Ben struggled initially with set up during the practice sessions and was only able to qualify the Gearlink Kawasaki in tenth place for the opening race on Saturday. Leaving him with a lot of work to do Ben got a great start and was seventh after the opening lap and was soon setting some fast and consistent lap times and was hunting down the leading pack. He was soon in the mix and was battling with the leaders; he lost out to fourth placed man Billy McConnell by 0.04 and gained fifth.
His strong times in the first race promoted him to fifth on the grid for race two and he was eager to better his result for the second race. Ben got a fantastic start and was involved in what is most likely the most thrilling Supersport race of the season so far. Every lap five riders were battling for the lead and dicing for position; Ben took the lead on several occasions and was locked in a tight battle with Richard Cooper, Jack Kennedy, Christian Iddon and Glenn Irwin until Glenn crashed out.
Ben and Richard Cooper finally made a break in the closing stages of the race but Cooper was making sure that Ben fought hard for the overall win and pushed him to the finish line, 0.3 seconds separated the pair as they crossed the line.
Ben – “All I can say is finally! That has been such a long time coming but a fantastic feeling and so nice to be pack on the podium and actually winning races. It’s been a very long hard season and it does take a knock on effect on your mind and you do start doubting things. It was an amazing race to be involved in and I certainly didn’t get it given to me easily they made me work really hard for it. I’m so pleased for all the Gearlink Kawasaki team they have worked so hard all year from me and to get a win again is just brilliant. I’m so relieved and hope I can go to Brands now and carry on this form it’s mega.”
New team-mate for the weekend was James East and despite a crash in Friday practice, he soon regained his form and got his head down for the rest of the weekend. He was locked in his own tight and close battles further down the field, riding extremely well and very consistently he achieved two very solid results for the Gearlink Kawasaki team.
James – “I’m really pleased to have been given the opportunity by the Gearlink Kawasaki team to join them this weekend at Silverstone. I was pretty angry with myself for crashing in the practice session and really wanted to repay the team for all their hard work. I had two really good races and was having a really good battle in the second race with experienced Supersport rider Billy McConnell. I really enjoyed it and look forward to riding with the team again at Brands Hatch. I’d like to thank Michael and Norma for this experience it’s been great.”
Metzeler Superstock 600s
Jack Groves had a steady weekend at Silverstone Circuit he managed to qualify the Gearlink Kawasaki in 28th place after struggling with an initial set up problem. He rode a good race but was only able to work his way through to 21st, he got up to 18th but made a small mistake and lost a couple of places.
Jack – “It was a pretty tough weekend for me, we struggled to find a set up all weekend and that reflected in my qualifying session and the race result. I just never really found something that worked for me and I just struggled, I’m really gutted with the result and just hope I can finish the season better at Brands Hatch. I made up some places during the race then I got pushed out wide and went from 18th to 21st, I’m pretty gutted.”
Team Manager Michael de Bidaph – “I’m absolutely over the moon with the result today for Ben it feels like my first race win it’s just awesome. It’s so good for Ben to be back up at the front again and secure the win he’s deserved all year.
We had a couple of issues over the weekend during practice and qualifying where we picked some wrong tyres and also wrong forks but Ben was able to make amends in both races and he was rewarded with the fifth and the win, it’s just great.
This is just what we all needed and it’s a massive boost for us all going into the final round, Ben needed this for his confidence and we all needed it as a team as everyone has worked so hard this season, we hope it can be carried on to Brands and end the season on a high.
James East was a welcome member of the team this weekend, he rode really well and despite an off on Friday we sat down and had a chat and decided which was the best way forward. We’re really pleased with his results and hopefully this will also give him confidence as he will be riding for us again at the final round of the series at Brands Hatch in a few weeks time.”
James Would Like To Thank His Personal Sponsors:
Homechoice Carpets Leeds
Idaq.com
GHM Services
ToiletSpares.co.uk
R&G Racing
Cougar Leathers
Moto-Master Braking Systems
Racebikebitz – Samco Sport Distribution
Walters & Walters Ltd
Paul ‘Noddy’ Brown
Royston Fencing
2012 GEARLINK TEAM SPONSORS
AKRAPOVIC – B & C EXPRESS – DAYTONA (BEN) – DBR – GALFER – GB RACING – GEARLINK LTD – GIMOTO – GOODS LIFT COMPANY, ANDOVER – GOODRIDGE – JON JESSOP PHOTOGRAPHY – K-TECH – KX AKADEMY (JACK) – METZELER (STOCK 600’S) – MOTOCOMP – MWR AIR FILTERS – NGK – OCTANORM – PAZZO – PERFORMANCE PARTS – PERFORMANCE FRICTION BRAKES – PRO CLEAN – PRO-BOLT – R & G RACING – RACE BY DESIGN – RENTHAL – ROCK OIL – SAMCO SPORT – SHARK HELMETS – SIGMA PERFORMANCE – SINNIS – SKIDMARX – SOLO SIGNS – SPEEDYCOM – SUDBROOKE BROILERS (BEN) – TSUBAKI – TWO WHEEL MEDIA – VALE LIVESTOCK – WELTECH (BEN)
2012 British Superbike Dates
| DATE |
VENUE |
|
|
|
|
| 12th – 14th October |
Brands Hatch GP |
