Brookes and Milwaukee Yamaha double up at Assen
Josh Brookes maintained his impressive form in the MCE British Superbike Championship at Assen for the opening round of the Showdown, winning both races to extend his advantage to 14 points ahead of his closest rival in the standings.
In the opening race Brookes again delivered an impressive performance to fire off his pole position into the lead and then edged out ahead of the chasing pack to win by over six seconds, breaking the lap record in the process.
In the second race Brookes again emerged victorious. The changing conditions meant a challenge for the riders, but Brookes kept his cool, fighting throughout the race before dispensing with his rivals to maintain his winning Showdown streak.
Jakub Smrz finished sixteenth in his debut race for the Milwaukee Yamaha team as he continued to build momentum and the Czech rider improved his pace in race two to finish inside the top ten, moving up the order throughout the 15 lap contest.
Josh Brookes
“It is certainly pleasing to be in this position as if you turn back to the last race at Oulton Park, to watch Shakey overtake me and make a gap to finish the race ahead was a bitter pill to swallow. I have had two weeks to stew on that and to come back with maybe more aggression.
“It’s not just the double that’s good, I’ve done that a few times now, but to do it now at the most crucial point and with all the crazy things that have happened, especially last year there was a lot chaos for me that didn’t go my way.
“It’s really pleasing to have this lead over Shakey now; a lot of the racing I have done in the middle of the season had very little effect on the championship standings so for the points to matter this weekend makes a real difference.
“I took the holeshot in race two and immediately felt like I was going too slow, everything felt slow motion and I was waiting for people to come past. As Dan came past, I saw he was on wet weather tyres and he got away quite quickly as would be expected.
“We’ve seen it many times this year that the depth of field is strong in BSB, any rider that comes past you, you can’t just immediately get them back you have to work hard to do it. I didn’t mean for the pass [on Ellison] to be that aggressive but I’m glad he’s taken it in good light. I thought I would be able to make a cleaner move than that but his entry speed was much faster than I anticipated!
“I’m really happy to bring it home with all these different events going on! I enjoyed the race quite a bit and I hope it was enjoyable to watch!”
Jakub Smrz
“It was a difficult weekend because I hadn’t ridden a race bike in three months, and it was a different bike and limited track time due to the weather conditions. But myself and the Milwaukee Yamaha team worked really hard and we scored a top 10 finish in race two.
“It was my first weekend with the R1 and I´m happy with the progress we have done and I really enjoyed working with Shaun Muir’s team. They helped me a lot to adapt to the different riding style which the R1 needs and change the setup to make it easier so thanks to everyone.“
More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki Press Office:
IDDON & BENNETTS SUZUKI IN ASSEN PODIUM HUNT
Christian Iddon and the Bennetts Suzuki team began to show its true potential this weekend at Assen for round 10 of the MCE British Superbike championship, with strong performances that saw Iddon fighting for two podium finishes.
After posting the second-and-third fastest times in practice on Friday, a crash in qualifying saw Iddon start race one from 10th on the grid. However, after a good start, he had soon made up a number of places and was on the back of the battle for third place. Unfortunately, issues with rear grip meant he eventually dropped back to seventh place at the chequered flag, but his best lap-time gave him a second row start for race two.
A rain shower meant the race eventually began in damp, tricky conditions, but the team still shod the Bennetts Suzuki GSX-R1000 with Pirelli slick tyres. It proved to be the right decision and after another good start Iddon was soon fighting for the race lead.
Despite losing touch with the race leaders as the race wore on, Iddon remained in the battle for third place, but lost out to Shane Byrne in the closing laps and crossed the line in sixth place. Despite missing-out on the podium, Iddon and the team are taking the positives away from the weekend’s performances and will be looking to build on the potential shown next time out at Silverstone.
