon Deville, who rode in place of Dan Smith for this round, and is hoping to continue with the friendly team until the end of the season. Simon didn’t manage to qualify, as he has not been racing for almost a year, but impressed the team with his talent and natural ability.
The team now head to the Croft circuit in North Yorkshire for the tenth round of the Championship in two weeks time.
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Local rider, Ben Wylie surpassed all expectations this weekend, when he rode the Wylie and Holland Racing Yamaha R6 to an impressive top ten position in the Fuchs Silkolene British Supersport Championship last weekend at his home track, Oulton Park.
Heading to the seventh round of the Championship, the team were worried, as they fought against the tight deadline to rebuild two bikes. By the Friday morning of practice day, they had a bike ready for the session, which had to be set up from scratch, meaning Ben was down the order, in thirty first place in the damp conditions.
In the afternoon, as the track dried, Market Drayton rider, Ben, managed to reduce his time by over seven seconds. With the bike improving all the time, Ben’s confidence was growing and his times continued to tumble.
The first of the two qualifying sessions took place in the middle of a down pour, leaving Ben in twenty ninth position. When the rain stopped and the track was dry again, Ben managed to pull out an impressive time, under a second off Pole position, giving him a third row start in tenth place. He had managed to out qualify some household names, including, John McGuiness and Ian Hutchinson even though he was coming from a smaller set up and a less funded team. He also managed to take top spot through the speed traps, at over 130 mph, a second faster than the second quickest.
In the morning of the race, the Wylie and Holland rider was fifteenth quickest in yet another wet session. When the race was to begin, Ben didn’t get as good a start as he usually produces and seemed to get bogged down by other riders, leaving him down in thirteenth position on the first lap. He soon started to move up the order, in a seven way battle for ninth position. He fought with the likes of Cup leader, Craig Fitzpatrick, and earlier mentioned, Ian Hutchinson.
Ben came out on top, taking the ninth position by over half a second, which is an impressive lead in such a close championship. Ben now enters the top twenty in the championship standings, which is another impressive feat, after all the bad luck that has followed him so far this season.
“I was really happy to finally achieve the results we know we are capable of. I made a mistake into the first corner, but apart from that it was great to battling at the front.” Smiled the elated rider, “I have to thank all the members of my team, they have been faulteless. It is great to finally give them something to show for their hard work and effort. The next stop is a podium.”
Team Manager, Tony McPhillips said, “It is great to get a result for team owners Anne Wylie and Cliff Holland, as we needed a decent result to get the second half of the season off to a good start”
Junior rider, Dan Smith also did well after coming back from injury and managing a well deserved twenty sixth place, after he suffered with arm pump, which is a problem that faces racers, when they put so much stress on their lower arms, under braking and acceleration.
Ben and the team now head to the Scottish round of the championship, at the picturesque Knockhill circuit. The team will be aiming at another top ten finish, if not a podium placing.
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Coalville rider, Dan Smith, rode the Wylie and Holland Racing Yamaha R6 to a brilliant placing in the latest round of the Metzeler National Superstock 600 Championship at the Cheshire based track, Oulton Park.
Dan returned to the championship after a huge crash at Thruxton, only the second round of the season. His ankle has healed, but without racing for such a long time, Dan was not fully fit for the rigours of a fifteen lap race.
In the free practice session on the Friday morning, Dan set a very respectable time, provisionally placing him in nineteenth. He was eighth fastest through the speed traps at almost 135 mph.
The first qualifying session followed in the afternoon. Dan knocked almost a second off his time, but did not improve in his placing, as everyone picked up the pace, with them having the advantage of already racing there earlier on in the season. The second qualifying was in the wet, meaning, no one would improve their times, so Dan was on the seventh row of the grid in twenty eighth position, an impressive result after such a time away.
When the lights went out, the adrenaline rush hit, and Dan started only his third race of the season. He was squeezed out into the first corner, putting him down the order into 33rd position. The first four laps passed with Dan climbing the order well. Then, on the sixth lap, a racers worst nightmare hit, when he got arm pump. Arm pump is a common condition in racers, that is contracted when the arms are constantly under pressure, from harsh braking and accelerating, which is exaggerated on such a physical circuit as Oulton Park. This meant that Dan was struggling to hold onto the machine, let alone race it. His lap times dropped by over a second, and he was falling back into the clutches of the riders behind him. He managed to muster up the strength to cross the finish line almost two seconds ahead of his nearest rival, in 25th position.
