Pirelli National Superstock 1000 Championship
Round Three
Oulton Park
03-05 May 2013
It's doubtful there was a more popular winner at Oulton Park at the weekend, as Victor Cox put in a stellar performance to take victory in the third round of the Pirelli National Superstock 1000 Championship and claim his, and ILR Kawasaki's, maiden National Superstock 1000 win.
It was a faultless ride from the Trowbridge man who virtually led the race from start to finish, on a circuit he has performed well at in the past. His team-mate Filip Backlund, paying his first competitive visit to the circuit, also rode a great race to bring the second Ninja ZX-10R home in fourth and put the disappointment of his Thruxton crash in the previous round well and truly behind him.
As in previous rounds free practice and qualifying again saw the riders divided into two groups and for the first time this season Victor and Filip were in different groups. After promising runs in Free Practice both riders were confident going into the first qualifying session. Filip's group was first out on the track and the 23 year old immediately got with the pace, finishing the session in third with a best time of 1:39.98, just 0.17s off the fastest time and good enough for 6th overall. Even better was to come in the next group as Victor went quickest through the second and third sectors to storm to a lap of 1:39.56 and secure overnight pole position.
Second qualifying also took place in good conditions and once more both riders were well to the fore in their respective sessions. Filip again took his session by the scruff of the neck and went quicker still, to finish fastest overall in Group B with a time of 1m:39.03s, the best time of the weekend at that stage and a marker for the second group to aim at. Only one rider managed this, and Victor was only .05s slower at 1m:39.08s to finish second in his group. All this meant that ILR Kawasaki had two riders occupying the front row of the grid with Filip and Victor in second and third respectively, a great effort by both riders and the team.
As the race got underway in bright sunshine, Victor quickly settled into second at the first corner with Filip also getting a good start to slot into fourth. Cox soon hit the front with Backlund leading a five man Kawasaki chasing pack in fourth. Victor still led at the end of the lap from Joe Burns, Hudson Kennaugh and Filip and it stayed this way on the second lap where Backlund was the first rider to lap in the 1:39's.
On the third lap Filip was getting into the groove and started applying some pressure on Burns in third but he had bit of a moment on the next lap which resulted in him losing touch slightly as he still held on to fourth. By the sixth lap it was still Cox in front as he put in the fastest lap of the race with a 1:39.48, as Backlund determinedly held off a challenge from Josh Day.
At half race distance things began to close up among the top six, but at the front Victor was totally focused and riding a smooth and assured race with 100% confidence in the team's Ninja ZX-10R.
On the tenth lap the first three began to open a slight gap on Backlund who was still having to contend with the presence of Day in fifth, but on the next lap Filip managed to give himself some breathing space as he opened the gap to half a second. Meanwhile at the front Victor was contending with a challenge of his own as Kennaugh closed to within 0.31s, but he too responded to the threat and managed to take a few tenths of a second out of the South African to extend his lead to just over half a second as the riders sped on to their last lap.
Again Kennaugh pressed, but Victor was having none of it and he punched the air in delight as he crossed the line a worthy race winner. Meanwhile Filip, hampered by a bit of oil on his rear tyre from an oil leak in the latter stages of the race, had eased off and settled for fourth.
Cox's superb performance propels him to second in the championship and with Backlund now occupying fifth in the standings, it was a great weekend for ILR Kawasaki.
Victor Cox on the top step of the podium at Oulton Park.
Photo: © Jon Jessop Photography
By Kind Permission
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Pirelli National Superstock 1000 Championship
Round Two
Round Two
Thruxton
12-14 April 2013
Victor Cox got his season back on track with a top six finish in the second round of the Pirelli National Superstock 1000 Championship at Thruxton on Sunday, but for his team-mate Filip Backlund the highs and lows of motorcycle racing were all too apparent as he crashed out of the race on the tenth lap. Backlund, who finished second on his race debut for the team at Brands Hatch last week, was thankfully unhurt in the crash which involved two other riders.
