Kerry rider Kevin Coyne prepared for his British Super Bike Championship debut next month with a series of fifth places in the Thundersport GP2 Cup series at Donington Park over the weekend.
The Faranfore-based rider will make his BSB debut at the same track on August 7-9.
He entered the Thundersport meeting to gain valuable track experience ahead of the BSB season opener in two weeks' time.
The Kawasaki rider took part in four races over the weekend –his first time competing overseas – and netted fifth place in his class in each event.
“In race one, Kevin got a blistering start and managed to bring home a fifth-place finish in class and 10th overall. We picked the safe option of putting him on wet tyres on a drying track. And maybe if we gambled a bit more possibly could have got a podium,” his father Mark said.
“Race two was very controversial as had to be red-flagged three laps in. With a quick tyre change and brand-new Pirelli tyres, he went out again. And while still delighted with another fifth our lack of track knowledge showed. But by the end of day one, it was very positive.
“Day two started with his third race of the weekend and with the weather practically perfect we made some slight adjustments which did not work out in our favour – fifth again.
“We decided to change the bike settings for the fourth and last race, good or bad, and see if we could crack the 1m 24s lap time he was now accustomed to. We weren’t worried about places - just what times he could knock in.
“And it became apparent after the start we were in the right direction. After three laps he was down in the 1m 22.5s lap times. And stayed there for the whole race. We are really excited about our return in two weeks to play with the big boys.”
