Confidence Found on Saturday at Oulton Park

McAMS Racing and Danny Kent progressed to a seventh place finish in the opening race of the weekend at Oulton Park, demonstrating competitive pace and finding confidence in their ability to be close to the front.
 
As the ninth round of the 2024 Bennetts British Superbike Championship got underway, Kent and the team headed into Friday’s opening duo of Free Practice sessions with the ambition of picking up from where they left off at the venue earlier in the year.
 
The opening day of action hosted a positive degree of progress in the family-run garage, ending with the rider from Tetbury posting a best time of 1:34.204 and securing a spot in Saturday’s second Qualifying session.
 
Come Saturday afternoon, after a brief third and final Free Practice session, Kent hit the track aboard his Yamaha R1 for a 15-minute session to decide the grid for Race 1.
 
A challenging session saw Kent unable to settle into a competitive rhythm and clock a time suiting to both the bike and his own potential at the 2.6-mile circuit.
 
The McAMS-backed outfit secured a spot at the back of the third row, taking confidence ahead of the race from the strong pace demonstrated earlier in the weekend.
 
Starting from ninth, Kent retained his position throughout the opening handful of laps and latched himself onto the back of the leading group.
 
Progressing into eighth on Lap 5 as a rider up the road fell from the running, he continued to show worthy pace, maintaining contact with the leading group and setting the fastest lap of the early stage of the race.
 
Kent later progressed into seventh on Lap 12, holding position for the final 6 laps of the 18-lap charge.
 
The R1 rider’s best lap time of 1:34.381 lands him with an improved, second-row start ahead of Race 2 tomorrow.
 
Having shown promising pace throughout the second day of action at Oulton Park, hope in the camp remains high that Kent can improve on his form from today.
 
With a further duo of races in store on Sunday, beginning with a 12-lap sprint at 13:15, the focus remains on producing a competitive opening few laps, taking advantage of an improved grid position and slotting into a spot closer towards the front of the pack.

Danny Kent
Race 1 – P9

“I’m feeling content but not fully satisfied with my performance today. Seventh place isn’t where we want to be fighting, but we showed good pace throughout the race and managed to stay in contact with the leading group throughout much of the 18 laps. We know that the pace is there and hopefully, an improved grid position for tomorrow will give us more of a chance of fighting within the top 5. The pace is there, so all I can do is go out tomorrow and give it everything I’ve got.”

Tim Martin
Team Owner

“Seventh place isn’t the worst result we’ve had. We qualified on the second-row which is an improvement after today’s ninth-place start. Danny’s lap times were good enough to stick with the front riders, but we didn’t quite have the aggression needed throughout the opening few laps. There are many positives to take away from the day and a few changes to make ahead of tomorrow. We’re in a good position to be able to move forward tomorrow, fight within the top 5 and maybe get into the top 3.”

Sunday Podium for McAMS Racing at Oulton Park

Sunday’s track action at Oulton Park ended in positive spirit for McAMS Racing and Danny Kent, who added a seventh podium finish of the 2024 season to their tally, advancing into fifth in the championship standings in the process.
 
The final day of action in the ninth round of the 2024 Bennetts British Superbike Championship was an improvement following a challenging day on track throughout Saturday.
 
The opening Sprint race of Sunday’s schedule became delayed and reduced by worsening weather conditions. As the lights eventually dropped on a shortened 10-lap charge, Kent sat sixth on the grid with an ambition of progression in mind.
 
The opening stages of the race saw Kent slip as far back as ninth in the running, as the race progressed, the rider from Tetbury picked off several riders to enter seventh on Lap 5, setting the fastest lap of the race in the process.
 
More progression awaited the Yamaha R1 rider as the race entered its final stages, making his way into the podium positions by the end of Lap 7.
 
On the closing laps, Kent found himself in contention for a potential debut win, with the leading three bunching up to provide a drama-filled closing stage. A battle for the lead only metres in front allowed Kent to poach second place on the penultimate lap bringing the R1 home in impressive style.
 
In the final, 15 lap race of the Oulton Park weekend, worsening weather conditions yet again effected play, with the race called to a stoppage on Lap 8 with Kent running in 13^th.
 
Following a confirmed 5-lap restart, Kent found the form to progress through the pack from 12^th on the grid, progressing to P5 by the end of the penultimate lap.
 
Although making a noble attack on fourth into Turn 1 of the final lap, Kent slipped back to fifth where he remained for the remainder of the race, bringing home an additional 16 points for the series.
 
Kent and the team sit in an advanced position of fifth heading to Donington Park, where they aim to mount another competitive weekend towards the front of the field.

Danny Kent
Race 2 – P2
Race 3 – P5

“It’s been a challenging weekend for me and the team. It was nice to repay them with a second-place finish in Race 2 today. We started off the weekend with a few struggles, for some reason, the settings on the biker that made us strong earlier in the year didn’t work in our favour this time around. I found a much better feeling with the bike today and managed to end the day with an improved position in the championship. Let’s look forward to Donington Park in two weeks.”

Tim Martin
Team Owner

“This weekend we had a seventh, a second and a fifth which shows we’ve made progress as a team compared to the results earlier this year. Danny’s wet pace was really strong and he looked really comfortable on the bike. He had a strong start to the Race 3 restart, but found himself in 12th but once he got through the pack he was able to run with the front guys. Maybe in a longer situation he could’ve had a go for the podium in that one too. All-in-all though, after Cadwell Park it was a shot in the arm – we’re up to fifth in the standings and want to progress in the final two rounds of the season. I’m also delighted to have scored a podium for McAMS at their home venue too.”