Gowland makes solid start for Seton at Brands

Seton Tuning Yamaha’s Graeme Gowland made a solid start to the long 2013 campaign as Brands Hatch Indy circuit in Kent hosted the opening round of the season (5-7 April).

Seton Tuning Yamaha’s Graeme Gowland made a solid start to the long 2013 campaign as Brands Hatch Indy circuit in Kent hosted the opening round of the season (5-7 April).

In the ultra-competitive Motorpoint British Supersport Championship, Graeme ‘Gowla’ Gowland looked impressive from the outset onboard the number 81 Seton Tuning Yamaha YZF-R6. 

With two returning and one defending Supersport champions in the mix, the 27 year old Northumbrian drew first blood over the opposition as he headed the timing sheets after free practice at the close of play on Friday. 

A tough qualifying session on Saturday morning showed the depth of quality of the Supersport field, with just 1.1 seconds covering the top 15 riders. Gowla's time of 47.320s was just shy of half a second from pole, but would see him start from p7 on the grid for the Sprint race scheduled for Saturday afternoon. 

Gowla made a strong start from the lights as the field tentatively negotiated the short yet highly demanding 1.2mile Indy circuit for the first two laps of the season. A red flag incident involving O'Halloran and Brown on lap 2 saw a 16 lap re-start in original qualifying grid positions.

As Wilson stole the holeshot, Gowla made another solid start, locking horns with Cooper, Irwin and Jones. A mistake from Irwin on lap 13 allowed the Seton Tuning Yamaha rider to capitalise, elevating his Yamaha up to 7th position then into 6th for eight championship points, with a move past Jones on the final lap.

Gowla’s fastest lap time of 47.293s pushed him back one slot on the grid for the Main Event. Seeley took the holeshot from teammate Wilson into Paddock Hill, and Gowla maintained grid position for the opening exchanges of a fast-paced, frenetic race. With the front six riders beginning to break clear, Gowla seized his opportunity to pass Irwin into Paddock Hill on lap 3, and began to hunt down the leading pack. 

As the race approached mid-distance, Gowla grabbed the tails of the leaders to became firmly ensconced in the dice for the podium. However, with all six riders running near identical lap times, Gowla was forced to settle for sixth place at the flag crossing the line as top Yamaha, as Seeley took his first win of the season.

The team will head to the ultra-fast circuit of Thruxton in Hampshire next weekend for Round 2 (12-14 April).

Phil Seton, Team Principal: "That was a good solid start for both riders. Graeme's first race was a little disappointing but we changed the set-up for Sunday and it improved the bike dramatically. By the time Graeme had caught the front six his tyre was pretty much used up, so he did brilliantly to keep the pace until the end. We're now firmly in the mix and Graeme and the bike are clearly competitive.

A big thanks to the whole Seton Tuning Yamaha team that worked tirelessly throughout the weekend. We've got a number of new faces in the team and the first round is always a little tense but everyone pulled together to make it a highly enjoyable and smoothly run opening round. Roll on Thruxton and a level playing field where we know our bikes will be strong."

Graeme Gowland #81: "I'm happy with the weekend. We have come away from Brands with two solid results and I can take some confidence from race 2 after bridging the gap to the front bunch and running with them for rest of the race. I'm looking forward to Thruxton now where the Seton Tuning Yamaha R6 can really stretch its legs." 

Images © Steve Hutchings