The Gearlink Kawasaki team had a steady weekend at round seven of the Motorpoint British Supersport Championship at Thruxton Circuit. Glenn Irwin was sixth in race one and a strong fourth in race two. Luke Hedger gained a seventh and fifth and Ben Wilson was eighth and seventh.

The Gearlink Kawasaki team had their hands full trying to find a suitable set-up for the extremely fast and bumpy circuit. Luke Hedger was the quickest Gearlink Kawasaki rider in qualifying and he placed in sixth place on the grid for the opening 12-lap sprint race, Glenn was seventh and Ben in tenth.

Glenn got a good start and was up to sixth after lap one and was locked in a battle with team-mate Luke Hedger and Irishman Andy Reid for the race. Glenn was able to ride a consistent race despite several exchanges of positions, getting up to fifth place at one point. He was just beaten to the line by Andy Reid and finished in sixth. In race two Glenn started from eighth place and was sixth after the opening lap. He was locked for the entire 18 laps in a battle for a podium position; Glenn worked hard to stay with the pack and moved through to finish in a great fourth place.

Luke Hedger was once again riding consistently well at Thruxton and despite a bad start in the Sprint race he worked hard over the 12 laps setting some strong lap times in the closing stages to secure seventh. He started from fifth for the main feature race on Sunday. He held his position after the opening lap and dropped back to seventh on lap five. He was also involved in the same battle as Glenn and rode a consistent race to finish in fifth overall.

Ben was struggling to find a set-up for his Gearlink Kawasaki to suit his riding style and size around the very fast track. He was only able to qualify in tenth place, he got one of his super starts and was seventh after lap one. He was locked in a battle with his two team-mates throughout the race and was eighth at the end of the 12 laps. Ben was placed in seventh place for race two; he struggled off the start and was closing in on the front back when he had a moment at one of the fastest parts of the circuit hurting his foot. He battled hard in the final laps and finished just behind Kyle Ryde in seventh.

Glenn Irwin - "I want to ignore the results on Friday and Saturday and thank the Gearlink Kawasaki team for the work and effort they put in today, they were amazing. Michael showed his experience and knowledge within the sport and with the skill of Aaron they helped to get my bike singing today. I messed up during the race and I'm the first to admit that. The Championship isn't over yet and I will make sure I'll be pushing to win more races this year."

Ben Wilson - "It was a steady weekend for me and the Gearlink Kawasaki team. I was struggling again with set-up and it made it a little difficult in the first race. In race two the bike was feeling much better and I was catching the big pack in front of me. I had a big moment around Church and my foot came off the peg and caught under the back wheel, it unsettled my rhythm and by the time I re-grouped it was too late, I can't wait to get to my local circuit of Cadwell in a couple of weeks."

Luke Hedger - "I'm really happy with another handful of solid Championship points this weekend. I managed to be consistent and set some good times. We got some good results and we have made some good progress through the weekend."

MCE British Superbike

This weekend the team had Barry Burrell join them to rider their Gearlink Kawasaki Superbike. Barry has not ridden much this season so it was a big task for him at the tough fast circuit. Barry qualified well in 24th place and finished in 18th and 21st place.

Barry Burrell - "It was a tough weekend, I've not raced in this class for a long time and it was difficult to get back into the swing of things. The team worked hard to try and help me this weekend at Thruxton and I thank them for allowing me this opportunity."

Team Manager Michael de Bidaph - "We struggled with set up all weekend on the Supersport bikes but we managed to get it right for the race on Sunday and had to use the first race as data set-up. It has been a tough and frustrating weekend for all the riders but it was good to see some decent results in the second race. We know what we need to do now to move forwards and we will be working hard before Cadwell to make some changes and get back up at the front.

It was a big ask for Barry to step in like he did this weekend and he worked hard all weekend on the bike and finished both races. Barry already has other commitments on Cadwell Park weekend so is unable to re-join us there."