DISASTER FOR ELLISON BUT STAPLEFORD SCORES FIRST MCE BSB POINTS!
It was a disaster of a race day at Silverstone for Title Fighter James Ellison as despite leading both races and setting a new MCE British Superbike Championship lap record, a severe lack of grip thwarted his chances. It was a positive day on the other side of the garage however as BSB debutant Luke Stapleford rounded off his Supersport Championship winning weekend by claiming his first Superbike points.
Kicking the weekend off strongly, James Ellison finished the opening Free Practice in fourth with new team mate Luke Stapleford impressing everyone on his Superbike debut by finishing in 18th. With both JG Speedfit Kawasaki riders improving their times throughout Free Practice two and three, James finished second overall on combined times with Luke in 20th.
With conditions remaining cold but dry for qualifying, James eased through the opening session with Luke continuing to surprise by joining his team mate in progressing to Q2. As times continued to tumble, a fourth place for James saw him move into the final session whilst Luke secured 20th for his debut MCE British Superbike Championship race, with a lap just 0.7s off the lap record. With the third and final session seeing some of the fastest ever Superbike laps of the Silverstone circuit, James secured a fourth place start for the opening race.
After James finished second in warm up, confidence was high for the first BSB race and it was a storming start as he moved into second place by the end of the opening lap. James moved into the lead on lap seven a position he would hold until lap 12. Despite leading from the front, he struggled with rear grip towards the end of the race, eventually taking fifth at the line. It was a strong opening Superbike race for newly crowned British Supersport Champion Luke, who fought through from his 20th position on the grid to narrowly miss out on scoring points, taking the chequered flag in 16th.
By virtue of their fastest lap times, James lined up in fourth place for race two, with Luke moving forward two places to 18th. Despite a poor start which pushed him back to eighth into the opening corner, James carved his way through the pack to be fourth at the end of the opening lap before taking the lead just two laps later. Able to pull away from the pursuing pack, setting a new lap record in the process, he looked comfortable running at the front before a severe drop in rear grip saw him unable to match his times, slipping back to a disappointing 17th. It was a different story on the other side of the garage however as Luke continued his incredible ascension in the Superbike class by scoring his first points in only his second race, taking a stunning 12th place.
Now sitting 80 points behind the series leader, a dejected James Ellison said, “I’m completely gutted. We’ve worked so hard to get back from the injury it’s a bitter blow to be ruled out today by problems outside of our control. We had some minor issues in the first race which meant I couldn’t quite maintain the pace of the others but I was feeling really good in the second race.
We made some changes in between the race and the bike was mega, I definitely felt we had the pace to win. For some reason however the grip level just fell off a cliff towards the end and I was struggling to tip in and the bike was trying to throw me off. It’s tough to lose out like this but we’ll be back at Brands to try and end the season on a high.”
After securing the British Supersport title yesterday, Luke Stapleford rounded off his weekend with a stunning ride to score his first BSB points, “It’s been an incredible weekend! Obviously wrapping up the Supersport title was our goal but to get my first experience on a Superbike was mega. I’ve never really ridden a 1000cc bike before and coming into the weekend everyone was saying there was no pressure but of course there is always some!
We just took it step by step and to walk away from this weekend having scored my first MCE British Superbike Championship points and the Supersport Championship is a special feeling. That second race was great fun, mixing it up with the likes of Smrz and Buchan. The guys in the team have been mega and I’m really enjoying riding the Kawasaki – we’ll keep chipping away and will see where we are at Brands in two weeks!”
JG Speedfit Kawasaki Team Principal Mark Smith-Halvorsen summed up, “Luke has had an incredible weekend, becoming the 2015 British Supersport Champion however even looking at him from our point of view it’s been impressive. His feedback, progression and performance over the weekend has been fantastic and to see him picking up points and beating guys who have been on Superbikes all year is really encouraging.
