HILL OPENS UP SEVEN POINTS LEAD OVER BYRNE GOING INTO SHOWDOWN Results Sunday race, 11 laps (rescheduled from Oulton Park) 1. Michael Laverty (Swan Yamaha) 16m 13.225s 2. Tommy Hill (Swan Yamaha) +0.214s 3. Shane Byrne (HM Plant Honda) +1 lap 4. Jon Kirkham (Samsung Crescent Racing Suzuki) +1 lap 5. Ryuichi Kiyonari (HM Plant Honda) +1 lap 6. Gary Mason (MSS Colchester Kawasaki) +1 lap Monday race one, 18 laps: 1.Tommy Hill (Swan Yamaha) 26m 23.316s 2.Michael Laverty (Swan Yamaha) +1.700s 3.Shane Byrne (HM Plant Honda) +3.460s 4.Josh Brookes (Relentless Suzuki by TAS) +6.067s 5.Peter Hickman (Tyco Honda) +18.892s 6.Jon Kirkham (Samsung Crescent Racing Suzuki) +23.495s Monday race two, 15 laps: 1. Tommy Hill (Swan Yamaha) 22m 00.965s 2. Josh Brookes (Relentless Suzuki by TAS) +0.632s 3. Michael Laverty (Swan Yamaha) +1.582s 4.Shane Byrne (HM Plant Honda) +2.013s 5. Peter Hickman (Tyco Honda) +2.664s 6. Jon Kirkham (Samsung Crescent Suzuki) +3.622s Championship standings going into the Showdown 1. Tommy Hill (Swan Yamaha) 529pts 2. Shane Byrne (HM Plant Honda) 522 3. John Hopkins (Samsung Crescent Suzuki) 518 4. Michael Laverty (Swan Yamaha) 510 5. Josh Brookes (Relentless Suzuki by TAS) 509 6. Ryuichi Kiyonari (HM Plant Honda) 508 Report Tommy Hill powers into the “Showdown for the title” in the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship with a seven points advantage over former two times winner of the crown Shane Byrne after a dominant performance in the triple race ninth round at Cadwell Park. Hill who had taken a close second to his Swan Yamaha team-mate Michael Laverty in Sunday afternoon’s running of the postponed Oulton Park race bounced back from a tumble during Monday morning’s warm-up practice to power in a hard fought winning double. Laverty made the better start to the first of the two races but by the second lap Hill had eased into the lead and there was no way that he was going to relinquish that despite the close attentions of Laverty who finished the race less than two seconds down. Hill shrugged aside the difficulties he was experiencing from the shoulder he injured earlier in the season: “I did my own thing but halfway through the race I had a bit of pain in my shoulder, something that I was dreading, and my arm felt a bit numb. “It was a case of concentrating hard as at this circuit, if you miss one corner apex you can mess up a whole lap and I couldn’t afford that as the others were so close behind,” explained Hill. Byrne, like Hill and Laverty, already qualified as a title-fighter, ran third on his HM Plant Honda ahead of Relentless Suzuki’s Josh Brookes, Peter Hickman riding the Tyco Honda and Jon Kirkham on the Samsung Crescent Suzuki. Reigning champion Ryuichi Kiyonari edged nearer to securing his place in the top six as he took ninth place. Byrne who was trying out new rear shocks and front fork springs in the second race of the afternoon led the opening lap but overshot the chicane next time around and dropped back to fourth place as at the front Laverty led from Hill in a terrific duel for supremacy. They traded placed several times before Hill made the decisive move at two third distance and managed to pull out a lead of half a second on Laverty and afterwards the race winner enthused: “this is fantastic for the team with another one-two finish and this has put a big smile on my face as I try to get the British title.” Laverty made a rare error in the closing stages and that cost him second place as Brookes, qualifying as a title fighter, charged through. Byrne finishes the race in fourth place ahead of Hickman, Kirkham and a relieved Kiyonari who had finally confirmed his place in the top six. Kiyonari said: “For me this is very important but these races have been very hard because of my starting positions. Now we have more work to do. I have to go faster and win races as everyone starts equal now in the Showdown.” Glen Richards riding for the WFR Honda team maintained his lead in the Mirror.co.uk BSB-EVO class title chase with a win and two thirds as his team-mate Graeme Gowland enjoyed a winning double. The meeting was marred by the accident on the opening lap of the Metzeler National Superstock 600 Championship race in which Ben Gautrey, 