Christian Iddon:
“In the first race we really struggled with tyre degradation, as did a lot of other guys. Sadly for us though I didn’t quite have a good feeling from the rear from the off so I was in a worse situation than most. Mid-race I thought we could have had a podium though but sadly our performance dropped-off in the latter stages. Race two was really enjoyable. Two corners were still really wet early on, but I was feeling really good and again thought we were in with a shout of a podium, but as the track dried we suffered from some chatter quite badly. It’s a shame because the results don’t really look that spectacular or reflect the potential. I felt really strong in both races and really thought we could have had two podiums. But we’ve made some big steps and there’s no reason why what we’ve worked on here can’t work at Silverstone. We also have some more bits to try too so hopefully we can improve the bike further and still have a good end to the season.”
Josh Waters started the opening race from 12th on the grid and was tagged onto the battle for the top 10. With an improved feeling with his GSX-R1000 and strong pace, the potential was there for a strong result, but unfortunately he got caught-up in the on-track battle and crossed the line in 15th.
The tricky conditions saw the field bunched-up in the opening laps of race two, with positions exchanged at nearly every corner. Waters was again amongst the battle for the top 10, and finished inside the points in 14th place, but feels there was the chance of stronger results this weekend, and is looking for more at Silverstone.
Josh Waters:
“Our pace was a lot better this weekend and better than the results showed. We just got caught-up at the wrong times in the wrong places, but that’s the nature of BSB and why it’s such a good championship. The lap-times we could run were a lot better and the feeling from my GSX-R1000 was improved this weekend. Everyone in the team has worked hard so hopefully we can take the things we’ve tried here at Assen and build on them further at Silverstone.”
Martin Halsall – Team Owner:
“That’s a bit more like it. We’ve known the potential has been there all season and while we missed out on the podium in both races in the end, we’re buoyed by the promise that we’ve shown this weekend. Christian’s done an excellent job of putting the crash in qualifying behind him to come through and get himself and the Bennetts Suzuki GSX-R1000 up the sharp-end and has had two good races. Sadly a couple of little things ended the podium challenge early, so as a team we’ll go away from here and look through all the data and information to try and find some solutions, and hopefully we can go a few better at Silverstone.
“Josh has been a bit unlucky this weekend with his results. He had a good Friday and his grid spot for the second race showed the pace that was there this weekend. He’s had two dogfights typical of BSB this season, but unfortunately has been at the back of those at the wrong point in each race, so I don’t think the results reflect the potential that was there for him this weekend. But we’ll again take the positives, and look to improve the GSX-R1000 for him again at Silverstone.”
Race One Result: 1. Josh Brookes, 2. James Ellison, 3. Michael Laverty, 4. Shane Byrne, 5. John Hopkins. 7. Christian Iddon (Bennetts Suzuki GSX-R1000). 15. Josh Waters (Bennetts Suzuki GSX-R1000).
Race Two Result: 1. Josh Brookes. 2. James Ellison. 3. Luke Mossey. 4. Richard Cooper. 5. Shane Byrne. 6. Christian Iddon (Bennetts Suzuki GSX-R1000). 14. Josh Waters (Bennetts Suzuki GSX-R1000).
More, from a press release issued by JG Speedfit Kawasaki:
Podium joy for Ellison as JG Speedfit Kawasaki make strong Showdown start
20th September – It was an emotional double podium for JG Speedfit Kawasaki’s James Ellison at the famous TT Circuit Assen this weekend, on his birthday, and the anniversary of his Father’s passing, keeping his championship ambitions alive. James was also confirmed to be with the team for a consecutive third season in 2016.
Difficult weather conditions disrupted the Kendal man’s progress throughout the free practice sessions, but he was still inside the top ten. James showed true grit and battled through even more pain to make it into the Datatag Extreme Qualifying session on Saturday afternoon.
From the off in qualifying, James started to post times good enough to run inside the top five, and he breezed into the final stage. After a change onto fresh rubber, James pulled a time out of the bag that stunned everyone, given the issues he was having with his wrist. The birthday boy posted a 1:36.2, a full second under the lap record, to line him up second on the grid, only four tenths behind pole man Josh Brookes.
