SMT Racing's Filip Backlund battled through the pain barrier at Oulton Park on Bank Holiday Monday to claim a hard earned eighth place on the Kawasaki ZX-10R at the second round of the 2014 Pirelli National Superstock 1000cc Championship.
Riding for the Skelmersdale-based team, the Swedish ace suffered a spill at the Britten’s chicane towards the end of the opening qualifying session and with ankle ligaments torn in his left ankle, it meant he faced an uphill battle for the rest of the weekend. With a best lap of 1m39.013s in the second qualifying session he lined up back in 18th place and on the sixth row of the grid for the 15-lap race.
However, the 24-year old dug deep and made superb progress throughout, continually lapping quicker than the riders in front of him and, subsequently, moving forward throughout. Having gained two places on the opening lap, Fililp posted a best lap almost three quarters of a second quicker than what he had done in qualifying and, with consistent laps, he had moved up inside the top ten by two thirds race distance. With a top six finish within his grasp, the race ended on the penultimate lap after an incident involving Victor Cox and with the result taken after 13 laps, Filip was duly awarded eighth place and eight Championship points. It sees him occupy fifth in the table after the opening two rounds.
Filip Backlund: “To come through to finish eighth after everything is pleasing and whilst it’s not where we want to be, it’s only the second round and the points could be crucial. The ankle was causing me considerable discomfort as I couldn’t put any pressure through it which affected the way I was changing gear. However, we found a good setting with the bike and I was able to lap consistently fast, moving forward all the time.”
“If I’d have made a better start the result could’ve been better still but I was happy with my race and with the feeling I had with the bike. The whole team are working really hard, doing a great job, and we’re making good progress so we’ll use the break before the next round to get my foot 100% and come back stronger. I’m feeling positive and confident and can’t wait until Snetterton.”
Robin Croft, Team Owner: “After what Filip went through in qualifying, the race was very much a salvation job but for him to come away with a fine eighth place is very satisfying to say the least. The crash was at one of the slower parts of the course and whilst there wasn’t much damage to the bike, the ligament damage to Filip’s ankle made it very difficult from there on. The MSV medical staff did a great job but he was hindered when changing gear whilst starting from P18 was a tall order.”
“However, Filip fought bravely through the pain barrier and the pack to haul himself into the top ten and his pace was really strong. He couldn’t have been more complimentary about how well the bike was working during the race and whilst other riders were slowing as the race wore on, Filip was getting stronger. It just shows how determined he is and whilst we’ve had a slight mishap this weekend, there’s no panic in the SMT Racing camp and we can’t wait until Snetterton to really show what we can do.”
The next round of the Superstock series takes place at Snetterton on June 13-15 but the team now head to the Isle of Man TT races where Dan Stewart and Tim Reeves/Gregory Cluze will line up in the solo and sidecar races respectively. Practice gets underway around the 37 and ? mile course on Saturday May 24.
Pictures by Glynne Lewis.
