Motorpoint British Supersport, Gearlink Shines

Gearlink Kawasaki had a fantastic weekend at the penultimate round of the Motorpoint British Supersport Championship at Silverstone this weekend. Glenn Irwin was third in the Sprint race and then took a brilliant victory in race two. Ben Wilson was seventh in race one and secured his best result of the year in race two with fourth. Luke Hedger was ninth in race one and finished a solid sixth in race two.

The Gearlink Kawasaki team made some changes to their suspension this weekend and this made a big difference to the rider performance. Glenn was looking strong all weekend and the Gearlink Kawasaki machine was handling well. He managed to qualify in second place for the opening sprint race on Saturday and he got a good start and was locked in a close battle for the entire race with James Rispoli, just getting pushed back to third on the final lap.

He was third on the grid for the second race and another brilliant start saw him get away with the leaders. He was second after the opening lap and then the safety car was deployed for a couple of laps to clear debris off the circuit. Glenn made the most of this and took to the front on lap five. Once again he was locked in a battle with Rispoli and they continued to exchange their positions throughout the race. Glenn hit the front with three laps to go and managed to bridge a very small gap but enough to take his third victory of the season and also third in the Championship standings.

Ben Wilson also found his old form this weekend and despite a lower qualifying position than he had hoped for in ninth place he was keen to get some good results. He got one of his fantastic starts and was up to fifth at the end of lap one but he dropped to seventh position by the end of the 10 lap race.

For race two Ben started from sixth place for the second race and got one of his amazing starts. For the first time this year he was back and battling for a podium position within the race. He was dicing for third place for a number of laps and dropped back to fourth in the closing stages but securing his best result of the season so far.

Luke Hedger was hindered in the races after a big crash in the qualifying session; he still managed to be placed 10th on the grid for the Sprint race. Riding slightly injured a couple of hours later Luke was quite sore but still managed to bring the Gearlink Kawasaki in a top then position in ninth.

For race two Luke started from ninth place on the grid for the 12-lap race. He struggled off the start and dropped to 12th but took advantage of the safety car and moved up to seventh by lap four. He was locked in a really tough battle with Danny Webb and Joe Francis for sixth position. Despite several challenges from them Luke fended them off and took sixth place at the end of the race.

Glenn Irwin – “Firstly I would like to say a huge thanks to Michael and Norma and the entire Gearlink Kawasaki team for this weekend. We changed our suspension here at Silverstone and it made a big difference to how the bike performed and it suited my personal riding style better, I’d like to thank them for that and allowing me to be back on the top step of the podium.

The team took a huge gamble by using Silverstone to develop the bike for the 2016 season but it has made us really competitive and was a great idea which has helped us massively.

I think the win today showed great race craft and it is still possible to try and secure second place in the Championship standings and that will be my main aim at Brands Hatch. A big thank you to my sponsors again and everyone who has supported me. It’s great to walk away from here having secured two podium places.”

Ben Wilson – “Things have really settled into place this weekend and the team made some really good changes to the bike which allowed us to be back up there and fighting. Finally I was back up near the front of the pack and I will be riding my heart out at Brands Hatch, the final round to try and secure a podium. I would like to thank the Gearlink Kawasaki team for all their hard work and effort over the weekend to get the bike right for me.”

Luke Hedger – “I struggled all weekend trying to find a set-up on the bike and had a huge crash during the qualifying session, where I hurt my leg and ankle which certainly set me back a little bit for the opening race. Andy and the Gearlink Kawasaki team continued to make progress and move us forward which allowed us to secure a couple of decent top ten finishes. I’m pleased with the sixth place and hope we can end the season on a high at Brands.”

MCE British Superbike

Jed Metcher had a difficult weekend in the MCE British Superbike class but he managed two 20th place finishes after struggling to get out on track for the qualifying session.

Jed Metcher – “We were again plagued with a few niggling issues which reduced our track time over the weekend. We will sit down in the week and discuss everything to try and make further progression at the final round at Brands Hatch.”

Team Manager Michael de Bidaph – “I’m really pleased with the results in the Supersport this weekend especially in the second race. It was great to see Glenn take another win and he fought hard all weekend for the results he gained and they were well deserved.

We made some changes to the suspension this weekend and it helped us take a big step forward with development and the riders were all very pleased with it.

It was good to see Ben back to his old form and achieving the results that he is more than capable of and we hope now that we can end the season on a high note with all three Supersport riders. Luke was hindered by his crash but still rode really well to get the results he did.

We are not sure what direction to go with the Superbike but we will keep plugging away to try and get some decent results.”