The AP Kawasaki team endured mixed fortunes at Donington Park today with a brilliant podium position by Josh Wainwright in the Metzeler National Superstock 600 Championship race countered by crashes for Patrick Medcalf and Colin Lewis in the early stages of the Metzeler National Superstock 1000 category.
Thamesmead's Wainwright was in fine form all weekend and, despite suffering a spill in the first qualifying session, he regrouped well to take third place on the grid and give himself a real shot at the podium. With perfect conditions all weekend around the Leicestershire venue, a solid start saw Josh in fourth place at the end of the first lap and although he dropped back briefly, he was soon back in the slipstream of race leaders Lee Jackson and Ben Burke. Jackson began to edge away as the race entered its final third and Josh was just about to pounce on Burke for second when the race was ended early due to a crash meaning Josh was awarded third for his first podium finish of the season.
Back to full health following a bout of flu at the previous round, Medcalf was on song too around the Donington GP circuit and 10th in qualifying gave him a great chance of scoring some good points. However, his race was over before it had practically started when he was taken out in a three-rider crash at the first corner of the opening lap. Fellow Australian Lewis, having his first ride with the team, fared no better as he crashed not long after at the notorious Craner Curves, both luckily without injury.
Josh Wainwright: "It's a shame the race was ended early as I'm always stronger at the end of the race and felt confident that second would have been mine but safety's paramount. Aside from the crash on Friday, it's been a great weekend and we've pretty much been in the top three all the time so to finally convert it into a podium feels great. The bike was superb and the team did a great job all weekend and after the disappointment of the other two boys crashing out, the team needed a lift and I'm delighted to have given them a rostrum."
Patrick Medcalf: "I'm really disappointed with the outcome of this weekend as a good result was definitely on the cards. I had a decent run in qualifying and although I didn't get the best jump off the line, I felt confident of getting in the top ten within the first lap. The rider in front of me got tangled up with the rider in front of him and sat up which left me with nowhere to go and down I went. I felt that I had the pace to get right in amongst the top eight this weekend so it's hugely disappointing and frustrating but that's how racing goes sometimes. The team worked really hard all weekend so, hopefully, it will be my day next time."
Alan Greig: "The podium has been a long time coming and having a solid start to the season, the crash Josh suffered at Oulton in May knocked him back and it's taken him a while to get his confidence back. He had the pace from the very beginning this weekend and we pretty much knew it was going to be between the same riders and that's how the race panned out. Josh rode perfectly and had it not been for the red flag, we could have had second rather than third but we're still very happy. It's been a tough weekend so it was just what we needed.
"Pat was really unfortunate to get mixed up in someone else's accident and we're all really disappointed for him as we all had high hopes of a strong top six result. He had the pace for the top five so it's a massive disappointment but, thankfully, he's fine. There was double disappointment with Colin going down a lap later and I think his lack of experience with the safety car caught him out and with no temperature in the tyres, down he went. Again, he wasn't injured so we're all thankful for that and will hope for better fortune next time at Silverstone."
Metzeler National Superstock 1000cc Championship (15 laps)1 PJ Jacobsen (Suzuki)2 Lee Johnston (Ducati)3 Victor Cox (Kawasaki)4 Lee Costello (Kawasaki)5 Jason O'Halloran (Honda)6 Keith Farmer (Kawasaki)DNF Patrick Medcalf (AP Kawasaki)DNF Colin Lewis (AP Kawasaki)
Championship standings (after 11 rounds)1 Farmer 166pts2 O'Halloran 1573 Cox 1214 Storrar 1095 Brogan 986 Johnson 9014 Medcalf 40
Metzeler National Superstock 600cc Championship (14 laps)1 Lee Jackson (Kawasaki)2 Ben Burke (Yamaha)3 Josh Wainwright (AP Kawasaki)4 Alex Olsen (Triumph)5 Johnny Blackshaw (Triumph)6 James Rose (Yamaha)
Championship standings (after 11 rounds)1 Burke 174pts2 Rose 1563 Jackson 1544 Dixon 1105 Olsen 896 Whitaker 8310 Wainwright 72