Victor and Filip arrived in Hampshire with one common goal of doing well for the team but with slighly different personal aims. Filip was looking to build on his excellent performance at Brands Hatch, whilst Victor was looking to kick-start his 2013 season following, by his own admission, a disappointing 12th place finish in Kent.
Free practice and qualifying again took place with the two group/race shoot-out system and Group B free practice saw Victor and Filip finish 7th and 12th respectively in far from ideal conditions. First qualifying saw an improvement in the weather and with it a big improvement in times as Victor went round over five seconds quicker to finish 6th in the session and 11th overall just 0.61s off provisional pole, Filip meanwhile was starting to get to grips with the unfamiliar Thruxton track and he also improved, by almost 5 seconds, to finish 15th in the group, 28th overall at 1.89s off the pace.
However, with only 7 laps completed between them, any intentions Victor and Filip had of a further improvement were dashed by the awful conditions that had greeted the riders for the second session. The organisers soon took the decision to red-flag and abandon the session, a move both riders agreed was the right one given the amount of standing water on the circuit. This meant that the grid would be determined by alternate positions from each group's combined qualifying, leaving Victor on the third row in 12th and Filip with a lot of work to do on Row 8.
To much relief the race got underway in dry conditions and as the riders sped through at the end of the opening lap, Victor had gained six places and was up to sixth, just over a second off the race leader whilst Filip had moved up three places to 25th. On the second lap, Cox was half a second clear in fourth as Filip was firmly embroiled in traffic in 26th position. For the next four laps Victor and Jonathan Howarth battled for fourth place whilst maintaining a decent gap on the chasers, Filip meanwhile was settling into the race and had moved up to 22nd. On Lap 7, Cox was demoted to sixth by Joe Burns but he was still very much in the thick of things, Backlund meanwhile was involved in a three-way Kawasaki dice with Paul Curran and Dominic Usher for a place in the Top 20.
As Burns moved clear into fourth, Victor now turned his attention to fifth place man Howarth and as the race entered the tenth lap he was right on his case, however further back Lee Johnston crashed out taking Filip and Dan Stewart with him, this brought the race to a premature conclusion with a race result declared leaving Cox in sixth and a bitterly disappointed Backlund on his way to the medical centre for a check-up.
The next round of the championship takes place at Oulton Park on 4-6 May, in the meantime team owner/rider Ian Lougher will make his first competitive appearance of the season when he competes in the Ian Watson Spring National race meeting at Oliver's Mount, Scarborough this weekend.
Victor and Filip arrived in Hampshire with one common goal of doing well for the team but with slighly different personal aims. Filip was looking to build on his excellent performance at Brands Hatch, whilst Victor was looking to kick-start his 2013 season following, by his own admission, a disappointing 12th place finish in Kent.
Free practice and qualifying again took place with the two group/race shoot-out system and Group B free practice saw Victor and Filip finish 7th and 12th respectively in far from ideal conditions. First qualifying saw an improvement in the weather and with it a big improvement in times as Victor went round over five seconds quicker to finish 6th in the session and 11th overall just 0.61s off provisional pole, Filip meanwhile was starting to get to grips with the unfamiliar Thruxton track and he also improved, by almost 5 seconds, to finish 15th in the group, 28th overall at 1.89s off the pace.
However, with only 7 laps completed between them, any intentions Victor and Filip had of a further improvement were dashed by the awful conditions that had greeted the riders for the second session. The organisers soon took the decision to red-flag and abandon the session, a move both riders agreed was the right one given the amount of standing water on the circuit. This meant that the grid would be determined by alternate positions from each group's combined qualifying, leaving Victor on the third row in 12th and Filip with a lot of work to do on Row 8.
