Consistent points for Gowland at Oulton

Oulton Park in Cheshire was bathed in glorious sunshine as Seton Tuning Yamaha’s Graeme Gowland battled for points in the third round of the MCE British Superbike Championship over the May Day Bank Holiday (4-6 May).

Oulton Park in Cheshire was bathed in glorious sunshine as Seton Tuning Yamaha’s Graeme Gowland battled for points in the third round of the MCE British Superbike Championship over the May Day Bank Holiday (4-6 May).

Leaving it until the dying seconds of qualification, Graeme ‘Gowla’ Gowland elevated his Seton Tuning Yamaha onto the outside of the front row ahead of the opening Motorpoint British Supersport race. Gowla’s lap time of 1:38.661s was just one tenth shy of the existing lap record and made it a Yamaha sandwich on the front row of the grid.

A strong start from the lights saw Gowla hold station for the opening lap as the ‘usual suspects’ occupied the leading positions at the sharp end. A move by McConnell on lap 2 forced the Northumbrian back a slot to fifth - a position that he would make his own over the following 11 laps to claim a further 11 points towards his championship total.

Gowla’s fastest lap of 1:38.809s was less than two-tenths from his qualifying time and would see the 27-year old occupy the front slot of row two for the main 16 lap Supersport race on Bank Holiday Monday.

Gowla set off carrying a great pace to keep abreast of the front runners over the opening laps. Seeley and Easton reignited their rivalry from the Sunday afternoon, edging clear of the chasing pack, with Seeley finally reversing the result from 24 hours previous to take his second win of the season and break Easton’s four race winning streak.

By mid-race, O’Halloran was the man on the move, determined to finally break into the top positions, forcing Gowla back to sixth on lap ten - a position he would hold until the chequered flag for another 10 points to solidify fifth in the title race. Gowla maintained his record of scoring double figures in every race this season and is now one of only four riders in the top ten to have posted on the board at every race.

The team will take confidence from solid performances over the weekend as the series breaks for the NW200 and Isle of Man TT road races. Wilko will be back in action in a National Superstock 600 double-header at the Donington Park round of World Superbikes (24-26 May), while Knockhill in Scotland will host round four of the 2013 Championship over the weekend of 14-16 June. 

Phil Seton, Team Principal: "It was a great performance to get the results we did. Hopefully we can bridge the gap at the next round and get a well earned podium. Thanks to the whole team for everything they brought this weekend."

Graeme Gowland #81: "It’s been another solid weekend with two good results. The Seton Tuning Team are all working really hard and I want to give them a podium so bad. We have a break in the calendar now so I’m going to train hard, keep my reactions up to speed on my motocross bike and come back out at Knockhill fighting for the podium." 

Images © Steve Hutchings