THE May Bank Holiday weekend at Oulton park was a testing time for Jentin Racing and British Superbike rider Simon Andrews.

The Evesham-based racer was in ninth place on Saturday and looking to improve his position before taking a nasty tumble.

The engineering team laboured long into Saturday night to prepare the 04 Yamaha R1 for Sunday and, although sore and distinctly battered, Andrews qualified in 15th place and on the fourth row of the grid.

With the changeable weather patterns on race day, tyre choice was a critical factor and opting for full slicks in race one proved successful with 12th place.

Race two and Andrews retained the tyre selection but light rain started falling in the wind just after the start of the race, making the track greasy and difficult to find grip. Still, Andrews managed a very respectful 14th place.

Andrews said: "I had two solid rides and we have gained more data for the next time that we race at Oulton.

"I am just pleased to be back in the points again after the problems that we encountered at Thruxton. We will soon be testing the 2007 R1 Yamahas with the Mountune engines and I am really looking forward to getting on the new machines and taking the project forward.

"We are after that extra couple of seconds that will change things dramatically."