TOP FIVE FOR JOHNSON
25 April 2005 - Xpress Racing

21-year-old Dave Johnson scored an encouraging fifth place at the third round of the Metzeler Superstock Championships at Mallory Park. Johnson who is based in Hinckley only a stone''s throw from Mallory was very content with his results.

It was a mixed day with various crashes in other races being red flagged and delayed which put the Superstock race back by nearly an hour. The excitement did not end there when there was a huge pile up in the 1st lap of the Superstock race at Edwina''s Chicane which once again brought out the red flag and delayed Johnson''s race.

However, once the now reduced distance race got underway Johnson was on a mission to run with the front runners and was soon dicing it with the leading bunch. A few tyre problems caused Johnson to lose grip and slip back down the field but never the less he brought his Suzuki home in a very comfortable 5th position.

Speaking with Dave he said ''I was struggling with my tyres early on and I was great into the corners but found it tough to get out of them without the rear tyre spinning up. I''m really pleased with the result though and it''s given me some good strong points in the overall Championship standing. We still have ten more races to go and I''m feeling much happier and more confident as the meetings go on. Ideally I would like to get myself on the podium and that is the target that I have set myself. I know I''m capable and the team are working so hard to get me there so fingers crossed it won''t be long before I''m standing on the rostrum.''

Team Manager Nigel Broomhall was delighted with the result saying ''I''m really pleased with the progress we have made since the start of the season. Everything is falling into place quite nicely and Dave is getting consistent results which is great. Our next round is the team''s local track at Oulton Park on Bank Holiday Monday (2nd May), being based in Stoke-on-Trent we should have a fair bit of support there.''

The Drayton Cross/Xpress Racing rider was the top Suzuki rider in the Superstock class and only 0.9 separated 4th position to 6th he is now lying joint 8th in the overall Championship standings. Johnson is looking forward to the fourth round at Oulton Park, Cheshire on the 2nd May.

Race Result

1 Paul YOUNG Yamaha - Paul Young Racing 12:57.315

2 Lee JACKSON Yamaha - Krystal Racing 12:57.852

3 Craig FITZPATRICK Yamaha-Comptech Graves Yamaha 12:59.758

4 Marshall NEILL Kawasaki - TW2/MSS Discovery 13:00.058

5 David JOHNSON Suzuki - Drayton Croft/X-Press 13:00.772

6 Ryan RAINEY Yamaha - Image Motor Sport 13:00.945

7 Kelvin REILLY Kawasaki - TW2/MSS Discovery 13:02.282

8 Les SHAND Yamaha - AIM Racing 13:02.700

9 Ollie BRIDEWELL Kawasaki - Vivaldi Racing 13:06.864

10 Jason DAVIS Suzuki - Jason Davis Racing 13:07.377

Overall Championship Standings

Lee JACKSON 53

Andy TINSLEY 41

Craig FITZPATRICK 40

Adrian COATES 36

Howie MAINWARING 33

Paul YOUNG 33

Kelvin REILLY 28

Ollie BRIDEWELL 21

David JOHNSON 21

Ryan RAINEY 18

Marshall NEILL 16

Photo coutesy of Chris Martin @ www.brakingzone.com

www.xpressracing.co.uk

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