Zoek Racing looking to Brands Hatch to make amends from Snetterton
Snetterton played host to round four of the Ducati TriOptions Cup this week with Sean Neary finishing his first race in fourth place but retiring from race two with a technical issue.
His Zoek Racing team mate Craig Currie was 14th in race one and 13th in the second race.
After qualifying on pole position for the first race, Lymm rider Sean Neary didn’t get the best of starts and completed the first of two laps in race one on Saturday in third place. Phil Atkinson demoted him to fourth on lap three but Neary powered back past to reclaim third one lap later. But his progress was short lived as on lap six Atkinson went past again and although there was less than half a second separating the two riders the red flag brought the race to a halt on lap eight and a result declared on positions on lap seven.
Neary commented: “The race didn’t go our way today as it was cut short which didn’t do us any favours for a podium however we didn’t have the pace to win.”
Neary lined up on the front row for race two on Sunday morning but things didn’t quite go to plan as, although he was running in fourth place for the first few laps he was forced to retire at half race distance with a technical issue. He said: “As race weekends go it was pretty poor!! A technical issue with the bike meant we didn’t finish race two. Not ideal but on the positive side it can always be worse! We will work hard and come back strong for Brands Hatch. Thanks to the team for all their hard work.”
With a non finish to his second race Neary has lost his series lead but is holding a strong second place on 108 points.
Meanwhile Newark rider Craig Currie went well during qualifying to start the first race from the middle of the second row. He held eighth place on lap one but began to drop back and completed the 10 lap affair in 14th place to pick up two championship points.
Starting race two on Sunday from the fifth row it was always going to be a challenge to get up into the top 10 but Currie made headway and completed the race in 13th place to secure another three championship points.
Snetterton was a positive weekend for the Nottinghamshire rider as he got his first points of the new season on board and has made good progress with the Ducati.
The next round is at Brands Hatch over the weekend of July 20-22 when both Zoek riders will be seeking strong results to boost their points tally with Neary looking to regain his series lead and Currie to move further up the standings.
Image provided by Dave Yeomans.