'One to forget' at Cadwell Park for MSS Kawasaki
MSS Colchester Kawasaki’s Global Freight-sponsored riders suffered a frustrating and disappointing Cadwell Park round of the British Superbike championship. Superbike rider Gary Mason just missed out on a spot in the ‘Showdown’ while Superstock rider Danny Buchan narrowly finished off the podium after showing great pace.
However the team’s spirits were lifted by the arrival of Stuart Easton, who has been making remarkable progress in recovering from the terrible injuries he sustained at the North West 100 earlier in the year (Special update on Stuart’s recovery shortly).
MSS Colchester Kawasaki Superbike rider Gary Mason arrived at Cadwell Park with the target of securing a place in the top six Showdown stage of the BSB Championship. Having finished just one place behind his main challenger Ryuichi Kiyonari in the re-scheduled Sunday superbike race, Gary entered Monday’s round full of optimism with a chance of securing a spot in the final stages of the competition. Unfortunately, despite riding two consistent races, it wasn’t to be and Gary finished out of the final slot.
Team mate Alex Lowes looked to have mastered the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R with a strong 12th position in the Saturday race and was running in a stunning sixth in the first Sunday superbike race before he fell at the chicane on lap five. His fast pace secured his a sixth place slot on the grid for the second race, however he fell again, this time quite spectacularly on lap two while lying in fifth.
In the National Superstock 1000 class, riders Danny Buchan and Howie Mainwaring had a tough Cadwell round however both still managed to secure good championship points. Danny lead from pole position but was then lucky to stay on having being forced onto the grass at over 100mph by another rider to end in fifth position, while Howie hung onto seventh after battling grip issues during the race.
Gary Mason (6th in race one, 10th race two, 12th in race three. Championship position: 8th) said: “This weekend has been a nightmare. In qualifying we had engine issues then during the race we suffered from fuelling problems. We needed a slice of luck to get into the top six and we got the opposite. However the sad news about Ben Gautrey puts it all into perspective, my thoughts are with his family and friends.”
Alex Lowes (12th in race one, DNF race two, DNF in race three. Championship position: 18th) said:“Two silly mistakes cost me good finishes this weekend. Once again I’ve shown I have the pace, but it’s frustrating for both myself and the team that I haven’t converted them into top five finishes.”
Danny Buchan (5th in race. Championship position: 2nd) said: “The whole weekend was going to plan, the bike was feeling great and then pole position. When the flag dropped I got a great start and was leading the way for the first three laps. I dropped to second place on about lap four but it wasn’t a problem, I was comfortable and was happily holding the pace. Unfortunately that was when Adam Jenkinson came underneath me at Charlie’s and put me onto the grass. It was certainly an aggressive overtake and once I got back onto the track I had dropped back to fifth place. Third was definitely on the cards, but it just didn’t end up like that. I’m not happy but it is solid points and I’m looking forward to Donington.”
Howie Mainwaring (7th in race. Championship position: 4th) said: “Qualifying went well, we were only about a tenth of a second from pole and I was feeling good for the race. The start went perfectly and I was second behind Danny for the first lap but then I just had no grip. The bike was sliding in the corners and I couldn’t keep up with the leaders. I can’t explain what it was, we didn’t change the bike, but for some reason it wasn’t working on race day, which was well frustrating.”
Team owner Nick Morgan said: “This weekend has been one to forget, nothing seemed to go our way but at the end of the day it all pales into insignificance after the sad news of Benjamin Gautrey’s death (Kawasaki Superstock 600 rider). All our thoughts are with his family and friends in this terrible time.”