Mansfield's injury-hit Binch Racing move quickly to sign Alastair Seeley
Mansfield-based Team Binch had to move quickly to secure the services of two times British Supersport Champion and 29-time victor of the North West 200 Alastair Seeley ahead of the first outing of the season at Navarra in Spain.
The team had been rocked by two pre-season injuries.
A shoulder injury will now rule out Zak Corderoy for the rest of the season while Ollie Parr has suffered a foot injury.
So Binch were delighted to land Seeley for the 2024 season with his wealth of racing experience, particularly on Yamaha machinery, and see him as a great mentor for Parr.
“Losing Zak has been very tough to take for both Binch Racing and Zak,” said a team spokesman.
“He received advice from a couple of shoulder specialists but unfortunately the diagnosis and advice was consistent.
“Zak will need to undergo surgery and he will require a minimum six months recovery.
“We wish Zak a speedy recovery and hope to see him on the tracks again in the very near future.
“Preparing for his first reason in the paddock, Ollie had been concentrating on his fitness over the winter months, spending a lot of time on bikes, both pedaled and horsepowered.
“Sadly, whilst doing some off road training he sustained an injury to his foot.
“Quick to react, the inury has been operated on and his recovery is going very well.
“We are not going to rush it. As much as we would like him back on a bike, it is vital he is 100 per cent fit and ready.
“So, that left us with a vacancy. The response to our social media post was nothing short of overwhelming.
“We were quite taken aback by the sheer volume and calibre of riders approaching us from all over Europe and we were delighted to agree terms with Alistair.”
The team were quickly off to Spain where Seeley was eighth fastest and the fastest Yamaha in the 33-strong field in testing.
Saturday's qualifying went equally well with Seeley lining up for Sunday's first race from eighth on the grid, finishing seventh in the 12-lap sprint race.
The feature race later that day saw Seeley improve once again to cross the line in sixth after a battle with Harry Truelove on his homoligated GSX-R 750.
That made it 26 Championship points and the team sixth in the standings.
This week the team will be heading over to one of Seeley's favourite circuits, Oulton Park, and they hope to have Parr back with them for Donington Park on May 17th-19th.