Editorial Note: American James Rispoli rode his Team Traction Control Yamaha YZF-R6 to fifth in Sunday’s British Supersport race at Brands Hatch.

Ellison delivers his first MCE BSB double victory at Brands Hatch

Results

Race one:

1: James Ellison (JG Speedfit Kawasaki)

2: Shane Byrne (PBM Kawasaki) +1.368s

3: Josh Brookes (Milwaukee Yamaha) +1.453s

4: Ryuichi Kiyonari (Buildbase BMW) +1.479s

5: Jason O’Halloran (Honda Racing) +3.218s

6: Stuart Easton (PBM Kawasaki) +3.826s

Race two:

1: James Ellison (JG Speedfit Kawasaki)

2: Shane Byrne (PBM Kawasaki) +0.356s

3: Josh Brookes (Milwaukee Yamaha) +0.484s

4: Ryuichi Kiyonari (Buildbase BMW) +3.229s

5: Stuart Easton (PBM Kawasaki) +3.714s

6: Tommy Bridewell (Tyco BMW) +4.397s

Championship standings:

1: Shane Byrne (PBM Kawasaki) 85

2: James Ellison (JG Speedfit Kawasaki) 79

3: Josh Brookes (Milwaukee Yamaha) 58

4: Stuart Easton (PBM Kawasaki) 42

5: Dan Linfoot (Honda Racing) 33

6: Ryuichi Kiyonari (Buildbase BMW) 28

Report

James Ellison vowed to battle for two race wins ahead of the second round of the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship at Brands Hatch today (Sunday) and the JG Speedfit Kawasaki rider kept his promise to deliver his first double victory in the series.

The Cumbrian rider started from pole position in both races and defied the immense pressure of his rivals in each of the races as the pack closed in during the final stages of both races following Nissan GT-R Safety Car interventions.

Ellison was setting an incredible pace to break the lap record in the first race to claim the victory by 1.368s from the four time champion Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne, which he repeated in race two to fend off the PBM Kawasaki rider by 0.356s.

Byrne fought back from his second row start in the opening race as he bid to close down the Buildbase BMW of Ryuichi Kiyonari. The Kent-based champion could only make a move stick on the final lap to move second, whilst Kiyonari was denied third place on the drag to the line by Josh Brookes on the Milwaukee Yamaha.

Honda’s Jason O’Halloran enjoyed his best result to so far in the series, fifth ahead of Stuart Easton.

In race two Ellison again made the break off the line with Kiyonari, Byrne and Brookes in close contention. As the JG Speedfit Kawasaki rider edged ahead of the pack, Byrne was shadowing Kiyonari in a bid to move ahead, which he pulled off with a move down the inside at Paddock Hill Bend.

Brookes had his sights firmly set on a double podium finish and as he hunted Kiyonari for third, the Buildbase BMW rider made an uncharacteristic error at Druids, running wide and giving the Australian the opportunity he needed to claim third place.

Kiyonari held fourth ahead of Easton and Tommy Bridewell who completed the top six for Tyco BMW.

The MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship now heads to Oulton Park for round three on 2/3/4 May.

James Ellison (JG Speedfit Kawasaki)

Double race winner

“We came here after Donington Park where we were so unlucky after winning the first race and then having a problem in race two, so this is a really good feeling. We have learnt a lot from that disappointment and the changes we have had for this weekend made a big difference.

“This weekend has been the best I’ve ever done and now I hope we can keep it going like this across the year because in other seasons we have started strongly but have not been able to hold it together. It is a good feeling to walk away from Brands Hatch with two wins, as particularly in the second race, Shakey (Byrne) was closing in a bit and he made me work hard.”

More, from a press release issued by RAF Reserves BMW:

Hickman battles hard for more BSB points

Peter Hickman fought through the pain barrier at Brands Hatch on Sunday when, after suffering a heavy crash in the opening MCE British Superbike Championship race, he claimed two hard earned points in the second to maintain a top eight position in the early Championship table.

Having qualified in 22nd place for the opening race, Peter posted his best lap of the weekend in the morning warm-up so was feeling optimistic coming into the race, which was held in cool, overcast conditions and a good start saw him immediately jump up to 15th at the completion of the opening lap. He continued to move forward and by two-thirds race distance he was up to tenth and looking good for an excellent result. However, having just moved up to ninth it all went wrong on the 25th lap when he crashed out heavily at Clearways, his race coming to an abrupt and painful end.

Fortunately, nothing was broken and although feeling second hand, he was able to take his place on the grid for the second encounter later in the day where he started from the higher start position of 13th. He was soon up to 11th but towards the end of the race, he got pushed wide going into the first corner and within a split second, he’d been relegated to 14th, which was where he finished to add two hard earned points to his Championship total.

Peter Hickman: “I couldn’t have asked for a better start to race one and, after struggling all weekend, I was lapping faster in the race than what I had done in qualifying. I was soon up inside the top 15 and kept chipping away, moving forward all the time and was looking comfortable in ninth. Towards the end of the race, the group behind started to close up a little so I decided to push on a bit but only managed to do that for three-quarters of the lap when I had a massive highside at Clearways. It was probably the biggest of my career and both the bike and myself were left pretty battered.”

“The team did an awesome job in getting the bike ready for the second race and it felt exactly the same as what it did before but I was a little bit cautious and felt disappointed to have ended up 14th after running in 11th for much of the race. We’ve made good progress with the bike this weekend though and have learnt more here than what we did at Donington, where we were quite lucky to have found a setting that worked, so have a good direction and base setting now from what we can work from.’

