Gearlink Kawasaki News

2 September 2017

Double Podium at Cadwell Park

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."

Category: Racing News
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posted by The Team at 16:07

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