To much relief the race got underway in dry conditions and as the riders sped through at the end of the opening lap, Victor had gained six places and was up to sixth, just over a second off the race leader whilst Filip had moved up three places to 25th. On the second lap, Cox was half a second clear in fourth as Filip was firmly embroiled in traffic in 26th position. For the next four laps Victor and Jonathan Howarth battled for fourth place whilst maintaining a decent gap on the chasers, Filip meanwhile was settling into the race and had moved up to 22nd. On Lap 7, Cox was demoted to sixth by Joe Burns but he was still very much in the thick of things, Backlund meanwhile was involved in a three-way Kawasaki dice with Paul Curran and Dominic Usher for a place in the Top 20.
As Burns moved clear into fourth, Victor now turned his attention to fifth place man Howarth and as the race entered the tenth lap he was right on his case, however further back Lee Johnston crashed out taking Filip and Dan Stewart with him, this brought the race to a premature conclusion with a race result declared leaving Cox in sixth and a bitterly disappointed Backlund on his way to the medical centre for a check-up.
The next round of the championship takes place at Oulton Park on 4-6 May, in the meantime team owner/rider Ian Lougher will make his first competitive appearance of the season when he competes in the Ian Watson Spring National race meeting at Oliver's Mount, Scarborough this weekend.
Victor Cox on the ILR Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R at Thruxton.
Photo: © Jon Jessop Photography
By Kind Permission
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Pirelli National Superstock 1000 Championship
Round One
Round One
Brands Hatch (Indy)
5-7 April 2013
New signing and championship debutant Filip Backlund got both his and ILR Kawasaki's season off to a great start when he finished second by just 0.06s in Sunday's first round of the Pirelli National Superstock 1000 Championship at Brands Hatch.
It was a remarkable performance from the 22 year old Swedish rider who had only raced at the Kent circuit once before in 2008 and this was his first race over the shorter Indy circuit. His team mate Victor Cox rode determinedly to finish 12th.
With 58 riders challenging for 38 places on the grid, free practice and qualifying took the form of the two group/race shoot-out system with Filip and Victor in the second group.
Backlund, who has settled easily into the team, quickly showed that he hasn't arrived in the UK simply to make up the numbers as he finished the free practice session in third place overall, just 0.48s off the pace. Cox meanwhile was taking things steady on his Pirelli shod ZX-10R and finished 16th overall.
First qualifying was held in better conditions and Filip proved his performance earlier in the day was no fluke as he went round the 1.2 miles circuit almost 5 seconds quicker to finish the session as the highest placed Kawasaki rider in second. Victor improved by over 6 seconds to finish 14th.
With the weather slowly improving, team boss Ian Lougher knew the pace would intensify even more for the second session and decided to make a few small changes to the bikes.
This indeed proved to be the case as the second session saw both riders improve further to finish 5th and 16th respectively, Filip was only 0.39s off pole with Victor just 0.24s further back. Such is the competitive nature of this class, just over 1 second covered the top 30 riders.
Unbelievably in Sunday morning's warm-up session the water pump shaft bolts worked loose on both Victor and Filip's bikes, Victor took no part in the session as Filip managed to put in 10 laps.
Thanks to a bit of eleventh hour work on the team's part, both riders were able to take their place on the grid for the race.
With 58 riders challenging for 38 places on the grid, free practice and qualifying took the form of the two group/race shoot-out system with Filip and Victor in the second group.
Backlund, who has settled easily into the team, quickly showed that he hasn't arrived in the UK simply to make up the numbers as he finished the free practice session in third place overall, just 0.48s off the pace. Cox meanwhile was taking things steady on his Pirelli shod ZX-10R and finished 16th overall.
First qualifying was held in better conditions and Filip proved his performance earlier in the day was no fluke as he went round the 1.2 miles circuit almost 5 seconds quicker to finish the session as the highest placed Kawasaki rider in second. Victor improved by over 6 seconds to finish 14th.
With the weather slowly improving, team boss Ian Lougher knew the pace would intensify even more for the second session and decided to make a few small changes to the bikes.
