Bad luck continues to haunt Simon Low Shop4bikers Dutcuh-2-UK Race team

May 8, 2010 - PRLog -- The bad luck that plagued Twickenham's Simon Low at the first two rounds of the 125cc British Championship followed him to Oulton Park over the Bank Holiday weekend and the Team Shop4Bikers/Dutch-2-UK Racing rider was forced to retire on just the second lap of Monday's race. The 22-year old had made a superb start and was looking good for some more Championship points only for the engine to seize when he was lying in 16th place.

After the problems of Thruxton last time out, Simon and his team opted to switch back to the chassis and forks that he'd run in 2009 and, although in standard trim, he felt a lot more comfortable on the bike putting in two solid efforts in the two free practice sessions. Learning the undulating and difficult 2.69-mile circuit all the time, Simon posted the 32nd fastest time in first qualifying on Sunday but this wasn't a true reflection of his pace as the chain came off half way through meaning he could only complete 7 laps. In the second and final qualifying session, he took a massive 2.9seconds off his lap time to jump up to 27th for a seventh row start.

Pleased with the performance of the Honda, in terms of both handling and speed, Simon made a lightning start in the 14-lap race and slotted in to 17th place at the end of the first lap and had moved up to 16th half way round the second lap to put himself well in contention for some Championship points. However, as he approached Lodge Corner towards the end of the second lap, the crank broke causing the engine to seize and he coasted to a halt, his race over, huge disappointment for him and all of the team.

Speaking on his return to the paddock, Simon said: "I don't think you could write a book about all the problems we've been having and it's fair to say we're certainly using up a lot of bad luck so far - things have to change soon! On the positive side, the bike has worked a lot better this weekend and it's been strong through the speedtraps as well as handling well so we've definitely made some progress. I made a great start to make up about 4 places by the time we got to the first corner and I was able to make up even more ground round the lap as I passed at least six more riders so I was feeling really comfortable. The bike was flying and the tyres were working superbly but just as I came into Lodge, the bike seized and that was that. Points were definitely on the table today, which makes it even more disappointing for everyone but it was no-one's fault so we'll keep working hard, stay positive and look to get a solid result at Cadwell next time out."

Round 4 of the 125cc British Championship takes place at Cadwell Park, Lincolnshire from May 21-23.
 
Picture by Glynne Lewis

Phil Wain
Freelance PR

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