A first-lap crash rendered the latest round of the Pirelli National Superstock 600 Championship as one to forget for Saracen’s Head race ace Ben Stafford.
The Silicone Engineering racer crashed out on lap one of the round seven meet at Thruxton, leaving him pointless.
Stafford was unsure about his fitness going into this event, having suffering a broken hand two weeks ago.
It was still troubling him, but free practice went well and he settled down to try to adapt the bike to compensate for the injury.
By the time qualifying one (Q1) came there were definite signs that all would be OK, as at the close of the 25-minute session he was in a respectable seventh position going into day two.
However, mid-way through Q2 the injury started to tell. Although he bettered his time from Q1, Stafford slipped back to 15th on the grid after finding it increasingly difficult to hold on to the bike with one good hand.
The South Holland ace decided to skip Saturday’s free practice in a bid to be fit for Sunday’s race – and after a trip to the medical centre he was in good spirits.
A sizeable crowd at the Hampshire track got Stafford pumped for another points finish and he was full of confidence on the grid.
After a good start and settling into the rhythm he set about the task of moving forward, until another competitor ran in to a corner too fast at the end of lap one and went down straight in the path of Stafford, leaving him absolutely nowhere to go. As a result both guys went down and out.
The crash didn’t injure Stafford anymore ahead of the next round at Cadwell Park on August 21-23.
