Wee Wizard Seeley tastes Silverstone success with race victory
ALASTAIR Seeley was back on the top step of the podium at Silverstone on Saturday — his first win on the mainland this season.
Eighteen laps of thrilling Supersport action saw Seeley, Jack Kennedy, Ben Currie, James Rispoli and Josh Owens locked in battle throughout, the lead changing every corner, however, it was Seeley in front when it mattered.
Seeley only knew he was riding for the EHA Yamaha Racing Team team on Thursday, but the ‘Wee Wizard’ was quickly on the pace securing pole position for the race.
After his six-one-hundredths of a second win over Jack Kennedy, a happy Seeley said: “It has been an awesome weekend.
“I won on the bike at the North West and knew it was good.
“I’ve had a tough year jumping back and forth between championships.
“I gelled immediately with the team and I was right in the battle all the way, proper Supersport racing.”
Yesterday’s race was equally as thrilling with five riders again in contention until the last of the 26-laps when Seeley slowed dramatically with a flat rear tyre nursing the bike home in fifth with Kennedy third, also with a rear tyre problem, this race won by Ben Currie.
Leon Haslam rode flawlessly to win all three Superbike races taking race one by a tenth of a second from Glenn Irwin, who led on the final lap before the ‘Pocket Rocket’ out-braked him close to the finish.
In race two Haslam won by a second and a half from Josh Brookes and Irwin while in the final race Haslam just got to the chequered flag half a bike length ahead of the impressive Taz Mackenzie with Jake Dixon third and Irwin fourth. The final Showdown Six riders are Haslam, Dixon, Irwin, Brookes, Bradley Ray and Peter Hickman.
Irwin (right) was second in Saturday’s race and added a fourth in the weekend’s final race to lie fifth in the series to make the end-of-season Showdown.
He goes into the final three rounds 52 points behind Haslam.
It was a tense weekend in which Tyco BMW Showdown hopeful Christian Iddon deserved a medal after passing a medical to ride and finish in all three races with a smashed collar-bone, unfortunately losing out on a final Showdown spot to Hickman — Michael Laverty suffered three mechanical issues finishing none of the races.
Scott Swann won his first NSF Honda Standard race with a last lap swoop on two riders within sight of the chequered flag, Eunan McGlinchey took a Junior Supersport race winning double while Josh Elliott had a first and two seconds in the three Superstock 1000cc races in which Keith Farmer had two thirds and a ninth, the Tyco BMW rider closing to within half a point of the championship lead. Fermanagh man Elliott is fourth in the standings while Clogher’s Farmer is joint second and just 3.5 points behind Billy McConnell.
In the final road race of the 2018 season Paul Robinson, from Ballymoney drew the curtain down on his roads career by winning
the Moto3/125GP race in the Mrs Browns Boys East Coast meeting at Killalane to lift the Irish championship in the class.
Surprisingly back in action was Derek McGee following his Ulster Grand Prix accident and he won the Supersport race from Derek Sheils, a double winner in the Grand Final and Open races while Darryl Tweed clinched the Irish Lightweight Supersport title by finishing second in yesterday’s race behind Davy Morgan, while local rider Michael Sweeney won the Supertwins race by 16 seconds from Davey Todd.