On the flip side, we’ve had a tough weekend. We made some small, but ultimately fundamental errors and moved in a technical direction that hasn’t worked. The results are not a reflection of how James has ridden, he’s given 110% and was capable of taking both race wins however we haven’t put the right package under him. We’ll look at what happened and will come back at Brands next time out ready to make amends.”
More, from a press release issued by Milwaukee Yamaha:
BROOKES DOUBLES UP TO EXTEND CHAMPIONSHIP ADVANTAGE AHEAD OF FINALE
Milwaukee Yamaha’s Josh Brookes edged a step closer to his first MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship title by doubling up on race wins at the penultimate round of Silverstone to hold a 47 point advantage ahead of the Brands Hatch season finale.
In the opening race Brookes hit the front of the field on the second lap after starting from the pole position after his incredible pace in yesterday’s qualifying and continued to battle off the opposition to claim the victory by 0.668s. Jakub Smrz completed the top ten as he continued to improve his pace onboard the second Milwaukee Yamaha on his second round with the team.
Brookes started the second race on the second row and after getting pushed wide on the first corner of the opening lap and then worked his way through the pack with a imperious performance to score the second win. Smrz meanwhile score points in 13th place.
Josh Brookes
“At the start of race one I was trying to find a pace that I felt could last the race distance and then James [Ellison] came passed and I thought that maybe that was a good situation as I could let him do the work. Then when Shakey came by me I sat calmly in third and kept an eye on them. I thought if I could stay smooth and fast and not make any mistakes then they shouldn’t have any extra to give than I have, I felt we were on fairly equal terms.
“I was able to get passed and then the final laps were a real fight with myself, the bike, the tyre and each corner – I was battling the elements in my own environment to keep it together. I had to concentrate and I am really pleased I bought it home.”
“I certainly found it difficult at the start of the second race as I got pushed wide at turn one. Exiting the turn he moved wide and I got squeezed out and I lost momentum and a few positions. I knew right from the start it was then going to be difficult.
“I got momentum going again and I had a great battle with Christian [Iddon] but every time I got in front of him he would slam me back and I was wasting a lot of laps as I needed to make some forward progress. It wasn’t until I was in front of him that I could move forward with confidence and the bike definitely worked better than race one. I moved to the front and then I could ride my own rhythm and I had confidence to keep pushing harder. I am looking forward to returning to Brands Hatch now for the final round.”
Jakub Smrz
“Both races were not ideal as I had slow start into race one and in race two both tyres were pretty worn. But this weekend we learnt a lot again, we had good race pace and were closer to front again. All I want now is to prove we can be stronger in the last race weekend at Brands Hatch and I’m sure we can fight at the front if everything goes well. I need to thank the team again for all their support and great work again!”
More, from a press release issued by Paul Bird Motorsport:
Byrne Keeps Title Hopes Alive With Silverstone Podium
Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne kept his title hopes alive with a battling performance at the penultimate round of the 2015 MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship held at a sun-kissed Silverstone today.
Having been announced today as re-signing for the Penrith-based PBM team in MCE BSB for 2016, the four-times British champion was hoping to return to winning ways following a disappointing opening round of the Showdown two weeks ago in Assen.
Aboard the Be Wiser Insurance-backed PBM Kawasaki ZX-10R, the defending champion showed good pace in qualifying although a technical problem in the final session, where a tyre spun on the rim, relegated him to row four of the grid for today’s opening 14-lap encounter.
It mattered not as by the second lap of the first race, he was running inside the top six and aided by the fastest lap of the race, the Sittingbourne rider continued to make steady progress through the field and moved into a podium position on lap nine.
Getting stronger as the race progressed, Shakey overhauled championship rival Josh Brookes for second place a lap later and although the Australian responded and ultimately took the race win, Byrne took a fine second place to maintain his bid for an unprecedented fifth title.
Starting from pole position for the second 14-lap race, both Byrne and the team were hopeful of challenging for the race win and it started ideally as he grabbed an early lead. Just like the first race, tyre wear was going to be a factor in the second half of the race and as the grip deteriorated, he slipped back to fifth in the closing stages to lose ground in the title race.
