Motourage

The British Superbike Championship heads north for the Scottish Knockhill round. MSS Colchester Kawasaki riders Simon Andrews and Gary Mason look for a good points haul, while Superstock star Howie Mainwaring has the series lead in his sights.

Knockhill marks the midway point of the season, but with the new series format, riders know that to have a chance of being in the top six Title Fighters group, they need big points before the final Showdown phase kicks in at round nine at Croft.

The picturesque, forest-lined circuit has been good to the official Kawasaki squad over the years, with the team picking up good results in past events. At the corresponding round last year, Simon scored 4th and 6th placings so he knows that he and the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R work well together at this mountainside circuit. Simon has returned to the team with strong results at Mallory after a lengthy period of injury while Gary looks for a better set-up this time around.

Howie Mainwaring looks to move closer to the Superstock lead this weekend

Howie Mainwaring returns refreshed after the Superstock teams took a sabbatical at Mallory following a double-header race the week before at the Silverstone MotoGP. The 23-year-old lies second in a talent-packed championship field and is determined to reel in series leader Jon Kirkham.

MSS Junior Superstock rider Danny Buchan will ride a series double header at Knockhill but has never seen the track before. He must emulate his more-senior teammate who was one of only a few riders not to have ridden the new Silverstone circuit.

Simon Andrews
“I’m looking forward to Knockhill, I went well there last year and I’m happy with how Mallory panned out especially as it’s the first time I have been on a Superbike since the Valencia crash. It’s great to be back with Nick, Gary and everyone; it’s really enjoyable. There is a small hope I can get into the Showdown if other people take some of my bad luck, but we will have to see.”

Gary Mason
“I feel like I’ve got to turn it around at Knockhill, Mallory was really disappointing to be honest. It’s a relatively simple track so you’ve just got to get stuck in and that’s what I intend to do.”

Howie Mainwaring
“I feel really strong and up for the challenge at Knockhill after a mixed weekend at Silverstone for the GP. The plan this weekend is to keep maintaining good points as we’re right there in the Championship chase, saying that I do feel right up for a win now.”

Nick Morgan, MSS Colchester Kawasaki Team Boss
“As a team we like Knockhill circuit and it’s been good to us in the past. Simon has really bounced back with a vengeance and is looking for more. I think Gary will be motivated by that also and we need to help him get the right set-up to have the confidence to push. Howie knows he needs to beat Kirkham to reel in the points as he has big cushion behind him to the injured Steve Plater. It will be interesting to see how Danny gets on at his first trip to Knockhill, the last Junior Superstock race at Cadwell was pretty outrageous.”