Race one on Sunday saw James get a great start, and he ran in second after the first corner. He then started to battle his way forward posting the fastest lap of the race and a new lap record, until Brookes responded to improve on the record set by Ellison. James then started to ride his own race, maintaining the gap between Michael Laverty in third place, taking the flag in a fantastic second place.
James retained his second spot on the grid, thanks to his second fastest lap time in the first race. But prior to the start of race two, the weather took a turn for the worse, with heavy rain in parts of the circuit. It took two restarts before the riders got underway on a mixture of tyres, but Ellison took the gamble and started on slicks.
He made a good start but got caught up in the first couple of turns, and after lap two he was in eighth place. As the circuit started to dry, James made his way through the pack and took the lead of the race with only seven laps to go. Josh Brookes made a hard pass in the fast section of the course, but as they crossed the line James just couldn’t make his way past, and took the flag in second, his second rostrum of the weekend.
After the successful weekend in Holland, title fighter Ellison said: “I felt like I had a little bit of extra help this weekend with my Dad watching over me, and I had a couple of moments where I thought the race over especially in race two. I kept thinking about the effort he put in to me and my brother over the years, and I just kept digging in deep because when I saw I had big gap I thought Josh was in a little bit of trouble with other riders, so when he gets through he’ll have a chance of catching me.
“I got the gap to two and half seconds, but then he just kept coming back at me. We still hung with him, and we crossed the line not far behind so I’m really pleased with that. We clawed some more points back on Shakey as well, which is good, there are three of us in the championship, not just Josh. So it feels like job done.”
JG Speedfit Kawasaki’s Team Owner Mark Smith-Halvorsen added: “I’m really pleased with the podiums and the confidence of both the team and James. We’ve lost ten points to Josh, but we’ve gained some really important points on Shakey and that’s the type of momentum that we want to carry on to Silverstone.
“The title is still a tough job, Josh has been to Assen before earlier in the year and we’ve been close to him in that second race, which is really good. The whole team have done a cracking job this weekend, and I feel with the updates we have for Silverstone we will be fighting for race wins.”
More, from a press release issued by Quattro Plant Kawasaki:
Second podium of the season for Mossey and Quattro Plant Kawasaki
Luke Mossey gave the Quattro Plant Kawasaki team plenty of reasons to be cheerful at Assen on Sunday when the Royston rider took third place in the second British Superbike Championship race, his second podium of his rookie season.
As in previous rounds, the 22-year old was in excellent form all weekend at the Dutch circuit and took a strong seventh place in qualifying despite slipping off in the closing stages of Saturday afternoon’s session.
It put him in a good position going into Sunday’s opening 18-lap race and it started well as he slotted into sixth place at the end of the opening lap. However, on lap five his race came unstuck when he ran into the gravel and ultimately had to retire from the race. He more than made up for it later in the day though.
The second race was cut to 15 laps due to rain falling although when it did eventually get underway, the majority of the field, including Luke, were on slick tyres. The first few laps were tricky to negotiate and although he found himself in ninth at the end of the first lap, by as early as the fourth lap, Luke was up to fourth. This soon became second and although eventual race winner Josh Brookes pushed him back to third at two thirds race distance, he successfully withstood all challenges to take an excellent third place.
The result sees him maintain ninth place overall in the Championship table but, crucially, he’s now only eight points behind seventh placed Richard Cooper in the race for the BSB Rider’s Cup.
For team-mate Howie Mainwaring Smart, it was a far more challenging weekend and a heavy spill during practice on Friday left him extremely battered and bruised and it was an uphill battle from there on in. With the bike also having been extensively damaged, the Aylesford based rider placed 22nd after a difficult qualifying session and he was then forced to retire from the opening race due to a lack of rear grip.
