LUKE Hedger is keen to put bad luck behind him in this weekend's round of the Bennetts British Superbikes at Oulton Park Circuit.

The Hereford-based motorbike rider suffered mechanical trouble at the latest Silverstone round of the season recently, writes Camilla Davina Temple-Court

The CPD Kawasaki Team suffered all weekend with technical problems which the team could not quite fathom out.

Qualifying saw Hedger move back down the grid to 19th, but still only 1.1 seconds off the leading time.

With the Superstock 1000 class being so competitive there really is no room for mechanical or any other type of failure.

With the CPD Kawasaki team run by Chris Cunnington they were determined to move further up the grid to where they know they can be. He was to start the first of two races of the weekend on row 6 of the packed grid.

Race one saw Hedger storm off the line and ruthlessly make as many overtakes as he could over the 23 laps managing to bring the CPD Kawasaki across the line in 12th place.

The team were ecstatic as their hard work had finally paid off.

Race two got off to a good start but Hedger found himself again having issues with the bike, forcing him to pull in on lap 21 of 24.

“It wasn’t the weekend me and the team had hoped for with a few bike issues which are now sorted," said Hedger.

"I feel very confident and ready for Oulton Park. I absolutely love the track and I am very keen to get back on the bike and put all the bad results behind me and hit the reset button.”

Team owner Chris Cunnington brought the team together two years ago and has moved from strength to strength so this technical problem in an already hindered year being hit by Covid-19 was not going to dampen his outlook on the overall picture.

Cunningham put the team together largely self-funded with rider Hedger relying on other sponsors for clothing and safety protection.

The team remains strong and determined that they can iron out the small issues and can get Hedger back up to the top seven where he is most used to being.

"It’s annoying that we did not get the result that we wanted, and I have the utmost faith in my team and know that we can progress to Oulton Park in a positive manner," said Cunningham.

"Luke Hedger is an incredible rider and has really taken everything in his stride. I am certain that we can move on to Oulton Park and get some solid results.

"Thank you again for all of the support that sponsors and Luke’s personal sponsors give us throughout this testing year.”

The next round of the Bennetts British Superbikes will be held at Oulton Park Circuit this weekend.

You can watch it Live on Eurosport, TSL Timings and catch up on ITV 4.