Seeley scores maiden BSB win; Brookes hits series lead
Alastair Seeley enjoyed his first victory in the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship at rain-lashed Brands Hatch on Saturday afternoon and now the Relentless Suzuki by TAS rider will be on pole position for the second race of the eighth round at the Kent Grand Prix circuit on Sunday afternoon.
The 30 year old from Carickfergus had graduated into the top flight on the strength of winning the National Superstock crown, in runaway style, last season but in difficult wet conditions Seeley charged into the lead on the opening lap of the re-started race, decided over ten laps, and then held off the determined and experienced Michael Rutter to take the victory.
“That was unbelievable, a long time coming, but this is where I’ve always wanted to be, and the guys in the team have done a fantastic job for me,” said Seeley.
“I was a bit aggressive on the opening lap, getting through and getting past a few, then I was sliding around a lot, I lost count of the number of times, and I had to tell myself to calm down. Then my visor steamed up, and I opened it but the wind was bringing tears to my eyes and had to close it,” he added.
That made little difference as he powered on, heading Rutter home by a little under a third of a second and the RidersMotorcycles.com Ducati rider had no complaints at settling for second best: “He was sliding around but rode fantastically, while I struggled a bit.”
Ryuichi Kiyonari took third place ahead of his HM Plant Honda team-mate Josh Brookes who moved into the series lead 229-219 ahead of Worx Suzuki rider Tommy Hill who struggled throughout, just scraping a single point as he took a 15th place finish.
World Superbike regular Tom Sykes, riding the factory Kawasaki, returning for a one-off appearance in the domestic series took fifth place ahead of Michael Laverty, on the Relentless Suzuki, and James Ellison whose Swan Honda teamster Stuart Easton crashed out of contention at Paddock Hill.
Yukio Kagayama ran eighth for Worx Crescent Suzuki from John Laverty on the Buildbase Kawasaki with Ian Lowry who had answered a late call to ride the second World Superbike Kawasaki completing the top ten.
Chris Burns, riding Splitlath Aprilia won the Mirror.co.uk BSB-EVO class ahead of Aaron Zanotti but there was no luck for Jentin BMW rider Steve Brogan who tipped off under pressure from Gary Johnson midway through the race, losing the lead in the title stakes to Hudson Kennaugh.
Earlier, Rutter, who had topped the Swan Combi Roll for Pole, had looked to be on course for a second victory of the season as comfortably led Brookes for nine laps with Kiyonari third from Michael Laverty and Seeley before rain fell bringing out the red-flags.
| SBK Race 1 | SBK Series Points |
| 1 Alastair Seeley (Relentless Suzuki by TAS) 2 Michael Rutter (Ridersmotorcycles.com Ducati) +0.298s 3 Ryuichi Kiyonari (HM Plant Honda) +1.470s 4 Josh Brookes (HM Plant Honda) +2.926s 5 Tom Sykes (Kawasaki WSB) +14.320s 6 Michael Laverty (Relentless Suzuki by TAS) +17.241s 7James Ellison (Swan Honda) +21.713s 8 Yukio Kagayama (Worx Crescent Suzuki) +23.516s 9 John Laverty (Buildbase Kawasaki) +24.738s 10 Ian Lowry (Kawasaki WSB) +26.213s | Josh Brookes (HM Plant Honda) 229 Tommy Hill (Worx Crescent Suzuki) 219 Ryuichi Kiyonari (HM Plant Honda) 209 Michael Laverty (Relentless Suzuki by TAS) 193 Michael Rutter (Ridersmotorcycles.com Ducati) 185 Alastair Seeley (Relentless Suzuki by TAS) 153 |
| Michael Rutter starts this afternoon’s (Sat) opening race in the eighth round of the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship on the Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit. The RidersMotorcycles.com Ducati rider put in a scorching time on 1m 25.766secs in the final element of the Swan Combi Roll for Pole to top the qualifying leaderboard for the first time in a couple of years. “We’ve got a good set-up, the bike is working well and I got a good tow from Josh Brookes early on and set the time, so now I’m aiming for strong points in the race,” explained Rutter who ended the session in the gravel at Druids. “It was all so easy till the end – I decided to go out for a practice start, but I was bit too keen too early and slid off – my own fault, but no harm done.” World Superbike regular Tom Sykes, making a one-off return to the domestic series, ran second fastest, 1m 26.187secs on his Kawasaki, with Ryuichi Kiyonari on the HM Plant Honda and series leading Tommy Hill aboard the Worx Crescent Suzuki completing the front row of the grid. Josh Brookes, on the second HM Plant Honda, headed the second row from Swan Honda’s James Ellison, Alastair Seeley on the Relentless Suzuki and Yukio Kagayama who slid off his Worx Crescent Suzuki in the closing moments of the session. Michael Laverty, riding Relentless Suzuki, and Ian Lowry on the second WSBK Kawasaki completed the top ten qualifiers for the 18 lap race that starts at 16.10 this afternoon. The other two races in this round will be held on Sunday afternoon. |
| SBK Qualifying |
| Michael Rutter (Ridersmotorcycles.com Ducati) 1m:25.766s Tom Sykes (Kawasaki WSB) +0.421s Ryuichi Kiyonari (HM Plant Honda) +0.456s Tommy Hill (Worx Crescent Suzuki) +0.522s Josh Brookes (HM Plant Honda) +0.638s James Ellison (Swan Honda) +0.800s Alastair Seeley (Relentless Suzuki by TAS) +0.815s Yukio Kagayama (Worx Crescent Suzuki) +0.931s Michael Laverty (Relentless Suzuki by TAS) +0.981s Ian Lowry (Kawasaki WSB) +1.430s |
