LAVERTY MAKES A MAGNIFICENT SEVEN BUT BROOKES EDGES STANDINGS LEAD Results Race one: 1:Tommy Hill (Swan Yamaha) 2:Michael Laverty (Samsung Honda) +1.234s 3:Josh Brookes (Tyco Suzuki) +6.847s 4:Noriyuki Haga (Swan Yamaha) +10.304s 5:Alex Lowes (WFR Honda) +10.333s 6:Tommy Bridewell (Supersonic BMW) +16.360s Race two: 1:Michael Laverty (Samsung Honda) 2:Shane Byrne (Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki) +1.336s 3:Josh Brookes (Tyco Suzuki) +1.792s 4:Ian Lowry (Padgetts Honda) +5.359s 5:Graeme Gowland (WFR Honda) +8.974s 6:Alex Lowes (WFR Honda) +9.223s Championship standings: 1:Josh Brookes (Tyco Suzuki) 124 2:Tommy Hill (Swan Yamaha) 123 3:Shane Byrne (Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki) 108 4:Michael Laverty (Samsung Honda) 81 5:Ian Lowry (Padgetts Honda) 73 6:Stuart Easton (Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki) 66 Report Michael Laverty believes that his strong fourth round points haul with a second place and a victory has kick-started his bid to fight for the MCE Insurance British Superbike crown. He became the seventh winner from eight races in a dramatic round at Snetterton as Josh Brookes took a one point lead over Tommy Hil in the overall standings. Laverty was full of confidence at the sun-drenched circuit, building on the work his team had carried out to solve the problems he had encountered in the earlier rounds, but he was denied the winning double by a momentary flash of a warning light in the first race. He had taken the early lead but slowed after six laps, explaining: “The red oil lights flashed on and I thought I was losing pressure and had to look down to see if I was losing oil but then I realised all was fine so I pushed on.” Reigning champion Hill exploited that by taking the lead and powering his Swan Yamaha to his second victory of the season, with Laverty second in front of the Tyco Suzuki of Brookes. Laverty’s first race pace gave him pole for the second race and he led throughout but behind them there was plenty of drama. Hill was in contention until he was sidelined by a machine problem and his team-mate Noriyuka Haga crashed out of fourth. Luca Scassa and then Tommy Bridewell also went down. Shane Byrne whose first race was ended by machine problems made the most of his engine change to take second on his Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki ahead of Brookes whose pair of thirds put him ahead of Hill at the top of the overall standings. The day though belonged to Laverty and he enthused: “Getting second place was a massive load off my shoulders and then we made some changes to the bike between races and that gave me a bit more speed next time out. “I was able to work the tyres that little bit harder and that gave me the edge and the front-end feel of the bike to be able to push on harder, so I was really happy to take the victory,”added Laverty. For more information please visit www.britishsuperbike.com More, from a press release issued by Swan Yamaha: SWAN YAMAHA SCORCH TO RACE ONE VICTORY AT SNETTERTON Swan Yamaha’s Tommy Hill became the first rider to score his second win of the season at the fourth round of the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship at Snetterton. Hill had fought his way through from third place on the opening lap to take the lead by lap seven after passing Michael Laverty and Josh Brookes. The defending champion was then able to edge ahead to claim his second win of the season despite an overheating issue that he calmly overcame and he then looked set to again be in fierce contention in race two. However the issue returned in race two and despite running in second and looking set to challenge to the lead he was disappointingly forced to retire. Noriyuki Haga continued to get comfortable on the Swan Yamaha at the Norfolk circuit and was able to secure a fourth place finish in the opening race with a determined challenge from his second row start. In race two further improvements had seen the Japanese ace again run in a position to challenge for his second podium finish of the season but he crashed out at Murrays ending his high hopes for race two. Hill said: “There were six different winners from the first six races so to be the first one to win two is a good feeling. The