17yr old European Superstock rider Loris Baz took on a big challenge last weekend, taking advantage of opportunities within the Yamaha Racing fraternity he stepped up to ride the Motorpoint Yamaha R1 in the British Superbike Championship in place of injured rider Andrew Pitt. The 2008 European Superstock 600 champion, currently 6th in the Superstock 1000 World Cup on a close to production R1, got straight down to business at the Croft circuit, the youngest rider on the grid adapted quickly and impressed the Motorpoint Team by qualifying eighth on the grid for a second row start for the two races on Sunday.
Undaunted by the high level of competition the young Frenchman fought hard to take a well earned seventh place finish at the line in race one. Race two saw Baz initially dropping to 22nd after getting caught up in a first corner battle and getting hit by another rider. He fought back to climb nine places but was unable to finish the race after crashing out on a slow corner.
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“This was an incredible weekend for me,†said Loris Baz. “The crowds, the pace, the riders, the whole atmosphere was amazing. The first race couldn’t have gone better for me but in the second race I got hit by Kagayama and nearly fall off the bike. Thankfully I stayed onboard and fought my way through to 13th position but then I pushed too hard at the slow corner and crashed. I am sorry for the team for the crash. I wanted to get a good result for them but tried a little too much. Hopefully I can get another chance to race at BSB and make amends!â€
"Loris definitely exceeded our expectations, qualifying on the second row and finishing 7th for a 17 year old complete rookie to the bike and the track was amazing,†said Motorpoint Yamaha Team Manager Rob McElnea. “He got caught up in a battle for the first corner in the second race and came off worse, from 22nd position we saw some real determination battling through to 13th before a bit too much youth full exuberance let him down!"
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