By Phil Wain
May 3 2006

Les Shand had to endure a weekend of frustration at round four of the National Superstock Championship, held at Oulton Park on Bank Holiday Monday. The 28-year-old Scot struggled for pace all weekend at the Cheshire venue, and finished in a lowly 20th place. Returning to action for the first time since his qualifying crash at the previous Thruxton round, Les improved his time during the second and final qualifying session to a 1m42.2s lap - but it was only good enough for 23rd on the grid, some 2.4 seconds off the pole position time. It was going to be a tough day at the office on the Barron Transport Honda and so it proved. Despite riding at 110%, Les could make no inroads on the riders in front of him, and he crossed the line in a subdued 20th place, a far cry from the 2005 meeting when he took his maiden victory.

After completing the 15-lap race, a clearly disappointed Shand commented:
“In September last year, I was able to take my first class win and set a new lap record, so to return to the circuit and finish in 20th is incredibly frustrating. It was a tough day to say the least - when you ride as hard as what I did and finish way down the order, it’s demoralising, there’s no other word for it.

“We’ve struggled massively in the first four rounds, so I just want to forget about the short circuit scene for a while and look ahead to the road races. The North West 200 takes place next week, so I’ll be heading off to Kirkistown this week for a test day, which will, hopefully, give me plenty of time to set up the Uel Duncan Racing Superbike and Supersport machines.”

Les will also sample the Tandragee 100 road races for the very first time, in preparation for the International North West 200 road races. Held on a 5.5-mile public roads course, the Tandragee races take place this Saturday, with practice at the North West 200 getting underway on Tuesday, 9th of May.