BSB ROUND 3, OULTON PARK, Monday 3rd May

A mixed outing for Arai riders, much like the weather…

JOSH BROOKES, HM PLANT HONDA
Race 1: Sixth Race 2: Eighth Championship Position: Third

“IT’S BEEN A DIFFICULT AND FRUSTRATING DAY”
Honda’s HM Plant team had a challenging day at Oulton; in the opening race of the day Josh Brookes was running in the top four early on, but as the race progressed he continued to suffer with chatter which inevitably dropped him down the field to finish sixth while Stuart Easton took his first win of the season. In the second race, Brookes was struggling for rear grip as the conditions continued to change, leaving him eighth at the end of the shortened second race, which was won by Michael Laverty.

“It has been a difficult and frustrating day for me. I think that somewhere along the line we made the wrong decision on the setting and I was desperate to go out and make amends for it in race two, but that didn’t happen. In the second race it was difficult as we were on a wet tyre on a drying track and by the end everyone’s tyres were destroyed as expected, but ours went off very quickly. I feel annoyed that I couldn’t get back up there in the second race, despite the whole team putting in a huge amount of effort and hard work. The reality is that these things happen sometimes though, so we just need to learn from today so it doesn’t happen again and get back up there at Cadwell Park.”

ALASTAIR SEELEY, RELENTLESS SUZUKI BY TAS
Race 1: Fourth Race 2: Sixth Championship Position: Fifth

“I GOT MY HEAD DOWN AND TRIED TO BE SMOOTH”
In race one Alastair Seeley looked odds on for his second BSB podium of the year, but a missed gear on the final lap allowed John Laverty to steal his thunder, leaving the Carrickfergus man to narrowly pip his team-mate Michael Laverty to the line for fourth.
In race two, Seeley fought his way through from mid pack to take ten very valuable points in sixth place.

“I am a bit frustrated about not getting on the podium in race one, but there’s no point moaning about it. I missed a gear and fought back to fourth so we have to be pleased with that after a tough weekend at the previous round. In race two I spun up going off the line and ended up bashing bars and fairings mid-pack. I got my head down and just tried to be smooth on the throttle and when I got onto the back of Brookes he was all over the place. His tyre was obviously in worse condition than mine at that stage, so to get past for sixth was a good result in difficult conditions. I’m learning all the time about this
superbike and I’ve stayed fit and healthy with the North West 200 just over a week away – so that’s a big positive.”

Quay Garage Racing rider Tommy Bridewell scored his first points of the season with a superb double top ten placing. Despite having the little finger on his right hand amputated following a crash at Thruxton two weeks ago, the 21 year old finished tenth in race one and seventh in race two.

Steve Brogan, racing back in the EVO-class with the issues surrounding the series-supplied Motec ECU on his Jentin Racing BMW S1000RR resolved, had a solid weekend – he finished 15th in both races and moves up to third place in the EVO championship.

Steve Plater rode his HM Plant Honda Fireblade to a third consecutive podium finish in the National Superstock 1000 Championship with a hard-fought second place, to keep a 19 point advantage in the overall standings. Plater had dropped back to eighth on the opening laps but a determined performance saw him carve his way through the field as the race progressed. He was reasonably happy with his efforts; “For sure that was a tough race as I dropped back a bit in the opening laps but I came through. It was hard work and busy in the opening laps but I just kept my head and stayed out of trouble and that did the trick. I really wanted to catch Jon (Kirkham) for the win and I thought if there were backmarkers then I might be able to just do it, but I really needed another lap as I wasn’t close enough to make the move. I am happy to be back on the podium though and still have the championship lead for HM Plant Honda.” Ian Hutchinson, riding a Pagetts Honda FireBlade finished fourth.

Ben Wilson won the British Supersport race on his Gearlink Kawasaki and lies third in the championship; Jack Kennedy was third, Daniel Cooper fourth while Glen Richards – who slipped off his Padgetts Honda on the warm-up lap – remounted and stormed through to fifth place. Tom Grant finished in sixth position.

The 125GP race was won by John Mcphee riding a KRP/Bradley Smith Racing Honda. Deane Brown finished third and Racing Steps Foundation-backed KRP rookie Wayne Ryan ended up seventh, followed by Dakota Mamola in eighth – RSF’s Fraser Rogers posted a DNF and now lies fourth in the championship overall.

The next round of the BSB championship takes place on the 23rd of May, at the spectacular Cadwell Park, Lincolnshire.

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