The 28-year old started the second race from the seventh row of the grid and battled hard throughout the 15 laps. By lap ten, he was running in 12th place and looking good for some more Championship points but, sadly, he got pushed back in the closing stages to eventually end up in 16th place, just outside the points.
Luke Mossey: “It was obviously a difficult first race for me and I was having a few issues with the bike after the crash in qualifying but to bounce back with a podium in the second race is brilliant. It’s my second one of the year and I’m loving the moment. The team are working so well for me and we’re all getting on really well and I’m chuffed to bits with how the second race went. Hopefully, we can maintain this momentum for the last two rounds of the year.”
Howie Mainwaring Smart: “It’s been a massively disappointing weekend for me and all weekend I’ve been on the back foot. The crash on Friday obviously didn’t help but the bike just didn’t feel right all weekend and it felt slow so we were losing out quite a bit to the other riders. It was a struggle all the way through to be honest and although I gave it my all in the two races, it just didn’t go for us so we need to go back to the drawing board now to put things right at the final two rounds.”
Pete Extance, Team Owner: “After showing great promise in practice and qualifying, Luke’s first race turned into a bit of a disaster. Both he and Howie opted for the harder rear tyre and it proved to be the wrong option as both riders struggled for grip which ultimately saw both of them retire.”
“Conditions were very sketchy for the second race but Luke started brilliantly and battled his way to the front, riding brilliantly throughout. He rode an extremely sensible and superb race for an excellent third place finish and with the next round at Silverstone being a similar type of circuit and one his favourites, it bodes well and we’ll definitely be hoping for more of the same. For Howie, it was a tough race as he struggled to find his way through the traffic and he unfortunately just missed out on the points in 16th.”
The penultimate round of the series takes place in two week’s time at Silverstone, Northants.
MCE British Superbike Championship – Race One (18 laps)
1 Josh Brookes (Yamaha)
2 James Ellison (Kawasaki)
3 Michael Laverty (BMW)
4 Shane Byrne (Kawasaki)
5 John Hopkins (Ducati)
6 Richard Cooper (BMW)
DNF Luke Mossey (Quattro Plant Tec-care Kawasaki)
DNF Howie Mainwaring Smart (Quattro Plant Bournemouth Kawasaki)
MCE British Superbike Championship – Race Two (15 laps)
1 Josh Brookes (Yamaha)
2 James Ellison (Kawasaki)
3 Luke Mossey (Quattro Plant Tec-care Kawasaki)
4 Richard Cooper (BMW)
5 Shane Byrne (Kawasaki)
6 Christian Iddon (Suzuki)
16 Howie Mainwaring Smart (Quattro Plant Bournemouth Kawasaki)
Championship positions after ten rounds
1 Brookes 603pts
2 Byrne 575
3 Ellison 562
4 Laverty 523
5 Bridewell 515
6 Linfoot 509
9 Mossey 134
15 Mainwaring Smart 72
More, from a press release issued by Paul Bird Motorsport:
Dutch Disappointment For Byrne And Easton
The Penrith-based Paul Bird Motorsport team along with rider Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne saw their 2015 MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship challenge suffer a minor setback this weekend when the four-time champion could only manage fourth and fifth place finishes at the Assen circuit in Holland.
And with arch-rival Josh Brookes taking both race wins at the opening round of ‘The Showdown’, the Sittingbourne rider saw a two-point deficit to the Australian grow to 28 points with five races remaining in the series.
Having qualified the PBM Kawasaki ZX-10R in fifth place for the opening 18-lap race, reigning champion Byrne made a good start and immediately slotted into third behind main rivals Brookes and James Ellison. However, as the race wore on, the 37-year old was unable to match their pace and slipped back into the clutches of Michael Laverty and John Hopkins.
Back down to fifth at one stage, Byrne regrouped and looked like he’d take the final podium spot with a last lap manoeuvre on Laverty but he ran wide at the final chicane and had to settle for fourth, losing ground to race winner Brookes in the title race.
