Dream win for Shand on busy weekend.

With recent performances not being reflected in results, Les Shand finally paired a good performance with the right result as he took a maiden win in the British Superstock Championship on a busy weekend at Oulton Park.

With Chris Burns breaking his hand at Cadwell Park, Shand was also able to make his debut on board the AIM Racing Yamaha Superbike, as he competed in the BSB for the first time.

Technical problems - coupled to damp weather conditions and a lack of experience with a qualifying tyre - meant Shand was forced to settle for 30th place on the grid for his maiden BSB appearance. Race one saw him focus on building confidence in the bike before pushing harder in race two, the reward a pair of 23rd place finishes.

"I had a few problems with the Superbike on Friday and Saturday, the guys worked well getting them sorted," he admitted. "Competing in two classes is challenging as you have to flick a switch in your brain telling you which class you are in. The braking zones are total different, if you brake on the Superbike at the same point as you would on a Superstock bike you would nearly stop. It felt so strange at first, most of Friday I had to spend getting use too it.

"My second challenge was the tyres, running on slicks is again a new experience and the extra lean angle you get with the cornering speed is fantastic. Using the tyres is all about confidence and the guys I was racing against have had all season to get it right.

"I had two main goals this weekend; stay upright and improve my lap times each time I went out. The first race I did not get a good start and was held up by a few slower riders. It took a while under race condition for me to get confidence in the bike. As I followed other riders into the corners and I was thinking, can the bike do what I am asking it to do?

"In race two I felt more confident, that showed in my start and lap times, I went nearly four seconds quicker in race two than I did in qualifying. I have looked at the lap times and I was the second fastest Yamaha in speed trap two in the first race and fastest Yamaha at the same point in race two. If I had had more time on the bike, I may have been able to qualify higher and who knows, I could have gotten into the top 15..."

With his BSB debut out of the way, Shand was then able to switch his focus back to the Superstock championship. On one of his favourite circuits, Shand had qualified just 0.18secs behind pole man Lee Jackson to take second on the grid - a position he held once the race got underway.

The pace car was out almost immediately but as soon as it pulled in, Shand made his move and took the lead, producing a textbook display to pull away from the field and take victory by more than seven seconds.

"I'm over the moon with the win and after having a few ups and downs at the recent races, it's a great feeling to stand on the top step of the podium," he said. "I know that I've been riding well and only bad luck has prevented me from finishing higher so it's pleasing to have my confidence vindicated. I knew deep down I could run with the front guys and the weekend went perfectly. Jim Moodie kept telling me I needed to get the holeshot and although I couldn't quite do it, I managed to get by Coatesy early on and got my head down.

"The gap on the pit board was steadily increasing and to get the lap record was the icing on the cake today and a nice surprise. The Superbike races didn't go as I would have liked but we were beset by technical problems all weekend and never really got a proper crack with the bike. I pushed hard in both races, right up until the very end, and whilst other riders tired I got stronger. Although it was a one-off ride, it was valuable experience and I learnt a lot from it, which will, hopefully, pay dividends at Macau later in the year. I'm looking forward to the next Superstock round now and want to back up today's win with two more strong rides."

AIM team boss Alistair Flanagan was delighted to see his man take victory, and said he was pleased with the way Shand had dealt with competing in both championships.

"Les has done a real good job this weekend and he has shown his ability to ride any bike," he said. "The Superbike is a hard bike to ride and Les went out each session and improved his times. At this time we are still waiting to hear the news about Chris's hand so until I have spoken to all parties I don't know what is going to happen about Donington.

"Today is about Les and his remarkable achievement in Superbikes and his first ever win in Superstocks, we are very proud of him."

Shand now sits sixth overall in the Superstock title race with 100 points to his name, just 19 points off fourth place.