18,from Southport sustained fatal injuries when he fell on the approach to the Mountain section and was unavoidably hit by two immediately following riders. Hill said: “My thoughts go out to Ben and to his family this is quite an emotional time for all of us.” For more information please visit www.britishsuperbike.com More, from a press release issued by Honda: MCE INSURANCE BRITISH SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 09 SUNDAY / MONDAY 28-29 AUGUST CADWELL PARK Weather: Bright, sunny Temperature: Ambient 15 degrees C / Track 22 degrees C Attendance: Weekend 50,000 BYRNE AND KIYONARI QUALIFY FOR SHOWDOWN AS TITLE FIGHTERS Ryuichi Kiyonari maintained his hopes of taking the MCE Insurance British Superbike crown for a record fourth time as he racked up sufficient points in the triple race ninth round at Cadwell Park to qualify among the top six in the championship standings to become one of the elite “title-fighters.” Kiyonari’s HM Plant Honda team-mate Shane Byrne who had already qualified as a “title-fighter” ahead of this round used the track time at the Lincolnshire circuit to good effect to work on various new parts to ensure optimum performance in the crucial seven races and three rounds of the “Showdown for the title” sequence. The races in this ninth round were all won by Yamaha riders. The Sunday afternoon race, held over from rain-soaked Oulton Park meeting in July, was won by Michael Laverty whose team-mate Tommy Hill won both of the Monday races. Byrne ran fourth on the road in Sunday’s race with Kiyonari a couple of places further back, but several hours after the end of the action they were both elevated one place as race officials excluded Josh Brookes from the results. They studied video footage of his aggressive passing move on Michael Rutter, also taking evidence from the two teams. Brookes was stripped of his third place in the race for “causing avoidable and unfair contact which resulted in an accident.” Rutter, who tumbled heavily suffered rib injuries and though he tried to start the Monday races, he pulled off after two laps of the first race. As they had in Sunday’s race Yamaha riders took a one-two finish, this time with Hill winning from Laverty while Byrne who had briefly been running in second place taking a strong third place. Kiyonari picked up places to finish ninth having started back on the sixth row of the grid and that virtually ensured that he made the cut. Byrne made a powerful start to the final race, taking the early lead, only to over-run at the chicane and drop back to fourth place, adrift of Hill, Brookes and Laverty, while Kiyonari came through in seventh place to seal the sixth and final place in the “title-fighters.” The riders who will battle for the crown are: Byrne, Kiyonari, Hill, Laverty, Brookes and John Hopkins, the latter who missed this round through injury. Glen Richards maintained his lead in the BSB-EVO class with a victory and a pair of thirds aboard his WFR Honda while his team-mate Graeme Gowland enjoyed a holiday Monday winning double. Honda rider quotes after the races: Shane Byrne (HM Plant Honda): “I had already qualified for the Showdown before this round so my focus was on collecting podium credit scores on the home circuit of the team who have been doing such a good job for me here. Without being disrespectful to anyone, we have been using these races almost as a bit of a test. We’ve tried a number of new parts in the races and the bike is feeling really good. We changed the rear shocks and had new spring in the forks for the final race here to try and do two sighting laps before the race to give the team more feed back. I wasn’t out there for second place, but I made an error at the chicane and had to settle for fourth. We had been down on the Yamahas at the start of the weekend, but we have bridged that gap and we are now ready for the finale to the championship.” Ryuichi Kiyonari (HM Plant Honda): “It is very important that I have qualified in the top six, but we are still working on the bike, not just electronics, but many things including the balance. These races have been hard for me because of my starting positions. That has left me with a lot to do in the races especially here as the