Ilya Mikhalchik and the ROKiT BMW Motorrad British Superbike Race team continue to build momentum in the ZYN British Superbike Championship, with the reigning Superstock champion securing his strongest qualifying performance and equalling his best result of ninth place at Oulton Park.
Mikhalchik qualified in ninth place and then went on to score three strong finishes, equalling his best result of ninth place in the race and continuing to battle for top ten honours at what he admits is one of the toughest circuits on the calendar. Now he is eager to unleash the BMW M 1000 RR at Thruxton and see if they can continue their progress in their debut season together.
Mikhalchik said: “Overall, Oulton Park was one of the best race weekends so far, we went there without any expectations to do some better results compared to other rounds, as the track is really hard and I would say it is one of the hardest tracks on the calendar for me.
“We felt immediately pretty good on the bike and the changes we made over the last few rounds really helped to use my strong points and I was able to in certain areas of the track, to use my riding style.
“Over race distance, the full performance of the bike is still not unlocked, but apart from some issues in the first two races, where we had a stage issue where I couldn’t match my normal pace, which we found for race three. I immediately felt pretty good and was able to fight inside the top ten and to be in the pace around fifth or sixth positon in the last five laps, so I am really happy.
“I am really happy that we had our best qualifying position, finishing in the top ten again and to be only a few tenths from the front row for sure, this is a huge step for us. I am looking forward to going to Thruxton, last year I won the Superstock race there, it is an interesting track and there are still a few corners there, which I need to understand this year. I think with more riding we can unlock more flow and more performance on this track and I think we have a good possibility to do a good job. The target is again to be fast, qualify around the top ten and if we can to fight for the top ten in all three races, I feel that would be really good for us. I am looking forward to it and we will try our best again as always.”