The Di-Spark and Dragons Logistics sponsored rider Sam Coventry and his team PR Racing BMW arrived at the final round of the British Superbike championship at Brands Hatch. Sam and the team were looking forward to a good finish to the season. Sam’s FP1 session kicked off in dry conditions Sam finished the session P19 after trying some different set ups. FP2 came around and Sam set a time of 1.28.9 which was .4 off his PB at Brands but it only put him P20 in the session and 1.3 seconds off P1. This showed the weekend was going to be close across the Superstock 1000 class. Saturday came around and Sam was out for Qualifying. Conditions were good and Sam got straight on it and set a 1.28.9 on his 3rd lap but unfortunately he crashed on lap 4 when pushing on at Sheene Curve and made a mess of the bike. He starts P21 of 38 for the race. The whole team worked hard and got the bike rebuilt ready for Sundays race. Sunday’s race was here and Sam was looking forward to getting and good start and fighting for points, Sam got off the line very well and straight to P15 but then got tangled up with another rider’s crash and this dropped him back to P18, the safety car was out for a further 3 laps while they cleared the crash. The race then restarted and Sam got up to P17 and stayed there for the remainder of the race. It was a tough ask for Sam to get into the points but the team could see he gave his best and tried 100% but a top 15 wasn’t to be after a big crash in qualifying. Sam would like to say thank you PR Racing BMW for their hard work in rebuilding the bike after the big crash. Also Sam would like to thank Di-Spark, Dragons Logistics, Tudor Installations, Oxford Products, 4SR and everyone else for their continued support during the 2017 season, it’s been a mixed but enjoyable year after swapping teams halfway through the season, but Sam and PR Racing BMW have accomplished some good results and this couldn’t have been achieved without all his sponsors. Sam now looks forward to the 2018 season.
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Di-Spark sponsored Sam Coventry impressed on his trip away to Assen TT Circuit in Holland as he joined the Dutch Superbikes for one weekend only. PR Racing took on the 24-year-old from Waterlooville midway through the season as their second rider alongside Jakub Smrz who currently rides in the British Superbikes and has been impressing ever since. Normally Coventry takes part in the Pirelli National Superstock 1000cc Championship but this weekend was to see something slightly different. After two qualifying sessions, one in extremely wet conditions the other in the dry, he placed the BMW 1000RR on the second row in fifth place giving him a good view of the first corner ready for the BeNeCup Championship for Dutch Superbike and Supersport, 14 lap race. From the moment the lights went out he took off to the first left-hander going straight into second position. He was having a great number of battles with Ben Godfrey and Rinze Lumistra after dropping back to fifth due to running superstock Pirelli Supercorsa tyres instead of Superbike slick tyres. It was an exciting battle and after dropping another place, Coventry hit back to overtake on the last lap to take fifth place on the line. He was the third of the British team to take the chequered flag. That meant it was another amazing result as he was awarded a trophy and stood up on the podium. It was a very positive result and made for a great weekend across the water in Holland. Coventry and PR Racing will be out again for the final round of the Superstock series in just under two weeks’ time at Brands Hatch from October 13 to October 15. The Di-Spark and Dragons Logistic sponsored rider Sam Coventry and his team PR Racing BMW arrived at a damp Oulton Park with good expectations, after a mixed weekend weather wise at Silverstone Sam’s FP1 session kicked off in dry conditions Sam came in twice for some changes on the bike and finished the session P17 ready for FP2. FP2 began and Sam got out and set a time of 1.39.2 which placed him P15 with a good set up and ready for qualifying tomorrow. Saturday came around and Sam was out for Qualifying. The weather had just stopped raining so the track was drying, Sam started qualifying on wet tyres but with 18 minutes to go he changed to dry’s, he went back out and was in P8 for most of the session, the other riders were improving their lap times each lap as the track dried, Sam was trying to find some space out on track but on his last flying lap he got caught behind a slower rider and finished up P22. Saturdays race kicked off at 13:50pm. Starting 22nd on the grid Sam got away with a great start and got his head down, he picked off riders and moved up to P15 after a few battles and finished the race 15th with a lap time of 1.38.2 which him and the team were really happy with, also this put him P15 for tomorrows race. Sunday’s race was here and Sam was looking forward to another good start and battling for a top 10. The weather had yet again turned and it had stopped raining and the track was drying, Sam left pit lane with a we front tyre and dry rear tyre as the conditions looked tricky. Once he got around to the grid he switched for a dry front tyre and began the race. He got another good start but got pushed out onto the damp and pushed to P17 he got back up to