Ben Wilson took part in two epic battles with Alistair Seeley at Brands Hatch and crossed the finish line each time just a tyre tread behind his rival to claim two second places and a further 40 championship points in round eight of the Fuchs Silkolene British Supersport championship. Despite his efforts Wilson sees his lead reduced to 43 points with four rounds (nine races) remaining.
The usual “Rider of the Day” award took a new twist with Jamie Whitham unable to separate the two top Supersport riders and he awarded the champagne jointly to Ben Wilson and Alistair Seeley for their outstanding performance in the two races.
The usual “Rider of the Day” award took a new twist with Jamie Whitham unable to separate the two top Supersport riders and he awarded the champagne jointly to Ben Wilson and Alistair Seeley for their outstanding performance in the two races.
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| Wilson: Will have a huge following at his home track, Cadwell |
Wilson dominated the test session on the short Indy circuit and was just beaten to pole position by Seeley when they switched to the full GP circuit on Saturday for qualifying.
As the short 10-lap sprint race got underway it was Seeley who rounded Paddock Hill Bend in the lead with Wilson on the Gearlink Kawasaki hot on his heels. The pace slowed in the opening laps with the safety car on the track to deal with a crash involving Wilson’s Gearlink Kawasaki team mate Jesse Trayler but once the car left the track the race was on and another epic battle between Seeley and Wilson took place with Wilson recording the fastest lap of the race on lap seven – less than a tenth of a second away from the existing lap record.
Ben was desperate for the win and wasn’t going to settle for second place without a fight and hit the front at Paddock Hill. But he ran a little too wide at Graham Hill bend and Seeley nipped through once again. The pair pulled well clear of the field and the battle raged all the way to the chequered flag with Seeley taking the win by a tyre tread from Wilson, the deficit just one hundredth of a second.
After two restarts the feature race finally went ahead, this time it was Wilson who was quick off the start line and he got the hole shot through Paddock Hill. But Seeley was pushing hard and took the lead on the second lap with Wilson again hanging on to his shirt tails. Jimmy Hill joined the party for a few laps but fell back as the pace quickened leaving the two rivals to continue in another epic battle for supremacy.
With two laps remaining, Wilson took the lead but Seeley regained the position at Westfield. The battle continued and Wilson once again forged ahead at Paddock only for Seeley to force his way back at the next bend. Again the result was determined on the dash to the chequered flag with Seeley crossing the finish line three hundredths of a second ahead.
As the short 10-lap sprint race got underway it was Seeley who rounded Paddock Hill Bend in the lead with Wilson on the Gearlink Kawasaki hot on his heels. The pace slowed in the opening laps with the safety car on the track to deal with a crash involving Wilson’s Gearlink Kawasaki team mate Jesse Trayler but once the car left the track the race was on and another epic battle between Seeley and Wilson took place with Wilson recording the fastest lap of the race on lap seven – less than a tenth of a second away from the existing lap record.
Ben was desperate for the win and wasn’t going to settle for second place without a fight and hit the front at Paddock Hill. But he ran a little too wide at Graham Hill bend and Seeley nipped through once again. The pair pulled well clear of the field and the battle raged all the way to the chequered flag with Seeley taking the win by a tyre tread from Wilson, the deficit just one hundredth of a second.
After two restarts the feature race finally went ahead, this time it was Wilson who was quick off the start line and he got the hole shot through Paddock Hill. But Seeley was pushing hard and took the lead on the second lap with Wilson again hanging on to his shirt tails. Jimmy Hill joined the party for a few laps but fell back as the pace quickened leaving the two rivals to continue in another epic battle for supremacy.
With two laps remaining, Wilson took the lead but Seeley regained the position at Westfield. The battle continued and Wilson once again forged ahead at Paddock only for Seeley to force his way back at the next bend. Again the result was determined on the dash to the chequered flag with Seeley crossing the finish line three hundredths of a second ahead.
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| Ben Wilson - soon to have shares in silver-cleaning products |
Ben Wilson – "I am a little disappointed with second place each time. After taking the lead in the sprint race I made a mistake and that let Seeley back through. In the second race I just could not shake him off and we battled on to the end. It was an exciting race and we were just about equal but on the run to the flag he just got the edge on me and took the win. We now move on to Cadwell Park where I will be putting in 100% effort to recoup the 10 points lost to Seeley this weekend and maintain my lead in the run up to the championship finale."
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| Wilson Vs Seeley - one of the best races of the season |
Michael de Bidaph – Team owner and manager – "The weekend has gone ok for us. The free practice on the Indy circuit was not ideal but still worth going out to try a few things. We were happy enough with qualifying on the full GP circuit and the first race on Saturday was a very good race, very tight with nothing in it between Ben and Alistair. But we really wanted to win the second race to recoup the five points lost on Saturday. I must admit I am a bit disappointed as we lost another five points but on saying that it was a fabulous race, not only for the team but for Ben. We need to be thinking where we can be winning races again as we want to win this championship so we leave Brands Hatch a little disappointed and move on to Cadwell where we will try to up our game again.
The weekend has not been good at all for Jesse. He has had some problems with his budget and I think that has messed his head a bit. We did decide to run him in the practice and qualifying but then in the first race Jesse came off on the opening lap and after that I made the decision that we would not run him in the second race. I am not quite sure where we go with Jesse from here."
The next round is at Cadwell Park in Lincolnshire over the Bank Holiday weekend of August 27-29. The venue is not far from Wilson’s home and he will be encouraged by the large contingent of friends, family and local fans that will be there to support him.
The weekend has not been good at all for Jesse. He has had some problems with his budget and I think that has messed his head a bit. We did decide to run him in the practice and qualifying but then in the first race Jesse came off on the opening lap and after that I made the decision that we would not run him in the second race. I am not quite sure where we go with Jesse from here."
The next round is at Cadwell Park in Lincolnshire over the Bank Holiday weekend of August 27-29. The venue is not far from Wilson’s home and he will be encouraged by the large contingent of friends, family and local fans that will be there to support him.
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