ROUND SEVEN of the Bennetts British Superbike Championships was Yate’s Luke Hedger’s second outing on the PR Racing Lloyd & Jones Bowker BMW after filling in for the injured Smrz.

Thruxton is one of the fastest circuits on the British Superbike Championship calendar and one which has hosted events as varied as World Endurance motorcycles, European F2 cars and trucks.

The demands of the circuit range from the long, fast straights and flowing corners to tight, demanding Complex and Chicane sections.

Hedger has been making steady progress since taking over from his injured team mate, and although the results don’t show this he is getting to grip with the bike.

Hedger and the team decided to concentrate on race set up because of the nature of the 2.3-mile circuit that is notorious for tyre wear due to the abrasive tarmac, so making sure the tyres can last the 20-lap race is vital.

The team did a brilliant job; they got the bike set up perfectly, especially in race one.

Starting from 24th place, Hedger had a lot of work to do, but he knew his tyre would last the race so he just had to be patient.

He got up to 18th with four laps to go and was gaining on the next group of riders. It was looking like Hedger would be picking up his first British Superbike point before his gear lever snapped. He nursed his bike home to 18th.

Race Two saw Hedger was locked into a huge battle with Rogers and Barrier, ending up in 19th.

Hedger said: “I had a good consistent weekend. Me and the team worked hard and went faster every session.

“Unfortunately the result doesn’t show how much progress we have made going from 3.2 to 1.1 off the top boys now, but we’ve just got to keep chipping away.

“Thank you to the whole PR Racing team for all their hard work and again to everyone that has helped me get to where I am. I couldn’t do any of this without you all.”