Gearlink Kawasaki’s Alastair Seeley is concentrating on regaining full fitness in time for the next British Supersport round at Assen following a difficult weekend at Donington Park.

Seeley crashed in the wet during free practice, suffering a back strain and aggravating the rib injuries he sustained in a spill at Cadwell Park at the previous round.

The Carrick rider lost his lead in the championship to key title rival Stuart Easton and now trails the Scot by eight points with three rounds of the series and six races remaining.

Seeley, who held an advantage of 22 points prior to the Donington round of the championship, said: “It was another tough weekend and really frustrating - the last thing I needed to do was crash on Friday but I needed to test some things on the bike and down I went early on in the session.

“I ended up in the medical centre and missing out on the rest of free practice. I knew I wouldn’t be able to do much in qualifying and so I only did 11 laps and ended up in ninth.

“The races were really tough especially at Donington with the change in direction of the track,” he added. “It was very difficult with my rib and back injuries.

“I really need to get myself back fit and ready for Assen and the last races of the year as I still have a championship to fight for.

“I have now dropped to second in the standings so I have to make sure I’m fully fit and ready to go at the final three rounds.”

Seeley finished ninth in Saturday’s Sprint race and eighth in the feature race on Sunday, with Easton taking full advantage of his opponent’s plight by claiming a victory and runner-up finish to put the Temple-based Mar-Train Racing Yamaha team at the championship summit.

The pair have been locked in an intriguing battle for supremacy in the middleweight class this season and their title duel is poised to go down to the final round at Brands Hatch in October.



Kyle White
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