Seton Tuning prove that The Only Way is Essex
DESPITE a 120mph practice crash, the team of Phil Seton and Patrick Sheridan emerged triumphant after the No Limits 3hr Endurance race around the 1.2 mile Brands Hatch Indy circuit.
Seton Tuning Yamaha’s Phil Seton took a bit of damage to the body, and a lot more to the bike when the Fingringhoe-based shop owner had a high-speed off at Clearways corner during Friday’s test session.
An overnight session back at the Essex workshop with team mechanic Dominic Huggett was the story of the weekend’s eve, but the pair managed to button the Yamaha R1 back up in time for the start of Saturday practice.
Patrick Sheridan made a return to racing after the 2008 loss of good mate Ben Lightowler at Brands Hatch.
Confidence proved undamaged for boss Seton, as he thrice took to the podium on Saturday in the Pirelli Super Series 1000cc class with a third, second, and first.
After an eight-year hiatus from racing and riding all-together following the 2008 loss of close compatriot Ben Lightowler, Patrick Sheridan made a return to competition at the Indy circuit on Saturday.
Riding a Seton Tuning-prepared 2016 Yamaha R1, the Stanford-le-Hope man took no time at all finding his feet again, following teammate Seton onto the podium for a bronze medal in the very first Pirelli Super Series race of the weekend.
Sunday’s three hour No Limits ACU National Endurance race saw no shortage of action from the green flag, as the duo of Seton and Sheridan began the race looking for a holeshot from their second-place grid position.
Efficient pit stop strategy carried the team into the lead position 50 minutes into the race, but a safety-car infringement by Sheridan brought the proverbial gavel down with a 1-minute ‘Stop and Go’ penalty.
Rejoining in 5th place and two laps down, Seton Tuning looked to have it all to do again, until the 85-minute-to-go mark when leader Phil Bevan’s SMW Racing Kawasaki fell victim to a technical fault that ended his day.
Up to 2nd place and tantalisingly close to the lead, Seton himself took the final stint to draw back the 19-second gap Sheridan had left him, circulating a consistent second-per-lap faster than the leaders and setting his personal best lap time in the process.
With a scant 15 minutes to spare, Seton stole first position from Go Racing Developments, and slowly pulled a gap to ride out the last quarter of an hour to the chequered flag and overall victory.
Phil Seton, Team Owner: “What an action-packed weekend, we thought it was all over after my huge crash on Friday, but we re-grouped and formulated a plan to continue. Despite my body telling me different we dusted ourselves down and got the bike re-built in record time. The podium places on Saturday for both myself and Patrick put us on a high for Sunday’s Endurance race. Patrick was so impressive; he literally hadn’t ridden a bike since 2008 until two weeks ago. The whole team were amazing. Dominic, our mechanic, did such a good job helping to re-build the bike overnight. The Endurance win was so sweet for us, despite the odds we did it. Our plans are coming together for our team in 2017, we’ve got some interesting racing plans and can’t wait to get going next year.”
Patrick Sheridan: “Thanks to Phil and the team, my Seton Tuning Yamaha R1 was all I could have wished for. The whole team definitely helped me get through what was personally a very difficult race-weekend for me. I’m dedicating our Endurance win to the memory of Ben Lightowler. I hadn’t ridden since that tragic race eight years ago. I’m glad we went out there and did him proud all these years later.”
Seton Tuning will be back racing in 2017 – details of race series to be announced in the coming months.
Seton Tuning is a leading specialist in 4 stroke motorcycle preparation and engine tuning. For more information, please visit: seton-tuning.co.uk
L-R: Seton and Sheridan on the obviously Seton Tuning-prepared Yamaha R1s.
*Image by Alex James Photography
