ROUND 7 - OULTON PARK
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ROUND 7 - OULTON PARK
Oulton Park in Cheshire was bathed in sunshine and sizzling on-track action this weekend, proving a fitting tribute for the circuit’s 60th anniversary as a race track. Danny Buchan faced a baptism of fire onboard the Seton Tuning Yamaha in the two fiercely contested Motorpoint British Supersport races at the 2.7 mile circuit. With limited time in the saddle, Danny qualified down in 20th position on the back of row five with a lap time of 1:41.570s. Facing an uphill battle in the short 10-lap Sprint race, Danny made a blistering start from the lights to round out the opening lap in thirteenth position. With the usual suspects battling at the sharp end, Danny settled into his rhythm, posting his quickest lap of the weekend on lap 6 (1:39.756s), to elevate his Yamaha YZF-R6 up into 12th, a position he would make his own on the run in to the chequered flag for his first points for the Colchester-based team. Moving forward to the middle of row four for the 15-lap Main Event on Sunday afternoon, Danny made another strong start from the lights to maintain his grid position for the vast majority of the race. However, in a race that would be run at a slower pace throughout the field, Danny was unable to make any further inroads towards the top ten positions. An error on lap 12 knocked Danny back two places and outside of the points. A spirited final few laps saw Danny push his way back up to fifteenth to claim the final point-scoring position.
Oulton Park played host to the opening round of the second half of the 2013 season, and James Mutton’s first visit to the undulating Cheshire circuit. For this season, each round is a steep learning curve for the young Australian rider, but a challenge that he has grasped with both hands. With every session, James improved in lap times and confidence. A steady Free Practice session time of 1:47.045 was eclipsed by almost three seconds in Q1, then by a further second-and-a-half in Q2 with a time of 1:43.086 for James to qualify in 22nd for the 12-lap race. A brilliant start from the lights saw James power his Seton Tuning Yamaha up to 17th at the first corner, but an off-track excursion subsequently forced him back to dead last, moving up to 32nd as 36-strong field jostled for the advantage over every inch of tarmac on the opening lap. With a faster lap pace than the surrounding riders, James set about moving though the field as he closed down the riders in front. By the time James posted his fastest lap of the race, a 1:43.877 on lap 9 he had 25th position all but secured. As he crossed the finish line, James was outside of the points but had amassed a wealth of competitive experience for his armoury to take with him to Cadwell Park. The annual ‘Party in the Park’ will take place over the Bank Holiday weekend of 24-26 August, as Cadwell Park in Lincolnshire hosts round 8 of the 2013 Championship. |
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Phil Seton, Team Principal: “Both riders rode fantastically well this weekend and gave 100%. James posted his personal best lap time in successive sessions, and looked strong for the race. He was unfortunate to go off track, putting him to the back of the field. He put in a spirited fight to get 25th. Although he was a little disappointed with the result, the way he rode stands him in good stead for the remainder of the season. Danny rode maturely over the weekend, getting the bike to work better for him with each session. We made a lot of set-up changes to cope with his physical frame size and riding style, and definitely moved in the right direction. Danny made good progress and scored two point-scoring finishes - the first time he has done so all season. We still have the accolade of finishing every Supersport race this season and in the points! Our small team worked tremendously this weekend, and I would like to thank them all for their hard, supportive teamwork. They possess a tremendous amount of honesty, integrity, camaraderie and steadfastness - all fantastic attributes that help to make this such a great team to be involved with.” Danny Buchan #83: "The weekend was mega we did what we said we wanted to do by improving with every session. The team worked mega hard and all put it in the effort. Hopefully at Cadwell we can have a couple of top 10s and keep the smile on my face!" James Mutton #34: "I had a fairly positive weekend on the Seton Tuning R6. I improved my times significantly each time I rode the bike and posted what I believe was a respectable time for my first race meeting at Oulton Park, which put me 22nd on the grid. After Brands Hatch I was determined to make a better start for the first few corners to give myself a fighting chance at scoring some points. I made it up to 17th in the first few corners before running off track and dropping back to last. I managed to fight back to 25th place before the finish. Although I am disappointed with the race I am feeling positive that I am beginning to have all the ingredients to post a good result on foreign tracks." Images © Steve Hutchings |
