By Jeremy Ryan (MustHavemediaServices.com)

Stroud youngster Myles Wasley recently competed in the second round of the KTM British Junior Cup at the Oulton Park circuit in Cheshire.

The British Junior Cup is a support series of British Superbike where the riders compete on almost equal 390cc machines.

At Silverstone the Archway school pupil had a fifth place finish in race one although suffered an engine failure whilst in the leading pack in race two.

The weather at Oulton Park made things difficult for the riders. Free practice was wet although Wasley managed to set the third quickest time in the demanding conditions.

For the qualifying session, the Aqua Construction Racing rider, found the conditions had improved significantly and Wasley was looking forward to setting some quick laps.

After completing six laps he was running third fastest but was still looking to improve on his time.

He decided to pull into the pits to wait for a bit of clear track. On returning to the circuit the balancer shaft bearing broke and punched a hole in the engine case. The engine locked up solid and sent Wasley tumbling, fortunately without serious injury. Unable to complete the session he slipped down to seventh on the grid.

Unable to use his own bike due to the engine having been destroyed Wasley had to start the race on a borrowed machine. Lining up at the head of row three for the first KTM Cup race of the weekend Wasley was determined to make a good start.

As the lights went out he sprinted off the grid and was up in to second place by the end of the first lap.

Along with the leader, Wasley began to break-away from the pack. By the end of the third lap the pair were over five seconds out front.

Although he was unable to pass the eventual winner, Wasley threatened throughout the race and crossed the line just 0.567 seconds behind to secure a comfortable second place and 20 valuable championship points.

With the grid for the second race decided by the fastest laps from race one, Myles Wasley lined up in the middle of the front row. Again as the race started he made no mistake.

Wasley had proved to be on the pace during race one and was running in the top three in race two before moving up to second and looking to close the gap on the leader.

On the fourth lap, whilst running second, he made a small error and he tucked the front of the bike and slid out of the race.

Despite his obvious disappointment at crashing out of the second race, Wasley had got his first podium finish of the season and has 31 championship points.

Wasley said: “It was a difficult weekend and a bit frustrating. I made a small mistake in the second race and lost a potential podium, but I have to be positive after our own bike was put out of action during qualifying and as we still managed to make the podium in the first race and only just missed out on the win on a borrowed bike.

"I would like to say a big thank you to all my sponsors without who I wouldn’t be able to race; Aqua Construction Ltd, Advanced Pool Services, Pure Plumbing & Heating, Impact Safety Armour USA, Rocket Rentals, Quattro Design Architects, and DB Racing.”

The next round will be held at the Brands Hatch circuit in Kent on the weekend of May 20-22.