The Voice of Spalding and South Holland
All three G&S Racing Kawasaki riders brought points back to Wyberton from Donington Park this weekend at round three of the 2019 Pirelli National Superstock 1000 and 600 championships.
Milo Ward had three Stock 1000 races to contest and qualified well in 21st place to start the first of two races on Saturday afternoon.
But he encountered a problem with the clutch and as the race got underway he realised it was overheating.
He returned to the pits after the first lap for some adjustments but, as he rejoined the race, the fault was still there and he pulled off at Redgate to retire.
Because he failed to finish the first race he was ineligible to start the second, so had to wait until Sunday for more race action.
The track was wet from heavy rain but Ward relishes wet weather racing and got away to a good start to his third race and made up 15 places on the opening lap.
He moved into ninth on lap two and sixth on lap four. But he then made a mistake and ran across the grass on the run to McLeans, rejoining the race down in 17th place.
He continued to make up places and eventually crossed the finish line in tenth position to pick up his first championship points of the current campaign.
Meanwhile, TJ Toms was unfortunate to clip a kerb on the second lap of qualifying and crashed – which left him to start the Stock 600 race from 21st place on the seventh row of the grid.
But he was undeterred and was determined to do well. He was boxed in on the first lap and was 18th on the first lap, but made steady progress throughout the 20 laps to cross the finish line in 13th place and pick up three championship points which move him to 11th place on 22 points.
Team-mate Kevin Keyes rode well and, when he encountered an issue with the bike, he managed to work through it.
He started from the middle of the third row in eighth place and was embroiled in a fierce battle for sixth place throughout the 20 laps in a large group of riders. Keyes finally crossed the finish line in a close eighth place to pick up eight championship points which maintain his third place in the rider standings.
Team manager Tom Fisher said: “We had a good weekend overall with all three riders scoring points.
“Milo did a cracking job in that last race; he showed his class and had a superb race. To record 10th place and score points in only his third race of the series is excellent progress.
“TJ was unlucky to slip off during practice but in the race he had the pace of the top six and credit due to him for persisting.
“Kevin was able to manage the issue with the bike and had a really good race batting for sixth place. He is third in the championship with more to come.
“Thanks to all our loyal sponsors for their continued support, we have a three week break now but will regroup at Brands Hatch for the next round on June 14/16.”
