Richard Kerr and the AMD Motorsport/RK Racing team made their debut in the MotoAmerica Superstock 1000 Championship at the weekend with round one of the series taking place at the picturesque Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama.
Competing at the venue for the very first time, the 2.38-mile circuit saw Richard run in sixth place in his qualifying group with a best time of 1’26.568, a more than encouraging 1.657s adrift of pole position man and reigning champion Hayden Gillim. On the overall qualifying times though, he had to settle for 12thplace and a fourth-row start.
With two races on the schedule, the Kilmacrennan, County Donegal rider had plenty of opportunities to improve and did so immediately with a solid eighth place in the opening 14-lap race. However, lapping a full second than he’d managed in qualifying, the second encounter saw him move up the order to take an excellent fourth place at the chequered flag.
That made him the second Honda rider to finish with the excellent results already placing him third overall in the early championship table behind fellow Honda rider Gillim, who won both races at Barber Park, and Bryce Prince.
In addition to the two Stock 1000 races, Richard also contested the three MotoAmerica Superbike races which featured multiple champions Cameron Beaubier and Jake Gagne as well as World Superbike Championship podium finishers Loris Baz and Xavi Fores. Again, Richard acquitted himself well and with 15th in Saturday’s race, he improved to 11th and 12th on Sunday to pick up ten hard-earned points.
Richard Kerr: “Overall, it was a good weekend what with a new track for me to learn, first time racing against the American riders and my first time on Dunlop tyres so there was a lot to take in during the weekend. We did a two-day test at Hastings Motorsports Park to get used to the Dunlops and blow off some cobwebs as it’d been two months since I’d been on a bike. Understanding the Dunlops was the biggest hurdle to overcome and it wasn’t until the Sunday that we got the bike set-up in a decent window although there’s still more to improve on.”
“We had a lot on our plate so to come away third in the Superstock standings is very pleasing. I was also pleased with my rides in the Superbike races where I ended being the second best placed Superstock rider across the three races. The heat wasn’t too bad as I’ve been training hard and that paid dividends as with five races, it was a busy weekend. I picked up some nice prize money too so overall, it was a really enjoyable experience.”
“I’m looking forward to the next round at Brainerd in June so a big thanks to AMD Motorsport and my team here, Simon Bleasdale, Liam Kelly and my Dad Ivan and also to Jones Honda. They’re letting us use their facilities at their dealership and then taking our equipment to the races so they’re keeping us right. Like I say, I’m really happy with how the weekend went.”
