BUCHAN POSTS BEST RESULT AT SEASON FINALE

BUCHAN POSTS BEST RESULT AT SEASON FINALE
22 October 2013

Brands Hatch GP circuit in Kent played host to the season finale of the 2013 MCE British Superbike Championship, with no fewer than four titles decided as the season drew to a dramatic close (18-20 October).

With Easton and Seeley battling it out for Motorpoint British Supersport Championship honours, Danny looked to make the most of a level playing field due to a wet weekend forecast and finish the season on a high.

Running as high as fourth early in wet Qualifying, Danny settled for ninth at the flag with a time of 1:42.479s to line up for the opening on the back of row 3. A solid start from the lights had Danny running inside of the top ten for the entire race as he locked horns with Irwin, Gowland and Mackenzie. Running in a strong eighth by two-thirds distance, an uncharacteristic error saw Danny drop a few places to take the flag in tenth.

Danny’s fastest lap time of 1:39.875s would see the Essex-based rider line up in tenth for the Colchester team in the final 18-lap Feature race of the season on Sunday afternoon. Declared a dry race, the riders flowed down through Paddock Hill from the lights and up into Druids, Danny comfortable in ninth. However, the weather turned and with the rain causing treacherous conditions, Race Control signalled an abrupt halt with a red flag.

The wet race restart was reduced to 15 laps with riders taking to original grid positions. Danny had saved his best performance of the season for the final race, making a strong start from the lights to run at the sharp end for the entire race. Taking advantage of a few rider errors in the tricky conditions, Danny rode a determined yet mature race to keep rubber side down and record sixth - his highest finish of the season - as a second red flag for a crash at Paddock Hill called time on the race on lap 11. With Easton having taken the race lead from Seeley on lap 10, the Yamaha rider was handed his second Supersport crown as the race result was taken back one lap.

James Mutton looked to finish off his debut Pirelli National Superstock 600 campaign with a point-scoring performance. The odds looked to be stacked in the young Australian’s favour after a strong Q1 had James running 19th. With lap times set to be slower in a wet Q2, James took his position of 19th on the grid as the lights went out for his final 12-lap race of the season.

James' race pace looked good for a top twenty finish, but the Queenslander had to take avoiding action from two separate incidents on the opening lap, dropping back to 34th as the field closed out lap one.

Fighting back from his lowly position at the tail-end of the field, James systematically picked off the riders ahead to move up to 28th by lap nine, posting his quickest lap of the race in the process (1:45.486s). However, the five-second gap of wet tarmac to Philp would prove too much even for James to bridge at his strong pace, settling for 28th as he crossed the white stripe for the final time.

Phil Seton, Team Principal: “What a brilliant end to the season, I’m really pleased with the way things worked out, I couldn’t be happier. It has been such a turbulent season, and the hard work has paid off with some great results to round out 2013.

We had a great start to the year with Graeme Gowland and Mark Wilkinson posting some excellent results, culminating in a podium for Graeme at Brands in July. We wish both riders every success for 2014.

I would like to thank Ciaran McCann, Scott Maclellan, Shayne Hadland, Kaz Stubbington and Vicky Harrison for their efforts during the early part of the season.

Seton Tuning Yamaha has been an excellent team to work with, especially during the tough second half to the year, so big thanks go out to all of our sponsors and; Sam Palmer, Mike Elliott, Daniel Pickett, Ryan Williamson, Stephen Elliott, Callum Rank, Danie Mills, Lauren Hibbert and Rhiannon Jones for all of their hard work to make this such a great team be a part of.

Special thanks must be given to Tony Morris for his continual support, without which this season would not have happened!

It was a pleasure to work with both Danny Buchan and James Mutton during the second half of the season. Both riders acquitted themselves admirably, stepping into tough championships mid-way through the season. Danny posted some strong finishes, and together with Graeme’s early season results meant that we scored points in every Supersport race we started - a superb achievement. I hope that Danny’s performances in the latter half, and especially at Brands, will help to springboard him back into the Superbike championship.

James worked hard to learn new circuits in his debut season in the Superstock 600 class, and made continual progression at each round. We wish him all the best with the MWR Racing team in 2014.

The winter break will give me a much wanted chance to spend time with my father. The effort needed to keep the team running has meant I could not spend valuable time with him this year. This is my priority right now.”

Danny Buchan #83: “That was a mega weekend, I felt really good on the bike. I dropped 2kg in weight in two weeks to give myself and the team the best chance, and also the conditions suited me for the 600, so I'm really pleased with the two results. A big thanks to Wenbar Plastics and all my sponsors for a good end to the season and also a huge thanks to the Seton Tuning Yamaha team, and everyone else involved, for a mega half of the season.”

James Mutton #34: “After very limited dry track time I was happy to qualify inside of the top 20 for the first time since Snetterton. In the race I knew I had a good pace and if it wasn’t for getting caught up in not one but two first lap crashes I think I would have had a strong finish. This was my last round for the Seton Tuning Yamaha team as I am moving on to new ventures for 2014. I would like to sincerely thank all at Seton Tuning Yamaha for their help and support throughout the season and wish them the best of luck for years to come. A big thanks go out to all of my sponsors for their help this year. I'm now looking forward to heading home to Australia and summer!”

Images © Steve Hutchings
Click images to download

2013 Race Calendar

Brands Hatch GP - Results

Motorpoint British Supersport
Sprint - 10 Laps
1. Cooper, 2. Seeley, 3. Jones, 4. McConnell, 5. O'Halloran, 10. Buchan
Main Event - 10 Laps
1. Easton, 2. Cooper, 3. Seeley, 4. Richards, 5. Irwin, 6. Buchan

Championship Points
1. Easton - 422 (Champion), 2. Seeley - 409, 3. McConnell - 327, 4. Wilson - 303, 5. Gowland - 245, 17. Buchan - 47

Pirelli National Superstock 600
Race - 12 Laps
1. Cooper, 2. Hartley, 3. Collier, 4. Olsen, 5. Robertson, 28. Mutton

Championship Points
1. Hedger - 192 (Champion), 2. Simpkin - 176, 3. Cooper - 160, 4. Collier - 133, 5. Lodge - 133, 26. Mutton - 7

 
Release issued by Mark at Shippey PR on behalf of Seton Tuning Yamaha
e: setonracing@shippeypr.co.uk | t: 07971 028 530
Seton Tuning LTD, 11 Moorside Business Centre, Colchester, Essex CO1 2TJ