new rules without the traction control mean you have to ride harder but at the same time you don’t want to push too hard although you know the other guys will be pushing hard too. I knew it would be tough, especially towards the end of the race. When Josh came passed me I was worried that there might be a pack waiting to do the same. I had an issue with water coming up in my face during the race but we got through it. In the second race I had the same issue and I managed to get close to Michael (Laverty) and then I just had to pull in. It is so frustrating as we had made some good changes between races and I think we could have had a good race so I do feel pretty gutted. I suppose that is because it is my passion and I really wanted a double podium today. It has been a weekend of ups and downs; race one was fantastic and now we will regroup and prepare for Knockhill where the Swan Yamaha team will come out fighting.” Haga said: “I am happy with the result we had in race one with fourth but I also at the same time feel a little disappointed because I still couldn’t find the right feeling with the Swan Yamaha and that made it tough. We had worked hard on the suspension during the weekend to get a good feeling from the tyre but we didn’t quite solve it for the first race. We made some changes for race two and the Swan Yamaha was feeling much better, but my crash was just a stupid mistake and I was disappointed as I lost the chance to get a podium finish. I have to apologise to the team and now I am looking forward to getting some better results at Knockhill.” Team Manager Shaun Muir concluded: “I am disappointed for Tommy as he was certainly in a position to win the second race but unfortunately an overheating problem forced him to retire. Noriyuki is absolutely devastated as after the first race the team made some changes and he felt more comfortable and looked like he was really going to challenge for the podium. It has been a weekend of highs and lows but it has been character building and we will come back stronger at Knockhill.” For more information visit www.swanyamaha.co.uk More, from a press release issued by Pr1mo Bournemouth Kawasaki Racing: Seven up for Walker at Snetterton The Pr1mo Bournemouth Kawasaki Racing team were back in British Superbike Championship action at the weekend and it proved to be another positive meeting for them with Chris Walker again putting in two superb rides. Winner at the previous round at Oulton Park, Chris took two well-deserved seventh place finishes and the 18-point haul has now moved him up to 7th overall in the Championship table, just two points adrift of the all-important top six Showdown places. Due to a few issues in practice, Chris qualified in 16th place, but a solid start to the opening 16-lap race saw him move up to 14th place and with some good passes, he was up to 11th on lap 3 and on the edge of the top ten. Involved in a good battle for the bottom end of the top ten positions, Chris was briefly pushed back to 12th but by lap 6 he was up to 9th and battling hard with Swiss rider Patrick Muff for 8th. There was never more than a bikes length between the two and such was their pace, they were able to close in on early Championship leader Ian Lowry. Seventh place was anyone’s and having overtaken Muff on lap 13, Chris repeated the feat a lap later on Lowry to claim the position and the nine points. With the tenth fastest lap of the race, Chris was able to start the second race from the more advanced third row of the grid and he immediately moved up to eighth at the completion of the first lap. Briefly relegated to ninth, Chris moved back up to seventh on lap 4 and this soon became sixth as Championship leader Tommy Hill was forced to retire. However, Chris was part of a five-rider group battling for sixth place and positions were changing all the time but he secured seventh on lap ten when he overhauled fellow Kawasaki rider Stuart Easton. There was also joy for Metzeler National Superstock 600cc Championship rider Kyle Wilks, with the 17-year old finishing in 12th place for not only his second successive points scoring finish but also his best result of the season. Speaking afterwards, team owner Pete Extance said; “It was definitely a case of it all coming good