Motorpoint British Supersport
The Gearlink Kawasaki team was keen for some strong results in the Motorpoint British Supersport Championship at round seven at Oulton Park this weekend. Glenn Irwin was unfortunate to crash out of fourth place on the final lap of the sprint race and took a great second place in the main race. His team-mate Luke Hedger took another two solid positions with seventh in race one and eighth in race two.
Glenn Irwin was running strong all weekend; the Irishman was fourth in the opening practice session and eighth in the second. He had a good qualifying session and was sixth for the opening Sprint race. He got a great start and was sat in second position for the first four laps and then dropped to fifth and then back to fourth, on the final lap he saw an opportunity for third place but sadly crashed out on the last corner or the last lap. His team-mate Luke Hedger had a solid weekend on the Gearlink Kawasaki this weekend during the practice sessions and qualified in eighth place for the first race, he dropped a position after the opening lap but fought his way back through to seventh at the end of the 10-lap race.
In the main feature race on Sunday the heavens opened just before they were set to go out so the race was declared wet. Glenn got a great start and was soon into the lead, he and Graeme Gowland bridged a gap but Alastair Seeley was on a mission. An incident on the opening lap saw the safety car deployed which came in at the end of lap five. Glenn proceeded to lead the race until lap 12 where he was passed by Seeley. Glenn rode hard to fend off any challenges from Gowland to take a fantastic second place for the team. Luke Hedger had another good strong result for the Gearlink Kawasaki team and after qualifying in ninth place for the 15-lap race he secured a great eighth position.
Glenn Irwin - "I'm really pleased with the way things have gone this weekend and the Gearlink Kawasaki team worked really hard to find me the perfect set up in the wet and the dry. We proved that we had the pace in both conditions and I felt really confident and positive out on track. We have certainly made huge progress and I can't wait to get to Cadwell now and hope to continue this form. I would like to thank all the Gearlink team and also all my personal sponsors for their support."
Luke Hedger - "I'm pretty pleased with the weekend we are making progress at every round and now believe that we are definitely moving in the right direction. The Gearlink Kawasaki team once again ensured that I was able to get out there in both races and make progress each time I was out on track. A huge thanks to all my sponsors especially 1st Choice Flooring for all their help."
It was another very difficult weekend for Ben Wilson in the MCE British Superbike Championship. The Gearlink Kawasaki team made the decision to withdraw Ben from the three Superbike races scheduled for Oulton.
Ben Wilson - "This season is so difficult so far and it's not only difficult for the team but also myself. We seem to have had problems all year and not been able to put our finger on to why. I sat down with Michael and we decided to do an extensive testing programme before Cadwell and see if we can make any progress there."
Team Manager Michael de Bidaph - "I'm really pleased with the two Supersport riders they really have ridden well this weekend especially Glenn. Glenn rode a brilliant first race and made a move on the last lap on the last corner for third that did not pay off but he was certainly riding well and trying hard.
Luke is progressing well and as the season is moving along he is learning, gaining experience and the results are starting to come. I'm sure by the end of the season he will be up with the leading bunch. He got two very consistent and good results and his lap times just keep improving all the time, I'm very happy with the way he is settling into a very difficult Championship.
Race two was wet so anything could have happened, Glenn got a strong start and led the race for a number of laps, he went on to secure second place and it was just what he deserved for the effort he has put in.
With the Superbike and Ben, it is a very difficult situation for us all, we are not happy with how the bike is working and we will now leave here and ensure that we work hard with testing and improvements to try and get Ben where he deserves to be and get his confidence back again."
2014 GEARLINK TEAM SPONSORS
AKRAPOVIC - B & C EXPRESS - CN TRADING (GLENN) - DAYTONA (BEN) - DAMEN LEATHERS - DBR - FORCEFIELD - GALFER - GB RACING - GEARLINK LTD - GOODRIDGE - JAMES JAMIESON CONSTRUCTION (GLENN) - JOHNY WILLS PHOTOGRAPHY - K-TECH - KTtapeuk.co.uk - MARK TALBOT (GLENN) - MEGASTORE247 (GLENN) - MET HEALTHCARE (GLENN) - MWR AIR FILTERS - NGK SPARK PLUGS - OCTANORM - PERFORMANCE PARTS - PERFORMANCE FRICTION BRAKES - PRO CLEAN - PRO-BOLT - R & G RACING - RENTHAL - ROCK OIL - SAMCO SPORT - SHARK HELMETS - SHOEI HELMETS (LUKE) - SIDI (LUKE) - SIGMA PERFORMANCE - SINNIS - SKIDMARX - SOLO SIGNS - TIM TODD SURFACING - TSUBAKI - VALE LIVESTOCK - WWW.1STCHOICE-FLOORING.CO.UK (LUKE)