As a result, Byrne is now 47 points adrift of Josh Brookes with just three races remaining, but given the dramatic outcome to last year’s title race, whereby leading contender Ryuichi Kiyonari crashed out in practice, Byrne hasn’t given up on the title just yet.
New team-mate Danny Buchan, deputising for the injured Stuart Easton, qualified in a solid 12th place for the first race and the second Be Wiser PBM Kawasaki was well to the fore during the early stages of the race, running inside the top ten. However, it all went wrong for the Essex rider when he slid off at Copse on the fourth lap, fortunately without injury.
With the team doing a superb job in rebuilding the bike, Buchan battled hard throughout the second race and although he encountered a few issues as a legacy of the crash, he brought the bike home for 14th and two hard earned points.
Shane Byrne: “Starting from tenth for the first race was a bit rubbish, but Silverstone has a lot of overtaking opportunities so I wasn’t too downbeat plus we knew what the problem was. We had a tough start to the weekend, but that’s why I like the team so much as they work so hard for me and they gave me a great bike for the race. I dug in as deep as I could and I thought I might have a chance to win but second place was OK. Race two didn’t go to plan and now we have a bit of a mountain to climb, but we’ve not given up just yet and will take it to Josh again at Brands Hatch in two weeks time.”
Danny Buchan: “Qualifying went well and with good pace I was confident for race one, but it ended up being a bit of a nightmare as I ran off line and tucked the front. The team did a great job rebuilding the bike and we changed a couple of bits but there were a few issues that were holding me back and if I’d have pushed any harder I’d have crashed again so I brought the bike home for a finish. It wasn’t the ideal weekend for me, but we’ve got three bites of the cherry at Brands Hatch and I’ll be looking to end the season on a positive note.”
Phil Borley, Technical Director: “It’s been a mixed weekend for Shakey and his qualifying time made it difficult for race one, but he had a strong pace throughout the race and he rode extremely well to take second. With the fastest lap of the race, it gave him a great grid spot for race two and we expected to be challenging for the win, but it didn’t pan out that way and he struggled. There was nothing major that had changed with the bike so we’re not sure if it was the lower track temperature that caused the grip to drop off. For Danny, he had a good run through practice and we were happy with his performance in qualifying but, unfortunately, he ran slightly wide in the first race which caused him to lose the front. The team rebuilt the bike for race two but a couple of small issues held him back a bit and affected his confidence. But he brought the bike home for some points and he’s now had experience on our bike so hopefully he can take that knowledge onto Brands Hatch.”
The final ‘triple-header’ round takes place at Brands Hatch over the weekend of October 16/18th 2015. For more information, please visit www.britishsuperbike.com and www.britishsuperbike.com
MCE British Superbike Championship race one (14 laps)
1 Josh Brookes (Yamaha)
2 Shane Byrne (PBM Kawasaki)
3 Peter Hickman (BMW)
4 John Hopkins (Ducati)
5 James Ellison (Kawasaki)
6 Michael Laverty (BMW)
DNF Danny Buchan (PBM Kawasaki)
MCE British Superbike Championship race two (14 laps)
1 Josh Brookes (Yamaha)
2 Michael Laverty (BMW)
3 Dan Linfoot (Honda)
4 Christian Iddon (Suzuki)
5 Shane Byrne (PBM Kawasaki)
6 Richard Cooper (BMW
14 Danny Buchan (PBM Kawasaki)
Championship points (after 11 rounds)
1 Brookes 653pts
2 Byrne 606
3 Ellison 573
4 Laverty 553
5 Linfoot 534
6 Bridewell 531
9 Easton 139
13 Buchan 101
More, from a press release issued by Luke Mossey’s publicist:
Luke Mossey and the Quattro Plant TECcare Kawasaki team had a tough weekend at the penultimate round of the MCE British Superbike Championship at Silverstone. The 22-year-old from Royston crashed out of ninth place in race one and finished in tenth place in race two after an off track excursion.
