It was another fantastic weekend for the Gearlink Kawasaki team in the Motorsport British Supersport Championship at the long Snetterton 300 circuit. Alastair Seeley this time took the double race win in fine style with Ben Wilson gaining a third and second place in the two Supersport races.
Alastair was on form on a track he has been particularly strong at in previous years and all weekend he was showing fast form and ultra-quick lap times, convincingly setting a comfortable pole position. He was on fine form in both of the races on Saturday and Sunday and led from the start of the shorter ten lap race on Saturday taking the win by 5.3 seconds. He was keen to repeat this on Sunday and despite not leading from the front by lap two he had taken the lead again winning from his team-mate by 3.7 seconds.
Alastair Seeley - "I'm really pleased to have taken the double race win here and also regain the lead in the Championship. It's been a hard weekend with the conditions and heat here and we all had to work really hard to get the results we got. It was a huge benefit for us to come and do the test here and get a good set up before we arrived for the race weekend. I'd like to thank all the Gearlink Kawasaki team for all their hard work this weekend and I'm glad I was able to repay them with a double race win.
The first lap of the race today was a little messy and we were all very bunched up, I just wanted to get my head down and try and make a break. I've always gone well here in the past and luckily I was able to do the same again, everything went right and I hope we can continue this form for the rest of the season."
Ben Wilson also had another good weekend and is now third in the Championship standings after having a good third and second place in the two races. Ben got away with Alastair in race one but in the closing laps his bike suffered a technical problem and he had to nurse it home to third. In race two Ben was eager to run up the front with Alastair and despite some low and fast lap times he was unable to reel his team-mate in.
Ben Wilson - "I'm pretty pleased with today, Snetterton has always been one of my bogus circuits and it's not somewhere that I have ridden really well at in the past. So to come away with two podiums is great. I had a few problems in qualifying and ended up on the second row, luckily I was able to get a good start and away with the front runners. I had a problem in the first race and I was adamant I was going to bring the bike home in one piece and get some good points but it took some nursing!
I felt much better for the race today and really happy with the set up I had on the Gearlink Kawasaki, my guys worked really hard to ensure everything felt good. I pushed too hard in the opening laps and with the heat it affected my tyres so knew I just had to ride for a solid second place. I'm back where I want to be now and need to keep getting the podiums, to come away with two podiums from a track I'm not particularly fond of I'm really pleased with and can't wait to get to Brands in a few weeks, it's a great track and Alastair and I have had some close battles there in the past."
Pirelli National Superstock 600s
In the Pirelli National Superstock 600 class, Luke Hedger had another awesome weekend and secured another podium and another second place, hoisting him to second in the overall Championship standings. Australian Mark Wilkinson also had a fantastic weekend and once again gained his best position in the National Superstock 600 class of sixth place.
Luke Hedger - "After setting my first pole position of the season I was really pleased with how the weekend was going and was eager to get into the race and try and secure my first race win. I got a really good start and was away at the front, however, I had a big out the seat moment on the opening lap and this lost me loads of time. I was battling with Cal (Cooper) for second and I knew Jordan (Simpkin) was getting away at the front. I just wasn't able to pull the time back and had to settle for second in the end. Once again the Gearlink Kawasaki worked really well all weekend and the team worked really hard to make sure everything was right for me. Once again a big thanks to friends, family and sponsors that allows me to be here and for all their support."
Mark Wilkinson - "I had my best qualifying position this weekend and was on the front row in fourth place. I knew the race would be tough because of the competition and also the heat played a factor in it all. It's the first time I've actually gone backwards in a race but that's because the competition at the front is so close and competitive. We made no changes to the bike this weekend just a few tweaks to allow me to ride well here at Snetterton, everything worked perfect again and the Gearlink Kawasaki team have been great to me providing me with such a well prepped bike. It was a tough race but really enjoyable to ride, it's great to be running up at the sharp end and I've really got on well with the Kawasaki. A big thank you to everyone back in Australia for their support and Plaza Auto Sales, GS Automotive, ROMP Design, The Oil Warehouse for all their help in 2013."
Team Manager Michael de Bidaph - "I'm really pleased again with the results that we have secured this weekend and Alastair is back leading the Championship and Ben is up to third so we are very happy.
Alastair was on form all weekend and he does love Snetterton and holds the lap record here, the test was really useful for both riders and from the offset they were both riding well. Alastair found a good set up early on, Ben took a little longer but was still able to qualify in fifth.
Ben was unfortunate in race one and a small bike problem caused him what should have been a second place but two wins and two podiums in such a difficult class is a great achievement for us. I'm really pleased for the entire team as they all work so hard and put so many hours in so to get results like this makes it all worthwhile.
Luke had another really good weekend, he's disappointed as he has been so strong all weekend and was really keen to push for the race win. He made a few mistakes in the opening laps but still rode a fantastic race to finish in second place and is now sitting in second place in the Championship standings. He is riding really well in his rookie year in this tough Championship and doing a great job for our team.
Mark has settled into the team really well and every race now he has improved his results every time he has gone out on the bike. He got his best qualifying position and this might have put some pressure on him. This is only his third race on the Gearlink Kawasaki and each time he is improving rapidly and we are really pleased with what he is managing to do in a very experienced and tough Championship."
