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Harley-Davidson UK track torque

The Harley-Davidson UK & Ireland campaign to challenge existing preconceptions about the Harley® brand and its products thundered on this weekend with the second round of the all-new Henderson Harley-Davidson® XR1200® Trophy one make race series.

The seven-race, five-event series runs within the world's leading domestic motorcycle racing championship, the British Superbike Championship (BSB), and pits dealer-supported riders against each other in a thrilling display. All riders contest Dunlop-shod production-based XR1200® motorcycles that have been tuned for racing and upgraded with a kit that has been specially developed in conjunction with race series partners Harris Performance.

Round two took to the track at Mallory Park in Leicestershire, England this weekend with 18 dealer-supported entries from the xx-strong network and two journalists fielded as guest entries by Harley-Davidson UK. Lea Gourlay of Stratstone Racing claimed victory and was subsequently named 'Rider of the Day' at the sun-baked event.

It was former MotoGP star Jeremy McWilliams of Warr's Racing who led from the start, with classic bike racer Gourlay slotting into 2nd and Mike Edwards of RidersMotorcycles.com going 3rd. McWilliams, victor last time out, initially appeared to have built a gap before Gourlay fought his way back.

McWilliams set the fastest lap of the race on lap 5 but this was not enough to keep Gourlay at bay. As the leading duo started to pull away, Edwards in 3rd was locked in a battle with Torquil Paterson of Edinburgh H-D, swapping places a number of times. Back up front, Gourlay eventually took the lead going around the outside of McWilliams at Shaw's Corner on lap 12.

As the pair began the penultimate lap of the 15 lap race, McWilliams re-took the lead at turn one, just as Darren Fry of Black Bear Racing crashed out, bringing out the red flag and ending the race prematurely. With the result counting back a lap, Goulay was awarded the win with McWilliams in 2nd and Edwards 3rd.

After taking his maiden victory in the Henderson Harley-Davidson® XR1200®Trophy Gourlay commented, "That was absolutely brilliant. I'm so pleased and I want to thank everyone at Stratstone Racing for all their hard work; after such a horrendous round last time at Oulton Park, they really deserved this win. To be able to race with Jeremy McWilliams, a megastar in the motorcycling world, and be right with him on equal machinery and then actually beat him, is a dream come true."

Now leading the championship standings on 45 points, McWilliams said "It's been a great weekend overall, the XR1200® has been super reliable, but I'm disappointed for all the guys at Warr's Racing. I feel a little bit hard done by to have missed out on the win because of the red flag, but these things happen and I'm glad to hear that Fry is ok. It was great to be racing so close with Gourlay, it really gave me a boost, and I couldn't relax for a second. I'm really looking forward to getting to Knockhill now, it's a track I think will suit the XR1200® and my riding a style a bit more."

Edwards who is just 9 points behind McWilliams in the Championship said, "Iive been struggling a bit for rear grip so I've not been able to go into or out of corners as quickly as I would have liked. But I was determined to get on to the podium for those championship points. Thankfully Gourlay finished ahead of McWilliams which helps me stay in the championship hunt."

The series, which reaches up to 30,000 performance focused motorcyclists and motorsport enthusiasts per event, is televised on British Eurosport to an audience of 3 million viewers, which enables Harley-Davidson UK & Ireland to continue to push its European-focused performance message to a wider audience.

The Henderson Harley-Davidson® XR1200® Trophy now travels to Knockhill race circuit in Scotland for rounds three and four of the championship on 2-4 July, with homegrown rider and British racing legend Niall Mackenzie taking to the track as a guest rider. Mackenzie will mix with the dealer-supported teams in the Harley-Davidson® Race Centre – a working area provided by Harley-Davidson UK & Ireland for race teams.

The centre is open to the public for tours and visits a scheduled times throughout race weekends to enable visitors to meet the riders, ask the teams for information and enjoy the fun in the relaxed paddock environment.

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