Mediocre Weekend for Gearlink Kawasaki at Donington Park

It was a disappointing weekend at Donington Park for the Gearlink Kawasaki Supersport riders, the first time all season that neither rider has managed to be on the podium in either Motorpoint British Supersport race podiums. Ben Wilson gained a strong fourth place in race one but crashed out in race two, Alastair Seeley was only able to salvage a ninth and eighth place riding injured.

Ben Wilson was eager to have a strong weekend at a track he has had previous form at the circuit and was keen to follow on from his results at Cadwell. However, disaster struck early on in the weekend, with shocking weather conditions on Friday halting most practice sessions and then a crash down Craner Curves for Ben during qualifying saw him qualify in a low 14^th place. Despite this he rode a fantastic race and brought the Gearlink Kawasaki home in fourth place. He was able to gain a better qualifying position and started the second race from the second row in sixth place, sadly despite his best efforts in fighting for a podium place he crashed out at McLeans, uninjured but disappointed.

Ben Wilson - "It certainly wasn't the ideal weekend for myself nor the team. Donington is always a track we have struggled at in the past and I've made hardly any mistakes all year then have two crashes in one weekend. I was really desperate for the team to bring them a good result and maybe I was pushing too hard in the second race for a podium, I just missed a gear and down I went.

I will as always pick myself up and walk away and come back strong at Assen, I am looking forward to getting there for our second year and now we have some data from last year this should help us and I will be fighting as always to get a good result."

After his big crash at Cadwell a few weeks ago, Alastair Seeley had another bad weekend and crashed heavily on Friday aggravating his already very sore injuries. During the crash he re-injured his already infected arm and his ribs; he also sustained a back strain in the fast crash in the wet. Despite this he qualified in ninth for the opening race in which he finish in ninth and qualified in tenth for race two and finished in eighth.

Alastair Seeley - "It was another tough weekend and really frustrating, the last thing I needed to do was crash on Friday but I needed to test some things on the bike and down I went early on in the session and pretty quick. I ended up in the medical centre and missing out on the rest of free practice. I knew I wouldn't be able to do much in qualifying and so only did 11 laps and ended up in ninth.

The races were really tough especially at Donington with the change in direction of the track it was very difficult with my rib and back injuries. I really need to get myself back fit and ready for Assen and the last races of the year as I still have a Championship to fight for. I have now dropped to second in the Championship standings so I have to make sure I'm fully fit and ready to go at the final three rounds of the series."

Pirelli National Superstock 600s

It was another good weekend for the two Pirelli National Superstock 600 riders at Donington for Luke Hedger and Mark Wilkinson. With the poor weather on Friday the main qualifying session was during the dry on Saturday. Luke qualified in second on the front row and Mark in ninth place. They both had a solid race with Luke taking a solid second place and Mark Wilkinson locked in a tight battle finishing the race in sixth he was later promoted to fifth after the exclusion of another rider, his best result of the season so far. 

Luke Hedger - "The race was really good and it was nice to be back there up on the podium after the big crash at Cadwell. It went well all weekend and I was looking forward to another dice for a podium place. I got a pretty good start and away with the leaders but I got stuck behind Joe (Collier) and Jordan (Simpkin) and I could see Callan (Cooper) bridging the gap. By the time I got past I knew I would just have to settle for second and try and pull in the gap on the Championship standings. My times were good and I'm pleased with the way I rode and hoping for a good end to the season."

Mark Wilkinson - "It was a really good race and I enjoyed riding in it and being a part of a really good scarp and tidy battle for sixth. We had a good race and we kept making a few passes on each other but it was good tidy racing, I later found out I was promoted to fifth which I'm over the moon with. Everything has been great and I've really gelled well with the Gearlink Kawasaki team and the results are definitely coming on good."

Team Manager Michael de Bidaph - "It was a bad weekend as far as the Supersport class is concerned. Ben rode his heart out this weekend and was desperate to bring home a good result for us it was just a shame about his qualifying crash. He rode well to get fourth in the first race and then he missed a gear in race two and crashed out.

Alastair had a bad weekend and the crash in practice set him back and sadly he wasn't able to ride to his full potential in the races and now we've slipped back to second in the Championship after having a healthy lead before Cadwell."

The stock 600 riders really did ride well this weekend and they both deserved the results they gained. Luke bounced back well from his crash at Cadwell and gained another podium, he's worked hard all weekend and gained the result he was hoping for, back on the podium. Mark once again showed his form and rode a very solid race to finish sixth; he was promoted to fifth after an exclusion of a rider which helped him secure his best result of the year. Both riders are working very hard and getting great results, they are both capable of podiums and hope to end the year on a high note."

For more information on Gearlink Kawasaki please visit: www.gearlinkracing.com
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