FIM Superstock 2006 Beowulf Racing Nick Henderson

Despite a heart-stopping moment when he bounced the Beowulf Racing Suzuki along the grass, Nick Henderson lies in 25th place after the first day of Qualifying for the third round of the FIM Superstock 1000 Cup at Silverstone in the UK. The Australian, who rides for the British Shepton Mallet-based team, recorded a time of 1:33.430, just over 3 seconds behind Italian Claudio Corti’s (Yamaha) current pole-setting lap of 1:29.781. This weekend’s events are being run on the 2.2-mile International circuit, rather than the more familiar Grand Prix layout used for F1 racing.

Although this morning’s half-hour free practice session was run on a saturated track, the overnight rain abated just in time for its start.
Henderson’s mission was simple: to log the best time he could whilst ensuring the bike remained upright. Despite one scary moment when the former Australian champion hit the grass only to regain control when his machine slided forwards onto a fortunately-placed slip road, Nick succeeded in his mission bagging a time of 1:54.846.

In contrast, the afternoon timed qualifying period was run under dry and largely bright conditions. It was clear to see how hard Henderson was trying with his machine squirming around as he braked heavily into the Abbey hairpin on every lap. Although Nick is far from happy with his final position, he’s confident he’ll be further up the grid by the end of tomorrow.

“Although I’ve done a track day here before, it was on the shorter National circuit not this layout” he said. “It was a shame in a lot of ways that it didn’t stay wet in the afternoon, because the fresh conditions meant starting again. We’re moving forwards and with the usual overnight adjustments I’m sure there’s more to come tomorrow.” Asked about his early morning excursion onto the grass he commented: “Everyone’s been telling me what a scary moment I had but it really didn’t seem that bad at the time. I guess things must just look different when you’re sat in the saddle.”

Team Manager Andy Stone was also in buoyant mood: “We’re a lot, lot closer to the top 15 than we were after the first day at Valencia or Monza” he said. “The aim is to get Nick a start for the race from the front four rows and if we’ve achieved that by the end of tomorrow we’ll be over the moon.”

Saturday will consist of a second practice and qualifying period, lasting 30 and 25 minutes respectively. Sunday’s race is over 15 laps and with the Australian desperate to make more of an impact on the International scene, anything could happen at the famous Northamptonshire circuit.