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Blackhorse Kawasaki are pleased to announce that Ashley Beech will partner Victor Cox in the team's 2012 Metzeler National Superstock 1000 Championship line-up.

Although still only 23 years old, Beech from Moorside in Lancashire is not short of race experience. He has competed for a number of years in the Colin Appleyard/Macadam Racing team, firstly in the 125cc class and then in the Fuchs/Silkoline British Supersport Championship in 2009 and 2010. This year Ashley bounced back from a couple of injury-hit seasons to finish fourth in the Triumph Triple Challenge Series (he was second in the championship with three rounds remaining), scoring numerous podium finishes along the way including two race wins at Silverstone and Snetterton respectively.

Victor Cox of course is no stranger to the Metzeler National Superstock 1000 paddock and 2012 will see Victor in his second full season with Blackhorse Kawasaki. Drafted in to replace the injured Conor Cummins halfway through the 2010 season, Cox finished the season eighth in the championship.
He then went one better in 2011 and, but for a run of bad luck in the early part of the season, the Trowbridge man would have been higher placed in the championship standings. Nevertheless it was another solid season for the 25 year old who finished on the podium on two occasions.

Team manager Ian Lougher will again take in selected race meetings.
With both Ninja ZX-10R and ZX-6R machinery at his disposal in Superbike, Superstock and Supersport spec in addition to an ER6 650 Supertwin, the vastly experienced Welshman will be at the three big internationals (North West 200, Isle of Man TT and the Ulster GP) and will also compete at Oliver's Mount, the Southern 100 and Darley Moor.

There is the possibility that the team will also run a young rider in the 2012 Metzeler National Superstock 600 Championship, an announcement of which will be made if confirmed.

Ian Lougher: 'We are delighted to retain the services of Victor Cox for 2012. Victor is undoubtedly one of the best riders in this class and a highly valued and popular member of the team. I am also pleased to welcome Ashley Beech on board for the 2012 season. Ashley has proven himself to be a young rider with a great future in the sport and his addition to the team is very much in keeping with Blackhorse Kawasaki's ethos of supporting and developing talented young riders and enabling them to progress in their racing careers.
Ashley will have the full support of everyone within the team and I know he will also benefit enormously from having Victor as a team-mate.
As a team, we are honoured to once again be entrusted with the tag of Official Kawasaki Motors UK Superstock Team, and look forward to a successful and enjoyable 2012 season.' 

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BSB Metzeler National Superstock 1000 Championship
Round 12
Brands Hatch GP
7 - 9 October 2011

Despite the organisers making what many agreed was a premature and surprising decision to cancel the Metzeler National Superstock 1000 race following a red flag incident at the end of the opening lap, Blackhorse Kawasaki more than made their mark in the final meeting of the season at Brands Hatch.

Once again, as in the previous Brands Hatch round in August, Free Practice took place over the Indy circuit as opposed to the GP course to be used for qualifying and race day.

Again Victor Cox was well to the fore, finishing as quickest of the Kawasaki runners in eighth, 0.53secs off the fastest time. But equally as pleasing for the team was the performance of Conor Cummins who finished the session in 14th, just over half a second behind his team-mate.

On to first qualifying on the GP circuit and, as has been the case in recent rounds, Cox was again in the mix finishing 8th quickest 0.73secs off the pace and fifth fastest through the second sector with Cummins in 19th just under a second away from a place in the top ten. The team's two Ninja ZX-10Rs were among seven Kawasakis in the top twenty with the second session to come later in the day.

Occupying a provisional second row start after first qualifying, Victor was determined to round off his season with a place on the front row of the grid and this he did with some style as halfway through the session he posted a lap of 1m:28.97s, an improvement of almost a second on his first session time, to move into second overall with only the newly crowned champion Richard Cooper managing to go quicker. Cox also posted the 2nd, 3rd and 4th best times respectively through each of the three sectors. Not to be outdone, Cummins also improved on his first qualifying time, going over half a second quicker to finish 16th.

So the last series of qualifying sessions for 2011 drew to a close with Cox the highest placed Kawasaki rider in second and Cummins heading the fifth row in 17th as both riders took their place on the grid on race day in an extremely positive frame of mind.