The second race saw a number of delays due to the weather and when it finally got underway, it was cut to 15 laps. With conditions extremely tricky in the early stages, Byrne found himself shuffled back to seventh by lap four and although he managed to climb back up to fifth in the final few laps, he was unable to make it onto the podium.
Team-mate Stuart Easton, meanwhile, contested the practice and qualifying sessions, but withdrew from the races with his injured leg and knee too painful to withstand the rigours of the two races. The Hawick rider has now slipped back to eighth overall, three points behind Richard Cooper in the battle for the BSB Rider’s Cup.
Shane Byrne: “The weekend has been far from perfect, but at least we have a couple of points scoring rides under our belts despite our problems. We came to Assen in a positive frame of mind, but the constantly changing conditions over the weekend caused us a headache but I’m not making excuses. Fair play to Josh, he rode brilliantly and we now need to have a sit down and regroup so we are ready for Silverstone.”
Stuart Easton: “It was always going to be a long shot after hurting my knee again two weeks ago at Oulton Park but we had to give it a go. It didn’t work out so now my focus is trying to get more movement and reduce the swelling so we can be competitive at Silverstone in two weeks time.”
Paul Bird, Team Owner: “It’s been a tough weekend for sure, what with Stuart having to sit both races out and Shakey not managing a podium but nothing has been decided yet. Shakey came away from Assen last year, having scored 25 points and this year he scored 24, yet he was still champion so we’ve not given up yet. Silverstone traditionally suits our bike so we’ll come back fighting in a fortnight.”
The next round takes place at Silverstone over the weekend of October 2/4th 2015.
For more information, please visit www.britishsuperbike.com and www.britishsuperbike.com
MCE British Superbike Championship Race One (18 laps)
1 Josh Brookes (Yamaha)
2 James Ellison (Kawasaki)
3 Michael Laverty (BMW)
4 Shane Byrne (PBM Kawasaki)
5 John Hopkins (Ducati)
6 Richard Cooper (BMW)
MCE British Superbike Championship Race Two (15 laps)
1 Josh Brookes (Yamaha)
2 James Ellison (Kawasaki)
3 Luke Mossey (Kawasaki)
4 Richard Cooper (BMW)
5 Shane Byrne (PBM Kawasaki)
6 Christian Iddon (Suzuki)
Championship Positions (after ten rounds)
1 Brookes 603pts
2 Byrne 575
3 Ellison 562
4 Laverty 523
5 Bridewell 515
6 Linfoot 509
8 Easton 139
More, from a press release issued by Smiths Racing Team:
Double Dutch Podium For Dixon, McConnell In The Points
Gloucestershire’s Smiths Racing Team endured varying fortunes at Assen over the weekend with Jake Dixon recording two more excellent podium finishes in the Motorpoint British Supersport Championship whilst Billy McConnell only managed to pick up four points in the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship.
Dixon qualified in fifth place for Saturday’s Motorpoint British Supersport Championship ‘Sprint’ race and, despite crashing earlier in the day, he was part of a terrific five-rider battle for second place. Positions changed frequently, particularly on the final lap, but the Dover rider held on to take an excellent third place to extend his run of podium finishes to six.
Aboard the factory-backed Smiths Triumph Daytona 675R, the 19-year-old again started from fifth on the grid for Sunday’s longer ‘Feature’ race with a slightly damp track which made conditions extremely tricky. A brilliant start saw Jake and Glenn Irwin open up a five second lead in the early stages before the safety car came out due to a number of incidents. When the race resumed on lap six, series leader Luke Stapleford soon hit the front and although he went on to take the win, Jake took an excellent second place to make it a double podium finish at the historic Dutch track.
