AMESBURY racer, Mark Piper felt the heat at his home circuit of Thruxton as he returned to the track after a summer break in the Superstock 600 Championship, writes Craig Hobbs.

With weather conditions clear and hot this made the track temperature soar to 40c, not ideal for the stock tyres the team had to use.

Friday practice saw Piper, onboard his Yamaha R6, improve in both sessions knocking nearly one second off his time but due to the track being so hot he found grip was an issue.

The Pied Piper team decided they had to make changes to be able to push harder ready for qualifying on Saturday.

With temperatures once again soaring towards 30c, conditions on track were tough but this did not stop the 23-year-old from knocking a further second and a half off his time, a personal best but still kept him in 20th position for the grid.

Clear skies and a huge crowd were on the cards for Sunday and as the race got underway Piper battled on despite the heat for the 14 lap race.

Putting in consistent lap times whilst trying to conserve tyre wear to last the distance, Piper crossed the line in 18th place gaining two positions.

“I was really pleased to knock just over two seconds off my time over the weekend,” said Piper “but even though I improved every session my position didn’t, the race was tough due to the heat but pleased I crossed the line gaining a couple of places.”

Piper and the team want to thank there loyal sponsors for helping them stay on track, the next round is Cadwell Park this weekend.