Racer Beech shows he's a class act after stepping up
Adjusting to speeds of more powerful motorbikes can sometimes take months if not years to master.
Harris Beech and his new Yamaha R6, however, proved to be a perfect match as he managed to secure a top 10 finish on his first-ever outing on the machine at Oulton Park, in Cheshire.
The Alveley teenager has been running a 300cc Yamaha R3 for the last two years, racing predominantly in the British Junior Supersport class, on the undercard of the British Superbike championship.
His aim this year had been to try and win the Thundersport GB Superteens title but when a great offer came in to swap his R3 for an R6, he snapped up the chance to go racing on a 600cc machine in the supersport class.
Beech, 16, had never ridden a supersport bike before the weekend but the Bathams Racing-backed rider managed to bring it home for a 13th and 10th place finish, much to the delight of his father, Richard.
"Harris had done no testing and all he had before qualifying was five, 15-minute practice sessions on the Friday," said Richard.
"He wasn't happy with the set up after the first session but by the third we'd got everything sorted, so really he only had three sessions where he has happy with the bike.
"Then he went out in race one and finished 13th and race two he was 10th, meaning he picked up points in both races – I was completely gobsmacked."
Harris had been hoping to set lap times around the 1:53 mark but instead he was lapping six seconds quicker.
"We just wanted to see Harris gel with the bike over the weekend but he came back in and said everything felt perfect," added Richard.
"We brought along Tye Kinton, who was a rider and works as a coach now, to the meeting.
"I thought with the limited time we had available it would be worthwhile getting someone who had ridden in that class and knew a lot about the bike and what set up would work.
"And it seemed to work too because Harris looked like he'd be riding the thing for years, not just for first time over the weekend.
"It was quite scary watching him come passed at the speeds he was hitting but we're all so pleased with how the weekend went."
Harris will be back in action this weekend, with the Bemsee Club Racing series, at Brands Hatch in Kent.
He then returns to Thundesport GB action at Cadwell Park, in Lincolnshire, October 24-25.
