GR Motosport bounce back with a Strong Weekend at Oulton Park
It what was effectively the first round of BSB 2024 for many of the sun kisses spectators at Oulton Park they were presented with spectacular racing and our riders were in the thick of the action.
Navarra left more of an impression on the Team than we had initially thought when it turned out Tom’s sore knee was a torn ACL. This injury meant that Tom would miss Oulton Park and possibly Donington Park whilst we sought expert advice on the injury and its treatment.
At very short notice we contacted Eemeli Lahti who has good history with the Team as part of the STAUFF Connect Academy in 2019 to substitute for Tom at Oulton on the Monday of race week and he boarded a place on Wednesday morning at 03.30am. Eemi was on track at Oulton Park testing at 11.30. It was a huge ask from the Team but as expected Eemi settled in with his crew and did a great job for everyone finishing just outside the points.
Storm Stacey #79 started the weekend very well, throughout practice and qualifying he was with the front runners although giving the Team real challenges keeping his rear brakes performance as he used it more as an anti-wheelie devise on the undulating track – he qualified 11th.
Storm, un-characteristically crashed the LKQ Euro Car Parts Kawasaki out of race one at druids and for the first time this season we felt a little luck had come our way when the bike was caught mid-flight in the air fencing with little damage. Bouncing back into the points in Race 2 and then into the top ten in race 3 felt a little more like where we had hoped to be in the races.
Storm Stacey commented “I really like Oulton Park it is my local track and it was fantastic to see all the fans and our sponsors VIP’s in the Q&A sessions we have for them. It is really good to see my Top Hat supporter growing and all coming for posters and photos on the pit lane walk.
On track things were going well until the crash but the Team and I worked hard to get back into the points for both race 2 and 3. It was sad not to have Tom there racing but Eemi and I were team mates here at GR in 2019 so it was good to have him back and we share the same tastes in prerace music
Eemeli Lahti said “Brent called me on Monday night about riding the STAUFF Superbike and I was on the plane Wednesday morning very early flying from Finland to Sweden and then Manchester where DK picked me up and I was on the bike before lunch. It was a pleasure to work with Tom’s Crew and race his ZX 10 and so much fun to be with Storm again, it’s a shame I could not get the team a few points to thank them for everything.
Brent Gladwin – Team Owner “After the Navarra fiasco it was hard for me Tom and the Team to try to figure out a plan for Donington. I arranged for Tom to see a specialist who said his knee just needed rest and rehab physio but would miss Oulton and Donington. Plans had to be put in place so I got on the phone to Eemi and we made everything happen. Both riders and their Teams did a great job and now we look to Donington with a couple me changes in place to get the best possible results for the Team and our sponsors.
If you are interested in talking to me about partnering with the Team in Marketing and Corporate Hospitality please don’t hesitate to get in touch – sponsorship@grmotosport.co.uk