Seeley remains in the hunt

The Carrick rider had been at the heart of the action amid a five-rider scrap for the lead as the slip-streaming battles saw numerous changes anong the front-runners. The local man, however, saved the best for last, timing his decisive move to perfection on the dash into Club Chicane for the final time. His victory meant he had turned a 50-point deficit three races ago, into a two-point advantage over Billy McConnell going into Sunday’s 18-lap race.

The Mar-Train Yamaha rider said: “There was a bit of a freight train at the front of the field so I used my North West 200 experience to my advantage.”

It was all looking good for Seeley and his team but in Sunday’s race he had to settle for a disappointing fifth behind the quartet of Triumphs with Graeme Gowland the race winner ahead of Luke Mossey, Billy McConnell and Luke Jones. Gowland now leads the series on 192 points from McConnell on 191 and Seeley on 188 as they head to this weekend’s seventh round at Oulton Park.

“It was disappointing but the lack of rear grip was the problem,” said Seeley. “It was okay in the middle of the race, but over the final four laps the rear tyre was gone and it meant that it was breaking away on the corner entry and spinning up on the exit.

“I have just climbed a mountain to get to this stage of the championship but dropped some points today on Graeme Gowland and Billy McConnell, so I have another small hill to get over at Oulton Park this weekend.”

Carrick’s Glenn Irwin (inset) brought the Gearlink Kawasaki home in fifth place in Saturday’s race which gained him a further 11 points in the championship, leaving him in sixth. “I was happy with fifth. It was a good race as far as I was concerned and to finish only 1.5 seconds off the winner was positive.”

On Sunday, Irwin had to be content with seventh. Irwin was in third spot at one stage and set the fastest lap of the race - just .24 seconds off Sam Lowes’ record.

Motorpoint British Supersport Championship, Feature race: 1. G Gowland (Smiths Triumph); 2. L Mossey (Techcare Profile Triumph) +0.077s; 3. B McConnell (Smiths Triumph) +0.167s; 4. L Jones (Premier Velocity Triumph) +0.390s; 5. A Seeley (MarTrain Yamaha) +0.685s; 6. L Stapleford (Profile Racing Triumph).

Championship points after Thruxton: Gowland 192; McConnell 191; Seeley 188; Jones 152.

Next round: Oulton Park, August 10.