This indeed proved to be the case as the second session saw both riders improve further to finish 5th and 16th respectively, Filip was only 0.39s off pole with Victor just 0.24s further back. Such is the competitive nature of this class, just over 1 second covered the top 30 riders.
Unbelievably in Sunday morning's warm-up session the water pump shaft bolts worked loose on both Victor and Filip's bikes, Victor took no part in the session as Filip managed to put in 10 laps.
Thanks to a bit of eleventh hour work on the team's part, both riders were able to take their place on the grid for the race.
As the riders crossed the line at the end of the opening lap, Backlund was in second, just behind race leader John McGuinness and in turn just ahead of the chasing pack including Cox in 13th.
On the fifth lap, one of the race favourites Simon Andrews crashed out without injury at Clark Curve as McGuinness began to open a gap on the field to almost two seconds.
On the next lap the gap increased by another second over a Kawasaki express train consisting of Adam Jenkinson in second, Peter Ward, Backlund, Jonathan Howarth, Jonathan Railton, Hudson Kennaugh and Danny Johnson with Victor a further 1.4s adrift of this group in 13th.
At half race distance the lead was down slightly to just over two seconds with Filip now firmly embroiled in a frantic five rider battle for second. Positions remained the same for the next few laps but with nine laps to go McGuinness' lead was reduced considerably thanks to a big slide coming onto the start/finish straight which almost pitched him over the handlebars, and as the race reached two thirds distance the Morecambe man had been pegged back and now led by under half a second from Johnson, Ward and Backlund who had now pulled a gap on the chasers. Victor meanwhile was still battling on in 13th with Joe Burns, Rob NcNealy and Kyle Wilks for company.
With six laps to go Filip moved into second and was now on McGuinness' rear tyre with Jenkinson and Ward still a threat, and as the race neared it's conclusion at 20 laps, the battle for the podium places was between those four. A bit further back, Victor was now up to 12th and starting to close on Howarth and Jimmy Storrar.
Three laps remained as Jenkinson and Backlund moved ahead of McGuinness with Ward beginning to lose touch slightly on the first three. There was nothing in it between Jenkinson and Backlund as they crossed the line to start their last lap with just 0.09s separating them.
Despite Filip's best efforts he just couldn't find a way through and the two passed the chequered flag virtually together with Jenkinson getting the nod by the narrowest of margins at just 0.06s with McGuinness almost a second adrift in third. Victor held on to finish a clear 12th, just over half a second from a top ten finish.
The action now moves on to Hampshire with the next round of the championship taking place at Thruxton this weekend.
On the next lap the gap increased by another second over a Kawasaki express train consisting of Adam Jenkinson in second, Peter Ward, Backlund, Jonathan Howarth, Jonathan Railton, Hudson Kennaugh and Danny Johnson with Victor a further 1.4s adrift of this group in 13th.
At half race distance the lead was down slightly to just over two seconds with Filip now firmly embroiled in a frantic five rider battle for second. Positions remained the same for the next few laps but with nine laps to go McGuinness' lead was reduced considerably thanks to a big slide coming onto the start/finish straight which almost pitched him over the handlebars, and as the race reached two thirds distance the Morecambe man had been pegged back and now led by under half a second from Johnson, Ward and Backlund who had now pulled a gap on the chasers. Victor meanwhile was still battling on in 13th with Joe Burns, Rob NcNealy and Kyle Wilks for company.
With six laps to go Filip moved into second and was now on McGuinness' rear tyre with Jenkinson and Ward still a threat, and as the race neared it's conclusion at 20 laps, the battle for the podium places was between those four. A bit further back, Victor was now up to 12th and starting to close on Howarth and Jimmy Storrar.
Three laps remained as Jenkinson and Backlund moved ahead of McGuinness with Ward beginning to lose touch slightly on the first three. There was nothing in it between Jenkinson and Backlund as they crossed the line to start their last lap with just 0.09s separating them.
