Top Six for determined Gowland and Appleyard Macadam

Team Appleyard Macadam Racing supported by Doodson had another tough weekend at Silverstone but Northumbrian Graeme Gowland salvaged fifth place in the second Supersport encounter to leave a positive feeling within the squad before the final round at Brands Hatch.

Team Appleyard Macadam Racing supported by Doodson had another tough weekend at Silverstone but Northumbrian Graeme Gowland salvaged fifth place in the second Supersport encounter to leave a positive feeling within the squad before the final round at Brands Hatch.

Wet weather throughout the Friday left everyone on the back foot but having participated in the Silverstone 200 event supporting the British Grand Prix earlier in the year, the team's Supersport riders felt they had a good base setting.

Gowland qualified at the front of the third row in seventh place, missing out on the second row by just fifteen thousandths of a second. South African Bjorn Estment ended the session 23rd ahead of Deane Brown, who finished the qualifying session in 24th.

Following the session, Brown decided to leave the circuit and return home complaining that the bike was not good enough and given the right bike he would win. As a result, Brown ended his 7 year relationship with the team, throughout which he has finished in the top three of both 125cc and Superstock 600 championships. Brown will not be riding with the team at the final round of the year at Brands Hatch after his unceremonious departure halfway through the weekend.

Gowland made a good start from the third row of the grid in the first race of the weekend, quickly involving himself in a three rider scrap for fifth place. He led the battle on lap six before being demoted backwards to seventh and despite battling hard on the last lap, the Northumbrain had to settle for seventh place, missing out on sixth by just 0.059 of a second. Johannesburg born rider Estment came home inside the top twenty, taking fourth place in the cup.

The second race of the weekend saw Gowland once again get off the line well and get on to the back of a nine rider scrap for the win. The front four broke away and Gowland was up to sixth and one point before two riders ahead crashed out allowing him to push for a top five finish. Unfortunately, the former Spanish Supersport champion once again missed out on the last lap and had to settle for sixth, this time by 0.050 of a second. However, after the race had finished a rider ahead was docked ten seconds and Gowland therefore promoted to fifth place. Estment battled hard once again, despite struggling for feel, and took fourth in the cup and another top twenty finish.

In the Superstock 600 class Daniel Kinloch progressed well throughout the weekend once again. The Glaswegian qualified on the tenth row of the grid and raced well, coming home in 28th place. The most promising aspect of the weekend being that he was able to better his qualifying pace by more than half a second in the race.

Graeme Gowland: "All in all a positive weekend that we desperately needed. We were in a bit of a rut over the past two rounds struggling for setup but this weekend, especially in that final race, I think we've got a solid setup that can push us in the right direction. I'm really looking forward to Brands Hatch now and hope I can finish the year off with some silverware."

Bjorn Estment: "Not a great weekend for us at all. We were struggling all weekend with unforeseen problems. The cup championship isn't finished yet and although I'm going to need a lot of luck, I think I'm due some after how this season has panned out so far. We will battle hard right to the end and what will be, will be. Massive thanks to the team as ever, hopefully I can give them something to cheer about at Brands Hatch."

Photo courtesy of Double Red