BEN WILSON TAKES HIS DEBUT WIN

Ben Wilson took his debut Yamaha R1 Cup win in the mixed weather conditions at Knockhill, Scotland today (10 August).

Fully maximising his second row qualifying position, Wilson took the hole-shot to control the race from the very first turn.

Championship leader, Jon Kirkham made an uncharacteristic steady start crossing the line in 5th place on the first time of passing.

Road racing rookie, Sam Warren looked to get the best start off the line but was quickly shuffled back into third position from the determination of Wilson and Gary Mason to occupy the track ahead of him. Kirkham quickly passed Adrian Coates on lap 2 to make his charge on Warren ahead, catching and passing him on lap 3.

Meanwhile Mason had his sights set on leading the race, continually pressuring Wilson but Kirkham had the same idea and crossed the line in third place with less than 0.5 sec splitting the podium places on the next lap. Mason succumbed to the pace of Kirkham in the entry to the hairpin, momentarily shuffling Mason back to third, the pair continued to exchange places over the next half a lap. With Wilson pulling a slight lead ahead of the battle behind him it was imperative for Kirkham to continue his progress.

Wilson continued to ride a faultless race, responding to the pressure of second placed Kirkham as he showed him his front wheel into the hairpin on Lap 9. Showing his pace through the fist sector, Kirkham struggled to hang on to Wilson's shirt tails. The Championship leader came into his own on the second half of the lap, closing the gap with enough momentum to challenge Wilson in a risky move on the outside of the Hairpin. The wide line would prove a gamble too far, Kirkham lost the front crashing out but managed to rejoin in 12th position.

The remaining four laps saw Ben Wilson remain level headed to bring his Henderson Yamaha home for his spectacular first win of the year, closing the point gap to 18 points for the Championship. Gary Mason and Sam Warren joined him on the podium for second and third respectively.

Ben Wilson: "I knew that I had to be aggressive at the start, some of the lads were not as aggressive as me so it paid off. this win is long overdue and I'm made up. I've closed the gap for the Championship and it's truly in reach for me now."

Gary Mason: "I have always lost out on good results as I'm not aggressive enough at the start of a race, today I changed that! My tyre was moving around a bit at the end of the race but I had a really good race. V tune and Airmax allow me to be here so this ones for them."

Sam Warren: "It was a bit dodgy to start off with, they delayed the start a little as it started to rain again. Luckily the weather held as we had slicks on. The others were a little more committed at the beginning of the race but I managed to maintain the gap behind me and Jon falling off gifted me a podium. It was good to see him get up and rejoin, but I'll take the podium and the points."

Rob McElnea, Team Principal: "A fantastic result for Ben Wilson. We've been trying to help him adapt his riding style a little and it appears to have paid dividends. He's really focussed on the Autumn Cup and responded well with his first win. It just shows how your luck can change, Kirkham has been riding on the crest then suffered with the crash today, but that's racing and we could see a lot of things change over the next four races."

Race Result
1. Wilson, 2. Mason, 3. Warren, 4. Coates, 5. J Kennedy, 6. Storrar, 7. S Wilson, 8. Shoesmith, 9. Neeves, 10. Kirkham

Championship Standings
1. Kirkham - 150, 2. B.Wilson - 132, 3. Warren - 108, 4. Mason - 105, 5. J.Kennedy - 86