鈥淔ollowing my major leg and ankle injury at Donington Park, I made my return to racing at back-to-back weekends at Thruxton 鈥� the fastest circuit in the UK.鈥�

BSB Thruxton

鈥淢aking my comeback from injury at one of the fastest circuits in the country was always going to be a challenge, but having a good base setup from 2025 gave us a solid starting point.

鈥淚 was able to get out on track for FP1 and immediately put in some competitive times, which I was really happy with considering how little bike time I had compared to the rest of the field.

鈥淔P2, FP3 and qualifying were all about working on the bike鈥檚 electronic settings, including traction control, power delivery, slide control and engine braking. Getting these settings right is particularly important at Thruxton, where the bike can be spinning sideways at over 150mph.

鈥淭he aim was not only to maximise performance but also to manage tyre wear throughout the race. If the bike is sliding too much, it puts a lot of stress into the tyre and can cause the pace to drop off towards the end of the race.

鈥淯nfortunately, we didn鈥檛 quite manage to get everything fully dialled in for qualifying, so I ended up further back on the grid than I would have liked. However, some further changes during Sunday morning鈥檚 warm-up session made a big improvement and gave me much more confidence going into the race.”

鈥淭he first few laps were the usual hectic BSB action, but I was able to put the improvements to good use and make several overtakes.

鈥淔rom there, the rest of the race was about managing my physical limits. This was my first race back after the injury and my rehabilitation is still ongoing, so I had to be sensible with how hard I pushed.

鈥淚 settled into a rhythm that felt comfortable and was able to put in consistent laps right through to the end of the race, eventually finishing inside the top 20. That was the goal coming into the weekend, so it was good to achieve that.

鈥淥verall, I was really happy with how I felt on the bike and with the pace I was able to show straight away. The biggest limiting factor is still my fitness and recovery from the injury, but that will continue to improve week after week.鈥�

NG Road Racing Thruxton

鈥淚t was straight back Thruxton the following weekend as I joined NG Road Racing for their first event at the circuit in 10 years.

鈥淥nly competing on the Saturday meant we had a busy schedule, with morning practice and qualifying followed by a single race in the afternoon.

鈥淨ualifying was a bit of a challenge. The red flags came out at the end of my first flying lap, meaning I hadn鈥檛 managed to set a lap time while already putting quite a bit of wear into my already part-worn tyre.

鈥淚 was able to get out at the front for the restart and put in a fast time on my first flying lap to qualify on pole position.”

鈥淚 went into the race feeling confident, although we did have one unknown as was the first time I had raced with the DYMAG wheels, as I normally have to run standard Honda wheels when competing in British Superbike.

鈥淚 got a slightly slow start and was third into Turn 1, but over the first lap I was able to make my way back to the front of the pack.

鈥淔rom there, I put together a series of fast laps, including the fastest lap of the weekend, and went on to take the race win by almost 10 seconds.

鈥淥verall, the day couldn鈥檛 have gone much better. Pole position, the race win and fastest lap of the weekend, as well as gathering some really useful data on the DYMAG wheels, made it a great way to finish off the back-to-back weekends at Thruxton.鈥�

鈥淎s always, the start of the BSB season was hectic!

鈥淭he level of competition in the BSB National Superstock class is incredibly high, with British Superbike race winners, Isle of Man TT winners, World Endurance riders, and leading British Superbike teams all on the grid. On top of this, there is always a wave of young, up-and-coming riders joining the class each season as they look to progress through the BSB paddock.

鈥淭his creates a field of more than 40 riders, all capable of setting extremely fast lap times. The gap between the very fastest riders and those towards the back is often only two to three seconds, meaning that even a minor mistake or slight lack of pace can cost multiple positions.

