Clarke makes Superstock step up and records 15th place finish at Silverstone

Aaron Clarke got his new season off to a good start when he rode to a strong 15th place in the first of the two double header races on Saturday in the opening round of the Pirelli National Superstock 1000 championship.
By The Newsroom
Published 22nd Apr 2019, 10:50 BST
Updated 22nd Apr 2019, 11:53 BST
Aaron Clarke. Photo: Dave Yeomans.Aaron Clarke. Photo: Dave Yeomans.
Aaron Clarke. Photo: Dave Yeomans.

But he was unlucky not to go one better in the second race as, on lap 14 when he was lining up Michael Rutter for a pass, he pushed a little too hard and crashed unhurt at Brooklands.

He went on to finish 21st in the final race of the weekend.

Clarke made the step up to the 1000cc class this year and was optimistic of his prospects in such a competitive class but he completed his qualifying in 23rd place out of 40 starters and began the first race from the eighth row.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad
Most Popular

He got away well at the start and was soon up into 18th place.

He then benefitted from a rider ahead crashing out and was elevated to 17th on lap eight.

Clarke began to make inroads into the riders ahead and passed Milo Ward and Billy McConnell to move into a point scoring position with four laps remaining.

He crossed the finish line in 15th place to pick up his first championship point of the new campaign and after a quick refuel and tyre change was straight back out for the start of the second race.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

But things didn’t go quite to plan and he crashed out of 15th place at Brooklands on lap 14.

Clarke said: “I was disappointed to crash out of part two of the race today after a solid 15th in the first half.

“My mistake but I leant a lot; Stock 1000 is as competitive as ever but we are off to a good start.

“Thanks to everyone in the team working flat to get the bike up and running for race three.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The bike suffered some damage and the team worked late into the evening to get it prepared for Sunday’s race.

But Clarke was on the back foot as because of his crash he was placed on the seventh row for the start.

There was a red flag for a crash on the first lap and at the restart the race was reduced in length from 24 to 18 laps.

Clarke was down in 24th position through the early laps but made up ground to complete the 18 laps in 21st place from 40 starters.

Not quite what he was hoping for but something to build on for the next round.

The next round is at Oulton Park over the Bank Holiday weekend of May 4-6.