Gearlink Kawasaki Brands Round 1

The Gearlink Kawasaki had a solid weekend at round two of the Motorpoint British Supersport Championship at the Brands Hatch Indy circuit. Northern Irishman Glenn Irwin secured a second and fourth place respectively, his team-mate Ben Wilson gained two sixth places again.

Glenn Irwin was riding well throughout the weekend and was sat in provisional pole after the opening practice session, with a second in practice two he was eager for a good start position for race one. He had a strong qualifying session and ended up second on the grid. A lightning start in the first race on Saturday saw him gain the hole-shot, he led the race but was passed by eventual race winner Kyle Ryde. He was then locked in a battle with Championship leader, Luke Stapleford for second place and held him off to the line by 0.1.

In race two Glenn started from third on the grid for the 20-lap race, he got a great start and was leading the opening three laps, he was passed briefly by Luke Stapleford for one lap before retaking the lead. Despite his best effort Glenn was passed by Kyle Ryde and Jake Dixon and had to settle for fourth place, he is now lying in fourth place in the Championship.

Ben Wilson is playing catch up after missing a year in the tough Supersport class and is once again trying to find his rhythm on the little Kawasaki ZX-6R. He was pushing hard all weekend and improved his times in each session. The times were so close in qualifying that he ended up in 13^th place, only 0.8 off pole. He got one of his brilliant starts and was seventh after lap one. He battled for sixth and seventh throughout the race and finished the 18-lap race in sixth.

He started race two from eighth position on the grid and was up to sixth at the end of lap one. The Lincolnshire man was locked in a tight four bike battle with James Rispoli, Danny Webb and Bjorn Esment for fifth place and was pushed throughout the entire 20-laps, working hard he ended up in sixth.

Motorpoint British Supersport

Glenn Irwin - "The weekend started well and the bike felt good but I knew in the races we might struggle a little on top end speed. Kyle did ride a fantastic race on Saturday and there was nothing that me nor Luke (Stapleford) could do to catch him.

In the second race we tried our best but the pace was so hot, I know the Gearlink team will work hard before Oulton to try and find some more speed on the Kawasaki. I made a small mistake in the closing stages of the race where I missed a gear and this allowed Jake to come past. We had a good battle but he got the better of me but it should have been another podium."

Ben Wilson - "It's been a pretty tough weekend here at Brands and hard to slip back into racing on the Supersport machine, the times are really quick and the front guys are really on the pace. I know everything will fit back into place it is just taking a little longer than I'd hoped for. I like Oulton and it is one of my favourite circuits so I hope I can be back near the front fighting for a podium."

 

MCE British Superbikes

This weekend at the Brands Hatch Indy circuit, Gearlink Kawasaki gained the services of extremely talented and experienced rider Michael Rutter. Michael has had many years riding at Superbike level and he was eager to help the team improve their Kawasaki ZX-10R and as the weekend progressed he drastically cut his lap times down and they made huge steps forward. Michael has brought so much to the team and helped them move forwards. He qualified in 24^th place for the first race but was forced to pull into the pits with a small technical problem. He started from 27^th in the second race and finished in that position.

Michael Rutter - "It has been a good weekend with the Gearlink Kawasaki team, we always knew it would be a mountain to climb as we were pretty much starting from scratch with the bike. The team worked really hard all weekend and we made a number of changes after every session and each time it was making a difference. It was good to be able to help Michael and the Gearlink team with the Kawasaki ZX-10R. We made a lot of progress and do hope it can continue as the season progresses."

Team Manager Michael de Bidaph - "It was a pleasure to have Michael Rutter ride our Gearlink Kawasaki Superbike this weekend at Brands. He brought a wealth of knowledge and experience to the team, he had never ridden the bike before and we knew it would be a tough weekend for him. We made several changes to suit his style and we managed to finish the second race with him feeling much more confident on the bike. His input to the team this weekend was invaluable and I would personally like to thank him for that, he was a huge asset to the team. We hope he will ride again for us at Oulton to develop the bike further but we know his main priority at the minute is the North West 200 and the TT.

We worked really hard on the Supersport machines this weekend to make further progress and we had a much better set-up here than at Donington but we know we must improve on the speed of the bike. The Yamaha and the Triumph are super quick and we know we have to do something to ensure we can stay with them during the races. Glenn's results were not what he and the team wanted but he could not have tried any harder. Ben is not where he wants to be yet and I know as the season progresses his form will improve."