Mossey continues to shine for Quattro Plant Kawasaki

The Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit in Kent was the venue for the sixth round of the British Superbike Championship at the weekend and Luke Mossey gave the Quattro Plant Kawasaki team plenty to cheer about with a brace of top seven finishes.

Keen to continue his good form from the previous round at Knockhill, the Cambridge youngster did just that and duly made it into the final stages of qualifying once more, ending up in tenth place for a fourth row start. The opening 20-lap race was highly eventful with a number of front runners crashing out but Mossey stayed out of trouble and came home in an excellent seventh place.

The second race saw him start from the more advanced position of sixth but a problem engaging gear on the line meant he was in second, rather than first, gear when the lights turned green and his good grid spot came to nothing as he dropped all the way down to 15th. However, showing the pace he had done all weekend, he fought his way through the pack to take his second seventh place of the day, only missing out on sixth on the final lap.

For team-mate Howie Mainwaring Smart it proved to be a lot more challenging weekend at a venue where he won at in 2014. This time around though, the story was a lot different. Having qualified back in 20th place, it left him with plenty of work to do and having ridden well to get himself inside the points, the Aylesford rider’s race ended on the 16th of 20 laps when he crashed out, fortunately without injury, at Druids.

He battled hard in the second race only to be denied by a loss of power in the machine and although he wasn’t able to add to his Championship points tally, he at least brought the bike home for a finish in 17th place.

Luke Mossey:

“It’s been a really good weekend where I’ve been in the top ten throughout so we’ve definitely found something with the bike and I’m feeling really comfortable. The team continue to work really hard and whilst I was a bit worried coming into the weekend, Brands not being too kind to me in the past, I couldn’t have asked for much more. I had a really strong first race and felt confident of doing better in the second but I couldn’t get the bike into first gear so I dropped miles back. I knew I had the pace though so didn’t panic and just chipped away and was rewarded with another seventh. The front group of riders aren’t that far away from me and the next round, at Thruxton, is one of my favourite circuits so I’ll be doing my best to get into the top five there.”

Howie Mainwaring Smart:

“It’s been a tough weekend and I’ve struggled throughout. I won here last year and went quicker in qualifying this time around but the pace has moved on so much this year and I didn’t improve as much as what other riders did. It left me with a lot of work to do and I was making good progress in the first race only for Ryucihi Kiyonari to take my front wheel away. In the second, the bike lost power as the race wore on and started to run on three cylinders so there wasn’t much I could do although I at least got a finish. We’ll keep working hard and, hopefully, get back to the top ten form we were showing earlier in the year.”

Pete Extance, Team Owner:

“This weekend was all about building on Luke’s recent performances and trying to rebuild Howie’s confidence to get him in a position to where we feel he should be. Over the course of the weekend, Luke continually improved, starting off by qualifying in an excellent tenth place in his first time on a Superbike around the GP circuit. Race one saw him have a superb ride, battling with the two BMWs of Michael Laverty and Tommy Bridewell, to take a fantastic seventh and although he fluffed the start in the second race, he showed his potential by coming through the pack to sixth, only to get pipped on the final lap.”

“Howie struggled a bit in qualifying with the set up of the bike and being in 20th place on the grid left him with a lot of work to do. He was unfortunate in the first race, getting caught up with Kiyo and it left him deep on the grid again for the second. He lapped consistently in the race but, unfortunately, wasn’t able to make the points so we’ll regroup on that side of the garage for the next round to get him back to where he was earlier in the year and look to continue the excellent form of Luke.”

Source: Mossey continues to shine for Quattro Plant Kawasaki