ICE Racing Update

The Buildbase Suzuki team is set for Snetterton this weekend, with the aim very much to build on the positive weekend at Knockhill.

Bradley Ray enjoyed a return to form in Scotland, with huge strides made with the setup of his GSX-R1000R superbike to come away with a top-six finish. He also enjoyed a positive test at Suzuka ahead of next week’s famous eight-hour race, and with confidence high heads to Snetterton – a track where he set pole in 2018 – looking to continue that run of form. His teammate in the superbike class, Luke Stapleford, also made progress on his side of the garage to leave Knockhill with a top-10 finish, and is hoping to move closer to the front at the Norfolk circuit.

Buildbase Suzuki continues to lead the National Superstock 1000 Championship, with Richard Cooper boasting a 33.5-point advantage at the top of the points table. The series enjoyed a brief foray into the World Superbike paddock – where Cooper finished second at Donington Park – but now returns to BSB action and the Nottinghamshire ace is looking to return to the top step this weekend.

Bradley Ray, “We made a big improvement at Knockhill, which was a long-time coming after lots of little steps earlier in the season, and now I feel like I have the confidence to push harder and get closer to the front. I’m feeling good with the bike, and we know what we can do when the pieces all come together. We were on pole last year, the potential’s there, so the aim is to keep momentum going, and if we can come away with two top sixes as a minium I’ll feel like we’ve really turned a corner.”

Luke Stapleford, “We made another step at Knockhill and it’s hopefully the start of a solid second half of the season. Everyone’s been working really hard to keep building and improve in the areas we were struggling. There’s still work to do but we’re focussed on continuing the improvements and hopefully that’ll carry on this weekend and we can have two strong races inside the top-10.”

Richard Cooper, “We’re in a place where the goal is to go out and win every time. The GSX-R’s working well, we’ve got a good base to work from each time, so we’re aiming for wins each time we go out. That’s not to say it’s ever easy – superstock’s a hugely competitve championship with top, top riders in it. But confidence is high and hopefully we can add another win to the tally this weekend.”

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