Simon Andrews has set himself the target of a top five finish after qualifying sixth for the latest round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at
Oulton Park.
Chasing a good result ahead of his World Superbike bow at
Brands Hatch in a fortnight's time, Andrews overcame difficult weather conditions in free practice to set-up a Yamaha bike capable of running as high as fourth in qualifying.
Although late efforts by Shane Byrne and Leon Haslam dropped him from the first to the second row by the end of the session, the Lloyds Jentin racer was still buoyed by his effort.
“Qualifying has not been our strength because we have always had a lot to try out during the session and yesterday we tried a lot that didn't work,” he told
Crash.net Radio. “So to run as high as fourth and end up sixth has made everyone happy because it is our best result of the year.
“Myself and the team are working hard because we've had a few weeks off and we are top six again. The last time we started this high at Brands Hatch we ran third for much of the race with a bike that wasn't set up well.”
Andrews is now looking to carry that form into the two races, with a first top five result his main target this weekend.
“If we get a fifth place, with two Hondas and two Ducatis ahead of us, then that would be awesome. Our aim is to get into the top six and we just lost out on that at
Mallory Park, so that is all we can really hope for at the moment.
“I don't see a problem with us running at the front, but we could certainly take a podium if someone slips up.”
