Gearlink Kawasaki News

It was a weekend to celebrate for the team at round ten of the Dickies British Supersport Championship at Oulton Park. Ben Currie secured his first win of the season and then followed it up by winning the second race as well. Andrew Irwin gained brilliant second places in both races for a perfect weekend for the team.

Ben was disappointed after Silverstone and was eager to make amends at Oulton Park, a track he has had previous success. He was riding well all weekend and managed to qualify in fifth place on the grid for race one. The rain began to fall shortly before the race but he was feeling confident. He got a great hole-shot and soon built up a huge lead, riding a comfortable race he managed to win by a huge 11.4 seconds.

For race two he was placed on pole position, this time a fully wet race from start to finish. Once again he got a great start and was soon locked in a battle for the lead with two other riders including Andrew. It was then a battle between Ben and Andrew with another rider closing them down in the latter stages and the three dicing it out for the win. Ben gained the upper hand over the finish line to win by just 0.2 seconds from Andrew in a thrilling race and now moves up to third in the Championship standings.

Andrew was also having a stunning weekend; he qualified in second place for race one. He got a great start and despite Ben disappearing into the distance he was swapping positions for second place for most of the race and was eager to secure a solid second position. 

For race two he was fifth on the grid and was locked in a three way battle, including Ben, for the lead. He rode a fantastic race to finish in another second place and moves up to second in the Championship standings.

James Westmoreland was able to secure another couple of valuable Championshiip points in the MCE British Superbike Championship. He qualified in 20th place for race one and in tricky conditions managed to finish in 14th place. He started from 17th position for race two but had to pull in with set-up issues.

Team Manager Michael de Bidaph - "I am so pleased for both Supersport riders, Ben and Andrew. The weekend went well from start to finish both of them performing well in the wet and dry conditions.

Ben was on another level in race one having got to the front and just took off. Andrew rode a sensible tough race fending off the Champioship leader to secure a great second place.

We opted not to go out in the warm-up session as it was too close to race two just in case anything happened. It was nerve wracking watching the pair of them fight tooth and nail to the end. I struggled to watch it but totally delighted it ended with another one-two. The team, Ben and Andrew have all worked so hard all year and everyone deserved this. 

It was another tricky weekend for James in the Superbike class and we struggled to get a good set-up for him around Oulton. We managed to score a few more points in race one and hopefully we can get some better results at the final two rounds at Assen and Brands Hatch" 

It was a great weekend for the team at Round nine of the the Dickies British Supersport Championship at Silverstone. Andrew Irwin gaining two second places and his team-mate Ben Currie was third in the first race and was leading the second race when wet conditions caught him out and he sadly crashed out.

Andrew was once again searching for that elusive first win in race one having qualified in third place. He got a good start and was soon into the lead and looking comfortable only for him to be pushed wide by the eventual winner just losing out on the win by 0.045s.

He started from second on the grid for race two which was declared a wet race. He got a good start and was once again locked in a battle for the lead but could not stay with them in the extemely wet conditions and dropped back to fourth. His team-mate crashed whilst in the lead shortly followed by another front runner whilst Andrew stayed on to bring home another fantastic second place. 

Ben once again continued his strong form throughout the weekend and was constantly at the sharp end on the time sheets during practice and qualifying. He started race one from fourth place on the grid; gained the hole-shot and was soon mixing it with two other riders,including his team-mate, for the lead. He finished in a great third place with just 0.131s separating the three riders in a fantastic race.

For race two he started from third place on the grid in what was declared a wet race after heavy rain just prior to the start. He got an incredible start extending his lead to a huge eight seconds in the treacherous conditions. Gradually those chasing him reeled him in although he still had a two second advantage with a lap and a half to go before being caught out by the wet conditions and crashed out.

James Westmoreland had a really strong weekend in the MCE British Superbike Championship. He scored points in all three races with 14th places in the first two races and a stuunning fourth place in a wet race three. The weather came in hard before the third race and it was really a race of the brave as to who finished. James rode an intelligent race and was able to stay on in horrendous conditions to bring it home.

Team Manager Michael de Bidaph -" It was certainly an up and down weekend for the Supersport riders. Ben and Andrew have been up at the top of the time sheets all weekend qualifying well for the first race.

It was so unfortunate for Andrew not to take his first win as he looked strong but just missed out. Ben also rode an incredible race and i am very pleased with his performance, he has made some big steps forward and really challenging for the win as well.

For race two both riders were on the front row and Ben made an unbelievable start in tricky conditions. He had a huge lead and looked really strong, sadly just being caught out in the wet conditions. We were so disappointed for him as he had worked so hard. Andrew rode a solid race and he knew he did not have the pace in the wet but stayed on to secure another great second.

With "Westy" we struggled with set up during practice and qualifying which were dry. He was fortunate to get some points in the second race as we did have a few set up issues. For the third race the conditions were appalling, he got a great start and made up several places on the first lap staying on to gain a great fourth place for the team. I am absolutely delighted, well done James!"

The team were delighted to see their Australian rider Ben Currie back on the podium again in round eight of the Dickies British Supersport Championship at Cadwell Park. Ben took a great second place in race one and followed it up with a third place in race two. His team-mate Andrew Irwin was chasing that elusive first win when a small technical problem saw him crash out in the lead in race one and then he made a mistake in race two which saw him crash out in race two.

Ben had a strong weekend and consistently put in good lap times during practice and qualifying. He started race one from sixth position but had shown good race pace throughout the weekend. He got a good start and was up to fourth place at the end of the opening lap. By lap six he was up to a podium place in third and with Andrew crashing out finished in a fantastic second place behind the Championship leader.

For race two he started from fourth place on the grid and got another strong start before the safety car came out in lap five. When the race resumed Andrew crashed out forcing Ben to take evasive action dropping him back to fifth. He soon pushed hard through the pack to finish in a great third place and his second podium of the weekend. 

For Andrew it was a disappointing outcome having been strong all weekend. Starting from second on the grid for race one he soon went into the lead and proceeded to lead during the majority of the race until a torn gasket caused water to leak onto the rear tyre causing him to crash out of the lead on lap eight of the 12 lap race.

For race two he started from third place and got another good start moving up to second place when the safety car was employed. He was eager to keep with the leader when the race resumed but made a small mistake hitting a kerb which fired him out of the seat and over the bars.

In the MCE British Superbike Championship James Westmoreland once again showed strong progress. He took a second off his time from the opening practice session to qualifying making it through to the Q2 session despite crashing out in the closing stages of Q1. He started race one from 17th position on the grid and despite feeling second hand from the previous days crash finished in 19th place and finished 16th in race two. 

Team Manager Michael de Bidaph - "I'm as delighted for Ben as i am disappointed for Andrew. Ben was fantastic this weekend and i am extremely pleased with the results he managed to achieve and his first ever double podium.

Both riders had great practice and qualifying sessions and it was looking strong for both to secure some good results. Ben did everything asked of him and rode two brilliant races, he pushed hard to get a podium and was rewarded with the results. Andrew had a bike problem in race one and he was a bit too eager in race two hitting the kerb and crashing out.

With the Superbike we have really moved forwards with "Westy" and continue to make big steps. He was running well in all the practice sessions and had set a fast time to get into Q2 before crashing out heavily. The team worked hard on the bike overnight and he managed to finish both races. We will continue to move forward at Silversone and the remaing rounds."