Luke is particularly likes on the Silverstone Circuit and was looking to get some strong results at the super-fast GP track. Luke was settling in well again on the Quattro Plant Teccare Kawasaki throughout all the practice sessions and was feeling comfortable for the qualifying session.
He continued to improve on his times and push forward into the final qualifying session and made it through to the final top ten for the final session. He dug deep and worked hard and was able to qualify in fifth place for the opening British Superbike race.
Luke choose the harder option Pirelli tyre for the race as during testing he was not comfortable on the softer tyre for race distance. He struggled off the start and dropped back to ninth for the opening laps and his times were starting to come down but sadly he crashed out on lap six.
The Quattro Plant Teccare Kawasaki team worked extremely hard between races to get Luke’s bike fixed for race two after some serious damage caused in the crash. They did an incredible job in the short time slot and Luke lined up in 10th place for race two.
He got a good start and was seventh after lap one and was with the front pack. He ran straight on lap four and dropped to 16th and he was left with a lot of work to do. He slowly picked riders off and ended up in a solid tenth position at the end of the 14 laps.
Luke Mossey – “I think I got a little frustrated this weekend at Silverstone as I’ve always had good results here in the past and I think maybe I put too much pressure on myself. I wanted to do well for the team and almost went in the total opposite direction and struggled to get the results I was hoping for.
I didn’t find a set-up on the bike quickly and then I was having issues with grip on the softer tyre so decided to use the harder option for race one. I felt fairly comfortable and was in a lonely ninth place, I felt like I did nothing different but I lost the front end and crashed out.
The bike was badly damaged and I can’t thank my team enough for their efforts and the hard work they put into two hours to get me back out on to the grid. The bike felt different and I did run on at one point but got my head down to salvage a result for everyone.
I hope I can have a strong end to the year at Brands Hatch for the final round.”
Personal Sponsors 2015
TECcare, Sidi, Shoei, GB Racing, SMV, GiMoto, K-Tech, Krombacher, JMC, Moto Gear, ALS, John Wyatt, Graham Godward, Carl Hunter, Ben Brew
Twitter – LukeMossey12
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More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki Press Office:
IDDON SCORES BEST SEASON RESULT FOR BENNETTS SUZUKI
Christian Iddon scored his and the Bennetts Suzuki team’s best result of the season at Silverstone and round 11 of the MCE British Superbike championship, as he finished fourth in race two today.
Despite starting from the third row of the grid for the second race, Iddon quickly made a series of overtakes to get himself into the battle at the very front of the field. After a busy opening half of the race with plenty of hard but fair passes, he settled into a rhythm midway through, sitting in a comfortable sixth place and conserving his tyres.
In the closing stages, the Bennetts Suzuki rider upped his attack, making a move on Shane Byrne on the last lap to take fourth place at the chequered flag.
The result came after a disappointing opening race saw Iddon cross the line in eighth place. After qualifying on the front row of the grid, the team made some minor changes to hopefully improve the pace further in the race. Unfortunately it didn’t pay off, but more changes were made for race two to allow him to fight for the podium.
Christian Iddon:
“That was a really enjoyable race. I had some good battles with [Josh] Brookes and everyone was having a go. From about a third to halfway-in I was pushing really hard and losing time, so I was rushing into corners to try and compensate further. But I took stock of the situation a bit and knew tyre wear was going to come into it; they get a lot of hammer at this track as you spend so long driving forward on the side of the tyre. But I waited and as everyone else’s went off was able to make some passes and then it was just a case of following the progress forward. I could see the podium positions. Unfortunately the result wasn’t quite a podium but it’s a nice result, it’s our best this season, but more importantly we were in the mix all race. I really enjoyed it and the bike was even better again this weekend, so big thanks to the team; the guys put a lot of effort in. It feels like everyone’s sat on the bike with me, so it feels good to get a result for them. I’m looking forward to Brands now.”
Josh Waters had enjoyed a stronger pace through free practice and qualifying and was feeling confident ahead of the races. In a similar fashion to Assen, he found himself involved in a battle on track and crossed the line in 15th place in race one, after some issues with chatter as the race went on.