track is so narrow and it is very hard to overtake. Now I am in the Showdown everyone starts equal so it is very important that I have to go faster, I have to win races to take the title again.” RESULTS BRITISH SUPERBIKE RACE1: POS / RIDER / NAT / MOTORCYCLE / TIME / GAP 1 / Michael LAVERTY / GBR / Yamaha – Swan Yamaha / 16:13.225 / 2 / Tommy HILL / GBR / Yamaha – Swan Yamaha / 16:13.439 / 0.214 3 / Josh BROOKES / AUS / Suzuki – Relentless Suzuki by TAS / 14:51.674 / 1 lap 4 / Shane BYRNE / GBR / Honda – HM Plant Honda / 14:52.088 / 1 lap 5 / Jon KIRKHAM / GBR / Suzuki – Samsung Crescent Racing / 14:55.160 / 1 lap 6 / Ryuichi KIYONARI / JPN / Honda – HM Plant Honda / 14:55.957 / 1 lap 7 / Gary MASON / GBR / Kawasaki – MSS Colchester Kawasaki / 14:57.986 / 1 lap 8 / Martin JESSOPP / GBR / Ducati – Rapid Solicitors Bathams Ducati / 14:58.589 / 1 lap 9 / Peter HICKMAN / GBR / Honda – Tyco Honda / 14:59.223 / 1 lap 10 / Glen RICHARDS / AUS / Honda – Team WFR / 15:00.307 / 1 lap 11 / Chris WALKER / GBR / Kawasaki – Pr1mo Racing / 15:00.999 / 1 lap 12 / Graeme GOWLAND / GBR / Honda – Team WFR / 15:01.087 / 1 lap 13 / Alex LOWES / GBR / Kawasaki – MSS Colchester Kawasaki / 15:02.336 / 1 lap 14 / James ELLISON / GBR / Honda – Team SorryMate.com / 15:03.928 / 1 lap 15 / Scott SMART / GBR / Ducati – Moto Rapido Ducati / 15:05.380 / 1 lap Fastest lap: Tommy HILL GBR Yamaha – Swan Yamaha Lap 4 1:27.670 144.06 Km/h RACE2: POS / RIDER / NAT / MOTORCYCLE / TIME / GAP 1 / Tommy HILL / GBR / Yamaha – Swan Yamaha / 26:23.316 / 2 / Michael LAVERTY / GBR / Yamaha – Swan Yamaha / 26:25.016 / 1.700 3 / Shane BYRNE / GBR / Honda – HM Plant Honda / 26:26.776 / 3.460 4 / Josh BROOKES / AUS / Suzuki – Relentless Suzuki by TAS / 26:29.383 / 6.067 5 / Peter HICKMAN / GBR / Honda – Tyco Honda / 26:29.897 / 6.581 6 / Jon KIRKHAM / GBR / Suzuki – Samsung Crescent Racing / 26:42.208 / 18.892 7 / Martin JESSOPP / GBR / Ducati – Rapid Solicitors Bathams Ducati / 26:46.811 / 23.495 8 / Graeme GOWLAND / GBR / Honda – Team WFR / 26:47.616 / 24.300 9 / Ryuichi KIYONARI / JPN / Honda – HM Plant Honda / 26:47.740 / 24.424 10 / Gary MASON / GBR / Kawasaki – MSS Colchester Kawasaki / 26:56.544 / 33.228 11 / James ELLISON / GBR / Honda – Team SorryMate.com / 26:56.850 / 33.534 12 / Scott SMART / GBR / Ducati – Moto Rapido Ducati / 26:57.407 / 34.091 13 / Glen RICHARDS / AUS / Honda – Team WFR / 27:00.148 / 36.832 14 / Karl HARRIS / GBR / Aprilia – Splitlath Motorsport / 27:13.328 / 50.012 15 / Barry BURRELL / GBR / BMW – Buildbase BMW Motorrad / 27:13.461 / 50.145 Fastest lap: Michael LAVERTY GBR Yamaha – Swan Yamaha Lap 5 1:27.221 144.80 Km/h RACE3: POS / RIDER / NAT / MOTORCYCLE / TIME / GAP 1 / Tommy HILL / GBR / Yamaha – Swan Yamaha / 22:00.965 / 2 / Josh BROOKES / AUS / Suzuki – Relentless Suzuki by TAS / 22:01.597 / 0.632 3 / Michael LAVERTY / GBR / Yamaha – Swan Yamaha / 22:02.547 / 1.582 4 / Shane BYRNE / GBR / Honda – HM Plant Honda / 22:02.978 / 2.013 5 / Peter HICKMAN / GBR / Honda – Tyco Honda / 22:03.629 / 2.664 6 / Jon KIRKHAM / GBR / Suzuki – Samsung Crescent Racing / 22:04.587 / 3.622 7 / Ryuichi KIYONARI / JPN / Honda – HM Plant Honda / 22:09.004 / 8.039 8 / Martin JESSOPP / GBR / Ducati – Rapid Solicitors Bathams Ducati / 22:18.502 / 17.537 9 / Graeme GOWLAND / GBR / Honda – Team WFR / 22:19.351 / 18.386 10 / James ELLISON / GBR / Honda – Team SorryMate.com / 22:21.430 / 20.465 11 / Tommy BRIDEWELL / GBR / Yamaha – Motorpoint Yamaha / 22:23.857 / 22.892 12 / Gary MASON / GBR / Kawasaki – MSS Colchester Kawasaki / 22:24.614 / 23.649 13 / Scott SMART / GBR / Ducati – Moto Rapido Ducati / 22:24.815 / 23.850 14 / Glen RICHARDS / AUS / Honda – Team WFR / 22:29.145 / 28.180 15 / Karl HARRIS / GBR / Aprilia – Splitlath Motorsport / 22:39.393 / 38.428 Fastest lap: Tommy HILL GBR Yamaha – Swan Yamaha Lap 14 144.89 Km/h CHAMPIONSHIP POSITIONS TO DATE: 1 BYRNE 300, 2 HILL 280, 3 HOPKINS 231, 4 LAVERTY 224, 5 BROOKES 179, 6 KIYONARI 162, 7 KIRKHAM 145, 8 MASON 135, 9 RUTTER 130, 10 HICKMAN 128, 11 BAZ 88, 12 WALKER 83, 13 JESSOPP 74, 14 EASTON 69, 15 WESTMORELAND 59. SHOWDOWN POSITIONS: 1 HILL 529, 2 BYRNE 522, 3 HOPKINS 518, 4 LAVERTY 510, 5 BROOKES 509, 6 KIYONARI 508, 7 KIRKHAM 145, 8 MASON 135, 9 RUTTER 130, 10 