Seeley kickstarts season with fifth at Oulton

Alastair Seeley kick-started his MCE British Superbike season with a strong showing at the second round of the series at Oulton Park.

The RAF BMW rider was on the pace throughout the weekend in both wet and dry conditions. A strong ride from seventh on a wet but drying track in race one saw him cross the line in a strong fifth place, half a second ahead of the factory-supported Tyco BMW of Michael Laverty.

The pocket-sized Northern Irishman likened the conditions to the North West 200, where he holds an exemplary record having taken 15 career victories at the 8.970 mile triangle.

“It was just a case of managing the race and staying on the dry patches,” he told MCN after the race. “The North West 200 can turn out like that, where you go down somewhere bone dry and two or three laps later it’s soaking! It’s so changeable, so if anything today was a good test for next week!

Seeley’s pace this weekend was a much needed boost after a tough first round at Silverstone from which he took a measly two points. The step forward came after a positive test at Oulton last week plus added support from Aspar MotoGP electronics guru Frankie Carchedi for the weekend.

“With the test last week, we started to feel good on the bike, to feel like it was working more to my liking. And then I have Frankie here this weekend too, and it’s good to have his ideas and his direction – it just brings a bit more confident within the whole camp. It hasn’t been confirmed if he’ll be at the North West yet, but I’d like to have him there!”

It wasn’t all positive for Seeley, however, with the 36-year-old crashing out of a strong ride in the second race.