鈥淚n addition to this, the bikes are becoming more and more powerful. The top Superstock machines, BMW M 1000 RR and Honda Fireblade, produce over 220 bhp as standard. As a result, riders are often lapping only slightly slower than full spec Superbikes while having much less track time and far fewer race-specific parts.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a common view within UK paddocks is that the National Superstock Championship is one of the most competitive series in all of Europe because the field is so deep and the machinery is so evenly matched.鈥�

Oulton Park

鈥淭he first round was held at Oulton Park, which is considered one of the most challenging circuits on the calendar due to its steep elevation changes, blind corners, and narrow layout that leaves no room for error. This made for an especially demanding start to the season and despite improving my personal best from 2024 by a full second, I still wasn’t fast enough to challenge for points.鈥�

Donington Park

鈥淒onington Park quickly followed for Round 2. This weekend brought a new challenge, with every type of weather imaginable being thrown at us: sunshine, cold and windy conditions, heavy rain, and damp, drying track conditions.

鈥淚 was able to make the most of the conditions whenever I was on track and secured a safe qualifying position just outside the top 20, with good pace and a realistic chance of fighting for points in the race.

鈥淯nfortunately, on lap three, having just made a pass on another rider through the Esses, I entered the penultimate corner of the lap, the Melbourne Hairpin. Eager to stay ahead of the rider behind and challenge the group in front, I got on the throttle too aggressively and spun the rear tyre. The result was a massive highside that launched me into the air before slamming me back onto the track, ending my race just as it was getting started.

鈥淚 was fortunate not to be hit by any of the riders behind. Unfortunately, during the crash I hit my left leg hard on the ground, breaking both my ankle and leg in the process.

鈥淎fter being assessed by the medical team at the circuit, I travelled back to my local hospital for surgery. The operation went well, and I am now focused on my recovery and getting back to full fitness as quickly as possible.鈥�

Snetterton Test Day

鈥淲e started the month with a test day at Snetterton 鈥� my first laps of the circuit on the Fireblade. The main aim was to establish a solid base setting on the bike and get back up to speed around the track having not raced here last year.

鈥淪trict noise limits on the day, combined with some changeable weather, meant we didn’t get as much time on track as we’d have liked. However, as the conditions improved towards the end of the afternoon we managed to put some good laps together and came away with a good setting for the race event back here later in the year.鈥�

Cadwell Park 鈥� NG Road Racing Round 2

鈥淎fter taking four wins and setting a new lap record at round one, we decided to enter the second event of the NG Road Racing Season at Cadwell Park.

鈥淪aturday was a solid start, qualifying second in both the Powerbike and Open classes and taking a pair of second-place finishes in the races. Overnight, we made some changes to the bike set-up and I worked on a few adjustments to my riding style. This made big improvements for Sunday as we went on to take two wins after some really close races and fast, consistent lap times.鈥�

Oulton Park 鈥� BSB Pre-Season Test

鈥淥ur first official BSB event of the year. Two full days on track gave us the chance to run through a wide range of set-up options and really get the bike working the way we want it to.

鈥淚 was happy to put in a new personal best lap time and to be lapping with pretty consistent pace throughout. The test was a lot of hard work with a total of 90 laps logged over the two days which was all worth it as the bike is starting to feel exactly how I want it and we left Oulton Park with a big smile on our faces.鈥�

Donington Park 鈥� Test Day

鈥淗aving missed the official BSB test there earlier in the month, it was important to get some laps in round here ahead of the race later in the season.

鈥淐old temperatures and high winds made the morning session tricky, but as the weather improved through the afternoon I was able to put in some strong lap times. We finished the day happy with the progress made and confident going into the start of the BSB season.鈥�

鈥淪ymonds Racing enjoyed a highly successful outing at the NG Road Racing season opener at Brands Hatch, delivering a dominant performance across both the Powerbike and Open classes.

鈥淢ax qualified on pole position in both categories, went on to win all four races he entered, and broke both class lap records including setting a new outright NG lap record at Brands Hatch Indy in the process,鈥� his team explains.

鈥淲ith the British Superbike season still a few weeks away, we decided to enter round one of the NG Road Racing championship to gain valuable track time.

鈥淔riday鈥檚 test day was especially useful, with lots of track sessions allowing us to test new rear suspension components and a find a good direction for the season ahead.

鈥淪aturday started with qualifying sessions for both classes, where I was able to put the bike on pole in each with some strong laps.

