Some of you will remember Richard Cooper, the likable young Englishman we sponsored a few times road racing in the U.S. Here's an update on his current activity aboard an S 1000 RR, courtesy of a press release from his team:
Buildbase BMW Motorrad’s Cooper heads to Donington Park home race with championship lead
Superstock 1000 rider Richard Cooper, from Nottinghamshire, takes a 20.5 point championship lead into this weekend's race. Donington Park is not just Cooper's home round, the team themselves are also local to the circuit. In addition to Cooper leading the Superstock Championship, Barry Burrell is currently second in the highly competitive BSB-EVO series.
Cooper and Burrell will be joined by Lee Jackson who will be riding the team’s S 1000 RR Superbike. Former British 250 and Superstock champion Jackson has assisted the Buildbase BMW Motorrad team as a test and development rider during the season.
Stuart Hicken, team principal, said: “Richard has a good, strong lead going into his home race and we’re hoping for a lot of support from his local fans. We’ll be crossing fingers, toes and anything else we can find for another storming ride from Cooper and, ideally, an even bigger championship lead by the end of Sunday. Barry has held his second place in the EVO series and we’re expecting another two great rides from him this weekend too. The level of competition has risen as the season has progressed so Barry needs to work hard to defend his position.
“Lee has been a great help to the team this season as a development rider and I’m very pleased to be able to give him an opportunity to race one of our bikes. He has a proven track record in BSB, he’s ridden for us many times in the past and he’s a very capable rider, who I’m confident will be able to both help us develop our Superbikes and deliver some solid race results.”
John Laverty, the team’s BSB rider, is now back in Northern Ireland recovering from his crash earlier this year at Oulton Park. John was recently interviewed by BBC Northern Ireland to catch up on his progress and track his recovery. To watch the interview click here.
Qualifying for the BSB/BSB-EVO Championships will be broadcast live on British Eurosport 2 on Saturday from 11:30am and live race action starts at 12:30pm on Sunday.
Superstock 1000 championship standings
1) 155.5pts - Richard Cooper (Buildbase BMW Motorrad)
5) 135pts - Danny Buchan (MSS Kawasaki)
3) 89pts - Luke Quigley (Astro BMW)
4) 88pts - Howie Mainwaring (MSS Kawasaki)
5) 86.5pts - Adam Jenkinson (Padgetts Honda)
GO SUPER-COOPER!