EVERY weekend off is a "pleasant one" for Bradford's Dean Harrison but he is raring to go again at Oulton Park this weekend.
The speedster was in line to attend Goodwood Revival last Friday, a circuit situated near Chichester, West Sussex, but a contract obligation between biking manufacturers meant he couldn't attend.
He will now return to the track this weekend at one of his "favourite"spots, and he'll have the wind in his sails following his most recent points finish at Snetterton- his first points scoring race of the superbike campaign.
Looking back at his Snetterton display, Harrison said: "It was a mixed weekend on reflection. It ended up being my best placed finish in the final race of the weekend, which was good, however, it started poorly because I had a lot of electrical problems, which meant I had to forfeit two of the races. My qualifying race was good and my final race was good but overall it was a bit of a disaster."
Harrison added: "Getting back on the points board is great however, not only for me, but the team as well, as it shows I'm progressing well. I've had a bit of frustration in that aspect, especially in the previous few races where I've had to settle with coming 16th (one place off points scoring). So, yes that's a huge positive."
Harrison did make the jump up to a top 15 finish at Snetterton, but he admitted that the conditions may have helped him in doing so.
He said: "The weather wasn't great which may have scuppered other riders' chances of getting a points finish, however, everyone else was in the same boat so it was a fair playing field, that's for sure. I believe that would have been one of my best superbike weekends yet if it wasn't for my electrical issues."
Harrison's weekend off may have come as a surprise to him, but with little time away from the bike, it's something that he makes the most off.
He admitted: "It was definitely nice to have a weekend off and to spend some time with the family, although I've been to Goodwood Revival in the past and really enjoyed it.
"Sometimes, it's nice to sit back and enjoy it from afar and it means you can get ready for the next race."
Looking ahead to this weekend's schedule at Oulton Park, Harrison said: "it was nice to have the weekend off, but I'm really looking forward to getting back to Oulton Park and racing; it's a brilliant course and it's probably one of my favourites, so it will be good to get back. The weather looks alright too, which is a huge bonus."
The Bradford speedster added: "Hopefully we don't have any electrical problems this time out and we can try our hardest from day one.
"It's always about finding improvement, so it would be good to go one better than our top 15 finish and maybe even push for that top ten.
"I would be delighted to get in that top 15 again, that's for sure."
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