Despite Filip's best efforts he just couldn't find a way through and the two passed the chequered flag virtually together with Jenkinson getting the nod by the narrowest of margins at just 0.06s with McGuinness almost a second adrift in third. Victor held on to finish a clear 12th, just over half a second from a top ten finish.
The action now moves on to Hampshire with the next round of the championship taking place at Thruxton this weekend.
Filip Backlund in action at Brands Hatch on the ILR Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R.
Photo: © Jon Jessop Photography
By Kind Permission
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BSB Test
Snetterton
20th-21st March 2013
BSB Test
Snetterton
20th-21st March 2013
The third and final BSB Test coincided with the official start of Spring in the UK, unfortunately someone forgot to notify the weather as bitterly cold and wet conditions hit the Norfolk circuit over the duration of the two day test.
The first day was virtually a non-starter as very few took to the track, and by the end of the day a few teams had actually decided to go home.
Filip Backlund decided to go out in the first session of the day but crashed on the second lap without injury and he then joined his team-mate Victor Cox and the majority of the other riders in sitting out the rest of the days 'proceedings'.
The second day saw a slight improvement in the weather and in the first session both Victor and Filip were respectfully placed, 12th and 17th, in the Superbikes/Support Combined Session.
In the second session in the afternoon it was Victor's turn to crash out as his rear tyre inexplicably let go in the early stages as Filip again took things steady to round off an encouraging start with his new team.
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BSB Test
Brands Hatch (Indy)
19th March 2013
Brands Hatch (Indy)
19th March 2013
ILR Kawasaki came away from the first of three successive days testing, well pleased with their pre-season preparations to date.
As was the case last week at Donington, the one day test over the Brands Hatch Indy circuit was again held in cold conditions with the addition of at times, damp weather thrown in for good measure.
The man of the moment in the early stages of the test was new signing Filip Backlund who wasted no time getting to grips with things.
Filip was quickest in the first session with a lap of 73.77mph as Victor Cox prepared to make his first appearance of the day in the next session. That second session saw Backlund go 2.5secs quicker with a lap of 77.07mph to finish third in the Superstock class and seventh overall in the Superbike/Superstock combined session. Cox meanwhile was easing himself into the swing of things with an opening salvo of 76.89mph, just fractions behind his team-mate.
The next two sessions saw Filip go even quicker as he placed himself third best of the Superstocks and fifth overall in the fourth session. Victor meanwhile was taking things steady in preparation for his last outing of the day in the fifth session. Here he made his mark with a fine 81.86mph effort which earned him the second best time of the day in the Superstock class, Filip rounded off an excellent day's work with an 80.97mph lap, again his best of the day and good enough for fourth overall.
The team are now en route to Snetterton for two more days of Official BSB testing ahead of the new season which gets underway in just over two weeks time.
Filip Backlund testing at Brands Hatch.
Photo: © Ravensport Photographic
By Kind Permission
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BSB Test
Donington Park
14th March 2013
Donington Park
14th March 2013
It was a good test for ILR Kawasaki during the first BSB Test of the season at a bitterly cold Donington Park on Thursday, with team manager/rider Ian Lougher happy with how things went.
Despite the far from ideal weather conditions, Victor Cox and his new team-mate Filip Backlund took advantage of the test with the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R to get back in the groove after the winter off-season and it was a good opportunity for both new and established team personnel to work together for the first time and to get to know one another.
The tests allowed both riders to blow away the cobwebs after the long winter break. In the first session Victor and Filip eased themselves back into the swing of things. In the second session Victor was third quickest in the Superstock class and second fastest through the first sector speed trap. Filip meanwhile was fourth fastest through the start/finish line speed trap with Victor fifth. The third and final session saw Victor finish second quickest with Filip just over half a second back in sixth.