Wylie and Holland Racing, Team Manager, Tony McPhillips commented, “Dan is still a little rusty, after such a long time away from racing, but it won’t be long before he is back on the pace, fighting with the front runners for podiums.” Said the confident manager, “It was very important that Dan finished the race without any problems to restore confidence in himself and the bikes.”
Although Dan was not pleased with the result, he was glad to be back racing, “The race was a disappointment, but I was happy to just finish. I am going to train hard before the next round, to combat the arm pump problems, which I’ve never struggled with before.”
Dan now has a three week break before he heads to Scotland for the eighth round of the championship, at the picturesque Knockhill circuit, on the second weekend in August.
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Ben rode the Wylie and Holland Racing Yamaha R6 to a superb placing after another weekend of bad luck for the team in the Fuchs Silkolene British Supersport Championship.
Ben started the weekend well, reaching over 153mph on the back straight, with an average speed of over 100mph on the notoriously fast Norfolk circuit. He placed himself twenty second in the first session, giving the team enough data to further set the bike up for the second outing. The Market Drayton rider knocked almost a second off his time in the second session, with his best time of the weekend, riding the two mile circuit in under a minute and ten seconds, giving him a top twenty placing.
Qualifying was the next session, and Ben banked a time early, placing him in a provisional 29th on the grid. This was to be his final placing, after he had a mechanical problem, causing him to pull the bike over at the second corner and abandon the session. The team worked hard to get last years bike ready for the second session, which would be their only set up time in readiness for the race the next day. This was to no avail, as the afternoon turned to rain, further hindering them, and leaving them with just the ten minute warm up to get the bike right.
“The 2007 bike is so different to my 2008 bike, but I had no option, but to use it. It is not as smooth as my other bike, and we struggled slightly with set up and time.” Commented the down heartened racer.
Ben flew off the eighth row of the grid at the start of the fifth race of the Championship in his usual style, making up places into the first corner. With such little time to set the bike up for the race, Ben rode like the wind pushing himself and machine to the limit, and managing to finish the shortened race in a very impressive twenty first position, just behind the Isle of Man TT legend, John McGuiness. The race was stopped after only twelve of eighteen laps, when team mate, Midge Smart crashed, causing the red flags to come out.
“If the race had run full distance, I would have got into the points, in the top fifteen, but at least Midge is ok, and will be racing at Mallory.” Commented the local rider.
Crew Chief, Nathan Smith said, “It’s very doubtful that we will have the 08 bike ready for Mallory, but last years bikes will be ready to race, and we will have data from last year to help with set up, so we will be more prepared.”
Tony McPhilips, team manager commented that the weekend had been very trying, “Ben did really well considering the problems we had. This year has been an experiment, with the expansion of the team, and whilst we are pleased with many aspects, we are re-accessing the situation from Mallory onwards.” The team hope for their deserved results, after all the hard work and perseverance they have put into racing in the largest domestic championship in the world.
Ben and Midge now head for the Leicester based, Mallory park for the sixth round of the championship, on June 29th. Only the Fuchs Silkolene British Supersport side of the garage will be racing, as the paddock is limited on space, meaning the Superstock 600’s will not be in attendance.
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Steve rode the Quattro Plant, HCL, Yomotto Yamaha R1 to a brilliant finish after first lap problems prevented him from a higher finish.
Steve started the weekend well on the Norfolk based Snetterton track, known as one of the fastest circuits in the UK. Steve put a good time in on the Friday practice session around the two mile circuit. He was looking good, and being clocked at over 150mph on the back straight, a phenomenal speed to reach before braking hard for the tight esses section, that is taken at less than 50mph.
Steve ended the day with the first qualifying session, placing him in a provisional thirty second position. He improved his time from the warm up by almost a second and increasing his speed through the speed trap. The second session the following day was not as warm, leaving Steve with his original time, and placing him on row 9 of the grid.