Tyre issues in qualifying meant that Adelaide’s McConnell lined up in 16th place for the opening MCE BSB race aboard the Smiths Racing BMW but in typical fashion, the Australian fought hard throughout the 18 laps to eventually be rewarded with 12th place. Weather conditions later in the day saw the second race cut to 15 laps, but with a good tyre choice, hopes were high for some more points. Sure enough, Billy was running comfortably in the top 15 and looking to move up the leaderboard when he tangled with another rider on the fifth lap and unfortunately crashed out.
Jake Dixon: “I was a little bit disappointed after Saturday’s race as I rode so hard, but we had a slight issue with the front end of the bike although it was still good to get a podium. I made a great start in the second race and when the safety car came out, myself and Glenn had pulled out a big gap so I thought maybe the other riders weren’t too confident through the first section. Luke got to the front when the race resumed and although I was soon into second, I made a slight mistake late in the race which cost me my chance. But I gave it everything as my team always gives me everything and are always on my side.”
Billy McConnell: “Despite being further back on the grid than I would have liked, I had a good first race and really enjoyed the battle I was having out there so I was happy enough with the outcome. I was obviously looking for more in the second, but Danny Buchan came up the inside of me and my handlebar caught the rear of his back and my front wheel got taken away. My leg then went under my rear wheel and the foot peg into my knee so I’m a bit tender but I’ll be fine. It’s a shame as we had some good pace and could have had a good result so I’m just hoping we can get some decent results at the last two rounds.”
Rebecca Smith, Team Manager: “Jake continued his excellent run of form this weekend and he worked really hard in both the wet and dry conditions. We couldn’t take a win, but I’m really pleased for him with the two podiums and it means he’s gained valuable ground on Kyle Ryde in the battle for second overall and he’s now only 14 points behind. Second overall is what we’ll be aiming for and Jake’s very much looking forward to getting back on to the top step of the podium at Silverstone. Billy had a run of bad luck in qualifying which put us on the back foot with no time to make any changes. He worked hard and rode well in the first race and we’d made the right tyre choice for the second but, unfortunately, he was involved in an incident and crashed out. He ran over himself and is a bit sore, but nothing’s broken and he’ll be back fighting at Silverstone.”
Motorpoint British Supersport Championship race one (12 laps)
1 Luke Stapleford (Triumph)
2 James Rispoli (Yamaha)
3 Jake Dixon (Smiths Racing Triumph)
4 Sam Hornsey (Triumph)
5 Glenn Irwin (Kawasaki)
6 Kyle Ryde (Yamaha)
Motorpoint British Supersport Championship race two (13 laps)
1 Luke Stapleford (Triumph)
2 Jake Dixon (Smiths Racing Triumph)
3 Glenn Irwin (Kawasaki)
4 Sam Hornsey (Triumph)
5 Kyle Ryde (Yamaha)
6 Ben Wilson (Kawasaki)
Championship points after ten rounds
1 Stapleford 396pts
2 Ryde 298
3 Dixon 284
4 Irwin 263
5 Rispoli 193
6 Reid 165
MCE British Superbike Championship Race One (18 laps)
1 Josh Brookes (Yamaha)
2 James Ellison (Kawasaki)
3 Michael Laverty (BMW)
4 Shane Byrne (Kawasaki)
5 John Hopkins (Ducati)
6 Richard Cooper (BMW)
12 Billy McConnell (Smiths Racing BMW)
MCE British Superbike Championship Race Two (15 laps)
1 Josh Brookes (Yamaha)
2 James Ellison (Kawasaki)
3 Luke Mossey (Kawasaki)
4 Richard Cooper (BMW)
5 Shane Byrne (Kawasaki)
6 Christian Iddon (Suzuki)
DNF Billy McConnell (Smiths Racing BMW)
Championship Positions (after ten rounds)
1 Brookes 603pts
2 Byrne 575
3 Ellison 562
4 Laverty 523
5 Bridewell 515
6 Linfoot 509
13 McConnell 94
The next round of the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship takes place at Silverstone over the weekend of October 2/4th. For more information, please visit www.britishsuperbike.com and www.britishsuperbike.com
More, from a press release issued by RAF Reserves BMW:
Steady weekend at Assen for Hickman and RAF Reserves BMW
Peter Hickman and the RAF Reserves BMW team made their way to Assen, Holland at the weekend for round ten of the British Superbike Championship and whilst the results didn’t go the way they planned, they maintained their tenth place in the overall standings.
