Seton Tuning Pushed to the Limits at European Endurance Rounds
The Seton Tuning Motorcycle Endurance race team got back on track at two recent European rounds with mixed results!
Phil Seton and Hans Onit contested the DMV Sachsencup Sachsenring six-hour Endurance race in Germany on 31stJune as their first race of the year, and it was also their first time at the challenging circuit. The R1 Yamaha riders qualified third overall but first in the 1,000cc class for the six-hour event.
The Le Mans start saw Onit sprint for his machine and take off initially in 15thplace. However, he soon cut his way through the fieldand he was rapidly into third place overall and second in class. An hour and a half later Seton Tuning was firmly in first place overall!
Apart from when pit stops naturally dropped the pair down the order, Onit and Seton tussled between first and second place for the bulk of the six-hour race. Heading into the final stages of the race Onit unfortunately tagged another rider as they dropped into the tricky downhill section of the circuit into the last corner, and crashed out with just six minutes to go.
With only two weeks to the next event it was a race against time for Onit to recover from his tumble and for Seton to rebuild the bikes.
The next destination was the Cathedral of Speed, the famous Assen circuit in Holland. As neither rider had experience of this track either they simply had to get as many practice laps in as possible.
This race was part of the OW Cup, which is at a similar riding standard as British Superbikes, and it ran over 501Km, which is 110 laps, a slightly different approach to the Sachsenring event.
They promptly found their way round the track with plenty of on track sessions available to hone their lines. Seton and Onit qualified in a superb ninth place and following the Le Mans start Seton was straight into fifth place. However, this was not turning out to be a good race for Seton Tuning as a rider in front of Seton slowed leaving him no where to go and he crashed on the second lap.
Not to be outdone, Seton and the bike got back to the pits in 30 minutes. Onit took a double shift on track while Seton repaired his battered bikeanddowned some painkillers to dull the damage to his ribs.
The gritty pair finished the race in 40th place completing 72 laps out of the required 110.
Onit said: "Thanks to Seton Tuning for the opportunity to ride at these events. It has been really good fun and we nearly got the win! It was a shame about the crash at the Sachsenring, and I'm sorry that it happened. I hope to ride with the team again in the future!"
Seton said: “It has been a tough couple of weekends but there are positives to be taken from both. We didn’t know either track when we got there so I was really pleased with our form and pace at Sachsenring. Assen was also a steep learning curve plus I hadn’t realised what a high level race it was, so I was pleased that we qualified in the top ten. After not finishing at the Sachsenring it was really important mentally to get a race finish under our belts. The Dutch paddock made us really welcome and they were friendly and helpful. I’d like to go back and hopefully get a better result. Thanks to Hans for stepping in and replacing Pat for these two rounds which he was unable to attend. Hans did a sterling job and we are look forward to having Pat back with us at Donington Park.”
Seton Tuning will be back on track in the UK at Donington Park on Saturday 28thJuly for the No Limits eight-hour race. Patrick Sheridan will be back along side Seton and possibly a new third rider will be joining the team.
For more information on Fingringhoe-based Seton Tuning please visit www.seton-tuning.co.uk.
Hi res image available on request, please contact Louise Stewart-Young
on louise_paddy@hotmail.com or 07778 274 087. Image courtesy of Ad Kievit (Wegraceinfo).