HICKMAN 128, 11 BAZ 88, 12 WALKER 83, 13 JESSOPP 74, 14 EASTON 69, 15 WESTMORELAND 59. NEXT EVENT: ROUND 10 SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 11, DONNINGTON PARK More, from a press release issued by Swan Yamaha: SWAN YAMAHA CONTINUE WINNING FORM AT CADWELL PARK TO LEAD TITLE RACE The Swan Yamaha team continued their strong performance from yesterday’s opening race through to the two races today at the ninth round of the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship with a double win for Tommy Hill whilst Michael Laverty claimed another two podium finishes. In the first race the Swan Yamahas again got off to a flying start as Hill led the pair on the opening lap before Laverty took the lead at Charlies. Hill then regained the advantage at the Hairpin and then edged out his team-mate to win the race from team-mate Laverty. Laverty had led at the start of the third and final race of the weekend but Byrne stole the position at Park on the opening lap before he regained the lead and then was fending off team-mate Hill who was able to pass Byrne for second. Hill then took the lead and as Laverty focused his attention on trying to regain the top spot he made a mistake at Mansfield, which gave Brookes the opportunity to make a move with Laverty forced to settle for third. Hill now leads the standings ahead of the Showdown by 7 points with Laverty in fourth place 19 points adrift of his team-mate. Hill said: “It is another fantastic result for Swan Yamaha and I knew it would be a long race so to win that one was great and I am really chuffed. I just rode my own race and it is crucial to get every lap inch perfect here but the boys kept the pressure on me throughout. It was a great job by the Swan Yamaha team after finishing second yesterday so we wanted to repeat that in the last race. In the final race I knew I had to try and make a move on Michael because I had unfinished business from yesterday’s red flagged race, so I made a move because until then I hadn’t quite had the power to get ahead of him in the slipstream. I also did my fastest lap of the race with just two laps remaining so I was even happier with that! My thanks have to go to the team as this has been a great weekend and now we have the lead going into the Showdown. On a separate note my thoughts are with the family of Ben Gautrey after his accident today. The riders in the other classes generally aspire to be doing what we are and I want to send my condolences and dedicate my third win to them.” Laverty said: “There wasn’t any more I could have done in the second race to try and get the win. I just tried to adjust the traction during the race as I was struggling a bit with side grip in places and that meant I was unable to catch him again. I hadn’t made any real changes from yesterday’s race through to today so we looked at the data to see what could resolve the issue. I was happy to have been on the podium in that last race again but to be honest I didn’t realise that Josh Brookes was that close to me and I made a few mistakes and it gave him the chance he needed to make a move. I had wanted to try and make a move on Tommy Hill on the last lap and I am kicking myself a bit now not to have tried to do it sooner to try and win another race here. It was a pity not to have won but I think we should be getting our share in the Showdown. I think this weekend has shown that I am a title contender and I won’t be giving up without a fight.” Team Owner Shaun Muir concluded: “It has been a fantastic weekend for the Swan Yamaha team and I am over the moon with how Tommy, Michael and the whole team performed this weekend and I am so proud of the entire team. We have both riders in the Showdown and Tommy leads whilst Michael has upped his game and proved he is now on the same level as the leading three riders. All I can say is bring on the Showdown now.” For more information visit www.swanyamaha.co.uk More, from a press release issued by Sorrymate.com Honda: Progress and top ten for Ellison at Cadwell James Ellison and the sorrymate.com Honda team continued to make good progress at the latest round of the British Superbike Championship and they were rewarded with their first top ten finish since they joined