As the lights changed Victor got a great start and was lying second as they rounded Druids for the first time, but as they came out of the Clark Curve at the end of the lap it was the Blackhorse Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R in front as Cox made his early intentions clear. However the drama was unfolding behind, Richard Cooper and Marshall Neill had both crashed at Dingle Dell in separate incidents and the race was immediately placed under safety car conditions. Then at the end of the Brabham Straight on the same lap, John Crockford collided with the rider ahead of him Freddy Pett and the race was immediately red flagged, as the riders prepared for the customary re-run.
However it was not to be as it was soon announced that the race had in fact been cancelled, a decision which left a disappointed Cox rueing the missed prospect of a race win and with it a top six place in the championship, with the general consensus being that the race should have been re-run over a shorter distance as was the case concerning the following 125cc and Supersport races.

On a positive note, Cox had once again established himself as one of the main players in the championship and, but for a run of bad luck earlier in the season, would surely have been a championship contender. For Cummins, 2011 was always going to be a season to ease himself back into racing following his 2010 Isle of Man TT crash and the popular Manxman can be proud of his what he has achieved this year.

Blackhorse Kawasaki would like to thank everyone who has followed and supported the team in 2011, and now look forward to a successful 2012 season.

Photo: Conor Cummins in action on the Blackhorse Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R
Courtesy: Simon Charity www.simonsracepics.co.uk

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BSB Metzeler National Superstock 1000 Championship
Round 11
Silverstone GP
23 - 25 September 2011

Blackhorse Kawasaki took part in the penultimate round of the Metzeler National Superstock 1000 Championship at Silverstone with Victor Cox's tenth place only telling some of the story of both his and the team's weekend.

As in previous rounds, Cox was immediately on the pace and a steady run in Free Practice set him up nicely for Qualifying One. The session was red-flagged within two laps and on the re-start Victor quickly made his intentions clear when he went almost two seconds quicker from Free Practice to post a lap of 2m:12.99s to briefly top the session and put him well in the hunt for a high qualifying placing, however this was to be the last of his action for the day as he pulled out after only four laps with what was later diagnosed as a thrown rod on the Ninja ZX-10R.
The team rolled up their sleeves and worked well into the evening to put a spare engine into Victor's bike but it was certainly not the start to the weekend that neither he nor the team quite had in mind.

Manxman Conor Cummins was left frustrated on Sunday when he just missed out on the points. Competing on the Silverstone GP circuit for the first time, Conor finished in 18th place for, amazingly, the fifth time this season so was disappointed not to have added to his tally of Championship points.
 
Having missed the corresponding meeting 12 months ago due to recovering from the injuries sustained in his Isle of Man TT crash, Conor set about learning the 3.6-mile circuit during practice as well as trying to find a good set-up with the ZX-10R Kawasaki.
 
Meanwhile, Blackhorse Kawasaki manager/rider Ian Lougher had a busy time at Silverstone. As well as overseeing team matters, Ian enjoyed an outing on the Team Repli-Cast UK Racing 125cc machine in the latest round of the highly competitive Sunoco British 125GP Championship. 15th at the end of the first lap, Ian ran in the top twenty for most of the race and a strong second half took him to the fringe of a place in the points.
A big word of thanks goes to Gary Dawson of Repli-Cast UK....... Report

Photo:
Victor Cox with Blackhorse Kawasaki team manager Ian Lougher
Courtesy:
Clive Challinor Motorsport Photography

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Steve Henshaw International Gold Cup
Oliver's Mount
Scarborough
17-18 September 2011

Blackhorse Kawasaki's Ian Lougher came away from the Steve Henshaw International Gold Cup meeting at the weekend with no fewer than eight top 5 placings including three podium finishes.

It was another solid weekend's work at Oliver's Mount for Lougher.

His excellent third in the feature Gold Cup race was the third year in a row that the former winner has stood on the podium in this prestigious race and remarkably he has also done so seven times in the last eight years!

Full Report

Photo Courtesy:
Stuart Watson  www.stuartwatsonphotography.co.uk

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BSB Metzeler National Superstock 1000 Championship
Round 10
Donington Park
9 - 11 September 2011

Cox again on the podium in 2nd.
Great performance from Cummins to finish in the points.

Victor Cox rode superbly in the latest round of the Metzeler National Superstock 1000 Championship to finish an excellent second in Round 10 of the series at Donington Park on Sunday. It was a good weekend for the team with Conor Cummins finishing in 14th place for another points score.

Cox had once again been impressive in qualifying. He was well on the pace throughout the first session and quickest through the Sector One speed trap, with his last lap of 1m:33.57s placing him third quickest and the top Kawasaki rider. A more subdued 17th in the second session did nothing to harm Victor's combined qualifying and he again found himself in a now familiar front row position on the grid with his Ninja ZX-10R still the top placed Kawasaki.

