Victor Cox takes a corner at Thruxton (Picture by Roger Barker)

Trowbridge racer Victor Cox ended months of bad luck and frustration to take his first points in the Metzeler National Superstock 1000 championship.

Cox, from Staverton, riding a Yamaha R1 for the VC/STP Motorsport team, finished in tenth place to pick up six points in the second round of the championship at Thruxton.

Snow forced the first race of the season at Brands Hatch to be cancelled.

Race day at Thruxton was still cold but after fitting a new front wheel and new tyres, team principal Stewart Rogers decided to stick with the dry set even though the track was still damp in places.

At 4.30pm Cox rode his bike onto the forth row of the grid, a position he could have only dreamt about a few short weeks before.

He knew if he could get away cleanly he had his best chance to get a top ten finish.

The race started as he had hoped. Picking off a slower rider before the end of Allard he had another in his sights as the bikes poured through the Campbell complex and into Segrave. By the end of the first lap Cox was 12th.

This was where he remained for the next 10 laps, and with a front runner falling off just in front of him going into the Club chicane Cox was now 11th.

Pushing as hard as he dared during the last lap Cox saw his opportunity going into Cobb, being later on the brakes he passed the slower rider and went over the finish line in tenth place.

Cox said he felt fantastic and couldn't quite believe what he had done and felt overjoyed at what the new team had achieved in such a small amount of time.

He said: "We now go into the next round at Oulton Park in May really up for the challenge and with six championship points to our credit."

Jon Strike, team principal of STP Motorsport, who is giving Cox support this season, said he was delighted for the team and especially pleased for Cox, who had endured a difficult season last year and, although this year would have its own problems, he was sure with a little luck the team would be a real contender in the championship.

Friday saw high winds and icy cold temperatures make the first rounds of free practice and the first qualifying session very difficult. Cox had to coax every last ounce of performance from his machine and much to his surprise and the team's delight qualified in provisional 15th.

Satisfied with the bike's handling and performance, back in the garage his mechanics only had to make small adjustments to the rear suspension and wait until Saturday for the next round of qualifying.

Saturday's weather was much worse: the conditions had deteriorated and rain added a further dimension to the previous day's high winds and biting cold.

Rogers said he had no idea if they could make up any places as track temperatures were extremely low and Cox had made up his mind to go as fast as possible but also keep the bike safe for race day.

With the second round of qualifying underway Victor immediately found the conditions tricky, slower bikes hindered his qualifying laps and to make matters worse he had an unexpected high speed vibration from the front wheel. With no time to change it he decided to push as hard as it would allow and managed to secure a 14th position on the grid.

On returning to the paddock the mechanics quickly found a damaged front wheel.

Cox said: "Without that problem I could have been half a second quicker and possibly made up another place."

11:42am Saturday 26th April 2008

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