Gary Mason described the Cadwell Park weekend as a “nightmare” as he saw his slim hopes of qualifying for the championship showdown come to an end. The MSS Colchester Kawasaki rider managed a best result of sixth in race one before only scoring a further 10 points in Monday's two races.
However, the weekend was marred by tragedy when Ben Gautrey was fatally injured in a crash at the start of the National Superstock 600 race. Mason admitted the news put his title disappointment into perspective.
“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.”
Teammate Alex Lowes suffered another frustrating weekend with both of Monday's races ending in retirement. The 20 year old was his own biggest critic after the meeting, blaming himself for the failure to finish both races.
“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.”
Team Owner Nick Morgan admitted the weekend was “one to forget” for his squad but agreed with Mason that the tragedy in National Superstock 600 was on everybody's mind.
“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.”