P15 but by this time the riders in front had a gap and he remained P15, another good points finish. Now we look onto Brands Hatch on the 13/14/15th of October for the final round of the National Superstock 1000 championship. Sam is aiming for another top 10 and a great weekend to finish of the year! Sam would like to thank his sponsors for all their help and support. edit. The Lloyd and Jones PR Racing team arrived at Cadwell Park in a inspired mood after a difficult learning weekend at Thruxton. Sam’s FP1 session kicked off well and him and the team had a new approach to FP1 which seemed to work well starting off the weekend. Sam completed 13 laps and a best time of 1.32.2. With different bike settings dialled in and Sam raring to go for FP2 he completed 15 laps and improved his lap time to a 1.31.5 ready for Qualifying Saturday and also with a much better feeling from the bike. Saturday came around and Sam was out for Qualifying at 12.20. The weather was looking iffy and at the start of the session Sam got out and put in his best time on his 2nd lap, by lap 4 the rain had started and the session was over as no one would improve their time. Sam finished 17th overall. It was a shame as Sam felt he could have had a qualifying position well into the top 15, but it wasn’t to be. Roll on tomorrows race! Starting 17th on the grid Sam got away and was soon into 14th place, the safety car came out after an accident on the mountain and Sam was bunched up with a group, after a good battle with Tom Tunstall, Sam finished the race P13 and into the points. Sam was happy but felt if he’d got a better qualifying he may have challenged for a top 10. I good weekend and Sam felt good with the bike ready for the next round at Silverstone. Sam and the team also learnt a lot more and feel they now know what to do ready for a good qualifying and race at Silverstone. Happy days and roll on Silverstone! Big thank you to PR Racing and the whole crew and also to all my sponsors Di-Spark Group, Dragons Logistics, Oxford Products, Kushitani UK, Tudor Installations, PGS Garage, Rob Walker and everyone else. The Lloyd and Jones PR Racing team arrived at Thruxton in a buoyant mode after some positive results. With Sam's fantastic 9th place finish at Brands. The weather man on Friday didn’t manage to predict things correctly though and the day brought up a few mixed results. Sam’s FP1 the weather held off. But the bike didn’t behave correctly for him and he struggled to find grip. With a time of 1.20.6 ending the session in 26th. With different bike settings dialled in and Sam raring to go for FP2 the weather men’s prediction of blue sky’s didn’t materialise. Sam and nearly every rider on the grid managed their out lap before the heavens opened and put pay to the complete session. Saturday a complete session behind. Qualifying was always going to be tough. With more grip Sam managed to find another second from his Friday time 1.19.1. But unfortunately most of the other riders also managed to find more time. Ending Qualifying in 25th Sam knew he had a lot of work infront of him for the Saturday afternoon race. Staring 25st on the grid at any circuit is never easy. But at Thruxton with its high speeds it was particularly difficult to get into the mix with the bikes at the sharp end of the grid. 4 laps in and Sam had managed to move up 5 places. But then he started to struggle to get the power down and his lack of grip saw him start to slip back lap by lap. Ending the race in 25th Sam knew he could get more from the bike on Sunday. So after a long debriefing session and a few settings changed on the bike he knew he had another tuff day in front of him. Sunday started with the blue sky’s promised from the day before. The 25th on the grid meant it was going to be another tough day. But after a reasonable start Sam started to pick off riders. Until Lap 4 when the race was red flagged due to bad crash. The race already being shorted to 14 laps instead of 16. Everybody knew it would then be time bound for a restart! With no news on the crash. The team had waited for an hour before being informed that we would be back out for an 8 lap sprint race. The race restarted with Sam getting a much better start. He then proceded to pick off rider after rider. Only to run out of laps before finishing 20th. But he managed to set his fastest ever time for Thruxton with a 1.18.3 second lap. A positive going forward to Cadwell park. Unfortunately after the race no one expected the sad new that the rider who crashed Mark Fincham had succumb to his injuries sustained in the crash and had passed away. With this Sad news rounding off a challenging weekend. Sam commented “I love this bike, but I know we have some work to-do yet. But this is irrelevant with today’s sad news. I would like to pass on our condolences to Marks Family.” Round 7 of the MCE British Super Stock 1000 Pirelli championship was an unknown for Sam Coventry. Having only just Signed for PR Racing some 10 days before the race. Sam was very excited about getting on his new bike. The BMW 1000rr repaid him with a mixed first day of practice. With gearbox problems in FP1 Sam didn’t manage to get a full lap before coming back to the garage. The afternoons FP2 was much more positive. Sam treated this as his FP1 trying different settings and getting familiar with the feel of the