For race two the team took a gamble on the set-up which unfortunately didn’t pay off, and he crossed the line in 18th place.
Josh Waters:
“Unfortunately the results this weekend don’t reflect the potential I thought we had on Friday and Saturday. We struggled with a bit of chatter in the first race which has cost us positions, so the team tried something quite big for race two which was a bit of a gamble. If it had paid off it would have been a great decision to try it. Sadly it didn’t and it’s a case of what could have been this weekend. There’s one more to go at Brands so we’ll have another big push there and hopefully end the season strongly.”
Martin Halsall – Team Owner:
“Even though we’ve had our best result of the season with Christian in fourth, we’re almost disappointed because we were so close to the podium and felt we could have been up there. But it’s still a superb result and testament to the hard work everyone has put in this weekend.
“Race one was a bit of a disappointment after the front-row start; the team tried to make some changes to find a bit more a pace for the first race, but unfortunately it didn’t have the effect we were looking for and while eighth is still a strong result in this championship, it’s not what we were hoping for after the speed shown in qualifying. However, we made some more changes for race two and went back to some of the settings used in qualifying and it meant we were able to fight for the podium for the full race. Christian had the pace to run in that front group and it was a great race to be involved in with plenty of action. Christian made a great move on Byrne on the last lap but unfortunately it was only for fourth and not the podium, but it’s still a great result and shows that we can mix-it at the very front.”
Race One Result: 1. Josh Brookes, 2. Shane Byrne, 3. Peter Hickman, 4. John Hopkins, 5. James Ellison. 8. Christian Iddon (Bennetts Suzuki). 15. Josh Waters (Bennetts Suzuki).
Race Two Result: 1. Josh Brookes, 2. Michael Laverty, 3. Dan Linfoot, 4. Christian Iddon (Bennetts Suzuki), 5. Shane Byrne. 18. Josh Waters (Bennetts Suzuki).
More, from a press release issued by RAF Reserves BMW:
Red hot performance from Hickman at Silverstone
Peter Hickman converted his strong qualifying form into race results at Silverstone on Sunday with the RAF Reserves BMW rider claiming third place in the opening British Superbike Championship race, his third podium of the season.
The rostrum finish came in the opening race of the day when the Louth-based resident started from seventh and the third row of the grid. A good start saw him complete the opening lap in sixth place and a lap later this had become fourth as he comfortably ran with the leading group. With tyre choice crucial, it looked at mid-race distance if the team had opted for the wrong decision though as Peter dropped back to fifth and lost ground.
However, as the race wore on, it clear he was regaining that ground and closing the gap to the leaders. Sure enough, and aided by the third fastest lap of the race, he began to move forward and on the penultimate lap he overhauled James Ellison for third. He successfully held on to the position and took the chequered flag in third just 1.9s behind race winner Josh Brookes.
The drama wasn’t over though as, on the slowing down lap, other riders began to frantically wave at Peter as the bike caught fire! The exhaust had been rubbing against the fairing during the race and it was the latter that had caught alight. Fortunately, the fire was soon extinguished and the 28-year old duly took his place on the front row of the grid for the second 14-lap encounter.
Tyre choice was again on everyone’s mind, particularly as the track temperature had dropped a few degrees, but all looked well in the early stages with Peter running in the top four. By lap three though he’d dropped back to eighth and with the leading group already edging away, hopes of a repeat result evaporated. Nevertheless, Peter rode solidly throughout and he held onto the position for eight more points.
The day’s results mean that whilst he still sits in tenth overall, there’s only 19 points between himself and seventh placed Richard Cooper in the battle for the BSB Rider’s Cup with 75 more points available at the final round.
Peter Hickman: “The bike’s been fantastic all weekend and although it’s taken me a bit longer than I would have liked to get used to the new BMW engine, I’m really happy now. Tyre life was a key issue today but in the first race, I ran my own pace throughout and didn’t panic when the front group began to pull away. I let them go in the hope they’d come back to me in the latter stages and that’s exactly what happened. Being slower in the mid part of the race helped me and to get another podium was brilliant.”