The first race started well for Steve, having a blinding start, taking him to the middle of the pack, but after the long back straight, he had to run straight on, as there was no where else for him to go, with another rider squeezing him out. This placed him dead last, as he had to run around the corner and wait to get back on track and racing again. He slowly clawed his way back up the order, passing another rider almost every lap, and jumping the order up to a brilliant twenty eighth position from the forty strong field.
“I wasn’t happy with the result, because I could have been in the top twenty or even fifteen if I hadn’t have been forced out on the first lap.” Commented the Harrow racer. “I was hoping for better luck in the second race, as I was really happy with the set up of the bike, but that wasn’t to be either”
Steve didn’t get to race again, due to the storms causing delays earlier in the day and the light conditions wouldn’t have been suitable, so the second race will be re run at a later date in the year.
Steve now has a small break until the second visit to Oulton Park, when the sixth round of the Championship takes place on July the 20th, where Steve will be hoping to be back up to speed and have better luck at the Cheshire based track.
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Local rider, Ben Wylie rode the Wylie and Holland Yamaha R6 to a brilliant twelfth place in the Fuchs Silkolene Supersport race, at the Donington Park grand prix circuit in Leicestershire.
Ben started the weekend well, when in the first of the two free practice sessions, he managed to shave half a second off his best time from 2007, and was quicker than his team mate, Midge Smart. In the second session, Ben impressively shaved another second off his time, and was an extra mile an hour quicker through the speed traps at almost 150mph. This gave him the sixteenth quickest time, not far behind the visiting World Supersport riders, which included the current Champions.
In qualifying that followed the next day, Ben was quick again, but suffered problems in the dry session, and subsequently missed the last ten minutes. This prevented him from posting a quicker time, which he was sure to succeed in doing. He recorded a time of just over 1 minute 37 seconds, for the two and a half mile circuit, which placed him on the sixth row of the grid in twenty third position, ahead of his team mate in twenty fifth.
“I felt I could have got on the front four rows if I hadn’t have had problems, as I was competitive in all the previous sessions” commented the disappointed Market Drayton Rider.
In the race, Ben unusually had a bad start, and went back a few places into the first corner. He made up a couple of places before the end of the lap, and there was no stopping him after that. He entered into a battle for seventeenth position mid race, swapping positions every few corners. He managed to get the better of them, and rode like the wind to bridge the almost four second gap up to his team mate. He caught him within four laps and passed him with ease. He then set his sights on the Staffordshire rider ahead of him, Sam Owens. He was over four seconds behind Sam, but caught him within two laps, and passed him on the penultimate lap, giving him twelfth position, and collecting four points towards his Championship campaign.
“Twelfth is a good result, and my best so far this season, but I am still disappointed with it, and think with better qualifying, and a good start I could be running up at the front.” Commented Ben, “It was good to have the World Supersport Ten Kate team there, as they are the best Supersport machines in the world at the moment, and to have our bikes faster through the speed traps than them on nearly every classification, is great for the team, riders and all our sponsors.”
Team Manager, Tony said, “Ben secured a respectable finish, but we all know he is capable of running at the front. Each round sees progress from the team, and even though we were understaffed this weekend, we performed well as a team, with thanks to Co Team Owner, Cliff Holland, who helped out in the garage, with his vast experience.”
Midge Smart, team mate to Ben, rode the 2008 bike for the first time this weekend, but struggled with the handling. He had tyre problems in the race, causing him to fall backwards slightly in the order. Dan sadly didn’t qualify after he had mechanical problems in the only dry session, meaning he couldn’t improve on his time, at his home circuit.
The team now head to the Norfolk based Snetterton circuit, with the knowledge that their bikes, on a limited budget and test time, are a match for the World Supersport bikes, especially when it comes to speed, but they have some work to do in other areas. They will be at Snetterton on June 15th, hoping for better results from all three riders, after Matt Bilton left the team to run on his own.
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Ben and the Wylie and Holland Racing team attended the re-run of the snowed off Brands Hatch round of the Fuchs Silkolene British Supersport Championship last weekend, and came away with some good results, and strong promise for the next round.