Despite the far from ideal weather conditions, Victor Cox and his new team-mate Filip Backlund took advantage of the test with the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R to get back in the groove after the winter off-season and it was a good opportunity for both new and established team personnel to work together for the first time and to get to know one another.
The tests allowed both riders to blow away the cobwebs after the long winter break. In the first session Victor and Filip eased themselves back into the swing of things. In the second session Victor was third quickest in the Superstock class and second fastest through the first sector speed trap. Filip meanwhile was fourth fastest through the start/finish line speed trap with Victor fifth. The third and final session saw Victor finish second quickest with Filip just over half a second back in sixth.
Team Owner Ian Lougher:
''It was a good BSB Test for ILR Kawasaki at Donington, it was cold though at only 7 degrees compared to the 27 degrees we had in Spain last year!!
Although no-one was pushing too much because of the cold temperatures, nevertheless it was pleasing to see Victor and Filip on the pace. Victor was quick as always and I was equally impressed with our new signing Filip Backlund who was actually running quicker than Victor with ten minutes to go.
It's great to have Victor on board again for 2013 and Filip has shown himself to be very professional, positive and good to work with. He knows what he wants from the bike and immediately gelled with everyone in the team.
We are all looking forward to working with him for the rest of the season.''
Although no-one was pushing too much because of the cold temperatures, nevertheless it was pleasing to see Victor and Filip on the pace. Victor was quick as always and I was equally impressed with our new signing Filip Backlund who was actually running quicker than Victor with ten minutes to go.
It's great to have Victor on board again for 2013 and Filip has shown himself to be very professional, positive and good to work with. He knows what he wants from the bike and immediately gelled with everyone in the team.
We are all looking forward to working with him for the rest of the season.''
Victor Cox: 'Had a great day on the ILR Kawasaki yesterday at Donington.
Back to good old work today, now can't wait to get back out on Tuesday at Brands Hatch for the next test.'
Filip Backlund: 'Big thanks to the crew at ILR Kawasaki and to Victor Cox for a superb day at Donington. See you all soon again for Brands.'
Photo: Ian Lougher with Victor Cox and new signing Filip Backlund during the BSB Test at Donington Park.
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ILR Kawasaki 2013 Team Announcement
With preparations underway for the new season, ILR Kawasaki are pleased to announce that Filip Backlund will partner Victor Cox in the team's 2013 Metzeler National Superstock 1000 Championship line-up.
The 22 year old from Sweden is one of the most promising up-and-coming Scandinavian talents. He began his motorcycle racing career at the tender age of three in motocross and from the age of seven he competed for four years in races all over Sweden. In 2001, at the age of eleven he got a ride for Kawasaki and won the Junior Championship with sixteen wins out of a possible nineteen. In 2002 Filip competed in mini-moto races all around Scandinavia and a couple of races in Europe where he won most of the races he participated in. The following year he won the Swedish 125cc Aprilia Championship with five wins out of six and moved up to 250cc racing in 2004 where he again took the Swedish Championship, the youngest rider ever to do so on both occasions.
At the end of 2004 he signed a contract with Suzuki to run in the Supersport 600cc class in Scandinavia and in his first season he took some wins and podium finishes. He stayed with the 600cc class for 2006 competing in Sweden with a couple of races in the European 600cc Championship and in the Superstock 600cc class that supports with WSBK and WSS, he had a 14th place finish at Brno. In 2007 he moved up to the 1000cc and the Superbike class, participating in thirteen races and finishing on the podium in eleven of them with some new lap records thrown in for good measure. The following year Filip rode for the Belgian MTM Racing Team in the Superstock 1000 FIM Cup, it was another good year with an 8th place finish at Donington.
In 2009, Filip returned home to Sweden to compete in the Pro Superbike Championship and took the title with seven wins and a total of eleven podium finishes out of a possible fourteen. In 2010 he raced both in Sweden and Pro Superbike and also two races in the Endurance World Championship.