on the day for us and we’re delighted with all three race finishes. Chris struggled to find a good set-up in practice and qualifying but the team continued to work hard and they found a lot better set-up in the morning warm up. Chris felt a lot better coming into the race and although his race was compromised a bit when someone hit him from behind and dented the exhaust considerably, he was moving forward all the time and took a very good seventh. In the 2nd race, he again had excellent pace but had to slow when Tommy Bridewell crashed in front of him and that allowed the two WFR Honda’s to go through. They managed to open up a gap but Chris fought back well and overtook Stuart Easton for another good seventh. Fourth was a distinct possibility but we’re all really happy with the two seventh places and to be just two points off the Showdown positions at this stage of the season is superb so a big thanks to all the team and sponsors for helping us get there. A big well done to Kyle too who took his best result of the year in just his fourth race at this level. He missed practice due to sitting his exams so to end the weekend with 12th was a superb effort.” The British Superbike Championship now heads to Knockhill in Scotland with the meeting taking place on June 22-24 but the team now turn their attention to the roads once more with James Hillier contesting the Isle of Man TT Races. Practice takes place throughout next week with the first race, the 6-lap Superbike TT, due to get underway on Saturday 2nd June. More, from a press release issued by Honda: MCE INSURANCE BRITISH SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 04 SUNDAY 27 MAY SNETTERTON Weather: Hot, sunny but with strong wind Temperature: Ambient degrees 24C / Track degrees 43C LAVERTY POWERS IN FIRST VICTORY OF THE SEASON TO GO FOURTH Michael Laverty believes that he has kick started his bid to win the MCE Insurance British Superbike crown with two strong performances in the fourth round at sun-drenched Snetterton which lifted him seven places in the overall standings to fourth. The Samsung Honda rider took a fighting second in the opening race at the Norfolk circuit and the led throughout the second, becoming the seventh different rider in eight races to taste the winner’s champagne and he could easily have been celebrating a winning double. Laverty revitalised by development works to his Fireblade, ironing out the problems that had dogged him earlier in the season, was back to the pace he had shown in pre-season testing and he built on those with a positive approach to these races that saw him take the lead going into the first corner. Not so fortunate at that point was his team-mate Jon Kirkham who was returning to racing after suffering concussion in a high speed crash in the previous round at Oulton Park. He was taken down in a three rider tangle, his race was over before had begun. Laverty held the advantage for six laps, but was concerned, and slowed momentarily when the oil warning lights flashed on, but once he realised it was a false alarm he continued to press hard, setting the fastest lap of the race as he finished second his best result of the campaign at the point. He had pole start for the second race of the afternoon and used that to good effect, charging into the lead at the first corner and lap by lap extending his advantage over first reigning champion Tommy Hill, the first race winner who was soon sidelined in this race by a machine problem. Laverty took the victory by a little over a second from former two times title winner Shane Byrne while Kirkham who had started the race from the sixth row of the grid battled through the pack to score two points with a fourteenth place finish. Apart from Laverty’s rich points haul it was a good day for Honda riders. Alex Lowes took seventh place in the opening race and sixth next time out on his WFR Honda, just adrift of his team-mate Graeme Gowland. And Ian Lowry, the winner of one of the races of the Thruxton round, packed the points with seventh and fourth places on his Padgetts Honda. At the sharp-end of the points standings, Suzuki rider Josh Brookes with a pair of third places took over at the top by a single point from Hill. HONDA RIDER QUOTES Ian Lowry (Samsung Honda) 2nd / 1st