CARL Nelson from Fakenham had to cope with a fall and the weather in round one of the National MRO Superstock 1000 Championship over the weekend at Donington Park circuit.

CARL Nelson from Fakenham had to cope with a fall and the weather in round one of the National MRO Superstock 1000 Championship over the weekend at Donington Park circuit.

Saturday practice and qualifying were affected by the weather, with the already windy conditions alternating between heavy snow and sunshine. This meant last-minute decisions and changes of tyre through the day. Nelson was pleased with his times for the first session and felt he has continued to improve his riding in the wet. He thought he rode better in his second session and was a bit disappointed at qualifying only 13th on the grid.

After heavy snow overnight the conditions for racing on Sunday morning were slippery. An early start saw Nelson in the first race of the day. Several riders were lost on the first lap, leading to the race being restarted. Nelson got away well and had moved up to eighth position and was in the leading pack of riders. He then came off as he was coming up to the start and finish straight. Luckily rider and bike were not seriously damaged and the bike was repaired in time for the second race.

It looked like the riders were going to get away with a completely dry race in the afternoon, with Nelson having got a good start, and he was beginning to move up through the field. But heavy snow moved in again and the race was stopped on lap six, with Nelson being classified in 12th place.

Nelson's next outing is at Snetterton in a couple of weeks time, with hopefully better weather and incident-free racing.

He thanks James Beck Auctions, MD Williamson Carpets Ltd, Bale Engineering, Solely Solar and G Designs for their help this season, as well as the Great Eastern Motorcycle Club.

He would welcome more support in the coming months, and can be contacted on 01328 862933.