Victor Cox put his recent bad luck behind him when he rode to a strong fifth place finish in Round 4 of the Metzeler National Superstock 1000 Championship in association with Blackhorse, at Thruxton on Monday.It was an impresssive performance by the Blackhorse Kawasaki teamster who showed excellent form at the Hampshire circuit. Fifth in free practice just 0.80 seconds off the pace, set the pattern for the weekend.
First qualifying got underway in damp conditions but with things improving Cox took to the track and it paid dividends as he put in a lap of 1:19.26 to briefly go to the top the session before finishing second overall. He was however quickest through Sector 2 and his Ninja ZX-10R was the highest placed Kawasaki in the session.
Confidence was high for the second session in which Victor eventually finished 7th, just half a second off the pace with a one second blanket covering the top 11 riders. Victor's time of 1:18.52 secs was over half a second faster than his first session best and he qualified on the second row of the grid for the race itself.
The weather forecast for race day was for heavy rain from early morning but thankfully as the riders lined up on the grid that rain hadn't yet materialised although there was a distinct dampness in the air.
The race had just got underway with Victor in tenth, when the safety car appeared at the end of the first lap and remained on the circuit for another four laps. On lap six they were racing again and as they went over the line at the end of the lap Victor, with a 1:18.57, the third best overall lap of the race, was up to eighth.
A lap later and it was seventh for Cox as he got past the Padgetts Honda of Joe Dickinson with the HM Plant Honda of Jason O'Halloran next in his sights, and indeed it was O'Halloran who was relegated a place on the next lap. Two more Hondas, of Tristan Palmer and Adam Jenkinson respectively, were next to fall victim to Cox who was now on a charge and sensing a podium finish.
At two-thirds distance it was anyone's race with just under one second covering the top six and Victor still in fourth. On lap 11, Palmer re-claimed fourth through The Complex section with Victor not having the chance to fight back as the race was red-flagged due to the worsening weather conditions.
Nevertheless a solid performance from Cox who posted the third fastest lap of the race (the fastest by a Kawasaki rider) and he was quickest through both sectors with his ideal lap comparison placing him almost half a second ahead of the opposition. Victor also scored 11 championship points which moved him six places up the standings to 14th.
It's back to road race action now for Blackhorse Kawasaki as team manager/rider Ian Lougher went straight from Thruxton to take part in Monday evening's first practice session at the Isle of Man TT races.
Photo Courtesy:
Clive Challinor Motorsport Photography