Ben Stafford added another feather to his cap over the weekend as he raced to an eye-catching ninth place at Silverstone in what was the penultimate round of the Pirelli National Superstock 600 Championship.
The Saracen’s Head teenager, who was making only his seventh appearance of the series in Northamptonshire, was once again impressive as he placed in the points once again.
Considering he missed the first three rounds due to ACU licence regulations, Stafford is making quite an impression for the Silicone Engineering Racing team.
Friday’s practice one (P1) session was the first time Stafford had ridden the well-known track – and it soon became apparent how vast the 3.8 mile circuit is.
Corner speed, combined with the apparent options of many racing lines, would take some learning if the team were to get to the front.
Qualifying one (Q1) started in dry conditions and the youngster set about putting in some solid times as the 20-minute session played out. However, at the close he found himself in 20th – some two seconds adrift of the leading bunch.
Overnight changes were made to the bike in a bid to rectify the deficit and a vibration problem was identified – and rectified – in the gearbox. With Q2 looming Stafford hoped this would help to improve his position.
However, with Saturday came torrential rain, so much so that the Q2 session was cancelled. That left Stafford in P20 for the start of the race.
Undeterred, Sunday’s race day arrived with conditions dry but cool. And, after the three lap warm-up session, the teenager returned to the paddock a lot happier with the final set up.
As ever, Stafford made a great start and made quick progress through the pack, having some great battles on the way through the ten-lap race. He finally crossed the line in a fantastic ninth place to add more points to his growing tally – something that was never on the cards for his first season.
The final round of the series is at the Brands Hatch Indy circuit in two weeks, where he and Silicone Engineering will be hoping for more of the same.
