ARRIVING at the unexpectedly sunny Knockhill Circuit, the furthest north on the calendar in Scotland, Luke Hedger was determined to rack up some points from this weekend.

Arriving on the Wednesday gave him and the Gearlink Kawasaki team plenty of time to set up the bike and the garage which this weekend was an awning that he was to share with his team mates Mason Law #20 and Superbike rider Vittorio #31 so it was definitely going to be snug.

Hedger, the 20 year old from Yate went out in the glorious sunshine for the first time putting in a time quick enough to place him in the top ten. Being a second off the fastest time and top spot it is safe to say that he was not happy with his progression and pushed for more but the bike was not playing ball.

With a number of changes made to the bike he went out for free practice 2 but instead of gaining positions he seemed to be going backwards and lost a place in the positions to 10th. Something needed to be changed so dramatically they decided to completely change the suspension to Ohlins which left them working well into the evening.

Day 2 brought qualifying and with 20 laps under his belt Hedger became much more comfortable on the Kawasaki GSXR 600 bringing home a time best time of 50.667 on the 17th lap placing him 5th and middle of the second row for the Dickies British Supersport sprint race. The first of the 2 races for Luke Hedger was the infamous Sprint Race, 18 laps around the 1.2 mile circuit with wet track conditions and the sun shining down which meant it was a matter of time before the tyres started to disintegrate. Whose would go first?

After a good start off the line and a consistent position of 5th the unthinkable happened. The crowd heard the bike pop and it just shut down leaving Hedger helpless and quickly found himself at the back of the pack. With nothing he could do he gingerly came round the circuit practically dragging the bike back into pit lane. He got off the bike you could see the sheer frustration and disappointment on his face as he waved his hands around with anger, it just proves how much it all means to him and how much finishing in the points is essential now to get a championship podium finish.

This had been the result he was dreading despite all the mechanics and the teams efforts it was still that niggling problem that has haunted him in a number of races this season of an electrical fault where the bike cuts out and starts again repeatedly.

Whilst working frantically on the bike Luke needed now to forget the past and look to the Sunday feature race and the timing sheets said it all, he was still 5th, placing him on the second row of the grid to which he breathed a sigh of relief.

With a good position now all he had to do was ride it out or so we thought. With the leader, Mackenzie at his local track he went off like a rocket into the distance and providing he stayed on the bike was a dead cert to win but behind him in 6th, 7th and 8th position was where all the action was happening. Hedger, Reidy and Andrew Irwin where changing positions at nearly every corner, squeezing the bikes into the smallest of spaces to try and grab 6th.

Luke threw the bike from left to right and made up the smallest of margins at every opportunity even down to the last millimetre and after what can only be described as a heroic race by Hedger he came out on top and stole 6th position from Irwin on the line.

Hedger: "It was a very tough weekend. Race one, the bike let me down after getting on the back of the leading group, and then in race two I got swallowed up and had to settle for 6th.

"I was not happy and feel I have so much more to give. Now I have to focus on the next race which will be at Norfolks’ MSV Circuit Snetterton where again we will begin the bid to scoop up more points and aim to get on the podium.

"Thank you to everyone that made the long journey to the north to support me and to all those watching from home, I could not doing what I am doing today without the support of my sponsor, friends and family.”