Round six 7/8 July Oulton Park HAT-TRICK HERO HILL VICTORIOUS BUT RODEO RIDER BROOKES FIGHTS BACK Results Saturday race: 1: Tommy Hill (Swan Yamaha) 2: Josh Brookes (Tyco Suzuki) +4.508s 3: Shane Byrne (Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki) +10.339s 4: Noriyuki Haga (Swan Yamaha) +15.746s 5: James Westmoreland (WFR Honda) +16.256s 6: Tommy Bridewell (Supersonic BMW) +16.803s Sunday race one: 1: Tommy Hill (Swan Yamaha) 2: Josh Brookes (Tyco Suzuki) +3.383s 3: Shane Byrne (Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki) +6.141s 4: Michael Laverty (Samsung Honda) +6.262s 5: Noriyuki Haga (Swan Yamaha) +6.552s 6: Ian Lowry (Padgetts Honda) +11.761 Sunday race two: 1: Tommy Hill (Swan Yamaha) 2: Shane Byrne (Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki) +1.135s 3: Josh Brookes (Tyco Suzuki) +1.483s 4: Noriyuki Haga (Swan Yamaha) +1.619s 5: Michael Laverty (Samsung Honda) +3.298s 6: Alex Lowes (WFR Honda) +7.093s Championship standings: 1: Tommy Hill (Swan Yamaha) 234 2: Josh Brookes (Tyco Suzuki) 206 3: Shane Byrne (Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki) 205 4: Michael Laverty (Samsung Honda) 146 5: Tommy Bridewell (Supersonic BMW) 104 6: Noriyuki Haga (Swan Yamaha) 102 Report Tommy Hill, the reigning MCE Insurance British Superbike Champion, was in imperious form as he scored a hat-trick of victories in the sixth round at Oulton Park to fire a warning to the pretenders of his crown. The Swan Yamaha rider had laid down the standard as he took pole start for the opening race on Saturday afternoon which he won ahead of Tyco Suzuki’s Josh Brookes and he continued that form into the two races on Sunday at the Cheshire circuit. Hill made the perfect start but had to ride hard in the early stages to hold off his determined team-mate Noriyuki Haga but as the race developed it was again Aussie Brookes who came through into second place, ahead of Shane “Shakey” Byrne aboard the Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki. Haga dropped back to fifth, adrift of Samsung Honda’s Michael Laverty. Hill, who was in a hurry to catch an overnight flight to Japan for a test ahead of the Suzuka Eight Hours race, led the opening lap of the final race but Brookes stole the advantage and hit the front but Hill again regained the lead. “That was fantastic my first hat-trick in the series. It is just great to come out on top like this but now I have flight to catch to get out Suzuka,” said Hill. “Did I ease up a bit in the that last race? No, could you not see the target on my back they all wanted to beat me.They kept me honest out there and I had to ride as hard as I could across the whole weekend they wanted to beat me, and I was determined they were not going to.” Byrne took second place ahead of Brookes who dramatically held on as his bike swerved wickedly out of control and all but high-sided him over the handlebars. Brookes landed back on the Tyco Suzuki and lost five places but he fought back to take third with a last lap move on Haga at the final corner. For more information please visit www.britishsuperbike.com More, from a press release issued by Swan Yamaha: SWAN YAMAHA CONTINUE WINNING MOMENTUM AS HILL MAKES IT A TRIPLE Swan Yamaha’s Tommy Hill claimed a sensational triple race win at the sixth round of the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship at Oulton Park to extend his advantage in the overall standings and secure a valuable nine podium credits. Hill had taken the victory in the opening race yesterday (Saturday) and in the second race of the weekend he scored a commanding win before making it a hat trick in the third and final race to score the maximum amount of podium credits. Haga took a strong fifth position in the second race following an intense battle with Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne and Michael Laverty, but just missed out on a podium finish in the final race when he was forced to settle for fourth after he was passed at the final corner. Hill said: “It was a tough second race no matter how much you are in front as you have to keep pushing. I tried to settle down but that is when you start making mistakes and you cannot underestimate anyone. I made a few errors towards the end of the second race but it set us up well for the final race. To have won three races was fantastic as it was my first hat-trick in the series. It is just great to come out on top but now I have a flight to catch to get out to Suzuka. I didn’t ease up in the last race as I definitely had a target on my back as they all wanted to beat me. They kept me honest out there and I had to ride as hard as I could across the whole weekend but I was determined and it is great