BURKE MAINTAINS TITLE LEAD AT BRANDS HATCH
 Seton Tuning Yamaha’s Ben Burke maintained his Metzeler National Superstock 600 championship lead despite finishing off the podium for the first time since Oulton Park back in May. The 23-year old Australian took the chequered flag in fourth place to add another 13-points to his season's tally at a sun-drenched Brands Hatch (22 July).
Qualifying looked to be going the way of the Colchester-based Seton Tuning Yamaha trio of Ben Burke, Bjorn Estment and Mark Wilkinson. With less than 15 minutes to run in the second session, they were lying second, third and seventh respectively and all set for a seasons-best qualifying for the team.
Unfortunately, the big guns of the class came out in the final ten minutes, pushing them back to third, fifth and fourteenth for the 12-lap event the following afternoon.
All three made strong starts from the lights, with Ben challenging for podium honours over the opening laps. However, it was Bjorn that looked to have the edge for the first time in a race this season. After setting the fastest lap of the race at that point on lap 5, Bjorn made a clean pass on teammate Ben only to fall foul of a small mistake the following corner to end up in the gravel at Druids.
Ben got his head down and made a charge for the leading trio, locking horns with Paulo as the Yamaha-mounted pair fought hard for every inch of tarmac around the 2.43-mile circuit. Ben’s determination paid dividends as he claimed fourth spot by two tenths.
Mark ‘Wilco’ Wilkinson put in his best display of the season to record his fifth straight point-scoring ride and to claim his joint highest finish of tenth. By the chequered flag, Wilco’s lap times were within a second of the leaders who had all been running at a scorchingly quick pace in the mid-31s. A strong start from the lights had Mark knocking on the door of the single digit positions. Moving into tenth spot on lap six, Wilco dug his heels in to hold a trio of Yamahas at bay and take tenth at the flag, equalling his season’s best from Knockhill.
 
For Sam Warren, the weekend was a tale of red flags. A stoppage towards the climax of qualifying meant Sam had to settle for 14th on the grid for the Sprint, re-scheduled from its usual Qualifying afternoon slot to race day morning.
Making a strong start from the lights on the run into Paddock Hill, Sam rounded out the opening lap in eleventh spot and became embroiled in a race-long battle with Cooper and the Yamaha of Brown, narrowly missing out on ninth position on the drag out of Clearways to the white stripe for the final time.
 Sam’s quickest lap time elevated him to the middle of the third row for the feature event under clear blue skies - a stark contrast to the conditions that greeted riders at the famous Kent circuit back in April. A solid start and Sam once again gained a few slots from the lights, elevating his Seton Tuning Yamaha up into eighth and a position he would hold under constant pressure from Luke Jones.
The race was to come to an abrupt end mid-distance as the field blasted along Pilgrims Drop. An electrical problem caused Sam’s R6 to lose power at full throttle, shutting the bike down momentarily. Unfortunately, Luke Jones was too close to avoid, banging in to the back of the helpless Seton Tuning Yamaha rider and crashing out of the race causing the red flag to bring an abrupt halt.
With the cause of the fault unidentified, Sam was unable to make the restart of the reduced six-lap dash that was won by fellow Yamaha rider Jack Kennedy. With tenth in the Sprint, Sam maintained his grip on fifth spot in the Motorpoint British Supersport Championship Protected by Datatag.
The team will enjoy a few weeks summer break and testing before the annual August Bank Holiday meeting at Cadwell Park over the weekend of 25-27 August.
Phil Seton, Team Owner: “This was a difficult weekend for Sam, where we struggled to get the right set-up for Sam and the bike to achieve their full potential. He made good strides in the Sprint to come home in tenth and looked set for a stronger outing in the Main Event. It appears from the datalogging that there was a power failure to or within the ECU that resulted in Sam’s bike losing power intermittently. Unfortunately it ended with Luke Jones hitting him and crashing badly. We are all very concerned and wish Luke a speedy recovery for the next round.