forces in July. Competing in round 9 at Cadwell Park, Ellison scored points in each of the three races and finished the weekend strongly with tenth place in the final race on Monday. The first race of the weekend was the rescheduled second race from Oulton Park, which was cancelled back in July due to heavy rain, and James lined up for this in 7th place. Unfortunately though, he made a poor start when he found a false neutral, slipping all the way back to 18th at the end of the first lap although overhauling both James Hillier and Karl Harris meant that he was up to 16th by lap 4. This became 15th when Michael Rutter crashed out a lap later and he then overtook Scott Smart for 14th on lap 8 although any hopes of climbing any higher were dashed when the race was stopped two laps later due to rain. However, the final result became 13th as third place finisher Josh Brookes was later excluded. Monday saw good conditions at the Lincolnshire venue and, having qualified for the opening race in 14th, James completed the first of the 18 laps in 15th place but he was promoted back up to 14th a lap later when Rutter retired. By lap 4 he had moved up another spot, 13th, when he overtook Smart and for the remainder of the race he was embroiled in a ferocious scrap for 9th place, five riders battling it out. Reigning champion Ryuichi Kiyonari was able to move through the pack and whilst James wasn’t quite able to get by Glen Richards and Chris Walker as quickly, with two laps to go he was up into tenth place. On the last lap though, Gary Mason squeezed by and so he had to settle for 11th at the chequered flag. With the 11th fastest lap of the race, James was able to start Monday’s second race from a row further forward and he was soon running in 11th place after consolidating his starting position. With his fastest lap of the weekend, 1m28.249s, coming on lap 8, he was able to close in on the group of riders in front of him and with three laps to go he got his revenge on Mason and took over tenth spot, promptly pulling away. He eventually crossed the line almost 2.5s clear for his first top ten finish of the year. Speaking afterwards, James said: “We’ve made steady progress this weekend and although it hasn’t been as fast as I would have liked, we’ve moved forward in every race. On Sunday we missed a good opportunity but I hit a false neutral as I left the line and dropped all the way back to 18th so it was a real battle just to get into the points. We learnt a lot more with the bike though and made some further improvements for Monday’s race and full credit to the team for always helping me improve out on track. Cadwell’s always been a bit of a bogey circuit for me and it took me a bit of time to get by Scott Smart in two of the races but, fair play to him, he was riding well, although once I got by, I was able to show my pace. It was a similar thing with Gary Mason and the Kawasaki is very quick but we got the better of him in the second race and it was good to finish in the top ten. I always like to leave a meeting knowing both the team and I have given 110% and we’ve done just that this weekend so we can look forward to Donington in a positive frame of mind where I’m sure we’ll improve again.” Team owner Robin Croft added: “It’s been a better weekend for us than Brands Hatch last time out and it’s been the continuation of the learning curve we’re on. It’s not been easy and it’s always difficult for a rider to join mid-way through the year with no or little testing but we’re getting there and James is giving us everything we need. We’ve been able to concentrate more on the suspension side of things this weekend, rather than the electronics, and although we didn’t have great grid positions in two of the races, James showed his racer’s instincts with some strong rides. We’re learning and we’re getting there so the aim now is to give James a good package for the final three rounds so we can run consistently inside the top ten.” The next round of the British Superbike Championship takes place at Donington Park on September 9-11. More, from a press release issued by Splitlath Motorsport: HARRIS GRABS THREE FOURTHS AT CADWELL KARL Harris celebrated a trio of fourth places at Cadwell Park this