At Le Mans he crashed and was unable to take part in the race. He also did the final round in Qatar where he lined up second on the grid in the Superstock class.
Since 2011 he has raced with his own team both in Sweden with the Pro Superbike Championship and also in the IDM Superbike Championship. In 2011 he took the title in Sweden with ten straight wins out of fourteen with his best result in the IDM Superbike Championship being an 8th place finish at the Sachsenring.
Last year Filip made the switch from Suzuki to Kawasaki and the season started well with encouraging pre-season testing in Spain. On the final pre-season test at Lausitzring he unfortunately crashed and subsequently required an operation. As a result he missed the first five races in Sweden and also the first six races in the IDM. He returned to win seven races on the trot and finished a brilliant 4th in the final Swedish Championship standings. He also competed twice in the IDM Championship with two 14th places at Assen and at the final round at Hockenheim where he scored two 8th place finishes.
Filip is a hard working, determined young rider with ambitions to ultimately compete and succeed at World Superbike level and he will have the full support of everyone within the team at ILR Kawasaki.
Filip Backlund: 'It feels great to have found a collaboration with Ian and ILR Kawasaki. They have competed at the highest levels in racing for many years and know what it takes to win. Now I prepare for the start of the season and the first tests with my new team.'
Victor Cox of course needs no introduction.
2012 saw Victor in his second full season with the team. Replacing the injured Conor Cummins midway through the 2010 season, he fought his way to eighth in the Metzeler National Superstock 1000 Championship and he went one better the following year with seventh, despite a run of bad luck in the early part of the season.
In 2012 the Trowbridge man was one of the strong contenders for the Championship and his third place in the final standings, including three podium finishes, was just rewards for the highly rated and extremely popular rider.
Victor and ILR Kawasaki were the only rider and team to score points at every round in one of the hardest fought championships on the domestic calendar and they will be going all out for the top step in 2013.
Team Owner Ian Lougher: 'We are again delighted to retain the services of Victor Cox for 2013. Victor has shown time and time again that he is undoubtedly a very talented rider and is a highly valued member of the team. I am also pleased to welcome Filip Backlund to the team for the 2013 season. Filip is a young rider of enormous ability and potential and has a great future in the sport, his signing for the team reiterates our commitment and ethos of developing and supporting young up and coming riders and giving them every support as they strive to fulfill their full potential and realise their ambitions. He will benefit enormously from having Victor as a team-mate and I feel he will reap the rewards of the experience within the ILR Kawasaki set-up.
As a team, we are again honoured to be entrusted with the tag of Official Kawasaki Motors UK Superstock Team, and look forward to a successful and enjoyable 2013 season.
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BSB Metzeler National Superstock 1000 Championship
Brands Hatch GP
12-14 October 2012
12-14 October 2012
Cox finishes third in Metzeler National Superstock 1000 Championship
Victor Cox brought the curtain down on the 2012 season for himself and ILR Kawasaki when he clinched third place in the Metzeler National Superstock 1000 Championship after a solid ride to 5th place in the final race of the season at Brands Hatch on Sunday.Cox was third in the standings going into the weekend but nothing was guaranteed as both Jimmy Storrar and Lee Costello were within striking distance of the Trowbridge man and it was still mathematically possible for them to snatch the final place on the championship rostrum.
First qualifying went well for Cox. Third quickest and one of only six riders in the 1m:29s bracket, he was also first and second through the Sector 1 and Sector 2 speed traps respectively. His young teammate Ash Beech meanwhile had been off the pace in Free Practice, it was later discovered that a bent frame in his Ninja ZX-10R was the cause. Ash sat out the first qualifying session while the team worked hard to prepare his bike for the second session.
The second session saw Victor finish 7th quickest, good enough for 8th overall, but disappointingly Ash was again left to rue his bad luck when his bike's fuel pump gave up in the session to leave him among the list of non-qualifiers for the only time this season, leaving all the team's hard work in vain.