“It certainly got a bit hot on the slow down lap but the fire wasn’t anything major although the fire extinguisher powder meant the team had to work hard to get the bike ready for race two. Unfortunately, I couldn’t perform like I did earlier in the day and I struggled from the start. I knew off the line the grip wasn’t there and I just went backwards. We’d also changed the shock which although it had the same settings didn’t quite feel right and so eighth was the best I could manage. All in all though, it’s been a strong day for me and the team and we’re still well in contention for the Rider’s Cup which is what we’re firmly aiming for.”
Lee Hardy, Team Owner: “The first race today was fantastic and although the decision to go with the softer tyre was a big call, we just felt it was the right one to make. It ultimately paid off and although Peter did drop back a bit, he was able to pick riders off as the race wore on. A podium finish was what we wanted to achieve right from the outset this weekend so to do just that was brilliant.”
“An excellent lap time put Peter on the front row and with RAF VIP’s in attendance, it was great for them to experience that. We went for the same tyre again as it had worked so well but this time it didn’t and had the opposite effect with Peter struggling for grip throughout. He dug deep though for a solid eighth place and we’re really pleased overall with how the weekend went. The package is working really well and we’re moving forward all the time.”
Brands Hatch in Kent hosts the final round of the season in two weeks time but prior to that Peter and the team will be in action at Darley Moor next weekend for the annual ‘Stars at Darley’ meeting.
MCE British Superbike Championship race one (14 laps)
1 Josh Brookes (Yamaha)
2 Shane Byrne (Kawasaki)
3 Peter Hickman (RAF Reserves BMW)
4 John Hopkins (Ducati)
5 James Ellison (Kawasaki)
6 Michael Laverty (BMW)
MCE British Superbike Championship race two (14 laps)
1 Josh Brookes (Yamaha)
2 Michael Laverty (BMW)
3 Dan Linfoot (Honda)
4 Christian Iddon (Suzuki)
5 Shane Byrne (Kawasaki)
6 Richard Cooper (BMW)
8 Peter Hickman (RAF Reserves BMW)
Championship points (after 11 rounds)
1 Brookes 653pts
2 Byrne 606
3 Ellison 573
4 Laverty 553
5 Linfoot 534
6 Bridewell 531
10 Hickman 137
More, from a press release issued by Quattro Plant Kawasaki:
Tough weekend at Silverstone for Quattro Plant Kawasaki
After strong performances at recent rounds, round eleven of the 2015 British Superbike Championship at Silverstone proved to be a tougher weekend for Quattro Plant Kawasaki with Luke Mossey scoring the team’s best finish in tenth.
The Royston-based rider arrived at the Northamptonshire venue fresh from a podium finish at the previous round at Assen and the weekend started well when he again made it through to the final stages of qualifying, ultimately taking seventh place for a third row start in the first race.
The 22-year old completed the opening lap in ninth place but it proved to be as high as he got as he crashed out at Copse on the sixth lap. It meant he started the second 14-lap race from tenth on the grid but with a superb start, he slotted into seventh place on the first lap. Here he remained until lap four when he ran off the track and dropped all the way back to 17th giving himself plenty of work to do in the second half of the race.
However, he fought valiantly and was rewarded for his efforts as he took tenth place at the chequered flag for six hard earned points. The result means he still maintains eighth place overall in the Championship table and is now 16 points behind Richard Cooper in the battle for the BSB Rider’s Cup.
Team-mate Howie Mainwaring Smart was also unable to take the top ten finishes he’d hoped for but the Aylesford-based rider made good strides forward throughout the weekend and finished both races in the points. He qualified in 19th place for the opening race but had gained five places by the end to claim 14th and went better still in the second race later in the day.
Starting from 16th and the sixth row of the grid, he was inside the points throughout the race and, aided by posting his fastest lap of the weekend, he shadowed Mossey in the latter stages and followed him over the line for 11th place.