weekend as he made the move into the Mirror.co.uk BSB-Evo Championship. Harris was the sole rider for the Splitlath Motorsport team after new signing John Simpson crashed his Supersport bike in warm-up this morning and dislocated his shoulder. He has been ruled out of Donington Park but hopes to be back in the saddle for the penultimate round at Silverstone next month. This left Harris to fly the flag for the Wales-based team in today’s two races, and after scoring a fourth place in yesterday’s race he was keen to at least equal that result today. In Race One he started from 20th on the grid and got a good getaway, crossing the line in fifth spot at the end of the first lap. On Lap Five he moved up to fourth, and held the position all the way to the chequered flag, holding off the Buildbase BMW of Barry Burrell for the last eight laps. Race Two turned out to be almost a carbon copy of the first. This time he started from 16th on the grid and fourth Evo bike and held the position from lights to flag. Again the race was won by the WFR Honda of Graeme Gowland with Scott Smart and Glen Richards taking second and third, while Harris once again defended his spot all the way to the flag from Burrell who crossed the line fifth. “I’m pleased with that, I don’t think I could’ve done any more out there so I’m over the moon with three fourth places,” he said. “We’re running with a standard engine in our Aprilia and to be up there not too far off those WFR bikes is great. “I think we’ve really turned the corner now with the bike and it’s an exciting way to head into the final few rounds. I think we can be challenging for the podium next time out.” Team Principal John Dimbylow praised the team for their hard work this weekend. “It’s been a fantastic round for us. The team is finally starting to gel and it shows in our results. The mechanics and the new crew chiefs are doing a brilliant job and Karl did his usual great job of going out and riding the wheels off the thing. “We’ve also been very impressed with John, and it’s unfortunate that he crashed and picked up an injury this morning. However, he has more than proved he is capable of riding a 1000cc bike this weekend and we wish him a speedy recovery and look forward to having him back soon. “It’s been a tough season at times but we’ve had a great weekend here and I want to thank everyone in the team Pete, Andy, Sam, Russ, Max, David, Simon, Peter, Zoe and Mic for their hard work so far. The team are amazing and they deserve some credit here today.” More, from a press release issued by Marty Nutt’s publicist: Strong results for Nutt at Cadwell Castlerock’s Marty Nutt enjoyed a profitable two races at Cadwell Park over the Bank Holiday weekend where he was competing in round 9 of the British Supersport Championship. The nutttravel.com/Dawn/K&G rider scored points in both of his outings and ended the weekend with one of his best rides of the season, 9th, after fighting his way strongly through the field. Having qualified in 13th place for Sunday’s ‘Sprint’ race, a strong start saw Marty end the first lap in 14th place and here he remained for the next two laps as he battled it out with Pauli Pekkanen and Paul Young for 12th. However, on lap 4, he made a mistake exiting Chris Curve and the subsequent excursion onto the grass dropped him back down the order to 21st. Despite the considerable time lost, Marty dug deep and put in, arguably, one of his best rides of the season as he fought his way back through the pack. By lap 7, he was up to 19th and this soon became 17th as he overhauled both David Paton and Shaun Winfield. On the tenth lap he moved back into the points in 15th and he took the chequered flag two laps later in 14th, just half a second adrift of 12th. This then became 13th as Anthony Rogers was ineligible for the main Championship points. Starting Monday’s longer 14-lap race from 15th on the grid, a good start saw Marty move up to 14th and for the next few laps he was embroiled in a fine battle for 11th place, positions constantly changing between himself, Luke Stapelford, Josh Day, Paul Young, Shaun Winfield and Rogers. Slowly but surely, Marty got the better of them all and by lap 8 he was up to 12th and only 0.7s adrift of 10th. Just