Gearlink Kawasaki News

13 October 2013

Two wins at Silverstone

It was a solid weekend for the team at round 11 of the Motorpoint British Supersport Championship at Silverstone. Alastair Seeley reeled in the points for the Championship title by taking a a win and a third place, he was later dropped to 10th place in the second race due to a penalty for a move on Jason O'Halloran. Ben Wison gained a fifth and a fourth place.

Alastair was back in fine form following his recent injuries and celebrated his 34rd birthday by wearing a stunning new '34' branded Shoei helmet. He had a great opening race taking a fantastic win and narrowed the gap for the Championship lead. In the second race he started from pole position and was locked in a hard scrap in a six lap sprint race following an incident which brought out the safety car. He finished the race in third position but was unfortunately given a ten second penalty when he and Jason O'Halloran came together dropping him to 10th position.

Ben struggled all weekend to get a good set up on his bike but managed to secure fifth on the grid and achieved fifth position in the first race.  For race two he started from sixth on the grid and after sitting behind the safety car for a number of laps rode a solid race to finish fifth. He was later promoted to fourth following Alastair's penalty.

It was an unbelievable weekend for Luke Hedger and Mark Wilkinson in the Pirelli National Superstock 600 race. Luke nearly said goodbye to being Championship contender when an engine problem occurred on the opening lap, however, the race was red flagged on that lap and the race rescheduled. The team had one hour to change the engine in Luke's bike and get him back out onto the grid. They did a fantastic job and Luke rewarded them with riding one of the most stunning races this season taking a great win for the team and the Championship lead.

Mark had a mixed weekend and after hitting a wet patch during qualifying was unable to put in a good time then, in the second qualifying session he had a bike problem resulting in just 22nd place on the grid. He rode his heart out in the race securing 14th place and two Champioship points. 

Team Manager Michael de Bidaph - "Alastair rode a great first race to take the win and close the gap in the Championship standings, it is good to see him back at the sharp end following his injuries. He also rode a very good second race with the riders clashing paint on most turns, he came together with Jason O'Halloran and later penalised for the move. In my opinion it was a harsh decision and i feel that O'Halloran's strong protest did not help the situation especially as he had caused Alastair to sit up during the race by his aggressive manoeuvres. 

Ben was struggling all weekend to find a set up that suited him so it was damage limitaion on a track he has sufferred misfortune in the past. Hopefully he will feel stronger at Brands Hatch and finish the season on a high note. 

Luke was the star of the day; he rode his heart out on a bike that had been rebuilt in less than an hour. I must credit my entire Gearlink Kawasaki team for their hard work and dedication in putting Luke out on the track and for him to repay them with a win and the Championship lead was fantastic. 

Despite Mark's problems during qualifying he once again pulled it all together in the race and rode fantastically well to secure some more Championship points. He has the right attitude and worked hard for the result and hopefully will have a good result at Brands Hatch."

Category: Racing News
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posted by The Team at 14:59

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