bike. Saturday Morning saw a cloudy start with the overnights rain still making the track a little damp. Qualifying brought back the gearbox problems again. But Sam rode through this and still managed to ride the bike with no Auto blipper or quick shifter. To put the bike on the grid for the afternoons endurance race in 20th Place. The first part of the two part race saw Sam move through the field and pick off 7 riders in front of him to finish 13th. After a slick 10 minute stop from the team. Sam started from 13th on the grid. He lost a few places at the start but managed to pick his way back to 13th and finish the race with a bigger points haul than he had managed in all races to date. With 3 points in his pocket and a 15th place grid position for Sundays race the team and Sam could see a positive day for the next race. Sundays weather kept its forecasted promise and held off. Blue skies above and a great start from Sam saw one of his best rides to date. He managed to pick off some 6 riders. And despite a last minute lung from Tom Tunstall at the last corner. Sam stuck to his line and powered home to finish 9th. A fantastic first weekend and another 7 points to take Sam to 12.5 points total. A great start for the Sam Coventry and PR racing partnership. It was a tough day at the office for the G&S Racing Kawasaki team as the weather put paid to the racing for all three riders. Qualifying had gone well for the two Superstock 1000 riders, Sammy Coventry and Tom Fisher but come race day it had been raining and although the rain had stopped the track was still damp causing teams the dilemma of which tyres to use. Most chose dry weather tyres, but as the race got underway the rain began to fall again and the race was red flagged to give the riders a chance to switch to wet weather tyres. But by the time they had reformed the grid the rain had stopped again. Sam made a gamble with a wet front tyre and dry rear. Sammy Coventry made the most of the dry surface reaching 10th place before his rear tyre began to slip due to the rain beginning to fall again. Sam began to slip back until he pulled into pit lane on lap five on safety grounds. Only 22 riders finished out of 39 due to crashes and gambling on dry tyres. Tom Fisher was also using the dry rear tyre and wet front tyre and he too was running well in 14th place at the restart but suffered the same fate as many riders and pulled into the pits to retire when the rain began to fall again. Team Manager Mark Fisher - The weather conspired against us today. We were not alone as half the field in both classes chose the wrong tyre. It’s a shame as Sammy was going so well and looked as if he would break into the top 10 and Tom into the points. The team has worked so hard this weekend so we are all upset but that’s the way it is. The next round for all three riders will be at Donington Park on May 28 where both classes will be on track as part of the support to the World Superbike championship event. Sam would like to thank all his loyal sponsors who make racing possible. Di-Spark Ltd Dragons Logistics Oxford Products Muscle Doctor Kushitani UK HJC Helmets PGS Garage Services Sam Coventry, was the rider of the day in the G&S Racing Kawasaki team, scoring the first points of the new season for the team & Di-Spark at Brands Hatch in Monday’s Superstock 1000 race, finishing in 15th place. He was 18th in Sunday’s 50 mile race while Tom Fisher registered 25th and 24th in the two races and Ben Luxton was unlucky to crash in the Superstock 600 event.
Starting the 50 mile race on Sunday from an eighth row grid position Sammy Coventry didn’t get the best of starts and found himself down in 27th place at the end of the first lap. But he began his recovery and picked off riders consistently until he made it up to 18th place on lap 25. He began to gain on the rider ahead who had an advantage of three seconds, but the race was brought to an early end when rain began to fall. The result was declared on positions at 27 laps which gave Sam and ‘Di-Spark World-Class Machining’ an 18th place finish. In the shorter 24 lap race on Monday Coventry again was slow to get away but he once again set about making up places – picking off riders on every lap until he reached 17th place on lap 16. He was some way behind the next rider but began to reel him in and on lap 19 passed both Matej Smrz and Branden Elliott to take up 15th position. Too far away from the next rider he had to settle for a fine 15th place to pick up his first championship point for G&S Racing Kawasaki & Di-Spark World-Class Machining. Sam and the team will be at the official BSB test on Thursday at Oulton so hopefully we can iron out a few niggles and find a good set up in preparation for the next round. Sam would like to thank all his loyal sponsors who make racing possible. Di-Spark Ltd Dragons Logistics Oxford Products Muscle Doctor Kushitani UK HJC Helmets PGS Garage Services Sam Coventry – riding for G&S Racing Kawasaki, raced at the first round of ‘BSB Pirelli National Superstock 1000’ at Donington Park (31st March to 2nd April 2017) alongside team mates Tom Fisher and Ben Luxton. G&S Kawasaki had a challenging start to the season, with both Tom and Ben sustaining crashes – but Di-Spark’s rider, Sam Coventry finished his races in an impressive 21st place on his debut for G&S Kawasaki and Superstock 1000.
