2022 BSB Round 1 Silverstone

Hi everyone, well it's that time again BSB 2022 is finally here. New riders on the grid for this season and some returning faces. But once again J&S Accessories have a number of rides across the classes for the new season, plus an added extra of one of our riders taking part in the World Supersport championship!!

So first up is the Junior Superstock races, this season we have Osian Jones, Ed Best and Zak Shelton, only one race this weekend in this class and mixed results for the J&S supported riders. Qualifying was tightly packed with time close together but Osian Jones was down in 31st place, Zak Shelton a little higher up in 20th and Ed Best just missing out on a top 10 starting place by setting a time fast enough for 11th on the grid.

In the race, Ed Best didn’t have the ideal start to his season with a DNF next to his name, but both Osian and Zak saw the race through to the end. Osian came home in 20th place and outside the points, while Zak had a great start to his season and came home in 10th and secured his first championship points in the new class for him this season.

Honda Talent Cup is up next and a new rider is added to the J&S stable for this season with Harrison Crosby racing in this class for 2022. Harrison made a great start to his season by starting from 5th place on the grid for the first race of the new season. Harrison backed up his starting position in race one to finish a fantastic 2nd place in the first race. In the second race, Harrison once again broke away with the leading group of riders and stayed in contention all the way through the race, but all the action happened in the final third of the last lap of the race. With only two corners to go 3 of the top 6 riders fell. Harrison kept his bike upright and crossed the line in 2nd place again and only 0.1 seconds from the race win. So two 2nd places see Harrison sit at the top of the championship standings at this early part of the season.

In British Supersport we have Harry Truelove racing for the Appleyard Yamaha Team. New team for Harry this season after making the move from racing in his own run team last year. Harry had a solid start to the season by starting from 3rd place on the grid for the first race of the weekend. He then backed this up with a solid 3rd place in the first race of the weekend. In the second race of the weekend, Harry once again showed the form that he had towards the end of the 2021 season with a mature ride to again finish in 3rd place. So not a bad way to start the new Supersport campaign and a great start with his new team.

Right onto Superstock 1000 now and here is where the field is flooded with J&S supported riders. 8 riders in total on the grid wearing the J&S colours.

A few new faces for this season and also some familiar ones. In qualifying it was the popular Aussie Billy McConnell who returns once again for another crack at the title, but this time on a new bike moving from BMW to Honda power for 2022. The move seemed to have worked as Billy put the Fireblade on pole for the first race of the season. Also on a Honda for this year is Lewis Rollo, Lewis was on the outside of the front row in 3rd place. J&S is once again supporting the IN Competition Aprilia team, this year they have Matt Truelove who qualified in 23rd place and his teammate Tom Ward who started from 7th. Next up are Suzuki duo, Charlie Nesbitt, starting from 6th and Tom Oliver down in 21st place, Joe Francis moving to Superstock 1000 for this year on the Kawasaki he started the first race from 8th on the grid. Last but not least Ant Moore on another Suzuki on the final row of the grid in 38th position.

So a packed grid once again in this class and action right from the very start with an accident in the first race taking out a number of riders including Joe and Billy. Billy managed to restart the race but this time from the back of the field. Billy worked his way up to 19th place by the time the race had finished which was a great result all things considered. Joe didn’t make the restart so not the best way to kick off his season. DNF’s also for Lewis Rollo who collided with another rider after an issue with the brakes on his Honda. Charlie Nesbitt had a DNF next to his name as did teammate Tom Oliver who crashed out on the last lap. Ant Moore came home in 27th place. Aprilia pair Matt Truelove and Tom Ward both managed to finish in the points, with Matt coming home in 13th place and Tom taking the final step on the podium in 3rd place.

The second race was more of the same with 39 bikes lining up for the start. Joe Francis had a great race and fought his way up from 36th on the grid to come home in 13th place and score a handful of championship points. Tom Oliver came home in18th and just missed out on points, just ahead was Matt Truelove in 17th position. Charlie Nesbitt had a weekend to forget after being taken out by another rider whilst holding a steady position in the top 10. Ant Moore suffered a DNF in the second race too. Tom Ward finished in 7th place and inside the top 10 to round off a good weekend for the Aprilia team. Lewis Rollo bounced back after the result from yesterday but it wasn’t without drama, Lewis had a massive moment coming out of the final corner as the rear tyre let go and caused a massive slide which could have ended in a really bad way at over 130mph!! But he overcame that to cross the line in 4th position. In front of Lewis was Billy got his elbows out and was his typical all-action self. Billy rode a solid race after the disappointment of the first race and came home in 3rd and stood on the podium for the first time this season.

The final class is the Superbike class. Returning to the class for the full season is Luke Mossey on the TAG Honda also coming back is Leon Jeacock on the Suzuki GSXR 1000. Rookie Dan Jones is stepping up from the GP2 class to race on the iForce BMW for his first taste of Superbike action. Back for another crack is Glenn Irwin, he’s stayed with the official Honda team for 2022 and it’s going to be a big year for Glenn with the road races returning this year too, which means a debut at the Isle of Mann TT races for the Honda rider.

What a way to start the season for Glenn, he put his Honda Fireblade on pole for the first race of the season by setting a time that was underneath the lap record for the Silverstone National track. Dan Jones made an impressive start to life in the superbike class but starting from 18th just ahead of Luke Mossey in 19th place. Leon Jeacock would start from 28th on the grid.

Race one saw Leon improve to come home in 26th place, Dan slipped back down to 21st but showed he can mix it with some established riders in his first race. Luke missed out on points by crossing the line in 19th position. But Glenn who started from the pole lead every lap of the race and to the first race win of the season. The only thing missing was the fastest lap but a great way to start the year.

The second race was more of the same for Glenn but a little bit more hard work as he had to battle with the OMG racing duo of Kyle Ryde and Brad Ray. But Glenn once again took the race win and another 25 points. Both Luke and Dan had a DNF next to their name and Leon came home in 22nd position.

The third and final race again saw Luke retire due to an issue with his hand, Dan finished in 22nd place but a great platform to build on considering it’s his first weekend on the superbike. Leon finished in 25th place. But for the third time of the weekend, Glenn Irwin took another race win and his first triple win. A great result for the Honda man as this sets the tone for the rest of the season. 3 races wins and 75 points towards the championship charge, early days it may be but it’s a great start to not only Glenn’s season but the whole of the J&S supported team.

So that’s all for this weekend but no rest for the wicked as the next round comes from Oulton Park over the bank holiday weekend at the start of May. But next up is Ben Currie who will be making his first appearance of the season in the World Supersport championship after missing the first round due to an injury that he picked up training.

So until then, thanks for reading and I’ll be back soon with another round-up of action.

Thanks

Danny