The Voice of Spalding and South Holland
Solid finishes of fifth and seventh at Brands Hatch over the weekend clinched Ben Wilson sixth place overall in the Motorpoint British Supersport Championship rider standings.
Kirton rider Wilson knew that he only needed to finish in the points at the final round of the series to be assured of a respectable top six finish.
However, qualifying was a difficult affair – with damp patches and a drying track making tyre choice a problem.
But the 33-year-old Gearlink Kawasaki ace managed to complete the session in tenth place to start the first race from a fourth row grid position on Saturday.
He got away to a fantastic start and was up to sixth at Paddock Hill on the first lap.
He passed Joe Francis on lap five, but the youngster returned the favour one lap later with Kyle Ryde following through shortly afterwards demoting Wilson to seventh.
The race was hectic, with any one of six riders capable of taking the runner-up spot – and Wilson was nicely poised to make a move forward when the red flag halted the race because of light rain.
As the race had passed two-thirds distance, a result was declared with Wilson being awarded seventh place. Had the race gone full distance, Wilson could have possibly made it onto the podium, but he was thwarted by a few drops of rain which the majority of the riders thought was not enough to stop the action.
Wilson started the feature race on Sunday from the third row and once again got a good start. He was up to third and challenging for second on the first of 18 laps and held third place through the closing stages.
He was eventually overtaken by James Rispoli and Glenn Irwin on lap five and maintained fifth place until Kyle Ryde passed him on lap 14, demoting him to sixth place.
One lap later he overtook Rispoli to regain his fifth position but the Kawasaki did not have the power to catch the front runners and Wilson had to be content with fifth place, which he held with ease to the chequered flag.
Wilson said: “I was looking at a podium finish to the sprint race. But the red flag put paid to that. I was running well in the feature race and thought I could stick with the front guys, but they got away from me towards the end of the race and fifth was the best I could do.
“But I had two good races and enjoyed myself out there. Thanks to my team for their efforts this weekend and also thanks to all my personal sponsors and supporters who have stuck with me throughout this very competitive year.”
Wilson finishes on 185 points, with his best result of the season being a fourth place at Silverstone.
FINAL STANDINGS
1st L Stapleford 471pts
2nd K Ryde 344pts
3rd J Dixon 337pts
4th G Irwin 320pts
5th J Rispoli 256pts
6th B Wilson 185pts