鈥淯nfortunately, due to some work that needed doing on the bike between sessions, we decided to sit out the first Open race to make sure everything was 100% ready. With no championship points on the line, it made sense not to take any unnecessary risks.

鈥淚 got back out in the first Powerbike race and managed to take a lights to flag victory, setting a new lap record of 47.2 seconds along the way.”

鈥淪unday morning鈥檚 second Open race was a bit more of a challenge, starting from the back of the grid after missing Saturday鈥檚 race. This meant a pretty hectic start to the race as I worked my way through from 34th to the lead by lap eight. Once I hit the front I was then able to pull out a gap and take the win by a couple of seconds.

鈥淪tarting from pole again in the next Powerbike race, I made the most of the clear track ahead and really pushed on putting together a strong run of laps under my previous best. By lap 5 I had set a new lap record of 46.7 seconds 鈥� half a second quicker than the day before.

鈥淚n the final Open race of the weekend, I had a bit of a moment coming out of turn one, but was able to regroup and control the race from the front to take another win, along with a new class lap record of 47.0 seconds.

鈥淗aving achieved everything we wanted from the weekend, we decided to sit out the final Powerbike race, saving tyres and ending the weekend on a high.

鈥淥verall, the weekend couldn鈥檛 have gone better, we made lots of progress with the bike set-up and came away with a load of wins and laps records!鈥�

鈥淭he 2026 pre-season has been all about putting in lots of laps, learning as much as possible, and building momentum for the year ahead. Lots of time on track at 笔辞谤迟颈尘茫辞, Almer铆a and Castle Combe 鈥� three totally different tracks 鈥� have all helped me and the team step things up in different ways.鈥�

笔辞谤迟颈尘茫辞

鈥淲e kicked things off at the awesome 笔辞谤迟颈尘茫辞 circuit that has everything from blind crests and heavy braking sections to big drops super high speed corners. To go fast here you鈥檝e got to commit everywhere.

鈥淚t ended up being a really fun and productive weekend from the first session right through to the last. From the first session out, things just started clicking and we kept building from there. Being away from a race event meant I could enjoy riding the bike without any pressure and have the opportunity to try different things with my riding style and position on the bike that I would not normally have the time to do.

鈥淚 managed to put in a new PB too, which was a bonus but the bigger win was the progress made with my riding.鈥�

Almeria

鈥淣ext up was Almeria. A tight, technical track with not much time to breathe. With five days on track, this one was all about getting my head down and putting the laps in.

鈥淚 had a plan in mind to make the most of the track time we had which started out with just doing lots and lots on laps using hard tyres that would last the distance. This allowed me to learn the track, understand how to ride around the lack of grip that came with harder compound tyres, and work more on my riding style on the bike. The second half of the test was all about starting to try different electronic settings to understand what different changes felt like, what suited my riding style and what didn鈥檛, and what I would need to test further back in the UK. The Final runs of the test were about putting in some real fast laps, despite some high winds I improved my lap time by almost a second to be the fastest rider in the test out of about 135 people.鈥�

Castle Combe

鈥淟ast stop was Castle Combe Circuit. It was bright and sunny, but absolutely freezing. Even so, we managed to get some really solid laps in and worked through a busy program of electronic setups with the traction control, anti-wheel, power modes, and engine braking.

鈥淒espite the colder weather it felt great to be back at Combe. There鈥檚 something about riding at my home track that hits a bit different, especially right before the season starts. We ended the day and finished off this run of testing with lots more learnt about the bike 鈥ot quite time to go BSB racing just yet as for some extra testing in March I will be joining NG Road Racing, my old club, for their pre-season test day at Castle Combe and first round of racing at Brands Hatch.鈥�

鈥淚 didn鈥檛 think the big brake kit could get any better when I was running Yellowstuff pads, but the RP-X pads are on another level. The braking performance is predictable and completely consistent, event after multiple laps of the Nordschleife back-to-back.

鈥淗aving confidence in the brakes really is one of the most important factors of getting the most out of a track day, and something people often overlook. Thankfully it鈥檚 not something I ever have to think about now with this setup.鈥