Motorpoint British Supersport

It was a consistent weekend for the Gearlink Kawasaki team at round nine of the Motorpoint British Supersport Championship at Oulton Park. Ben Wilson gained a sixth and fifth place, Luke Hedger secured an eighth and sixth place. Glenn Irwin was unfortunate to crash out of race one and sealed a strong fourth in race two.

Ben Wilson had made good progress on the Gearlink Kawasaki throughout the weekend and he has been showing his old form as the season has progressed. He had a strong qualifying session and ended up in eighth place on the grid for the Sprint race on Saturday. He got one of his great starts and although he was unable to break the gap between himself and the leaders, he was still able to finish the 12-lap race in sixth position.

For race two Ben started from sixth place on the grid and once again he got a good start and was on the back of the leading pack hoping to make further progress. Avoiding the accident of Sam Hornsey, Ben lost a little bit of rhythm but still secured a strong fifth place finish.

Glenn Irwin was looking to defend his third place in the Championship this weekend and he set some consistent times during practice and qualifying. He ended up in seventh place on the grid for race one, as normal on the first lap things are a little hectic and sadly Glenn got caught up in the melee, he got pushed wide and ended up crashing out. Luckily thanks to the quick reactions to the riders around him, all missed his stray bike and Glenn as they re-crossed the live race track.

As Glenn did not complete a lap he was unable to secure a time for the grid for race two, as the rules state you have to drop a maximum of six places. Starting the race from 13th position, Glenn had his work cut out. He got a great start and was seventh after the opening lap of the 15-lap race, he took advantage of the safety car and moved up to fifth by lap eight, Andy Reid crashed out on the final lap and Glenn finished in a positive fourth position.

Luke Hedger continued his consistent form at Oulton Park and once again was able to secure two solid top ten finishes for the Gearlink Kawasaki team. He qualified in ninth place for the first race, alongside his team-mates. He rode well throughout the 12-lap race to finish in eighth position.

He was placed in seventh on the grid for the main feature race on Sunday; he struggled off the start and dropped a place on the opening lap. Luke soon got his head down and set some good times to move him up to six by the end of the tough incident packed race.

Glenn Irwin - "It has been a hard weekend again and despite making improvements, we were still unable to make in-roads on the front pack. I was unlucky to crash out of race one, it was just a racing incident and the opening lap is always messy, I got pushed wide, hit the grass and down I went. I am just lucky I didn't get hit when I slid across the track.

I knew the second race would be tough starting from the fifth row but I dug deep and kept my head down. The safety car helped by bunching us altogether and allowed me to secure fourth. I hope we can make some progress forwards at the three remaining rounds of the year."

Ben Wilson - "I always like racing at Oulton Park, it is a real riders circuit. I was feeling good with the bike throughout the weekend and we have made some steps forward in the right direction. Making the extra leap is where we can hopefully work on to put us back in the mix. The Gearlink Kawasaki team once again worked really hard all weekend and I hope we can all end the season on a high to repay them for their work."

Luke Hedger - "It was a good weekend and I had constant pace throughout. I had a couple of bike problems and I also made some mistakes myself but once again I managed two solid finishes and I am happy with my results. I hope there will be more to come at the final rounds and we can mix it up at the front a little."

MCE British Superbike

This weekend the team had Australian Jed Metcher join them to ride their Gearlink Kawasaki Superbike. Jed has never ridden at the technical Oulton Park circuit before so he was dropped right in the deep end. He had a solid weekend though and achieved a 17th, 19th and 21st places in the three MCE British Superbike races.

Team Manager Michael de Bidaph - "We did struggle a little this weekend at Oulton Park in the Supersport class but we can't put our finger on what the exact problem is. At this moment in time we are unable to match the pace of the front runners and we are working hard to amend that. We know it will not happen overnight and will be a long process but that is our aim.

I am really pleased with how well Jed (Metcher) settled in to riding our Gearlink Kawasaki Superbike considering he has never ridden at Oulton before. It is a very demanding and physical circuit and despite his lack of track knowledge he dug deep and worked hard, finishing all three races in a creditable position. I am looking forward to working with him for the last three rounds of the Championship.

We will be working hard before Assen to ensure all the riders have a good weekend there and also for the Silverstone and Brands after that."