Westy finishes a strong 5th place at Silverstone 2008 - a good Centurion weekend
It was another solid weekend for the Centurion racing team at round 11 of the Fuchs-Silkolene British Supersport Circuit at Silverstone Circuit. James Westmoreland gained a strong fifth place and Dan Cooper a healthy eighth.
After a dramatic free practice crash on Friday, James Westmoreland walked away unscathed but his number one bike was written off and therefore he had to ride his number two bike, which he has not ridden much all season. Finding a good setting in the two qualifying sessions was the key but the 20-year-old from Hull could only gain 10th position on the grid.
Team-mate, 21-year-old Dan Cooper was having an exceptional weekend and set the third fastest time in the first qualifying session on Saturday morning. Dropping back to sixth in the second session the youngster secured his best qualifying position to date in the Supersport class.
Westy gained a good start and made two positions up by the end of the opening lap, Cooper got boxed into the first corner and fell back through the field. An incident on the second lap saw the safety car deployed for two laps, the race fully got underway on lap five and the riders were eager to secure two good results.
Westy worked hard to get through the pack and was locked in a tight battle with Championship rivals Ian Lowry and Chris Martin. Riding consistently fast he was able to fend off the attacks from the chasing riders and secure a fantastic fifth place. Cooper was struggling with injuries to his elbows but still battled through to eighth.
Westy commented “I’m pretty happy with the position that I got at Silverstone, despite the big crash that I had on Friday and having to ride my spare bike. I just dug deep and wanted to get a good result and I managed to get fifth which I’m pleased with. I’ve closed in more points on Ian Lowry for third in the Championship so I have to try and pull something out of the bag at the last round at Brands.
