Harry Hartley made his first appearance for ILR Kawasaki as the Pirelli National Superstock 1000 Championship paid its second visit of 2014 to Silverstone at the weekend.

Free Practice on Friday was all about settling in for Harry as he managed to register 11 laps and in turn declaring himself more than happy with the team's Ninja ZX-10R and looking forward to the first qualifying session later in the day.

With another nine laps under his belt, Hartley was starting to get a feel for his new bike as he went over two seconds quicker in Q1 and was also noticeably faster through the speed traps.

Hopes were high for further improvement in Saturday's second session but the weather would step in to play a part in proceedings with heavy rain forcing the cancellation of the session to leave Harry towards the back of the grid for Sunday's race over 11 laps.

Thankfully better weather conditions prevailed for the race, and from 31st on the grid Hartley soon began to make up some ground as he completed the first two laps in 28th place.

By half race distance he was up to 25th and in the thick of a 3-way Kawasaki scrap with Mike Booth and Tom Fisher.

With the pace quickening, Hartley and Booth began to close on another Kawasaki of Alex Heaton as Fisher began to drop back, and as they went on to their last lap Harry was up to 23rd before just losing out to Booth and Heaton in the final run to the chequered flag.


On reflection it was a very positive debut.

The young star from Burnley produced a typically honest and gutsy performance as he went through the first speed trap 4th quickest in the race, whilst his best lap of 2:12.25 on the sixth lap was an improvement of two and a half seconds on his qualifying time which was particularly pleasing and definitely a step in the right direction as he and the team now look forward to the final round at Brands Hatch in two weeks time where they will be joined by James East.

ILR Kawasaki team manager Ian Lougher:

''I have been very pleased with Harry's approach over the weekend.
It's never easy jumping into a new team, new bike, new tyres and probably the most competitive race at BSB level.

We also lost Qualifying 2 because of the rain, and at just 17 Harry really showed his metal and strength of character.''

Harry Hartley:

"I'd just like to thank the ILR Kawasaki team and all my sponsors for making Silverstone happen, and I hope we can build on the weekend for the season finale at Brands Hatch."


Photo: Harry Hartley in action at Silverstone.
© Jon Jessop Photography.
http://www.jonjessopphotography.co.uk
By Kind Permission
.