Alastair Seeley took his fourth British Supersport podium of the year with second place during the opening race of the Bank Holiday weekend at Thruxton today as his Relentless Suzuki by TAS Racing team-mate Josh Brookes qualified his GSX-R1000 Superbike on row four for tomorrow's opening British Superbike race.
Fresh from his North West 200 International Road Racing victory last weekend on the all-new GSX-R600 Suzuki, Seeley qualified on the middle of the second row and from there he got embroiled in a race-long battle that saw the top five riders covered by less than 7/10ths-of-a-second at the chequered flag.
Alastair Seeley:
"I didn't get as good a start as I normally do, but I got up to third place and chased down Wilson and Kennedy before Jack eventually tucked the front. I could hear a Triumph on my bumper the whole race but wasn't sure who it was. So with four laps to go I tried to make a break for it but they were able to slipstream me back. In the last two laps I sat back and waited until the final chicane and got past the two front men, but McConnell braked that bit later than me and nipped in for the win. It was really tight but a good race and just what British Supersport racing is all about. Thruxton is hard on tyres so in the longer race tomorrow it will all be about preserving them. And if the forecast is correct, the rain may even come into play."
Josh Brookes:
"We're not miles away, but it feels like we are miles away! I don't know what to say; if I did I suppose I'd be going quicker, but every round so far we've had to come from less than average qualifying positions. It's not a sprint and there are plenty of laps in the race to make up the places - it's just annoying I suppose that it takes us so long to get up to speed on a weekend. I'm really not too concerned though as I know I'm a better racer than a qualifier, although it would be better for the team if we were closer to the front in qualifying."
Philip Neill - Team Manager:
"It's just a pity that opening Supersport race was not live on TV as it was a thrilling race to watch. Alastair really is on a high at the minute and he had a good plan out there today, but Billy made the best of a four-rider slipstream to take the win; that's racing. Just like he was at the NW200, Alastair was brilliant on the brakes on the wee GSX-R600 today, but it was a good race for the Championship with more solid points and he now moves into second place in the overall table.
"Unfortunately we are still in this mode with Josh working towards race set-up all the time and this weekend it has taken us more time than we anticipated, maybe trying to over-correct things after fitting a new tank and seat unit. But we are now making strides forward and are confident with the set-up for race one. We are hopeful of mixing it at the front in the races tomorrow as Josh has shown as he doesn't have a problem making passes from wherever he qualifies. In saying that we need to look at making his job easier in the future and that will mean qualifying higher up the grid."
Supersport Race 1:
1 Billy McConnell [Triumph] 15min 39.066; 2 Alastair Seeley [Relentless Suzuki by TAS] +0.113; 3 Ben Wilson [Kawasaki] +0.294; 4 Sam Warren [Yamaha] +0.508; 5 Dean Hipwell [Yamaha] +0.698; 6 Paul Young [Triumph] +2.521.
British Superbike Qualifying:
1. Alex Lowes (Kawasaki) 1m: 14.891s
2. John Hopkins (Suzuki) +0.016s
3. Tommy Hill (Yamaha) +0.022s
4. Michael Rutter (Ducati) +0.126s
5. Peter Hickman (Honda) +0.154s
6. Ryuichi Kiyonari (Honda) +0.199s
7. Michael Laverty (Yamaha) +0.235s
8. Loris Baz (Yamaha) +0.277s
9. James Westmoreland (Yamaha) +0.441s
10. Dan Linfoot (Honda) +1.206s
14 Josh Brookes [Relentless Suzuki by TAS]
Be right back. I am going to go find myself, and if I leave before I get back, make sure to tell me !! -
SEELEY AND GSX-R600 PODIUM AT THRUXTON
![[Image: relentless2011hdr.jpg]](http://www.ttwebsite.com/gifs/relentless2011hdr.jpg)