Roberts Secures Win at Soaking Silverstone 25th 27th May The tables finally turned for young Australian Brendan Roberts, after taking a stunning win in the FIM Superstock 1000 Cup (formerly the European Superstock Championship) at Silverstone Circuit this weekend, 25th 27th May. The appalling wet weather conditions played into the hands of 22-year-old Roberts, who is still suffering the effects of a badly dislocated right wrist and breaking the connecting socket, which he sustained during testing back in March. Having surgery to pin the wrist, Roberts still only has 60% movement back after tearing the ligaments and tendons. The youngster based in Grantham secured a ride on the brand new Ducati 1098 in the Ducati Xerox Junior Team after winning the National Superstock Championships in the UK last season and also taking a number of podium positions as a wild card entrant in the European Superstock series towards the end of 2006. This was his third race meeting after having gained a seventh place at Assen and 15th in Monza, the win was long overdue. Still not fully recovered it was a great achievement for the Australian, having qualified in 13th position and being promoted to 12th after a rider was injured he still had a lot of work to do from the third row of the grid. With the rain starting early on Sunday morning and eventually seeing the cancellation of the second World Superbike Race, Roberts was second fastest in morning warm up and was eager to get racing. With the horrendous conditions the race was cut short to ten laps and therefore he had to ensure that he gained a good start when the lights changed. It was the ideal start from the talented rider and he was in a fantastic second place after the first lap and trying to ensure that leader, Michele Pirro, did not gain too much of an advantage. The pair diced for the lead on lap five and six and Pirro made a mistake on lap seven which allowed Roberts to gain the lead and take the win. Commenting a delighted Roberts said “It’s been a very tough season for me so far and I’m glad that I managed to take my first win and that it was in the UK. The weather certainly played in my favour as it took a bit of pressure off my wrist as the pace is slower in the wet. I managed to get a great start and had to make sure that I kept Michele in my sights. I managed to get past him but I started making mistakes so I slowed and let him past again to see if I could follow him. He was pushing very hard and I was finding it difficult to stay with him, I had a few near moments that had me out of the seat a couple of times so I backed off a little. He crashed out and remounted on the eighth lap, which allowed me to take the lead and win the race. It’s great to be back on the podium again and feels like it’s been a long time coming. The wrist injury has really been a big set back for me and I’m continually having physio on it to make it stronger each time I race, but it’s been a long process and finally glad I’ve got a good result and not only that but a win for the team, who all worked very hard this weekend.” Roberts has now moved to ninth in the overall Championship after missing two of the five rounds completed so far. His next race is at Misano on June 17th.