Double podium for FPW Racing at Oulton Park
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11/05/2018
FPW Racing have enjoyed a strong weekend at Oulton Park with Storm Stacey taking a brace of second place podium finishes that see him slot into second position overall in the championship after the opening two rounds. Teammate Taz Taylor continued to work hard on set-up over the course of the weekend and was rewarded with two solid top ten results.
Hot, sunny conditions prevailed throughout the Bank Holiday weekend, with both riders needing to improve their performances following the previous race at Brands Hatch. They made a good start during Saturday’s two free practice sessions, Storm’s fastest lap placing him in second position on the timesheet’s and Taz consistently running inside the top ten, completing the opening day in eighth position ahead of Sunday’s single qualifying session and the first race.
Storm battled for the front row throughout qualifying and claimed third position on the grid with his final flying lap. Taz continued to chip away at his lap times, improving by half a second during each of the three sessions so far, and providing good feedback to the team as they worked on the set-up of his Kalex chassis to give him more confidence. He would head up row three, having qualified in seventh position for Sunday’s 10 lap race.
After making a good start, Storm would run within the podium positions for the entire race, battling initially with the leaders before hitting a raised kerb at Cascades and losing the vital tow. In the closing stages he would battle with Asher Durham for second place, making his final pass at Lodge and securing the position on the run to the chequered flag. Taz lost a few positions in the early laps, circulating in eleventh place mid-race, but came back strongly, setting his fastest lap on the penultimate lap to finish in eighth position.
After making further set-up refinements overnight, both riders were ready for the 14 lap race on Bank Holiday Monday, run in unusually hot conditions (Air temperature 24 degrees / Track temperature 43 degrees). Storm would once again start from third position on the front row of the grid; with Taz starting from the outside of row three in ninth position.
Storm made a great start to the race and was the early leader at the completion of lap one. As the laps reeled off, both Storm and Jake Archer would edge away from the chasing pack, and by mid-distance the fast duo battling at the front would be over three seconds clear of third place. Storm set the fastest lap of the race on lap six, and led by the narrowest of margins at the completion of lap eight, however, he got a little unlucky with the back markers and had to settle for second place at the chequered flag by just 0.044 seconds.
Taz, once again, had a solid race and held eighth position during the early laps. He set his fastest lap of the weekend on lap five, and was in a close battle for sixth position for much of the race, eventually finishing in eighth place.
There is now a lengthy gap in the HEL Performance British Motostar Championship to accommodate both the International Road Races and the next round of the inaugural British Talent Cup.
Storm can next be seen in action at Snetterton (British Talent Cup) held over the weekend of 15-17 June.
He will rejoin Taz and the FPW Racing team for round three of the HEL Performance British Motostar Championship north of the border at Knockhill over the weekend of 6-8 July.
Race report courtesy of FPW Racing
Images provided by David Johnson motorsport photography