to head to my home round at Brands Hatch carrying this momentum.” Haga said: “We started off the weekend with a good setting from before and I have been working with my new crew chief Mark and we continued to find a good positive setting. We were consistent in all three races, for sure we need to do some work with the rear suspension setup but my feeling is getting better. In the last race I was happier and I no longer feel like I am sometimes riding a motocross bike and that we can go to one of my favourite tracks next at Brands Hatch and be fast.” Team manager Gary Ekerold concluded: “We had three races here and to take three wins and a pole position is a fantastic result for the Swan Yamaha team. Noriyuki had one of his best weekends too and now he is inside the top six and that was what we wanted to achieve this weekend. His feeling with the bike has improved tremendously and now we can go to the next round at Brands Hatch with Tommy’s confidence high and an ever improving Noriyuki.” For more information visit www.swanyamaha.co.uk More, from a press release issued by Honda: MCE INSURANCE BRITISH SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 06 SUNDAY 08 JULY OULTON PARK Weather: Sunny spells, cloudy, dry Temperature: Ambient 22 degrees C, Track 32 degrees C TOUGH WEEKEND BUT LAVERTY CONSOLIDATES AS KIRKHAM STRUGGLES Michael Laverty bounced back from a first race crash in this triple header sixth round of the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship at Oulton Park to rack up strong points with fourth and fifth place finishes to consolidate his fourth place in the overall points standings. Tommy Hill Yamaha won all three races to take a commanding lead at the top of the general standings. It was not all plain sailing for Samsung Honda rider Laverty, who had qualified for the opening race on the front row, fourth fastest. He was running strongly, taking the fight to defending champion and race leader Tommy Hill only for his bike to swerve out of line at Brittens and throw him off. Laverty was unscathed, the bike only superficially damaged, and he was full of running in the first of Sunday’s races, running fourth throughout and next time out he was third on the opening lap, but under fire from former World Superbike rider Noriyuki Haga. Haga took him as did Shane Byrne and Josh Brookes before Laverty came out on top of a duel with WFR Honda rider Alex Lowes to take fifth place. But Laverty’s Samsung Honda team-mate Jon Kirkham, returning to the Cheshire circuit for the first time since his horrific high-speed crash in the May round of the series, had a difficult time, with machine problems and two tumbles, recovering to score a couple of points in the third and final race of the weekend. Kirkham’s woes had begun in free practice when he slid off in the wet conditions in Friday free practice at Knickerbrook and then after setting tenth best time in the second element of the grid decider he suffered an engine problem that prevented him going out in the race. The team changed the engine ahead of the Saturday afternoon race, but a recurring problem saw him sidelined. The weekend’s problems continued for Kirkham into the first of the two Sunday races when he tumbled at Shell, but full of fighting determination, he ran in mid-pack next time out taking 14th place. Ian Lowry, riding the Padgett’s Honda, tipped off at Brittens in Saturday’s race, but came back strongly to take sixth and seventh place finishes but his team-mate Luca Scassa, suffered a technical problem in the first race, then crashed suffering concussion in the second to be ruled out of the third. Lowes, despite a crash on Saturday, hit back to take ninth and sixth places for WFR Honda while James Westmoreland was in the points in each of the three races with a best finish of fifth while Graeme Gowland took three top ten finishes. HONDA RIDER COMMENTS Michael Laverty (Samsung Honda) Race results: DNF / 4th / 5th Championship position: 4th “To be honest I am glad the weekend is over now. Oulton Park has never been a good circuit for me. The front folded in on me in the first race and that crash put me on the back foot. It was frustrating as I was feeling pretty good for that race. In the second race it was tough. I lost confidence in the front of the bike, lost feel but to compensate I adjusted my body position on the bike to fight on and take fourth. We changed things and improved pace for the third race, but it was not enough. I expected a tough weekend, but that’s Oulton Park out of the way for the season but fourth and fifths today helped consolidate our position in the Showdown top six. It is the way it goes sometimes but overall it has been a disappointing