Fraught Racing at Thruxton for Gearlink Kawasaki

Motorpoint British Supersport

 After all the drama and issues at Brands Hatch Ben Wilson got his podium streak back on track at round two of the Motorpoint Supersport Championship at Thruxton in race one. As always Thruxton produced the usual very close racing and Ben Wilson on the Gearlink Kawasaki missed out on second place by 0.015 to Sam Warren. Throughout the entire race Ben, Sam Warren, Glen Richards and Jack Kennedy were all fighting for the lead and exchanged places all the way through. Ben was extremely good into the final chicane and was able to make up time on the brakes; however a small mistake on the final lap allowed Warren to get the drag to the line and take second place. After a disappointing practise and qualifying David Jones finished a solid 27th place.

 Ben was fourth on the grid for race two and David started in 30th, the sun continued to shine and despite the cold conditions and wind the racing was certainly nail-biting. The second race was epic and full of action packed racing with a six bike freight train battling for the race win, which included the Gearlink Kawasaki of Ben Wilson. He was unfortunate not to climb onto the podium step and ended the race in fifth place but remains in third in the Championship only 8.5 points behind the Championship leader Jack Kennedy. David Jones on the other Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R finished in 25th place after starting from 30th on the grid.

 Ben Wilson - "Obviously I'm not happy with the way things went this weekend and I'm still chasing my first win of the season. After all the problems at Brands with the weather and track conditions I wanted to come here and get my season on the right track. The good thing is that it's a long season and I'm third in the Championship and there are not many points in front of me. I know it's a long season and I have to keep scoring points but my main aim is to win so it's important that I do. The racing today was mental but clearly very good for the fans to watch and Thruxton has always produced racing like that. I've two sets of solid points in the bag and will be eager to progress and move forwards at Oulton Park."

 David Jones - "I had a couple of more problems this weekend and it's just knocked my confidence a little. Thruxton is a hard track to race at and get the correct set up for the very fast and bumpy circuit, we had to make a few changes over the weekend but I just couldn't settle into a rhythm. I need to try and get things improved for Oulton Park and I need a couple of decent results to boost my confidence a bit."

Metzeler Superstock 600s

 At one of the hardest circuits on the UK calendar to learn, the Gearlink Superstock 600 rider Scott Hudson had a very good finish having qualified in 30th place he rode extremely well to bring the Kawasaki home in 21st position. The superfast circuit is extremely hard to learn and it was a very positive result for the 24-year-old on his first time here.

 Scott Hudson- "I knew coming here would be hard as it's one of the only tracks in the country that you aren't allowed to go testing on. I've heard many things about the track and knew that it would be hard for me to learn, I was fortunate enough for Ben (Wilson) to do a few track walks with me over the weekend and it certainly helped in a massive way. I know this year is a big learning curve for me but it frustrates me because I want to do better for myself and the Gearlink Kawasaki team. I'm looking forward to getting to Oulton Park in a few weeks' time."

Team Manager Michael de Bidaph - "It's been another mixed weekend for us, Thruxton has never been the best of tracks for us so to leave here third in the Championship with Ben is good. We know what we need to do and it's important it starts happening, there was a lot of pressure on Ben pre season to be the favourite of the Championship but as this weekend proved there are a number of very strong teams and riders this year that we have to battle with. The team has worked very hard and we are looking forward to getting to some of the more technical circuits on the calendar and hopefully that race win will come. It's a long season and we know it will be a tough one with the competition out there. We'd like to get David higher up the field and work on his confidence and get him back happy with his riding which in turn will hopefully get us some good results. Scott (Hudson) did well in the Stock 600's his times improved in every dry session at a track we know is very difficult to learn. We are looking forward to getting to Oulton Park in a few weeks and get some good results there."

2012 GEARLINK TEAM SPONSORS

AKRAPOVIC - ANDOVER TIM TODD SURFACING (SCOTT) - B & C EXPRESS - CLWYD HEATING (DAVID) - DAYTONA (BEN) - GALFER - GB RACING - GEARLINK LTD - GIMOTO - GOODS LIFT COMPANY - GOODRIDGE - JON JESSOP PHOTOGRAPHY - K-TECH - METZELER (STOCK 600'S) - MOTOCOMP - MWR AIR FILTERS - NGK - OCTANORM - PAZZO - PERFORMANCE PARTS - PERFORMANCE FRICTION BRAKES - PRO CLEAN - PRO-BOLT - R & G RACING - RACE BY DESIGN - RENTHAL - ROCK OIL - SAMCO SPORT - SHARK HELMETS - SIGMA PERFORMANCE - SINNIS - SKIDMARX - SOLO SIGNS - SPEEDYCOM - SUDBROOKE BOILERS (BEN) -TSUBAKI - TWO WHEEL MEDIA - VALE LIVESTOCK - WELTECH (BEN)


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