by Terry Hibberd
It was a weekend to remember for TeamWFR and Alex Lowes as the team scored their first podium in the British Superbike Championship and the number 22 rider finished the weekend by leaping into the top six with the final shootout looming.
Lowes finished in a fantastic second place in race one and backed that up with a fourth place finish in race two to leave him some six points clear of his nearest rival, Ian Lowry, ahead of the next round at Donington Park. With James Westmoreland taking two top ten finishes and leaving the circuit in ninth place some 21 points behind his team mate, round eight was to be a successful one for TeamWFR.
Cadwell Park proved to be a happy home hunting ground for the local rider as Lowes was on the pace right from the start of the weekend. Free practice saw him consistently amongst the quickest on track before the hard work paid off during Sunday qualifying. Lowes qualified in pole position for only the second time in his career and the first outright pole position for his team giving them the perfect opportunity to grab their best finish of the season in race one.
Westmoreland continues to be consistent and he qualified an impressive eighth on the grid for race one and give him a chance to push the pacesetters.
Off the line reigning champion Tommy Hill got the holeshot and he led going into Coppice with Michael Laverty and Lowes in tow. Sensing the #1 bike may get away, Lowes pounced to overtake Laverty into second place and he set about hunting down the championship leader. However, this was easier said than done and Hill consistently put in sub 1.29 minute laps to keep him at the front and with the WFR rider looking to score important points with Noriyuki Haga missing the round through injury, Lowes was happy to take second.
Further back in the pack Westmoreland had a fight on his hands with Ian Lowry as they battled for supremacy on the fringes of the top ten, both riders keen to take a points haul and keep their hopes of a showdown spot alive. Westmoreland was able to get past Lowry with a few laps remaining to snare 8th spot and importantly for his WFR team mate take a few points off the Padgetts rider which allowed Lowes to leapfrog him in the championship standings going into race two.
With the clouds overhead threatening to change the complexity of race two, Lowes needed just one point to overtake the absent Haga in the standings and off the line his intent was once again to push for a consecutive podium finish. With a start similar to race one Laverty and Hill took off with the #22 in behind, the trio were all being hunted down by a resurgent Josh Brookes who picked up the pace after he admitted having a nervy race one.
The Aussie rider managed to battle his way past Lowes at the halfway point with the #2 bike gaining many admiring stares as he roared over the mountain, catching air while the likes of Hill and Lowes in the main elected to keep the wheels planted getting the drive into the woodland section.
Lowes was able to keep pace with the Tyco Suzuki and he did make a late dash on the last lap to snatch the 3rd place spot from Brookes but it was too late. However, the fourth place finish was to see him easily take up the final showdown spot.
A little down the order Westmoreland was once again in a fight for points, this time Karl Harris and Michael Rutter stood in his way, but they were no match for the WFR Honda rider as he cut through the pack following an off for Danny Buchan. This left Lowry in front of the #27 once again and like race one, Westmoreland was to get the better of the Irishman, this time though it was for 6th spot which he was to maintain to continue an impressive weekend for him and the team.
Team owner Myles Schofield was naturally delighted with the maiden podium and looks forward to the next round at Donington Park in just under two weeks.
“I just want to say a big thank you to everyone in the team because they’ve been working hard since the start of the year for these kinds of results and I’m just so glad that it’s finally starting to pay off.” He said.
“I was delighted for Alex – he’s shown outright pace at previous rounds but at Cadwell he was dominant throughout the weekend and in the races he put in two really professional and mature performances that have put him in the top 6. The plan now is to do whatever we can to book our place in the Showdown. ”
