Alastair Seeley - Photo Credit: Suzuki Racing
Alastair Seeley admitted he was slightly disappointed to finish second on his BSB return after losing victory at the final corner of race one on Monday. The British Supersport Champion came through from 13th on the grid and explained that a lack of visibility was hampering him in the latter stages.
“We made some good changes to the bike overnight and it felt good in warm up and we went quickest. I worked my way through to third place before the pace car came; then I got past Rutter and Kirkham and started to pull a bit of a gap. The conditions were tough and my visor steamed up a bit which made it difficult to see, so at the end I rode a defensive line, but the rear stepped out on me at the final corner and Kirkham got better drive to the line. I'm disappointed not to have taken the win but in the conditions we've taken a good haul of points.”
Teammate Josh Brookes could only manage tenth despite starting from pole position and the Australian was one of many riders relieved to get through the race in one piece. Brookes also agreed with the decision to cancel race two.
“I did what I could in the conditions. I nearly fell off and made an amazing save to stay on the bike. I came back on the track and made up one or two places before the end. It's less than satisfying after taking pole position, but I'm also grateful not to have fallen off and I didn't get hurt and we don't have a crashed bike to fix. I did get a few points which is better than none. It was the right decision not to run the second race and the riders need to stick together on these things. I wasn't going to go out as the track wasn't safe to race on so yeah… it really was the right decision to postpone it.”
Team Manager Philip Neill was pleased with the points return from his riders given the difficulty of riding in such conditions.
“It was certainly a tough weekend for everyone in the conditions, so we are grateful that we've come away virtually unscathed and hold second place in the championship. Alastair rode a great race to come through to take second place, but the racer in me is also disappointed that a small mistake at the final turn cost us the win. “
“Josh was consistent all weekend in both the wet and the dry and while he will be disappointed with tenth, it was a great save to stay aboard the bike and we can go to Thruxton now and build on this. I was also pleased with Conor. He's an easy big lad to work with and has already won over the team and our sponsors. He was at Brands purely to get some miles in, so to take seventh place was satisfying for the team and confidence building for him.”
