Wilson Racing, the Moto3 team from Barnsley were back in action last weekend on the Bands Hatch Indy circuit. It was the second round of the Hel Performance Motostar British standard class Championship.
The weekend started well with 14-year-old Max Cook topping FP1 on Friday. Charlie Atkins, also 14, was sixth quickest whilst 13-year-old rookie Tom Alexander finished 13th on the time-sheet.
FP2 didn’t take place until Saturday lunchtime. All three riders bettered their lap times from the day before. Cook remained first overall in the standard class. Despite improving his time Atkins slipped to 9th and Alexander cut nearly seven tenths off his FP1 time.
That afternoon the riders were back out on circuit to take part in the 25 minute qualifying session. The Wilson Racing team riders all reduced their lap times further. Max Cook was under pressure for top spot in qualifying but his 50.288 lap time was 
sufficient for pole position. Atkins qualified in 9th with a 51.766 and Tom Alexander qualified in 15th for race one on Sunday.
Race one was 16 laps of the Brands Hatch Indy circuit. Max Cook made a good start and led from start to finish. He managed to race perfectly to claim 25 points for the race victory. Charlie Atkins became caught up in a battle with three other riders from the middle of the race. He showed great maturity to remain calm and manage the situstion, crossing the line at the head of the four rider group to secure eighth position. Tom Alexander continued his learning process in the Moto3 class and crossed the line to pick up a championship point for his efforts.
The second race of the weekend took place on bank holiday Monday. Cook didn’t quite have it all his own way for race two. Another competitive rider got the holeshot and managed to make a gap between himself and Cook in the opening laps. However, once the number 30 rider from Wilson Racing managed to deal with traffic he started to reel in the race leader. He then sat waiting for an ideal time to make his move, which he did with five laps to go. Taking the lead Cook then went on to collect his second 25 point victory of the weekend.
Unfortunately race two didn’t go according to plan for the other two Wilson Racing riders. Atkins made a good start and initially moved up several places. However, on lap ten he was unable to continue and retired from the race. Also Alexander, who is coming back from a serious leg injury, experienced difficulties. Unfortunately with just 4 laps remaining he was physically exhausted and was forced to come into the pits.
Cook is leading the championship with a perfect 100 points from the four races this season. Atkins is currently 11th with 16 points and Alexander 14th with 11 points.
Gary Wilson said,” A mixed weekend for the team, but I am delighted for Max Cook who couldn’t have done anything more. He has now won all four races this season. Whilst there is a long way to go he already has a 33 point lead. Brands Hatch Indy proved a difficult track for Charlie 
Atkins last year and this year it proved problematic for him too. However, the next round is an Oulton Park where he had a good result at the end of last season. Tom Alexander continues to do what is asked of him. His lap times are what we have asked for him and he continues to pick up points on the way.”
(photo: Hairy Beast Pix)