a lap later, this was the position he held as he overhauled Stapelford and third place rider Sam Warren crashed out and when he overtook Young on lap 11, he moved up into a strong 9th place. He promptly opened up a gap over the riders behind him and was rewarded for another excellent ride with 9th and 7 more Championship points. Speaking at the end of the weekend, a happy Marty said: “We got the bike working a lot better in time for Sunday’s race and Ian from the Motorpoint team was a terrific help and it was only my mistake that cost us a potential top ten finish. We had a different map in the bike and it was flying but I got a bit eager on the gas through Chris Curve and I had to take to the grass to stay on board. It dropped me way back although I got my head down and clawed my way back into the points although it was a bit frustrating as the riders I was initially battling with finished in 10th.” “I made a good start on Monday although I was a wee bit slow getting by Anthony Rogers but once I did I found a good rhythm and started to make good progress forward. The bike’s so much better now and I was able to make all of my passes at a good time and make them stick so it was nice to be battling for a top ten result again. My fastest lap of the weekend came late on in the 2nd race and I feel we’ve turned the corner now with the bike so I’m really happy with the end result and if we can hit the ground running next time out, I’m confident we’ll have more top ten finishes.” There’s now a two-week break for Marty with the next round taking place at Donington Park on September 9-11. More, from a press release issued by Conor Cummins’ publicist: So close yet so far for Cummins at Cadwell Conor Cummins came so close yet so far to scoring points once more at round 9 of the Metzeler National Superstock 1000cc Championship on Bank Holiday Monday when the Manx rider finished in 19th place at Cadwell Park. The Blackhorse Kawasaki rider put in his best qualifying performance of the season and was more than confident of scoring points but he fell victim to severe arm pump and gradually slipped back through the pack after starting the race strongly. The undulating Lincolnshire circuit was always going to be a tough circuit for Conor due to its physical nature but after a steady opening qualifying session on Saturday, Conor showed how much he’s improved in recent weeks with a fine effort in the final session on Sunday. Indeed, a time of 1m32.409s saw him take 1.2s off his previous best time and it elevated him up to a strong 16th on the grid. Conditions on Monday were good and a solid start saw Conor maintain his 16th place starting position and here he remained for the first 4 laps as he battled with fellow Manxman Gavin Hunt and Daniel Johnson for the final Championship points. Just after half race distance though, Conor began to run into trouble as his arm severely ‘pumped up’ and he was powerless to do anything about it as a number of riders overtook him. With a third of the race still to run, Conor found himself back in 19th and with the red flag coming out early due to a spill, this was his finishing position. Speaking afterwards, Conor said; “Without wishing to sound like I’m repeating myself, it’s been another frustrating race for me as I felt really confident after qualifying that I was going to score some points this weekend. This was the one place where I thought I may struggle with my injuries but that wasn’t the case at all and during both free practice and qualifying I felt really good. We worked really hard on getting the handling right in time for final qualifying and it worked a treat so I had the confidence to have a real good go.” “It was comfortably my best qualifying performance of the year so I felt good for Monday’s race and was desperate to get into the points. I got a decent start to the race and was just sitting with the pack but then, for the first time in my career, I got arm pump and my forearm was literally solid so there was nothing I could do and gradually slipped back. All I can think of was what I was overcompensating a bit and using my arms too much to muscle the bike through all the changes in direction. Cadwell is probably the hardest circuit on the body