With qualifying already having been settled at the previous visit to the Kent circuit, back in April. Ben had had some trouble with technical problems, and had only managed a fourth row start in fifteenth position, which considering the problems he had had, was very respectable.
In the first of the free practice sessions, Ben had made the Wylie and Holland Racing Yamaha R6 machine fifth fastest through the speed traps, at almost 120mph. The timings were close, but not as much as the second session, where Ben was 17th fastest, but half a second would have put him up in the top five. He improved his time, shaving off almost a second from the morning practice, and was clocked fastest through the speed traps at over 147 mph.
The race was on the scorching Sunday afternoon, with a reported track temperature of over 40˚C, which at such high temperatures causes less grip, being compared to riding in the wet. Ben started the race making up a few places on the fist lap, which was short lived when an incident at the first corner caused the safety car to come out, meaning the riders had to slow down, behind the Audi R8, until the incident had been cleared.
After 3 laps behind the safety car, the race was back on, and Ben started to climb back up the order from down in 18th position. He slowly passed riders, and eventually ended up in a four way battle, which after another outing for the safety car, meant he was at the front of the pack, and came home in a respectable 14th position, picking up two points towards his championship campaign.
“Finishing 14th in the race is not where I want to be, but qualifying so low down caused problems for me, and with the race being so close, it was difficult to achieve any more” commented the local hero, “My lap times were consistent with the front runners, so I know that I can run with them” said the down heartened racer.”
Team Manager, Tony McPhillips said, “Ben rode a steady race and finished in a healthy position.” When commenting on the other members of the team, he said, “I was particularly pleased with the pit crew and their performance, in only our third meeting as such a large team. Midge was brilliant riding up in seventh position, but due to a mechanical problem had to pull into pit lane early, meaning he did not finish, but showed a lot of promise. Matt Bilton was also showing his former promise, but unfortunately crashed out.”
Looking forward to the next round at the Derbyshire based, Donington Park Grand Prix circuit, Tony and the team hope to welcome back the injured Dan Smith, who should have recovered sufficiently. The four riders hope to achieve some strong results for team owners, Anne Wylie and Cliff Holland, to reward their enthusiastic and dedicated support to the friendliest team in the paddock.
Local Harrow rider, Steve Heneghan, rode through a difficult weekend to bring a strong result aboard his Quattro Group, HCL, Yamaha R1, in the Metzeler 1000 National Superstock Championship.
In the free practice session, Steve placed himself in 32nd position, and was clocked through the speed traps at almost 140 mph. After suffering with Chicken Pox the previous week, he was still recovering and was not yet back to full fitness.
In the first of the two qualifying sessions, Steve improved his time by almost two seconds, and was placed provisionally 31st on the grid. He was quicker through the speed traps, at over 140mph. In the second session, he didn’t manage to improve his time, with the track being damp after earlier rain. He was to line up on the eighth row of the grid, in 31st position.
In the morning warm up before the race, Steve was 24th quickest in again, damp conditions.
The race started well for Steve, making up four places on the first lap, taking him up to 27th position within the first few corners of the race. Steve steadily climbed for the rest of the race catching a group of riders, and battling with them towards the end of the race. He got the best of them, finishing ahead of the five strong pack, in 25th position.
Steve then headed to Brands Hatch for the re run of the snowed off first round. He had qualified back in April, and was to start from the eighth row in 30th position.
He was quick in the free practice session, clocking an impressive 146mph through the speed traps and improving his time by almost a second from the his original qualifying time.
In the race, Steve made a lightning start, moving up eight places in the first lap. He kept on passing riders lap after lap, until he was locked in a battle for eighteenth place. He rode strongly against 2 other riders, and managed to come out on top, taking eighteenth place as the chequered flag fell.
“I am pleased with my result after starting so low down the grid. We had problems when we qualified, but to get such a strong result from it is promising. I have to thank all the guys at Quattro Group, and Heneghan Construction Limited, without them it wouldn’t have been possible, so thank you.” Commented the local Harrow rider.
