Storm Stacey and the Bathams AJN Racing Ducati team had a positive second round of the ZYN British Superbike Championship at Donington Park, with Stacey claiming his best ever finish at the circuit, which has proved a nemesis in the past.
Last year Donington Park yielded the least number of points than any other circuit on the calendar for the team, but two positive races gave Stacey a points haul of 15 from just two races completed, before a technical fault in race three forced them out of contention.
Stacey was able to lap 1.5 seconds faster than his previous best lap time last year and during qualifying, lap under the existing circuit lap record. In race one Stacey was embroiled in a six-way battle for fourth before the red flag to take eighth place. Stacey followed it up with ninth in race two to maintain his run of top 10 finishes, beginning at Brands Hatch last season. Race three however came to early end with an electrical fault that denied the team a hat-trick of points finishes.
Stacey said: “Obviously the DNF in race three wasn’t the best way to end what was otherwise a pretty decent weekend. However, there are a lot of positives to take away from Donington this year, especially when you compare it to the same round last year. Last year I qualified 17th and got three DNF’s, whereas this year I qualified sixth, under the lap record, and finished in the top ten and in the mix in the two races that I did finish.
“Overall, I’m pretty happy with how the season has started. The bike is mega, and now there’s a break before Knockhill, the team have got a load of upgrades for it which I’m sure will make it even better. The best is yet to come....”