Gearlink Kawasaki

The Gearlink Kawasaki team had a disappointing weekend at round three of the Motorpoint British Supersport Championship at Oulton Park. Northern Irishman Glenn Irwin secured a second and fourth place respectively; Ben Wilson was unfortunate to get caught up in a crash on lap six of the sprint race on Sunday and sixth on Monday. This weekend Gearlink were re-joined by former stock 600 Champion Luke Hedger, Luke was sixth in race one and had a technical problem race two.

Motorpoint British Supersport

The Gearlink Kawasaki team took on a big task this weekend running three riders in the Motorpoint British Supersport series with Glenn Irwin, Ben Wilson and Luke Hedger. The three riders were riding well all weekend and despite Luke not getting any testing before the weekend he was making progress in every session.

Glenn was looking strong all weekend; he started steady in the practice session and missed all of session two after he crashed out early on. Despite this he was able to put in a good time during qualifying and put himself on the front row in third. He held his position after lap one and soon moved up to second past Jake Dixon, Glenn was looking confident and was pushing leader Luke Stapleford all the way. The race was cut short with a red-flag after it looked like Glenn was poised to make a pass; however, he was happy to gain second. In race two Glenn started from second place on the grid. Once again he was locked in a battle with the leaders and led for several laps of the race, swapping places with Luke Stapleford, Kyle Ryde and Andy Reid throughout the 15-lap race. The safety car was sent out on lap nine and the race became a four lap dash to the line, Glenn had to take evasive action to miss Andy Reid, who was fired out his seat narrowly missing a crash, this loss of time dropped Glenn to fourth.

Ben Wilson was fired up for a good weekend at one of his favourite circuits, he worked hard with the team to find a good set up on the Gearlink Kawasaki, qualifying in eighth place he was keen for a strong finish. One of his great starts saw him through to sixth after lap one and he was soon locked in a battle for the final podium place. However, on lap six, James Rispoli crashed on the exit to Shell with Jake Dixon hitting him and Ben had no-where to go and crashed out. In race two he started from seventh place on the grid, the lights got stuck on the line and at this point Ben burnt his clutch out so he had to nurse the Gearlink Kawasaki for the entire race, still able to gain a strong sixth position.

Luke Hedger has not ridden a race this season at BSB level and he could not wait to get back out on the Gearlink Kawasaki, the bike he rode in 2014. The team helped him out by putting a third bike out on track and Luke used his time as best he could, trying to get as many laps in as possible. Luke improved throughout the weekend and started the first race from 11th place on the grid. He held his position after lap one and steadily made progress through the field taking a very good sixth position. For race two he was placed in ninth on the grid but was forced to retire to the pit lane after the second warm up lap with a technical problem.

Glenn Irwin - "Luck just wasn't on my side this weekend at Oulton Park, I think I was on for at least one race win but it just wasn't to be. It is so frustrating as I feel that made some big steps forward here, the Gearlink Kawasaki team worked really hard to get things set up for me and working well.

In race one I felt like I had the pace and there were places I was looking to make a pass on Luke (Stapleford) and I thought it was possible to try before the end of the race but the race was cut short by a red flag, so I had to settle for second. In race two the luck of the Irish just wasn't on my side, once again we were running well and I felt really good and up for a podium but I had to totally shut off the throttle so I didn't hit Andy (Reid), this lost me time and cost me places but it's racing and I'm feeling more positive for Snetterton in June."

Ben Wilson - "It was a frustrating weekend for me here at Oulton Park as I really felt like I'd clicked with the bike again and was ready for some good results. I was running well in race one and when Jake (Dixon) and James (Rispoli) crashed in front of me out of Shell I just had no-where to go and crashed out. I was ready for race two but for some reason the lights failed at the start and we had to do another start, I burnt my clutch out. I was struggled the whole race but managed to bring her home in sixth place. I want to be back fighting near the top at Snetterton."

Luke Hedger - "The weekend went pretty well and I'm really glad to be back and my first race was amazing and a good solid sixth place. It was annoying with the second race but I thank the Gearlink Kawasaki team for putting all their efforts into me and trying to fix my bike for race two. I would like to thank all my sponsors, family and everyone who has helped get me back on track this weekend, it means a lot."

MCE British Superbike

Michael Rutter was riding the Gearlink Kawasaki ZX-10R again this weekend in the MCE British Superbike class. Michael was eager to help develop the bike for the team and they made huge steps forward throughout the weekend, the highlight being Michael sitting in fourth place in the wet practice session.

Michael started from 25th place on the grid for the 18-lap race one on Monday; he got a good start and worked hard. He consistently improved his times throughout the weekend and finished in 22nd place, he was placed in 28th place for race two but he was forced out of the race with an electrical problem in the early stages.

Michael Rutter - "Once again I feel like we made a lot of progress with the Gearlink Kawasaki this weekend at Oulton Park. Although the results don't show it we have certainly made big improvements and it is beginning to feel more like my bike now and the times improved all weekend. It is good to work with Michael and he is eager to listen to all my suggestion and work on them."

Team Manager Michael de Bidaph - "It was a disappointing weekend in general, it started so well and we just did not get the results that I felt like we deserved. All three Supersport riders were showing promise over the weekend and I really thought Glenn might be able to take a win here and we came so close but just a few incidents that stopped that.

Ben was unlucky to be involved in the first race crash but there was no way he could avoid it and he was looking like the old Ben once again. In the second race he burnt the clutch with the two race starts so to finish in sixth was really good considering.

We welcomed Luke back to the team this weekend and he started off with us how he left it last year, I'm really pleased with his first race position considering he has not ridden since Brands Hatch in 2014. We had a problem with the bike just after the first race and thought we had it fixed but it reoccurred in race two and he had to retire.

Michael Rutter was once again a great asset and we are learning so much working with him, the results are not showing it but his times certainly are. We are continuing to move forward with the ZX-10R and make positive progress.

We are heading to the NorthWest200 in a couple of weeks' time with the riders and hope it will be a good result there for us."