Jervis manages podium finish

By John Hopkins

Oliver Jervis overcame mechanical issues to nab a best finish of third in round 4 of the Washington Motorcycle Road Racing Association series at Pacific Raceways last weekend.

Riding his Zlock-prepared Kawasaki ZX-6R the Victoria racer took the podium finish in 600 Supersport on the Kent, WA track and followed that up with a fourth in 600 Superbike and seventh in Formula Ultra.

In 600 Supersport Jervis experienced some clutch troubles off the start but battled early with eventual runner-up Aaron Gwin. However, his engine then developed a high rpm misfire and he steadily lost ground.

"To make things just slightly more challenging," Jervis said, "I had carried a little too much lean angle on the right hand side and in doing that had been dragging my bodywork on the ground. The result was a big piece of my lower bodywork came loose and ultimately came off the bike. Somehow, and I can't explain how I got this lucky, we held on for third."

The team appeared to have cured the misfire overnight, but it returned in the 600 Superbike race and Jervis could only manage fourth.

The ZX-6R was back on form for the Formula Ultra race but running against 1000cc machinery the best Jervis could manage was a seventh.