Cooper enjoys strong start to the BSB season

Cooper took 12th and 11th in his two races, and paid tribute to his machine and the Buildbase BMW team.

“I think the end result shows we’ve progressed this weekend in every session right up until race two,” he said.

“The bike was absolutely perfect, if anything it’s carrying me a little.

“I’m losing out in one corner, visually about one second and you just can’t give that away to these guys.

“It’s something to think about, but thanks to the team as we’ve progressed little by little.”

With points on the board already, Cooper is next in action at round two at Oulton Park at the end of the month.

Team manager Steve Hicken added: “I don’t think the superbike results show the hard work put in by the lads and the progress made across the weekend, but that’s okay. Richard took some big steps forward.”