NW200: Gearlink Kawasaki ticks all right boxes for record-chasing Alastair Seeley
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NW200: Gearlink Kawasaki ticks all right boxes for record-chasing Alastair Seeley
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Alastair Seeley feels right at home in the British championship Gearlink Kawasaki team as the Carrick rider assesses his prospects of adding more silverware to his bulging North West 200 trophy cabinet in May.

The 36-year-old has rejoined Michael and Norma de Bidaph’s family-run team to contest the Supersport class on a top-spec ZX-6R having previously won on the unmistakable green and orange-liveried Kawasaki at the 8.9-mile ‘Triangle’ course in the damp in 2013.

Seeley has managed a victory at the North Coast road race every year since he tasted his maiden success in 2008 and another win this Spring will set him aside as the most successful rider ever in history at the North West, after he equalled Robert Dunlop’s record haul of 15 victories last year.

The diminutive Ulsterman restricts his road racing exploits solely to the North West and remains the rider to beat after notching a hat-trick in 2015, claiming a Supersport double and a coveted win in the only Superbike race held after the organisers scrapped the premier race on the main Saturday bill, citing safety concerns due to high winds.

Seeley has yet to officially confirm his new team for his return to the MCE British Superbike Championship in 2016, although he has made it clear he will be riding BMW machinery.

Reflecting on his deal to ride for Gearlink Kawasaki at the North West (May 10-14), Seeley said:

“I’ve obviously rode for them before and I was happy with the team and the bike, which was a good package when I rode it.

“That’s part of the reason why, when I was doing a deal for a Supersport ride, I was happy to go with Michael and Norma [de Bidaph] again.

“I’ll be getting the best motors that Kawasaki can build, which come from Akira in France. I know that they’re a good, strong motor, so the fact that we are getting the best engines that can be supplied for that bike is something else that I was very happy with and it was another box ticked to be joining the team for the North West,” added Seeley, who parted company from the Tyco BMW team last season.

“There should be a Metzeler tyre test in Spain, which is usually at Almeria, so I’d say we’ll get a test there on the bike before the North West. It’s probably not as pernickety as the big bikes to set up and the model of the bike hasn’t changed since I last rode it, so we should be able to use the settings from the last time I was on the bike at the North West.

“So with good engines and the settings we have already, we should be good to go and I’m just happy to be getting onto a bike that I know I was happy with as a package,”
Seeley added.

“Obviously, getting the record would be very special but we’ll treat this year the same as any other and I’ll prepare like I always do.”

On his return to BSB this year, Seeley said full details of his plans are due to be announced this month.

“I’ll be racing BMW machinery in BSB but I can’t say for what team yet and an official announcement is due soon,” he said.

“I had a good year in BSB on the Relentless TAS Suzuki in 2010 and made it into the Showdown and ideally I’d like to do the same again.

“Obviously, I’ve rode BMW machinery at the North West before so we’ll have an idea of where we need to be with the big bikes this year.”




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Kyle White
19-01-2016, 12:45 PM
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