After qualifying in 25th position, Sam Coventry began the new-format Superstock 1000 race from a ninth row grid position and despite the difficult weather conditions he rode well to finish the first half of the 100 mile race in 24th position, coming in for refueling and a change of tyres before taking his place on the grid for the start of the second half of the race. Now promoted to the eighth row, Sam knuckled down and hauled himself back up from 26th on the first lap, to chase after the riders ahead. He gained 3 places on the second lap and entered into a race long battle with James White. The pair moved up into 21st and 22nd position exchanging places throughout the race but Sam managed to get ahead on the final lap to take a very creditable 21st place on his first outing in the big-bike class. Starting Sunday’s race from the eighth row, Coventry quickly moved up into 18th position but the race was red flagged when three riders crashed on lap two and the grid was reformed. On the re-start Sam didn’t get such a good start and completed the first lap in 26th place. But he pushed on and worked his way back up the field and once again took the chequered flag in 21st place. Team manager Mark Fisher, Sam did really well on his first time out for the team. He found it tough going into two 50 mile races on Saturday but he coped well and went faster with every lap. The Sunday race ended with the same result of 21st but his lap times were coming down and he enjoyed his race. The next round is at Brands Hatch over the Easter weekend of April 14-17 Di-Spark congratulate Sam Coventry and G&S Racing Kawasaki on an impressive debut ride and look forward to reporting further progress during the 2017 season. Sam Coventry an the Road & Race team travelled all the way to the cathedral of speed last weekend for the penultimate round of the BSB Championship. This was to be the third time he has ventured over the water to Assen in Holland, needless to say it is one of his favourite circuits. Arriving safely and with plenty of time to set up the truck awning and the bike before heading out on to the circuit for Free Practice Friday. Coventry said to the team “Conditions were very tricky but manageable” to the crew in pitlane, then making the decision to change the set up on the bike.
Saturday came along and so did the rain and it really was torrential forcing a late start as there was standing water on the track, it was now just a waiting game until the clouds cleared. Safely able to ride, the British Superbikes were out first which fortunately dried up a lot of the water considerably before Coventry made his appearance for qualifying, the time was ticking and his bike whistled over the line in 13rd place placing him on the outside next to Joe Collier on row 5 for the sprint race. Focused and nimble he went on his outlap, this is when the nerves kick in for rider, but sam nick named ‘Covey’ was as cool as a cucumber. He roared off the start line, wrenching the handle bars from side to side trying to keep control of the bike in windy conditions. He had a tremendous battle with riders from 11th to 18th and was running 13th until the most minor of mistakes was made coming out of the hair pin resulting in falling back to 17th. Buzzing from battling with so many riders thumbs up and had shakes all round on the cool down lap, the team was pleased with that but there was still room for improvement. The grid for the feature race on Sunday is made up of timings from the sprint race placing Coventry, 22 from Waterlooville in Portsmouth in 22nd place leaving him some work to do. They had a delayed start on race day as the rain decided it was going to fall just as they went on there green flag lap forcing them to pull in to the pit lane for a tyre change. With not much time at all to change and heat up tyres it was a race against the clock. Going out again for the out lap it had stopped raining. Proceeding to go on his green flag lap the rain came down again in sector 1 and 3. With a team decision of wet tyres he set off and it was the right decision as he made up places rapidly. Soon he was in 19th place overtaking riders on the inside of corners and even went for an outside move, the crowd gasped and cheered as it was a successful taking him up to 13th place. He battled with Joe Collier for the remainder of the race for 12th, both making some great moves but Coventry had the bike spinning on a wet curb on the last corner and he got pipped on the line. “I would like to say a massive thank you to all that travelled over to support me and my team ‘Road & Racing Performance’, my family and all of my great sponsors, Oxford Products, Kushitani, Tudor Installations, Pipe Werx, Purbrook Garage Services and Maxton Suspension.” |
AuthorSam Coventry Archives
November 2017
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