Luke Mossey: “To be honest, it’s been a bit of a weekend to forget, one with ups and downs and after an excellent qualifying session, I felt confident for the two races. We gambled with the harder tyre for the first race but it didn’t feel right in the early laps and I was down before I knew it. In the second race, I got myself in a good position but the front end of the bike was juddering on the brakes and I ran on, dropping way down the order. I managed to get back up to tenth and was glad to get six more points so I’m simply looking forward to Brands now.”
Howie Mainwaring Smart: “After four no-scores in the last five races, I’m pretty happy with how the results have gone. We made a few wrong decisions in qualifying though which left me way down on the grid and dented my confidence as I couldn’t get the tyres to work for me. We turned it round on Sunday though and I gained a lot of confidence from my first race result and with a few more adjustments for race two, I was able to ride much more how I wanted to. When the tyres went off, I was still able to lap strongly and it was a good, battling 11th place finish so I’m looking forward to getting back into the top ten at Brands.”
Pete Extance, Team Owner: “After a promising qualifying performance from Luke, the team unfortunately made the wrong tyre decision for race one, going for the harder option tyre which didn’t work as we’d hoped. It contributed to Luke having to push on harder than he would have liked and he crashed out as a result. The bike sustained a lot of damage but the team did a superb job to rebuild the bike in time for race two and although he got up to seventh early on, he ran on which dropped him back to 17th.”
“However, he regrouped well and rode superbly to move up to tenth by the end of the race and score some valuable points to maintain our quest for the Rider’s Cup. Howie put in two solid rides, bringing the bike home for two good, points scoring finishes, particularly in the second race when he battled hard for 11th. His confidence is definitely back and we’re hopeful that today’s results will see him on top form at the final round at Brands, his favourite circuit.”
Brands Hatch in Kent hosts the final round on October 16-18.
MCE British Superbike Championship race one (14 laps)
1 Josh Brookes (Yamaha)
2 Shane Byrne (Kawasaki)
3 Peter Hickman (BMW)
4 John Hopkins (Ducati)
5 James Ellison (Kawasaki)
6 Michael Laverty (BMW)
14 Howie Mainwaring Smart (Quattro Plant Bournemouth Kawasaki)
DNF Luke Mossey (Quattro Plant Tec-care Kawasaki)
MCE British Superbike Championship race two (14 laps)
1 Josh Brookes (Yamaha)
2 Michael Laverty (BMW)
3 Dan Linfoot (Honda)
4 Christian Iddon (Suzuki)
5 Shane Byrne (Kawasaki)
6 Richard Cooper (BMW)
10 Luke Mossey (Quattro Plant Tec-care Kawasaki)
11 Howie Mainwaring Smart (Quattro Plant Bournemouth Kawasaki)
Championship points (after 11 rounds)
1 Brookes 653pts
2 Byrne 606
3 Ellison 573
4 Laverty 553
5 Linfoot 534
6 Bridewell 531
8 Mossey 140
16 Mainwaring Smart 79
More, from a press release issued by Smiths Racing Team:
Solid Points For Smiths Racing At Silverstone
Double British Supersport champions, Smiths Racing, had their penultimate outing of the 2015 season at Silverstone over the weekend with Billy McConnell and Jake Dixon again contesting the MCE Insurance British Superbike and Motorpoint Supersport Championships respectively but it proved to be a tough weekend for the Gloucester-based team.
Having qualified in 13th place for the first of the two 14-lap MCE Superbike races, Australian ace McConnell was inside the points for the entirety, but with the competition so strong, making any major advances forward was difficult and he had to settle for 13th place at the chequered flag for three hard earned championship points.
The 28-year-old reigning British Supersport champion from Adelaide started the second race from the fifth row aboard the Smiths Racing BMW and his decision to run the harder compound tyre looked to have paid dividends as he made great strides forward as the race progressed. By lap five, he was up inside the top ten and had moved up to eighth by half race distance with a higher finish well within his grasp. However, having just set his fastest lap of the race, he crashed out at Club on lap eight.
