It was a mixed race day for sole JG Speedfit Kawasaki rider James ‘Westy’ Westmoreland at Cadwell Park, as he struggled with chatter in the first race before salvaging a hard fought top ten in race two. Despite missing the weekend through injury, James Ellison still holds on to third place in the championship standings with just one round remaining before the Showdown.
Building upon his debut podium at Thruxton, James Westmoreland kicked off the Cadwell Park weekend by finishing the opening day of free practice in a strong fourth place. Heading into qualifying in a positive mood, Westy sailed through the opening two sessions to make it into Q3 for the first time this season. Circulating with a 1:27.393 lap, the sole JG Speedfit Kawasaki rider secured an all-important third row and eighth place start for the opening race.
With sunshine gracing the Cadwell Park circuit for race day, the team used morning warm up to continue to work on a race setting, finishing the session in eighth. Lining up in his season’s best qualifying position, the team were confident for a strong showing however a lack of grip through chatter meant that Westy was unable to match his times from practice and qualifying, finishing in a disappointing 13th position.
By virtue of his lap time in the opening race, Westy lined up for the second race from the fourth row in eleventh position. Taking a strong start, he immediately moved into the top ten and was able to run the consistent lap times shown throughout practice. Entering into a five rider battle for the top six, Westy was able to secure a top ten position as he crossed the line in a well-deserved ninth place.
Despite being forced to miss both Cadwell Park races following a broken wrist sustained at Thruxton, James Ellison still holds onto his third place in the MCE British Superbike Championship standings. Having worked tirelessly since the crash to return to full fitness, the JG Speedfit Kawasaki star will ride next time out at Oulton Park, ready to secure his Showdown position and increase his tally of podium credits.
Eager to make a return to the podium, James Westmoreland said, “It’s definitely been a mixed day. The first race was a disaster for us, I couldn’t find the grip I had throughout practice and we’re not really sure why. The team have worked incredibly all weekend and that really wasn’t the result we deserved. For race two it was much better and you can see from my times that I was able to run far more consistent times. Although the result doesn’t look fantastic, we were only half a second from sixth place and the feeling was much, much better so I’m happy.
I’m pleased with how we were able to turn the day around in between race one and two so full credit to the JG Speedfit Kawasaki guys. I’m now looking forward to returning to Oulton Park and seeing James back in the garage!”
JG Speedfit Kawasaki Team Principal Mark Smith-Halvorsen added, “After two productive days of practice and qualifying, today’s results were not really what we were hoping for. Westy was able to consistently run top six pace throughout the weekend but in that first race he suffered with a lot of chatter and we’re not entirely sure as to why. We didn’t make a lot of changes before the second outing bet he was immediately able to go faster and earned a hard fought for ninth position, salvaging his day.
The atmosphere all weekend has been incredible, particularly today with the fantastic crowd. It was a shame for James to have to miss this weekend, but he remains in third place in the Championship and the entire JG Speedfit Kawasaki team can look forward to returning at Oulton Park at full strength where our goal will be to challenge for podiums and race wins and cementing our position in the Showdown.”