The race got underway in dry conditions, as the pack swept through the Craner Curves Victor had settled nicely into fifth and as they went down the Hangar Straight he was up to fourth. Things improved further for him at the end of the lap as Adam Jenkinson ran wide at Goddards allowing him through to third. Positions were changing back and forth in the early stages of the second circuit and, with Cox in fourth, the safety car came out following an incident at the Melbourne Loop. The safety car remained on the track for a further two laps and on Lap 5 they were racing again with Victor determinedly defending his fourth place from Adam Jenkinson.

On Lap 6 a group of five riders, including Cox, had edged a slight gap on the rest of the field. Victor was still in fourth as they went on to their seventh circuit, but on the approach to the Melbourne Loop Jenkinson got through on the inside to relegate him to fifth.

Jenkinson began to pull away very slightly and Victor was now coming under a bit of pressure from Luke Quigley. On the ninth lap, the safety car again made an appearance for three laps and as racing resumed Victor set about catching the four riders in front and there was drama to come at the end of the penultimate lap. Race leader Richard Cooper led into Goddards, but behind him Howie Mainwaring had gone in a bit hot and he parted company with his bike. Adam Jenkinson also went down as Tristan Palmer took avoiding action. Victor meanwhile didn't need a second invitation and seized his chance to move into second. However with one lap to go he still had some work to do as Luke Quigley and David Johnson were battling hard for the final podium place just over a second adrift. Cox though wasn't going to let this opportunity slip and with great composure he held on to bring the Ninja ZX-10R home in second and the highest placed Kawasaki in the race, his delight apparent as he crossed the line.
He was again fastest through the Sector 1 speed trap and also quickest through the second sector, whilst his second visit to the podium this year moves him another two places up the championship table to seventh.

Victor Cox: 'When the safety car went in for the second time, I lost a bit of ground on the riders in front and I was trying to catch them up. I had closed the gap a little and I could see the three coming together at Goddards and I just made the most of it. The team have been fantastic and have worked great all weekend.'

Conor Cummins' determined riding of recent weeks was finally rewarded when the Manx ace finished back inside the points and his, and the team's efforts, throughout the three days of action saw them take 14th place and two well earned Championship points.
 
With another different circuit to tackle on the new ZX-10R Kawasaki, Conor steadily improved his pace over the two days of practice and qualifying around the 2.5-mile Leicestershire venue and after placing 26th in the opening qualifying session on Friday, he was able to reduce his time considerably during the second and final session the next day. Indeed, a time of 1m:35.17s saw him take almost a second off his time and it promoted him up to 23rd on the grid, good enough for a sixth row start.
 
Sunday's 15-lap race was the final race on a busy schedule but it finally got underway at 5.35pm and a good opening lap resulted in Conor moving up the order to 21st place. When the safety car pulled in at the end of lap 4, Conor began to put pressure on those riders in front of him. Indeed, on lap 7 he jumped up to 19th and this became 17th two laps later when Leon Hunt and Joe Burns disappeared from the action. In a race of high attrition and the safety car again deployed from laps 10-12, it meant a three-lap dash to the flag for the remainder of the 40-strong grid. With further incidents taking place out on the circuit, Conor was promoted up the order to 14th and it was here where he finished, less than three seconds off a top ten finish.
 

Speaking later, a pleased Conor said: "It started off as a really tough weekend but I really enjoyed the race and to come away with more points is really satisfying. I really struggled to get the bike set up during practice and the suspension was causing me a number of issues, being too soft on the front and too hard on the rear. I was running wide going into the corners and struggling for grip on the exits so it was hard on both counts but we made improvements all the time and after final qualifying we were a lot closer to where we wanted to be. It was quite windy out there but the bike was working well and I wanted to get points on the board again so I'm glad that I've been able to achieve that once more. Like I say, we were chasing our tails a bit during practice and qualifying but we improved the bike and made progress all the time so I'm really chuffed to have scored points again especially as it was a really hectic race with a lot of the boys being all over the shop! It's been a constructive weekend, one that's had a good, happy ending and that means I can head to the next round at Silverstone with that added bit of confidence."

It's a short break now before the championship action resumes with the penultimate round of the series taking place at Silverstone, Northants on September 23-25.
In the interim team manager/rider Ian Lougher will be aiming to add to his tally of wins at Oliver's Mount, Scarborough when he takes part in the Steve Henshaw International Gold Cup meeting at Scarborough this weekend.

Photo:
Victor Cox and Conor Cummins on the Blackhorse Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R's

Courtesy:
Clive Challinor Motorsport Photography

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