Guiver bounces back to close gap on Championship leader Leon Morris in Ducati TriOptions Cup at Oulton Park
Leon Morris leads championship after a win and a third
Rob Guiver grabs vital race 2 win to stay in touch with championship leader Morris
Sean Neary third in the championship
Rob Guiver (Hyside Motorycles) took victory in Race 2 at Oulton Park today, keeping his Ducati TriOptions Cup championship challenge alive after yesterday’s race retirement. Leon Morris followed up his race 1 win with a hard fought third to maintain his championship lead.
Sean Neary (Zoek Racing Team) had led from pole chasing his elusive victory, before swapping positions with Leon Morris (Carl Cox Motorsport/P&H Motorcycles) and Robbie Brown (Boast Plumbing) on the opening lap. Guiver had started from the front of Row 3 but by the second lap had already moved up into 3rd place in front of the pole sitter.
These riders were joined by Louis Dawson, (Ducati Wolverhampton), and Highsparks Motorsport teammates Phil Atkinson and Mark Cheetham, with the group having pulled a gap of over 2.5 seconds over Sam Middlemas (Salus/Albany) in 8th. Nicky Wilson (NWR) and Alistair Fagan (Carl Cox Motorsport/P&H Motorcycles) made up the rest of the top 10 riders.
By half race distance the top 7 riders had extended their gap to 8 seconds and by Lap 8 Brown led ahead of Guiver, Morris, Neary and Dawson. Guiver had a bike moment as the rear of his bike stepped out but he regained his composure to close the gap to Brown and pass before pulling the pin to get clear at the front.
By the last lap the leading 5 riders were now 9 seconds ahead of the field but back markers came into play as Neary went to pass Morris but went into a corner too hot, forcing Morris onto the grass.
Guiver went on to take the win, making up for the disappointment of retiring from yesterday’s race. Brown finished 1.7 seconds behind the winner to claim his 2nd podium finish of the weekend. Morris survived his off-road excursion, getting the better of Neary and Dawson in the battle for the last podium finish.
Rob Guiver – Hyside Motorycles
“That was an awesome race. Yesterday with the brake problems we had, to be honest in my mind if I didn’t win that race I was going to lose the championship. So I just had the mentality to win or bin. I’ve never thought like that before but just took my brain out really and went for it as hard as I could. The last couple of laps just pushed on and on. To get the victory is fantastic after yesterday.”
Robbie Brown – Boast Plumbing
“We seem to be back on the ball a bit now with two podium finishes. Obviously it would be nice to win, it really would. But Rob was the better guy today. In the early parts of the race I felt comfortable, it was really easy. And then in the second half the bike just seemed to fall of a cliff in terms of grip. I just really struggled with the front end. Not really making excuses though, Rob rode better than me. I tried my best but ultimately it was good just to be back on the podium and get back up the front of the race. I’m not going to win the championship so just got to go out and win the last 4 races hopefully.”
Leon Morris – Carl Cox Motorsport/P&H Motorcycles
“Reasonably happy with the weekend, not perfect but happy to be on the podium after that move from Neary which could easily have gone wrong. We seem to have this niggling thing at the moment in Race 2 at the moment. We have a strong Race 1 and then in Race 2 we don’t seem to deliver the goods. I came here behind on points and I’m now 8 points ahead so a good weekend. But this championship is so close, this is the 3rd year I have been in this position and I am desperate not to finish 2nd, I would rather finish 5th! So yes a good weekend but would’ve like to have done a bit better.”
Sean Neary – Zoek Racing team
“I was a bit frustrated with race 2 to finish where I did, I got stuck behind Leon Morris but he is so good on the breaks. I felt stronger in the corners and coming off the corners but he does have a wait advantage, he would gap me on the straights and then I wouldn’t be close enough to get past him. I was desperate to get past him and was getting more and more frustrated as the race went on and felt I could have done something about Robbie Brown and Rob Guiver. I had a go on the last lap but I ended up going in too hot and pushing him on to the grass which is obviously not ideal as Leon is going for the championship and is also a mate. But that is racing but its more points and I am third now in the championship.”
The Ducati TriOptions Cup heads overseas to Assen on the 30th September to 2nd September for the penultimate round
Championship points:
- Leon Morris - 232
- Rob Guiver - 224
- Sean Neary - 194