Cal Cooper produced a stunning ride in the second round of the BSB 600 Superstock series at Thruxton to go 5th overall in the championship.
The 16 year old from Ramsey, Isle of Man, was languishing in 17th place after the pace car was called out for four laps following a first lap incident.
With just nine 2.3 mile laps of Britian’s fastest circuit remaining in which to try and retrieve the situation, Cooper’s brave riding saw him claw his way back to the front end of the race in blistering fashion.
Said Cooper who ended up 7th: ‘I was pushed out wide on the right hander after the start and lost eight places. It was so frustrating sitting behind the car and watching the laps countdown, but I kept plugging away and thought I’d nicked 6th in the end.’
The first two riders home and Cooper were the only ones to dip under the 1 minute20 seconds barrier with Manx Sports Institute supported Manxman finding the JDF Racing-prepared Kawasaki a much prospect after an overnight gearing change.
Despite running on settings used by last year’s champion, Cooper was languishing in 9th place after Q2, held in dry conditions, which left a dozen or so riders within one second of each other.
However Sunday’s warm-up saw him go top ahead of the eventual first and second placemen.
Cal expressed his thanks to the JDF team, Paul Dedman Performance, Richard Adam’s of Maxton Suspension, Dean Teversham Flooring, IoM Sports Institute and Peter Duke of Duke Video.
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