Cooper and 8R win on Scarborough debut

Richard Cooper and the Powerslide Suzuki team tasted victory at Oliver's Mount for this year's Spring Cup, where they made their respective debuts with the GSX-8R.

 

For the first time the new generation of Sportbike machines were eligible for the Supertwins class. However, the team's 8R still complies with the British Superbike Championships's regulations, meaning the team was giving away around 20bhp to the tuned Supertwin machines.

 

Despite this, and despite it being Cooper and the team's first visit, they lined up on the front row for race one having qualified second quickest, before winning at the first attempt.

 

Cooper - complete with his rookie bib - backed up his debut win with a second in race two, when he had to take to the grass to avoid a backmarker in the closing stages. However, he set the fastest lap of the race to start the final race from pole, which he won with a margin of four seconds.

 

He commented afterwards, "It was pretty good debut, and I'm happy with the results; they're impressive but we also learned how difficult it is being competitive in this class under the regulations we have to adhere to. The 8R has so much grunt out of corners and a incredible chassis, which was our strong point, and we've got some good data to allow the project to move forward."

 

Team principal Brad Clarke added, "These were great results, and whilst frustrated at the rules it shows just how how capable the 8R is by beating these bikes around this track. The Northwest will be a different animal altogether, but I look forward to seeing what we can achieve but also develop for the future for when the classes and the rules change."