Mark made some big steps forward this weekend, scoring another tenth place finish. His lap times were less than a second off of the leading group, who were all running at a blistering pace, so very positive for Mark, we are all over the moon for him.
Bjorn had once again been very strong throughout free practice and qualifying, putting himself on pole during morning warm-up and looked odd-on for his best result of the season. Unfortunately, a small mistake left him in the gravel but he has shown great glimpses of his true potential this weekend and will bounce back for the remaining rounds.
Ben’s work ethic was exemplary once again. He kept plugging away throughout the weekend and rode a very mature race to bring his bike home in fourth to keep his championship lead. He didn’t beat Rose this time, but still enjoys a 15-point lead going into the final three races.
I’d like to say a big thanks to the whole Seton Tuning Yamaha team who all worked exceptionally hard this week. I was very impressed with how smoothly the whole operation ran and the camaraderie was first class.
We have a long break before Cadwell and will be off testing before looking to gain more valuable championship points over the closing rounds of the season.”
Ben Burke: “I had a good weekend, going well in all practice sessions and qualifying third for the start of the race. I got off to a good start making up one position into the first turn. A small mistake at the end of the first lap saw me drop back a position or two. From then I pushed hard getting involved in two small battles but mainly trying to bridge the gap to the the leading three. I couldn't quite do it, so I rode the bike home to 4th taking more valuable points. Thanks again for the hard work put in by all of the team. I am looking forward to caching up with everyone at Cadwell Park.”
Mark Wilkinson: “A great weekend for me in a tough field! Qualifying went really well. The times were all so close so and I was happy with p14 on the grid. I made a competitive start & found a good rhythm early and fought my way up to 10th by mid race. However, the lead group had pulled too big a gap to close down. The remainder of the race I diced with 4 other riders hard but managed to hold onto 10th. I felt the most comfortable I've felt all year and it looks like all the hard work the team and myself have been putting in over the last few months is starting to pay off! Thanks to the Seton Tuning Yamaha crew and my sponsors from Aust Plaza Auto Sales, ROMPdesign, the Oil Warehouse, Cumagutsa, GSAutomotive and DH Engineering.”
Sam Warren: “Another tough weekend for us, but there is light at the end of the tunnel! Qualifying didn't go our way as a red flag situation ruined our chances just as we'd put in our tyre. The Sprint race was a case of trying to get some points and improve our grid position for the feature race, which we did. In the Main Event, we were running okay in 8th when Jones hit me from behind going down the back straight, bringing out the red flags and bending the exhaust, making it impossible to continue. At least we now have a long break and some testing booked, so hopefully we can get back into the fight.”
Bjorn Estment: “Really gutting day after a really promising weekend, especially after all the hard work and effort put in by everyone on the Seton Tuning team. A big thanks to Scott McLennan for all his guidance and Phil for his knowledge on set-up. A massive shout out to my loyal sponsors NFB Financial Services Group.”
Images © Steve Hutchings
Results - Brands Hatch GP
Motorpoint British Supersport Championship Protected by Datatag
Race 1 Result:
1. Richards, 2. Kennedy, 3. Iddon, 4. Jones, 5. Mossey, 10. Warren
Race 2 Result:
1. Kennedy, 2. Richards, 3. McConnell, 4. Iddon, 5. Wilson, DNF/DNS Warren
Championship Points:
1. Kennedy - 243.5, 2. Richards - 234, 3. McConnell - 190, 4. Wilson - 175, 5. Warren - 129
Metzeler National Superstock 600
Result:
1. Dixon, 2. Rose, 3. Lodge, 4. Burke, 5. Paulo, 10. Wilkinson, DNF Estment
Championship Points
1. Burke - 145, 2. Rose - 130, 3. Dixon - 110, 4. Jackson - 104, 5. Lodge - 82, 14. Estment - 33, 18. Wilkinson - 20
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