Meanwhile, team-mate Dixon lined up on the second row of the grid for yesterday’s Motorpoint Supersport ‘Sprint’ race and claimed fourth place aboard the factory-backed Smiths Triumph Daytona 675R in what was a relatively lonely ride, to maintain his third place overall in the standings.
The Dover rider started from fifth on the grid for today’s longer ‘Feature’ race and held onto that position for the opening lap. He progressed to fourth a lap later when new champion Luke Stapleford retired and although there was a brief safety car period, he took full advantage to move up to third soon after. However, just half a lap later his race was over as he crashed out at Brooklands, fortunately without injury, although the DNF relegated him to fourth in the standings.
Billy McConnell: “The weekend started off in the worst possible fashion when I crashed in the first practice session wrecking the bike in the process. The team did a superb job in rebuilding it, but in the first race I struggled, so it was definitely hard work for just three points. We changed the setting on the shock for race two and the bike was loads better and I felt really confident. The grip was good and I was moving forward all the time, but sadly I crashed again so it was frustrating to say the least. The team is naturally down, but we’ll try and take away the positives and end the year strongly at Brands Hatch.”
Jake Dixon: “It’s been a tough weekend and after crashing in the first free practice session, it put me on the back foot a little bit. The team worked really hard to give me a good set-up and we continually chipped away to improve things. I managed a fourth in the first race, but we made further changes for today and having been fastest in morning warm-up, I felt good for the race. Unfortunately, I just trailed a bit too much front brake so it was my fault and I’d like to say sorry to the team. With losing third overall in the standings, it hasn’t been a great day and I’ve plenty of work to do at the final round.”
Rebecca Smith, Team Manager: “The weekend started badly with both riders crashing out in free practice so full credit to the team for rebuilding both bikes, especially Billy’s, in time for the afternoon’s session. After that, the bikes never missed a beat, but we’ve made a few mistakes this weekend so need to go away and regroup for the final round. It’s frustrating not to have come away with some decent results this weekend, but Billy and Jake know what they need to do at Brands Hatch to put things right.”
MCE British Superbike Championship race one (14 laps)
1 Josh Brookes (Yamaha)
2 Shane Byrne (Kawasaki)
3 Peter Hickman (BMW)
4 John Hopkins (Ducati)
5 James Ellison (Kawasaki)
6 Michael Laverty (BMW)
13 Billy McConnell (Smiths Racing BMW)
MCE British Superbike Championship race two (14 laps)
1 Josh Brookes (Yamaha)
2 Michael Laverty (BMW)
3 Dan Linfoot (Honda)
4 Christian Iddon (Suzuki)
5 Shane Byrne (Kawasaki)
6 Richard Cooper (BMW)
DNF Billy McConnell (Smiths Racing BMW)
Championship points (after 11 rounds)
1 Brookes 653pts
2 Byrne 606
3 Ellison 573
4 Laverty 553
5 Linfoot 534
6 Bridewell 531
14 McConnell 97
Motorpoint British Supersport Championship race one (10 laps)
1 Luke Stapleford (Triumph)
2 James Rispoli (Yamaha)
3 Glenn Irwin (Kawasaki)
4 Jake Dixon (Smiths Racing Triumph)
5 Kyle Ryde (Yamaha)
6 Sam Hornsey (Triumph)
Motorpoint British Supersport Championship race two (12 laps)
1 Glenn Irwin (Kawasaki)
2 James Rispoli (Yamaha)
3 Sam Hornsey (Triumph)
4 Ben Wilson (Kawasaki)
5 Kyle Ryde (Yamaha)
6 Luke Hedger (Kawasaki)
DNF Jake Dixon (Smiths Racing Triumph)
Championship points (after 11 rounds)
1 Stapleford 421pts
2 Ryde 320
3 Irwin 304
4 Dixon 297
5 Rispoli 233
6 Reid/Wilson 165
The final round of the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship takes place at Brands Hatch over the weekend of October 16/18th. For more information, please visit www.britishsuperbike.com and www.smithsracing.co.uk.