With a new BMW engine fitted for the weekend, hopes were high for a strong weekend but it started slowly on Friday when Peter placed 13th and 14th in the two free practice sessions. A wet start to Saturday didn’t help with progress but the Louth-based rider recorded his best time of the weekend in qualifying, 1m37.761s. This placed him in 16th on the grid for the first race although he was only just over half a second adrift of the top six.
Sunday’s opening 18-lap race took place in good, dry conditions and a good start saw the Louth-based rider immediately move forward two places. This set the trend for the rest of the race with steady progress throughout. Twelfth at half race distance, the 28-year old was able to continue his climb up the leaderboard in the second half of the race and he was duly rewarded with a solid ninth place at the chequered flag.
The second race was delayed and cut to 15 laps due to rain falling although when it did eventually get underway, the majority of the field were on slick tyres. Peter opted for an intermediate front and a slick rear which would have paid dividends in the early stages if he had been able to get away. However, although he was up to seventh by the end of the first lap, he found himself boxed in and unable to make the impression he’d hoped for. It proved to be a long race and 13th was the eventual outcome.
The results mean that Peter remains in tenth overall in the Championship table but in contention for the BSB Rider’s Cup, awarded to the rider who finishes seventh at the end of the season.
Peter Hickman: “It was a tough weekend, primarily due to a lack of dry laps. With the new engine we were running, I was really hoping for some good weather for the entire three days so that we could get everything set up right. But the iffy weather really held me back and it took me too long to get going – what I was doing in qualifying, I should have been doing in free practice. I rode as hard as I could in both races and the bike’s definitely a step forward so I’m looking forward to Silverstone now.”
Lee Hardy, Team Owner: “It was a reasonable weekend although having made a good step forward with the development of the engine, we were a bit disappointed with the results as they weren’t quite what we expected. Peter struggled a bit to get going and it was only really in Saturday’s qualifying session that the lap times started to come. Once there, Peter found that the bike was quite stiff so we made some changes in readiness for the first race.”
“Coming from 16th through to ninth was a good effort but, again, a lowly grid position cost us a better result. For race two, the weather was very up and down so it was a bit of a lottery with the tyre choice. Slicks all round proved to be the best option although Peter opted for an intermediate rear and whilst he was up to P7 on lap one, he got bullied a bit in the first few laps and couldn’t make full use of the tyre. He also had a slight problem with the engine braking system so slipped back to 13th.”
“As a team, we’re happy with the bike and package we now have so, going forward, we’ll be looking to have two strong final rounds to ensure our preparations for 2016 start as early as possible.”
The penultimate round of the series takes place in two week’s time at Silverstone, Northants.
MCE British Superbike Championship – Race One (18 laps)
1 Josh Brookes (Yamaha)
2 James Ellison (Kawasaki)
3 Michael Laverty (BMW)
4 Shane Byrne (Kawasaki)
5 John Hopkins (Ducati)
6 Richard Cooper (BMW)
9 Peter Hickman (RAF Reserves BMW)
MCE British Superbike Championship – Race Two (15 laps)
1 Josh Brookes (Yamaha)
2 James Ellison (Kawasaki)
3 Luke Mossey (Kawasaki)
4 Richard Cooper (BMW)
5 Shane Byrne (Kawasaki)
6 Christian Iddon (Suzuki)
13 Peter Hickman (RAF Reserves BMW)
Championship positions after ten rounds
1 Brookes 603pts
2 Byrne 575
3 Ellison 562
4 Laverty 523
5 Bridewell 515
6 Linfoot 509
10 Hickman 113