DEAN Harrison won five Cock O’ the North races in a row at Oliver’s Mount up until 2017, and with the race returning after a six-year hiatus at the weekend, the Bradfordian brought back a sense of familiarity to proceedings.
He won the feature race for the sixth time, as well as claiming victory in all three Supersport races, and all three on a CK Racing 916SP Ducati in the Classic Superbikes events, with the latter a machine he had never ridden before.
His complete obliteration of the field up in Scarborough also allowed him to reach the incredible milestone of 100 race wins up at Oliver’s Mount.
In a busy week of racing, he heads to Snetterton for round five of the British Superbikes Championship on Friday, before tackling the Southern 100 road race in the Isle of Man from next Monday.
But basking in a job well done in North Yorkshire first, Harrison said: “It was nice to be up there, and it’s the only road race we have in England.
“There was a big crowd there to watch, it was a good atmosphere and it was where I had my first road race, so it’s a special place to me.
“I couldn’t believe it that I’d made it to 100 wins up there too, so that made me quite happy and put a real smile on my face.”
Reflecting on the support of machine and teams over the weekend, Harrison said: “Oliver’s Mount is a good place to test a variety of bikes really.
“The Supersport races and the Cock O’ the North I was on the Yamaha I’d ridden at the Isle of Man TT, but the Ducati was a new bike and there aren’t many of them around in the world, so it’s not something you get to do every day.
“I know the team (Northern Ireland’s Boyce Precision Engineering by Russell Racing) I had for the Supersport and Cock O’ the North well as they were the same lads I raced for at the TT.
“They’re great people and the bike felt good, but even though the Ducati lads were new to me, it was all good with them too.
“I was over the moon with that bike, and I set the lap record in both classes too.
“The weather was on our side too, it was fantastic, and all in all it was a brilliant weekend.”
It continues Harrison’s good form on road and track, after his strong performances at the TT were followed by a first British Superbikes top-10 at Knockhill last month.
Asked if that gives him confidence heading to Snetterton, he said: “The lads you’re against in the British Superbikes are on a world-class level, and there’s about 30 of us on the grid, so to get that top-10 is something I’m proud of.
“Funnily enough, I consider Snetterton and Silverstone as my worst tracks in the championship.
“But I want to have a different mindset for this weekend, go there feeling positive and try and really do something.
“I go down on the Thursday to Snetterton, race there Friday, Saturday and Sunday, then head to the Isle of Man on Sunday night for the Southern 100 from Monday, so it never stops.”
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