Motorpoint British Supersport
The Gearlink Kawasaki team experienced the highs and lows of racing this weekend at round four of the Motorpoint British Supersport Championship at the Snetterton 300 circuit. Glenn Irwin came from pit lane in race one to secure a fantastic fifth place and gained his first win of the season in race two on Sunday. Ben Wilson really had a tough weekend at Snetterton and was plagued with technical issues throughout the weekend; he crashed out of race one and starting from the back in race two and unfortunately crashed out again. Luke Hedger riding the satellite Gearlink Kawasaki bike, was sixth in race one and secured his first ever British Supersport podium with third in race two.
Glenn Irwin pushed hard all weekend to salvage some solid Championship points; he was fourth in the qualifying session for the sprint race on Saturday. After a brief rain shower, Glenn got caught out on the sighting lap and ended up crashing; he was able to remount and get back to the pits and was forced to start the race from pit lane. The youngster really did ride an incredible race and was 14th after lap one, working his way through the field he managed to gain a great fifth place at the end of the 10 laps.
He started from fifth on the grid for the main race on Sunday and got a good start, sitting in third after the opening lap. He rode a very lonely race for nearly all of the 15 laps, however, on the last lap, Kyle Ryde and Luke Stapleford, who were sitting in first and second had a coming together on the final lap handing the win to Glenn.
Ben Wilson really had a difficult weekend; he was marred with a technical problem on Friday which the team thought they had managed to fix. The Gearlink Kawasaki team were unable to get Bens' bike running for qualifying and therefore he had to start from last in 29th place. He got a good start but his eagerness to make his way through the pack ended quickly crashing out on lap one. For race two he had to start from 28th place on the grid, he got a fantastic start and was making great progress through the pack and was up to eighth place when he crashed out on lap nine.
Luke Hedger was running the Gearlink Kawasaki colours but as a satellite team, he had a very strong and consistent weekend. He qualified in sixth for race one and worked hard to hold his position at the end of the 10 laps. For race two he started from sixth place again, he struggled off the start and dropped to seventh after lap one, he worked his way back up to fifth and after the incident between the front runners he picked up his first Supersport podium with third.
Glenn Irwin - "Firstly I would like to dedicate this win to the recovery of my close friends Jamie Hamilton and Stephen Thompson. Secondly a huge thank you to the Gearlink Kawasaki team and K-Tech who managed to turn the bike around and we are now where we need to be with a little bit of fine tuning. I know the team will be working hard now to progress on any weak points we had this weekend and move forwards and work towards being able to win the title."
Ben Wilson - "There isn't too much I can say about this weekend, I've worked so hard to try and push for wins this year and luck just doesn't seem to want to play on my side. The team worked really hard but we just seemed to be plagued by problems, I started both races from the back of the grid. In the first race I just got caught up with the first lap melee and in race two I was fairly pleased with the position I was in then the bike just went from underneath me. To say I'm disappointed would be an understatement."
Luke Hedger - "This weekend couldn't have gone any better, I was getting faster and faster in every session and I'm just so happy with the results. I couldn't believe it when I crossed the line and I'd secured my first Supersport podium. I would just like to thank everyone who has helped to get me here and get on the podium I really appreciate it."
MCE British Superbike
This weekend the Gearlink Kawasaki team took on the likeable Victor Cox to ride the Kawasaki ZX-10R in the MCE British Superbike class after Michael Rutter sat the weekend out after racing at the TT.
Victor made improvements over the weekend and in each session was able to lower his times, he qualified in 26th place for the opening race. He was riding well throughout the race and was up to 22nd position when on the final lap on the last corner he was taken off the track by a fellow rider. In race two Victor started from 29th position and after a good start he worked through the pack and finished in a solid 22nd place.
Victor Cox - "It was really good of Michael and the Gearlink Kawasaki team to give me a chance to ride their bike this weekend at Snetterton. We made a lot of improvements over the weekend and it was a shame the results didn't reflect that, I really enjoyed riding with such a professional team."
Team Manager Michael de Bidaph - "It was a really tough weekend for us up to race two in the Supersport class today. We were marred with small problems all weekend with both Ben and Glenn, Glenn missed a practice session and Ben missed all of qualifying.
Ben had to start from the back of the grid and Glenn crashed on the sighting lap and he then had to start from pit lane, he rode an exceptional race to finish in fifth. Ben got caught up on the first lap and sadly crashed out and Luke rode a strong race to finish in sixth.
We made some big changes for the main race on Sunday on both bikes and it was certainly a step in the right direction for us. We know we were lucky to get the win but we will take it as it is something we really needed as a team for a confidence boost. Luke rode another fantastic race and we are really pleased he was able to secure his first podium position. Poor Ben was riding so well and he was unfortunate to crash out again.
Victor chipped away all weekend and began to find a good balance on the Superbike but it is difficult with a new rider to make progress instantly as everyone has a different riding style."