Steve and the team are already in Northern Ireland for the prestigious Kennedy International North West 200 road races that take place over the next week. Steve hopes to have some more strong finishes there, as he did in 2007.
Local rider, Ben Wylie, struggled through a difficult weekend to finish respectably, aboard the Yamaha R6 in the Fuchs Silkolene British Supersport Championship.
Ben started the weekend well, with a top fifteen placing in the first of the two free practices, taking place at the Cheshire and home track for Market Drayton rider, Oulton Park. He also recorded the fastest time through the start finish straight speed trap, by over 2mph, which is a huge margin in such a close championship. In the second of the free practices, Ben improved his time by over a second, being twelth quickest, again in the top three through the speed traps.
On the wet Sunday, the first qualifying session took place, but Ben was on a very quick lap when he had a big crash throwing him from the bike and leaving him battered and bruised, and down in thirtieth position on the grid, provisionally. The second session took place in drying conditions in the afternoon, where Ben made up yet more time, sitting in tenth position for most of the session, but finished in eighteenth, on the fifth row of the grid, alongside team mate, Midge Smart.
In the warm up before the afternoon race, the local rider was quicker again, placing himself in fifteenth, again fastest through the speed trap.
Ben started the race well, moving up from his grid position, but then after just three laps the race was stopped due to a bad crash, making the red flags come out, stopping the race.
With the wrong tyres at the restart, Ben was fighting a loosing battle, but managed to salvage something, by bringing the Wylie and Holland Racing Yamaha R6 home in 28th position, after a long battle with three other riders. Considering that the Market Drayton rider had had a huge crash on cold tyres at the first round, he did well to keep the bike upright, when so many fell in what was a packed field.
“I was disappointed with the weekend, but after a crash on Sunday, I was stiff, sore and had a raging headache. I’m looking forward to Brands Hatch this weekend, where I will be in 16th on the grid and pushing for a top ten finish” said the upbeat rider, “After the wrong tyre choice I was too cautious in the opening laps, ruining my chances of a decent result”
Wylie and Holland Team mate, Midge Smart pulled a great result out the bag when he finished in fifteenth position, picking up points.
The team head to Brands Hatch this weekend for a two day re run of the first round, that was cancelled due to snow.
Local rider, Dan Smith took his Wylie and Holland Yamaha R6 to an impressive second row start at last weekends Thruxton round of the Metzeler National Superstock 600 Championship, but unfortunately did not manage to finish the race.
Dan had started the weekend well, when in the first free practice session, he was eleventh fastest out of some fifty four competitors. Even more impressively, he was clocked at over 135mph through the speed traps on the quick Hampshire circuit.
In the first of the two qualifying sessions, Dan provisionally placed himself on the edge of the second row, in seventh position, also placing himself fourth through the speed traps. In the second session, Dan, from Coalville, improved his time by over three seconds, and placed himself on the second row in sixth position for the race.
The race started well for Dan, with a blistering start off the line, taking him up third place by the first corner on the first lap. After a few laps, Dan sat back behind the leading group, comfortably. He started to catch up to the group again at mid race distance and began re-passing the other riders. He had just put in his best lap of the race, shaving over a second off of his previous time, and taking second fastest through the speed traps at almost 120mph on the start finish straight. Dan then hit disaster, when he exited the complex section with a little too much throttle, causing the rear wheel to spin and high sided him off the bike, launching him over ten feet into the air. This caused the race to stop, and a result was declared.
The Local rider commented, “I was very happy with my qualifying, although it would have been better to be on the front row, but in actual fact it didn’t matter, as I was third into the first corner. I hope to back for my home race, at Donington Park at the end of May, and will be having Oxygen treatment in the next week, to help shorten the healing process.”
Dan has been confirmed to have two breaks, in his right calcaneus, which is the heel bone. He is currently in hospital, and hoping for a plating operation tomorrow, as the bone often becomes very brittle, and is likely to crumble. He will be on crutches for the next eight weeks, but hopes to be back racing before, at the Leicestershire track, Donington Park, but if that is not possible, then the second visit to the Cheshire track, Oulton Park, in mid July.