Lee Hardy, Team Owner: “What a day! After the highs of Donington, we’ve been brought back down to earth with a bang – literally – this weekend but Peter did a great job throughout and there are a lot of positives to take away with us. In hindsight, perhaps he should have settled for ninth in the first race but his racing instinct kicked in which resulted in a heavy spill. The team did a mega job in turning everything round for race two and we got a finish and more points on the board. We’ve learnt a lot and realised which direction we need to be going in so Peter’s a lot happier with the bike now. The results don’t show it but, overall, it’s been a strong weekend and we’re very much looking forward to round three.”

Oulton Park, Cheshire hosts round three on May 2-4.

MCE British Superbike Championship – Race One (33 laps)

1 James Ellison (Kawasaki)

2 Shane Byrne (Kawasaki)

3 Josh Brookes (Yamaha)

4 Ryuichi Kiyonari (BMW)

5 Jason O’Halloran (Honda)

6 Stuart Easton (Kawasaki)

DNF Peter Hickman (RAF Reserves BMW)

MCE British Superbike Championship – Race Two (25 laps)

1 James Ellison (Kawasaki)

2 Shane Byrne (Kawasaki)

3 Josh Brookes (Yamaha)

4 Ryuichi Kiyonari (BMW)

5 Stuart Easton (Kawasaki)

6 Tommy Bridewell (BMW)

14 Peter Hickman (RAF Reserves BMW)

Championship standings (after two rounds)

1 Byrne 85pts

2 Ellison 79

3 Brookes 58

4 Easton 42

5 Linfoot 33

6 Bridewell 28

8 Hickman 26

More, from a press release issued by Paul Bird Motorsport:

Double Podium For Byrne At Brands Hatch

The PBM team’s defence of their MCE British Superbike Championship continued this weekend with round two taking place at Brands Hatch and with a brace of second places for reigning champion Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne, he maintained his position as overall leader with team-mate Stuart Easton taking two top six finishes to move up to fourth overall.

Byrne and Easton lined up in fifth and sixth for the opening 30-lap race around the demanding 1.2-mile Indy circuit and in the early stages occupied third and fourth places respectively. Easton dropped back slightly whilst Shakey looked like he’d have to settle for third as James Ellison and Ryuichi Kiyonari moved clear at the head of the pack. However, a safety car period towards the end of the race bunched the pack up and Byrne took full advantage of a small mistake by Kiyonari to seize second on the final lap with Easton coming home in sixth.

Shakey, from Sittingbourne, started the second race from the front row whilst Easton was back on the third row and had a lot more work to do although he was soon up into fifth place. Just like the first race, Ellison assumed control but Shakey looked strong in second place and although another safety car period allowed him to close up to Ellison, he had to settle for another second place at the chequered flag. Easton, from Hawick, held on to his fifth place throughout to take a good haul of points and move up to fourth overall in the early championship table.

The PBM team’s third member, Ian Hutchinson, again used the meeting as preparation for the International road racing season which gets underway next month, and took 22nd and 25th in the two races.

Shane Byrne: “We were up against it a bit this weekend but I was feeling better in myself and with the bike although we still haven’t quite cracked it with the set-up. The team worked really hard throughout and we continued to make progress with the bike better in race one than it had been in qualifying. I was over the moon with second place and it allowed me to start the second race from the front row. I tried my absolute hardest and maybe if I’d got by Kiyo a little bit earlier, I might have been closer to James. As it was, I couldn’t get close enough but hats off to him and also to PBM and everyone in the team for doing such a great job this weekend.”

Stuart Easton: “It wasn’t the strongest weekend I’ve ever had and I’ve never really had the grip I’ve wanted so I wasn’t able to run the pace of the front group. I was a bit disappointed with sixth in the first race and although it was a top six finish, the gap to the front three was too big and although I was a bit closer in the second race we need to work on bridging that gap as I want to be closer to the front.”

Ian Hutchinson: “It’s been quite a tough weekend as it’s such a short circuit, it’s hard to stay out of trouble! My season’s all about the big road races and the last thing I wanted was to get caught up in someone else’s accident but I was happy with my results, particularly as I lapped quicker than what I’ve ever done before around here. We’ve achieved what we set out to achieve and it will be nice to get to Oulton Park and put in plenty of laps around a fast, flowing circuit.”

Johnny Mowatt, Crew Chief: “You’re never happy when you don’t get a win but the team collectively pulled it out of the bag this weekend and for Shakey to get two seconds was a great effort for all of us. It’s not an excuse but we’re playing catch up a bit and we’re continually making major changes to the bike. We’re altering things all the time and still learning whilst we’ve still got new parts to try. We’ll keep chipping away and for Shakey to have taken a win and three seconds from the first four races and Stuart to have finished inside the top six on three occasions, we’re not in a bad position and the future’s looking bright.”

MCE British Superbike Championship – Race One (33 laps)

1 James Ellison (Kawasaki)

2 Shane Byrne (PBM Kawasaki)

3 Josh Brookes (Yamaha)

4 Ryuichi Kiyonari (BMW)

5 Jason O’Halloran (Honda)

6 Stuart Easton (PBM Kawasaki)

22 Ian Hutchinson (PBM Kawasaki)

MCE British Superbike Championship – Race Two (25 laps)

1 James Ellison (Kawasaki)

2 Shane Byrne (PBM Kawasaki)

3 Josh Brookes (Yamaha)

4 Ryuichi Kiyonari (BMW)

5 Stuart Easton (PBM Kawasaki)

6 Tommy Bridewell (BMW)

25 Ian Hutchinson (PBM Kawasaki)

Championship standings (after two rounds)

1 Byrne 85pts

2 Ellison 79

3 Brookes 58

4 Easton 42

5 Linfoot 33

6 Kiyonari 28