British Super Bikes Test Day

Oulton Park

21st April 2022

The last British Super Bikes test day of the 2022 season was held at the picturesque Oulton Park last Thursday on what was a glorious spring day. The PistonClick team went along to photograph the action and experience the event.

As is usual these days there is a fee to get in, £12, but if you shop around you can get a little discount, in my case £2 via Bennet's Bike Social. Every little helps especially with the cost of fuel. Oulton is not my local track but the two and a half hours, in the PistonClick team bus passed quickly with a little banter, snacks and a zesty beverage or two to pass the time. 

On arrival we headed for the usual spot that everyone heads to take photographs at Oulton - Druids. There was a surprising amount of people there for a Thursday test and most of the best places had already been taken.

Having shot at this location many times, usually once people have got their shot they move to a different location, so it can be a bit of a waiting game to get a good spot.

However, on this occasion there were at least three camera clubs out, the majority of which was their first time taking photos trackside.

After I had done what you should do when there are a lot of people shooting in one location - asked if I was blocking anyone's view, passed pleasantries and asked if they were having a good day out, a few, bless them, promptly told me how to take a good picture trackside!

I listened, nodded and passed a few tips that they hadn't been told during their club briefing. I find it's nicer to be pleasant to people in these situations and it paid off. After a few laps everyone did start moving around, so I slipped up to the low fence and captured a few nice shots and did the same, moved to a different spot.

The first of three hour long BSB sessions completed, and with the sun moving, we went to the car for a spot of lunch. Reviewing the timing sheets Peter Hickman was the only one to post a sub 1:35 lap of the international circuit at 1:34.522, but the day was young and those times would start to drop as the riders got on it in the next two sessions. 

I always like to try out a few different locations, so as the support races were out next it was an ideal time to do some experimenting to find a location for race day. Just a few feet one way or another can make all the difference on making a good shot into a great shot.

Discovering a new location won't work all of the time as the light can, and will be, different depending on the time of day or time of year you are at that spot so you need to observe on the day to see what works and what doesn't. 

For the two afternoon sessions we headed to the outside of the track via Knickerbrook where one happy duck was splashing around in the stream totally unconcerned by the race machinery screaming past only metres away.

From here down to the Island / Brittan's would be where we would stay for the remaining two sessions as there are a few good spots here.

There are better ones around the track but I was after the bikes lifting the front wheel in the air, and this is where it worked for me and the light on the day.

We could have gone to Deer Leap, but as there were so many photographers trackside it would have been difficult to get a good location with a clear shot.

It was in the final session of the day that the lap times started to tumble, with different riders setting the pace only to be beaten within seconds of crossing the line, all exciting stuff.

What it meant for me was the action pictures were coming thick and fast as the riders squeezed every last drop of power from their machines.

As the chequered flag dropped it was Bradley Ray who would take the honours as fastest rider of the day once the combined three sessions had been sorted out.

Glenn Irwin, the Championship pace setter after the first three rounds at Silverstone, kept his momentum going by coming in second.

Peter Hickman's fastest lap in the first session was good enough to give him third. Hicky didn’t come out during the final session as he had an appointment on the Isle of Man for the TT launch party. 

So has the test day at Oulton shed any light on how the championship is going to pan out this year? One thing is for sure, Irwin and Ray have been the pace setters in the racing and the recent tests but check out the rest of the pack.

Less than a second separated the top ten on a 1.33 lap. Say "one" in your head, and ten super bikes have just gone past!

I said at the beginning of the season's test events this was going to be a great year, with the quality of the experienced riders, and determination of the young riders to make their mark and steal the podium glory from the usual contenders. It is going to make this a season to remember.

Round two will be at Oulton Park this weekend - Saturday 30th April for practice, Sunday qualifying and Bank Holiday Monday for a double header. The PistonClick team will be there to capture the action.