Race day dawned dry and Victor lined up on the second row of the grid and knew a good start was crucial to avoid being baulked on the inside of the first bend. He did get a good start and at the end of the lap he had settled into 7th, just behind John McGuinness. On the next lap he got ahead of McGuinness as one of his third place rivals Jimmy Storrar crashed out at Druids without injury. Victor then alternated between 6th and 7th for the next few laps but there was no room for error as his other main contender for third in the championship Lee Costello was running consistently in the top four.
On the sixth lap Victor was still sixth but now had Costello just in front of him, but as Costello again moved clear into the top three Victor ran his own race in the top six. On lap nine the safety car came out for a few laps and as the race resumed Victor found himself in fourth, again just behind Costello and ahead of the new champion Keith Farmer.
With three laps to go, Costello moved into second which would be good enough for third in the series should a mishap befall Cox. However, constantly getting signals from his team, Victor was riding a calm, assured race and knew exactly what the situation was and he eased back into sixth as the battle for the race lead intensified in front. Then on the penultimate lap there was drama as Costello and Jonathan Railton crashed out at Druids, again without injury. The pressure was off and the team could finally relax as Victor brought the Ninja ZX-10R home for a great fifth place finish and his championship third place secured.
Victor Cox: 'Its been a good season and I'm really happy to have finished in the top 3 of the championship. I really wanted to finish the season on the podium at Brands and the team have done a mega job all year finishing every race.
Massive thanks to all the team, Kawasaki and my sponsors for making it possible.'
Ash Beech: 'I had bad luck at Brands but these things happen and it was no-one's fault. Andy and the team couldn't have worked any harder on the bike to get it ready. It's been a big learning year for me and I feel I have learned a lot on the big bikes and next year I can come out stronger.
I would like to thank everyone for all their help and support this year.'
So the conclusion of a very successful season for ILR Kawasaki.
Victor Cox has once again established himself as one of the key contenders in the Metzeler National Superstock 1000 Championship and a highly rated rider. Third in the standings was a great effort and equally pleasing was the fact that Victor and ILR Kawasaki were the only rider and team to score points at every round in one of the hardest fought championships on the domestic calendar.
The team's new signing Ash Beech has been a credit and acquitted himself superbly throughout his first season in this class with a level of professionalism and ability that at times defied his young age and, like Victor, has been a pleasure to work with.
On the roads, team owner/rider Ian Lougher again kept the team colours to the fore. With his race season curtailed in recent seasons due to managerial commitments, Ian nevertheless proved he is still a rider to be reckoned with.
ILR Kawasaki would like to thank all the team's sponsors and everyone who has helped and supported the team in 2012, and now look forward to another successful 2013 season.
Photo Courtesy: Graham Ravensdale
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ILR Kawasaki are on......
Follow the team throughout 2013 with all the latest news, views and photos
Follow the team throughout 2013 with all the latest news, views and photos
Manx Radio TT365 puts the questions to ILR Kawasaki team owner/rider Ian Lougher behind the scenes at the 2012 Isle of Man TT races. Next Round
Pirelli National Superstock 1000 Championship
Donington Park
23-26 May
Victor Cox
Filip Backlund
Donington Park
23-26 May
Victor Cox
Filip Backlund
Ride onboard with Ian Lougher as he takes us round the Dundrod Circuit
2013 Team Images
/Webth.JPG)
Pirelli National Superstock 1000 Round 3 (Oulton Park)
Pirelli National Superstock 1000 Round 2 (Thruxton)
Pirelli National Superstock 1000 Round 1 (Brands Hatch Indy)
BSB Test (Snetterton)
BSB Test (Brands Hatch)
Silverstone
Gold Cup (2)
Gold Cup (1)
Donington Park
Ulster Grand Prix
Brands Hatch
Southern 100
Oulton Park
Isle of Man TT (Races)
Isle of Man TT Practice