weekend although it could have been worse.” Jon Kirkham (Samsung Honda) Race results: DNF / DNF / 14th Championship position: 14th “Its been a bad weekend for me. It had started OK seventh in free practice and then qualifying went ok, but an engine problem at the end of Q2 meant I couldn’t push for a higher grid position as I missed the final part of the grid decider. We changed the engine, but then had a problem in the race with the engine braking system. It was another weekend of bad luck for me with a crash in the second race, but fourteenth was the best we could do in the last one. It was a difficult, tough weekend, but we can regroup and come out fighting again at Brands Hatch.” RESULTS BRITISH SUPERBIKE RACE1: POS / RIDER / NAT / MOTORCYCLE / TIME / GAP 1 / Tommy HILL / GBR / Yamaha – Swan Yamaha / 25:57.830 / 2 / Josh BROOKES / AUS / Suzuki – Tyco Suzuki / 26:02.338 / 4.508 3 / Shane BYRNE / GBR / Kawasaki – Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki / 26:02.425 / 4.595 4 / Noriyuki HAGA / JPN / Yamaha – Swan Yamaha / 26:08.169 / 10.339 5 / James WESTMORELAND / GBR / Honda – Team WFR / 26:13.576 / 15.746 6 / Tommy BRIDEWELL / GBR / BMW – Supersonic Racing Team / 26:14.086 / 16.256 7 / Chris WALKER / GBR / Kawasaki – Pr1mo Bournemouth Kawasaki Racing / 26:14.633 / 16.803 8 / Peter HICKMAN / GBR / BMW – Buildbase BMW Motorrad / 26:14.900 / 17.070 9 / Graeme GOWLAND / GBR / Honda – Team WFR / 26:15.219 / 17.389 10 / Barry BURRELL / GBR / BMW – Buildbase BMW Motorrad / 26:27.930 / 30.100 11 / Patric MUFF / SUI / BMW – Supersonic Racing Team / 26:28.242 / 30.412 12 / Luke QUIGLEY / GBR / Honda – GBmoto Racing / 26:28.388 / 30.558 13 / Scott SMART / GBR / Ducati – Moto Rapido Racing / 26:28.460 / 30.630 14 / Michael RUTTER / GBR / Kawasaki – MSS Bathams Kawasaki / 26:31.562 / 33.732 15 / Mark AITCHISON / AUS / Kawasaki – Quattro Plant Kawasaki Superbike Team / 26:39.684 / 41.854 Fastest lap: Alex LOWES GBR Honda – Team WFR Lap 3 1:36.481 161.65 Km/h RACE2: POS / RIDER / NAT / MOTORCYCLE / TIME / GAP 1 / Tommy HILL / GBR / Yamaha – Swan Yamaha / 29:07.975 / 2 / Josh BROOKES / AUS / Suzuki – Tyco Suzuki / 29:11.358 / 3.383 3 / Shane BYRNE / GBR / Kawasaki – Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki / 29:14.116 / 6.141 4 / Michael LAVERTY / GBR / Honda – Samsung Honda / 29:14.237 / 6.262 5 / Noriyuki HAGA / JPN / Yamaha – Swan Yamaha / 29:14.527 / 6.552 6 / Ian LOWRY / GBR / Honda – Padgetts Honda / 29:19.736 / 11.761 7 / Tommy BRIDEWELL / GBR / BMW – Supersonic Racing Team / 29:20.417 / 12.442 8 / Alastair SEELEY / GBR / Suzuki – Tyco Suzuki / 29:21.243 / 13.268 9 / Alex LOWES / GBR / Honda – Team WFR / 29:21.280 / 13.305 10 / Graeme GOWLAND / GBR / Honda – Team WFR / 29:22.990 / 15.015 11 / James WESTMORELAND / GBR / Honda – Team WFR / 29:23.317 / 15.342 12 / Chris WALKER / GBR / Kawasaki – Pr1mo Bournemouth Kawasaki Racing / 29:29.531 / 21.556 13 / Peter HICKMAN / GBR / BMW – Buildbase BMW Motorrad / 29:32.161 / 24.186 14 / Patric MUFF / SUI / BMW – Supersonic Racing Team / 29:35.369 / 27.394 15 / Scott SMART / GBR / Ducati – Moto Rapido Racing / 29:35.510 / 27.535 Fastest lap: Josh BROOKES AUS Suzuki – Tyco Suzuki Lap 3 1:36.321 161.92 Km/h RACE3: POS / RIDER / NAT / MOTORCYCLE / TIME / GAP 1 / Tommy HILL / GBR / Yamaha – Swan Yamaha / 29:05.719 / 2 / Shane BYRNE / GBR / Kawasaki – Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki / 29:06.854 / 1.135 3 / Josh BROOKES / AUS / Suzuki – Tyco Suzuki / 29:07.202 / 1.483 4 / Noriyuki HAGA / JPN / Yamaha – Swan Yamaha / 29:07.338 / 1.619 5 / Michael LAVERTY / GBR / Honda – Samsung Honda / 29:09.017 / 3.298 6 / Alex LOWES / GBR / Honda – Team WFR / 29:12.812 / 7.093 7 / Ian LOWRY / GBR / Honda – Padgetts Honda / 29:15.684 / 9.965 8 / Tommy BRIDEWELL / GBR / BMW – Supersonic Racing Team / 29:16.017 / 10.298 9 / James WESTMORELAND / GBR / Honda – Team WFR / 29:16.583 / 10.864 10 / Graeme GOWLAND / GBR / Honda – Team WFR / 29:16.910 / 11.191 11 / Chris WALKER / GBR / Kawasaki – Pr1mo Bournemouth Kawasaki Racing / 29:17.872 / 12.153 12 / Peter HICKMAN / GBR / BMW – Buildbase BMW Motorrad / 29:26.442 / 20.723 13 / Alastair SEELEY / GBR / Suzuki – Tyco Suzuki / 29:26.617 / 20.898 14 / Jon KIRKHAM / GBR / Honda – Samsung Honda / 29:27.698 / 21.979 15 / Scott SMART / GBR / Ducati – Moto Rapido Racing / 29:38.641 / 32.922 Fastest lap: Tommy HILL GBR Yamaha – Swan Yamaha Lap 12 1:36.194 162.13 Km/h CHAMPIONSHIP POSITIONS TO DATE: 1 HILL 234, 2 BROOKES 206, 3 BYRNE 205, 4 LAVERTY 146, 5 BRIDEWELL 104, 6 HAGA 102, 7 LOWRY 98, 8 WALKER 82, 9 WESTMORELAND 80, 10 SEELEY 78, 11 LOWES 73, 12 EASTON 66, 13 GOWLAND 62, 14 KIRKHAM 53, 15 RUTTER 38. NEXT EVENT: ROUND07 JULY 22 BRANDS HATCH GP