Team manager, Tony McPhilips Commented, “Dan was doing so well, and although it was unfortunate, we hope that Dan will be back on his feet as soon as possible, and back racing with us.” The team now head to Oulton Park for their first visit there, on the 5th May.
Ben Wylie and the new Wylie and Holland Racing team didn’t manage to race last weekend aboard their 08 Yamaha R6’s, due to localised weather, giving over seven inches of snow on race day, causing a postponement until mid May by the race organisers.
In the first free practice session of two in the Fuchs Silkolene British Supersport Championship, on a warm, sunny Friday, Ben made a good start to the season by being provisionally 12th, whilst also being quickest through the first speed trap, at almost 120mph. The local hero then took a further two seconds off his time in the second practice, placing him sixth fastest overall as Ben competes in the main championship this year, compared to the Cup last year. Ben was joint first through the second speed trap in the second session, clocking just under 150mph over the start finish line.
Qualifying took place on an inclement Saturday, covering two sessions. In the first session, Ben had technical difficulties, leaving him down in twenty fourth place. The bike’s problems were rectified for the second session, but Ben had further difficulties, causing him to crash out, whilst working his way up to a front row start, leaving him on the fourth row of the grid.
“I crashed, due to a cold front tyre, which was a shame, as I was confident of a start from the front two rows” commented a disheartened Ben, “I will have my work cut out on May 11th, starting from sixteenth place on the grid” Ben seemed happy overall with how the weekend had panned out, as the team had managed to progress successfully and smoothly, from one rider to four, which is an impressive achievement.
The other Wylie and Holland Racing young guns all performed brilliantly over the weekend, with Midge Smart, the newest addition to the team, qualifying ahead of Ben on the third row of the grid, in 12th position. The two Metzeler National Superstock 600 competitors, Dan Smith and Matt Bilton, qualified very strongly, with Dan placing himself in tenth place, whilst Matt, with an injured collar bone managed 37th, although, in the wet qualifying session, the youngsters managed second and third quickest.
Team Manager, Tony McPhillips commented, “The weather was very disappointing, especially after such good qualifying from the Superstock lads and the Supersports. Ben performed as we had predicted, but found it very difficult with all the technical problems that prevented his top ten start.”
“All four riders did brilliantly this weekend, especially Midge Smart, as he had had no testing time, and went straight onto the new bike and tyres. Matt Bilton also did well, considering his injury, and Dan was exceptional, especially in the wet, and we are all looking forward to Thruxton.” Tony and the team now look forward to Thruxton, taking place on the 20th April, where they hope to get some podiums.
Dan Smith and the Wylie and Holland Racing Yamaha R6, didn’t manage to race this weekend, when snow fell to over seven inches at the Kent track, Brands Hatch, causing the organisers to postpone the event until mid May.
Dan had started the 2008 season well in the Metzeler National Superstock 600 Championship, when in the practice session, Dan was sixth fastest, just over half a second behind the fastest rider, whilst being clocked at over 140mp over the start finish straight. For most of the session though, he was quickest, only being over taken in the dying moments.
In the first of the two qualifying sessions, Dan knocked almost half a second off his previous time, placing him tenth on the grid, provisionally, which meant a third row start, which was extremely impressive for only his third time out on the bike. With the second session being in the wet, no one could improve their times, but Dan excelled himself, being 3rd quickest, after not having ridden on wet tyres for over 18 months.
Wylie and Holland Racing team manager, Tony McPhillips commented, “Dan did exceptionally well in the wet, especially after not having ridden on wet tyres for a long time. It isn’t that easy to adapt, but we are all very impressed with his performance, in the wet and dry, and are looking forward to Thruxton”
Coalville local, Dan said, “I was really happy with the first round, as I didn’t really know what to expect. The team were fantastic in every way, and although I was disappointed with qualifying, hitting traffic in the last few laps, preventing me from improving my time, the wet qualifying session made up for it.” Although all concerned were disappointed by the weather, the team now know they are competitive and are true contenders for the title in the 2008 season.
Dan will now head to Thruxton on the 20th April, with the knowledge that he will start the re-scheduled Round 1 race, on the third row of the grid, on May 11th, hoping for a podium.