Tom Neave will sit out this weekend’s second round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Oulton Park, as he continues his recovery from three high-speed crashes at the Circuito de Navarra season opener. Eemeli Lahti will return to the team to deputise on the STAUFF Fluid Power Kawasaki.
Neave continued his preparations for this weekend’s event at Oulton Park, but is still experiencing swelling to his knee. Following an MRI scan and discussions with the STAUFF Fluid Power Kawasaki Team, the 2021 Superstock Champion will now sit out the second round and await further treatment.
Neave said: “I am devastated not to be able to race at the weekend, I was really looking forward to it. We checked the knee in Spain and it was sore, but seemed ok, but I tried to ride with weight on it at the weekend and after sitting down together Brent and I took the decision that we needed to get it checked before I ride again. The MRI shows damage and now we are waiting for the specialist guidance. It was hard discussing who will ride my STAUFF Superbike this weekend, but it was nice of of Brent and the Team to involve me and I agree with their choice.”
Lahti said: “Brent called to see if I was available and wanted to ride Tom’s STAUFF Fluid Power Kawasaki at Oulton Park whilst he was being treated for his problem. I am happy to return to the Team just for Oulton Park and do my best job. I enjoyed my time in Superstock with GR and I look forward to returning and seeing all of the team again.”
Team Owner Brent Gladwin concluded: “I suffered a knee injury in my own career and when I saw Tom, as hard as it is I knew that the correct thing to do was rest him and get the job sorted now.
“The next question was who can I call on to do the job we need at Oulton Park? There were just a couple of names that fit, and after just a couple of calls later, Eemeli was booking flights! Let’s look forward to Oulton Park now while we wait on how things are with Tom.”