but there are again positives to take out of the weekend and we’re continually chipping away both with the bike and with my riding so we’re definitely getting there. I’m really happy with the bike now so a big thanks to the team for all their work whilst I’ve again taken a stride forward as shown in qualifying. If we can just piece everything together in the final three rounds, I’m sure all our hard work will be rewarded with some good points scoring finishes.” Conor now heads to Donington Park, Leics for round 10 of the Championship with the meeting taking place on September 9-11. More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki News Service: Samsung Crescent Racing’s Jon Kirkham raced to two sixth place finishes today at the ninth round of the 2011 British Superbike Championship at Cadwell Park. Significantly, Kirkham has regained his speed, finishing the second race just three-seconds behind the winner in what was a very tightly-fought race. His points haul lifted him to seventh in the Championship, just missing out on the top-six Title Fighters that were finalised today. Jon Kirkham: “I’m very happy after this weekend. Working with the two crew chiefs – Dale and Lez – meant we could really push hard on set-up; it seemed everything we did this weekend just made our Samsung Crescent Racing bike better and better. “The first race today didn’t go according to plan, though: I got a bad start and got stuck behind another rider for too long and when I did get by it was too late; the leaders had gone. But in the second race I was with the leaders from the start and I stayed with them. But for a couple of mistakes on the last lap I would have been just two-seconds behind at the finish. “I’m incredibly energised by this weekend; it’s great to back on a footing with the best in the Championship and I can’t wait for the next round at Donington Park, which is as good as my local track. I think we can look to challenge for top-five finishes again.” Jack Valentine – Team Manager: “I’m extremely pleased with JK’s performance. We saw the true potential of JK this weekend; he’s back to where he was earlier this year. He ran a tremendous race in that last one. His confidence is back and he’s showing his ability. There are so many positives to take to Donington Park. “The Title Fighters was also finalised this weekend. John Hopkins was already fixed into that and we’re looking forward to his return at Donington Park. We were lucky this weekend as we didn’t lose too many podium points to our rivals and for Hopper there’s now only an 11-point difference between him and Tommy Hill, the Championship leader, which isn’t very much at all with all the races that remain. Hopper knows and likes all the tracks that are to come, so we can look forward to a very competitive and exciting end to the season, both with Hopper and JK.” MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship: Race two result: 1 Tommy Hill (Swan Yamaha) 2 Michael Laverty (Swan Yamaha) +1.700s 3 Shane Byrne (HM Plant Honda) +3.460s 4 Josh Brookes (Relentless Suzuki by TAS) +6.067s 5 Peter Hickman (Tyco Honda) +18.892s 6 Jon Kirkham (Samsung Crescent Racing) +23.495s 7 Martin Jessopp (Rapid Solicitors-Bathams Ducati) +24.300s 8 Graeme Gowland (WFR Honda) +24.424s 9 Ryuichi Kiyonari (HM Plant Honda) +33.228s 10 Gary Mason (MSS Colchester Kawasaki) +33.534s Race three result: 1 Tommy Hill (Swan Yamaha) 2 Josh Brookes (Relentless Suzuki by TAS) +0.632s 3 Michael Laverty (Swan Yamaha) +1.582s 4 Shane Byrne (HM Plant Honda) +2.013s 5 Peter Hickman (Tyco Honda) +2.664s 6 Jon Kirkham (Samsung Crescent Racing) +3.622s 7 Ryuichi Kiyonari (HM Plant Honda) +8.039s 8 Martin Jessopp (Rapid Solicitors-Bathams Ducati) +17.537s 9 Graeme Gowland (WFR Honda) +18.386s 10 James Ellison (Sorrymate.com Honda) +20.465s MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship standings after Cadwell Park: (scores adjusted for the Title Fighters ahead of the Showdown): 1 Tommy Hill (Swan Yamaha) 529 2 Shane Byrne (HM Plant Honda) 522 3 John Hopkins (Samsung Crescent Racing) 518 4 Michael Laverty (Swan Yamaha) 510 5 Josh Brookes (Relentless Suzuki by TAS) 509 6 Ryuichi Kiyonari (HM Plant Honda) 508 7 Jon Kirkham ((Samsung Crescent Racing) 145