Ace show by Gault sets him up for next round of British championship

Jun 17 2009 by Andrew Weston, Wishaw Press

PROMISING racer Alex Gault will head into round five of the British Super Bike Championship this weekend in good spirits after an impressive performance at The Ace of Aintree series.

The Carluke kid broke an outright race record during his victory in the seven-lap Power Bike Final at the famous Aintree circuit, with a remarkable average speed of 98.35mph.

The 18-year-old finished third in the Super Bike Final, with mechanical problems hindering his efforts at trying to beat eventual winner Greg Lewis, the defending Ace of Aintree champion.

Gault took part in the first round of the event in Liverpool last month, winning both races and he continues to use the championship as a testing session while he familiarises himself with the traits of his 180Hp ASTRO Kawasaki ZX10 Super Stock motorcycle.

During the short break from the British Super Bikes, a lot of work has been carried out on the ASTRO Kawasaki.

This latest meeting served as a shakedown before the team head to Snetterton in Norfolk for round five.

The decision to test the bike during this year’s Ace of Aintree series proved correct after just four laps of practice last weekend, when Gault returned to the pits after losing drive to the back wheel.

With the problem fixed, Gault eventually took to the track for the Super Bike qualifier.

A good start saw the teenager secure pole for the final later in the day.

But the Super Bike final had a surprise in store for Gault.

After storming down Railway Straight - the fastest part of the Aintree circuit - at 170 mph, the front end of his bike started to judder.

He managed to control the bike for the rest of the race although the problem slowed him as he crossed the line in third place behind winner Lewis and runner-up Mike Walker.

The issue during the race was traced to the front tyre, which had started to deform slightly. Currently the team’s budget does not stretch to

fitting new tyres for every race and at the moment they make do with used tyres from the British Super Bike meetings.

With another tyre fitted to Gault’s bike, the riders lined up for what proved to be a memorable Power Bike Final.

As the 24 riders lined up on the grid, the front row of Greg Lewis, Gault, Mike Walker and Tony Rainford were all capable of taking the win.

When the start lights went out, it was Gault who took the lead, pulling 15 metres clear of the chasing trio.

It was defending champion Lewis who took up the chase as he set a stunning new lap record of 55.036 secs, a speed of 100.407mph, the first time an average lap had passed the 100mph barrier. However, Gault responded by setting his fastest lap of the race (55.407 secs) and maintained his lead until the end.

In the process, he broke the outright race record with a superb average speed of 98.35 mph, completing the seven-lap, 10.75-mile race, in a time of 6 mins 33.3 secs.

Having missed round four of the British Super Bikes Championship, Gault will now be hoping to carry on the form that saw him secure his first ever points in round three last month when he takes to the track at the Snetterton race circuit this weekend.