Championship position 4th “This has been just been the kick-start to the season. Getting second place in the first race was a massive load off my shoulders and then we made some changes to the bike between races and that gave me a bit more speed next time out. The team identified the problem we were having in the earlier rounds after Oulton Park and we have been able to work on that and we have probably the best tyre wear of anyone here. My only worry was in the first race when the red oil light came on after about five laps and I had to look down to see if we were losing oil, but then I realised that all was fine and I pushed on taking Josh to get second and then had a bit of a frantic last lap. I was able to work the tyres that little bit harder and that gave me the edge and the front-end feel of the bike to be able to push on hard, so I am well happy to take this victory.” Jon Kirkham (Samsung Honda) dnf / 14th Championship position 11th “I came here wanting two enjoyable races and to get some strong points after my crash at Oulton Park, but unfortunately Dan Linfoot went under me in the first race and I went down. It left me without a race and without the data that comes with it and it put me right down the grid for the second race. In that I was careful over the first couple of laps and then was doing my best laps though I was starting to feel a bit worn out not having done any physical activities for the past three weeks. On the last lap I was up to 12th, but ran wide but 14th is still a finish. Now we can put things behind us and look confidently to Knockhill.” RESULTS BRITISH SUPERBIKE RACE1: POS / RIDER / NAT / MOTORCYCLE / TIME / GAP 1 / TOMMY HILL / GBR / YAMAHA – SWAN YAMAHA / 29:22.601 / 2 / MICHAEL LAVERTY / GBR / HONDA – SAMSUNG HONDA / 29:23.835 / 1.234 3 / JOSH BROOKES / AUS / SUZUKI – TYCO SUZUKI / 29:29.448 / 6.847 4 / NORIYUKI HAGA / JPN / YAMAHA – SWAN YAMAHA / 29:32.905 / 10.304 5 / ALEX LOWES / GBR / HONDA – TEAM WFR / 29:32.934 / 10.333 6 / TOMMY BRIDEWELL / GBR / BMW – SUPERSONIC RACING TEAM / 29:38.961 / 16.360 7 / CHRIS WALKER / GBR / KAWASAKI – PR1MO BOURNEMOUTH / 29:43.104 / 20.503 8 / IAN LOWRY / GBR / HONDA – PADGETTS HONDA / 29:43.125 / 20.524 9 / PATRIC MUFF / SUI / BMW – SUPERSONIC RACING TEAM / 29:43.293 / 20.692 10 / BARRY BURRELL / GBR / BMW – BUILDBASE BMW MOTORRAD / 29:44.275 / 21.674 11 / DAN LINFOOT / GBR / BMW – BUILDBASE BMW MOTORRAD / 29:46.685 / 24.084 12 / JAMES WESTMORELAND / GBR / HONDA – TEAM WFR / 29:52.175 / 29.574 13 / LUKE QUIGLEY / GBR / HONDA – GBMOTO RACING / 29:52.988 / 30.387 14 / MICHAEL RUTTER / GBR / KAWASAKI – MSS BATHAMS KAWASAKI / 30:00.456 / 37.855 15 / TRISTAN PALMER / GBR / HONDA – GBMOTO RACING / 30:04.476 / 41.875 FASTEST LAP: MICHAEL LAVERTY GBR HONDA – SAMSUNG HONDA LAP4 1:49.343 157.31 KM/H RACE2: POS / RIDER / NAT / MOTORCYCLE / TIME / GAP 1 / MICHAEL LAVERTY / GBR / HONDA – SAMSUNG HONDA / 29:23.876 / 2 / SHANE BYRNE / GBR / KAWASAKI – RAPID SOLICITORS KAWASAKI / 29:25.212 / 1.336 3 / JOSH BROOKES / AUS / SUZUKI – TYCO SUZUKI / 29:25.668 / 1.792 4 / IAN LOWRY / GBR / HONDA – PADGETTS HONDA / 29:29.235 / 5.359 5 / GRAEME GOWLAND / GBR / HONDA – TEAM WFR / 29:32.850 / 8.974 6 / ALEX LOWES / GBR / HONDA – TEAM WFR / 29:33.099 / 9.223 7 / CHRIS WALKER / GBR / KAWASAKI – PR1MO BOURNEMOUTH / 29:36.107 / 12.231 8 / STUART EASTON / GBR / KAWASAKI – RAPID SOLICITORS KAWASAKI / 29:37.353 / 13.477 9 / JAMES WESTMORELAND / GBR / HONDA – TEAM WFR / 29:40.833 / 16.957 10 / PATRIC MUFF / SUI / BMW – SUPERSONIC RACING TEAM / 29:44.415 / 20.539 11 / DAN LINFOOT / GBR / BMW – BUILDBASE BMW MOTORRAD / 29:50.759 / 26.883 12 / LUKE QUIGLEY / GBR / HONDA – GBMOTO RACING / 29:51.510 / 27.634 13 / MICHAEL RUTTER / GBR / KAWASAKI – MSS BATHAMS KAWASAKI / 29:51.539 / 27.663 14 / JON KIRKHAM / GBR / HONDA – SAMSUNG HONDA / 29:52.226 / 28.350 15 / SCOTT SMART / GBR / DUCATI – MOTO RAPIDO RACING / 29:58.937 / 35.061 FASTEST LAP: MICHAEL LAVERTY GBR HONDA – SAMSUNG HONDA LAP4 1:49.007 157.79 KM/H CHAMPIONSHIP POSITIONS TO DATE: 1 BROOKES 124, 2 HILL 123, 3 BYRNE 108, 4 LAVERTY 81, 5 LOWRY 73, 6 EASTON 66, 7 WALKER 64, 8 BRIDEWELL 56, 9 HAGA 55, 10 SEELEY 49, 11 KIRKHAM 45, 12 WESTMORELAND 41, 13 LOWES 41, 14 LINFOOT 31, 15 RUTTER 30. NEXT EVENT: ROUND05 JUNE 24 KNOCKHILL