STEVE PLATER CLAIMS SECOND PLACE AT THRUXTON Lincolnshire rider Steve Plater claimed a fine second place for HM Plant Honda at Thruxton on Sunday in round four of the Fuchs/Silkolene British Supersport championship but relinquished his series lead to race winner Billy McConnell who now holds a slim, two point advantage over Plater. It was a busy weekend for the Woodhall Spa rider who travelled back from the Isle of Man to take part in qualifying at Thruxton before returning to the island for Saturday evening practice for the TT. (See separate report) and then headed back to Thruxton in time for morning warm-up and the 16-lap race. Plater had been up at the sharp end throughout qualifying at the Hampshire circuit and ended the final session in fifth place. “The times are very close, I am only half a second away from the pole setter, James Westmoreland and to be honest, fifth is good for me as I will start right behind pole and if I can get off the line well then I should be in a strong position at Turn One.” True to his word Steve was away to a flyer but his efforts were all in vain as the race was red flagged because of an incident at the first corner. At the re-start Plater was promoted up to the front row but was bumped back to seventh in the first corner melee. He began to claw his way back up the order and became embroiled in a battle for fourth place in the middle of a pack of five riders. As the race progressed Plater fought his way past James Webb and one lap later caught and passed Paul Young. By mid race distance he began to make a break to hunt down the leading three riders and latched onto the back of the third placed rider on lap 14 of 16. He took James Westmoreland on the penultimate lap and made the same move on Dan Linfoot ant the next corner to ease into second place. Although he was very near to the race leader he ran out of time and crossed the finish line just three tenths of a second behind McConnell. “Second place will do for me today,” said Plater. “If we had another lap I would have made it through to the front but it wasn’t to be. Its been a busy weekend for me having to fly back and forth to the Isle of Man for TT practice and to be in a position to claim second place at Thruxton is a good result for me given the circumstances. “I am running in second place and only two points away from the series lead. Once the TT is out of the way I will be in a position to concentrate all my attention on the British championship and hopefully secure both the race win and series lead next time out.” The next round is at Snetterton in Norfolk and the scene of his first race win of the 2008 season. If he can repeat that on June 21st he will move into the lead in the 2009 championship. More, from a press release issued by Steve Plater’s publicist: STEVE PLATER TT SATURDAY PRACTICE Steve Plater began his Isle of Man TT campaign on Saturday when he interrupted his weekend of racing at Thruxton in the British Supersport championship to fly over to the island in time to take part in the first evening practice session. Although the session was untimed the Woodhall Spa ace was the second fastest rider though the Sulby straight speed trap with a blistering speed of 185.9mph. Conditions were perfect on the island and Steve was greeted by blue skies and warm sun. Steve got his first taste of action shortly after 7pm when he took the HM Plant Honda Superbike out for a blast around the 37.73-mile TT course. He completed four laps of the gruelling mountain road course and was clocked through the Sulby Straight speed trap at 183.9mph. “I enjoyed my first practice,” said the ever-smiling Steve Plater. “Conditions were near enough perfect except for the abundance of flies and bugs that attached themselves to the bike and my visor. It was also a bit dusty out there and as the evening wore on, the sun became a bit of a problem in places, as it was very low in the sky. Apart from that, the bike ran well and it was a successful first test.” After a welcome night’s sleep Plater headed back to Thruxton where he arrived well in time for morning warm up. He completed the 10-minute session in fourth place ahead of Sunday’s 16-lap race that he finished in second place. More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki Press Office: Although he had two broken bones in his right foot and ankle, a damaged shoulder and thigh, Team Suzuki Alstare Brux rider Yukio Kagayama defied the pain and brought his GSX-R1000 K9 home 12th in both World Superbike races at the Miller Motorsport Park in USA. Kagayama couldn’t walk without the aid of crutches, but he hauled his bruised and battered body onto his bike twice in sweltering conditions and fought hard throughout both 21-lap races. His team mate Fonsi Nieto continued his understanding of the Suzuki throughout the weekend and ended with a hard-fought-for 13th in race two. American Ben Spies (Yamaha) continued his weekend of domination by taking both victories, much to the delight of the home fans. Carlos Checa (Honda) was second in race one, with Michel Fabrizio (Ducati) third. Behind Spies in race two was Fabrizio again with Jonathan Rea (Honda) third. Yukio Kagayama – Race 1: 12th, Race 2: 12th: “I am very sore and very tired after these races today. I had pain-killing injections in my right foot and that allowed me to race. Once I was on the bike, the pain was not so great, but what did hurt was my shoulder, back and thigh. Now I want a good, long rest! “In race one, I began to get a better feeling with the bike after about seven or eight laps and the tyre was working OK as well. It was difficult changing direction, because of my right foot, and going through the chicanes was also a bit of a problem, but I wanted to finish the race and so kept going. I had some more injections before the start of the second race, but I didn’t make such a good start and was 17th at the end of the first lap. My bike also had some chattering from the rear end and I couldn’t push hard. It was very tough and physical today, but I’m happy I managed to finish both races today.” Fonsi Nieto – Race 1: 16th, Race 2: 13th: “Every time I go out on the bike, I understand it more and the feeling gets better. I was happy to get into Superpole this weekend and that shows that I am improving all the time. I have been out of racing for seven months, so I have to get back up to race pace again, but now that I am beginning to get more comfortable with the bike, it’s all getting better and better. Francis Batta has given me this great opportunity and I want to repay his faith, and that of the team, by continuing to improve and get better results. Francis Batta – Team Manager: “Yukio is a special guy and I am very impressed with his courage and determination this weekend. Nobody put him under any pressure to get on the bike at all. In fact we tried to persuade him not to race! None of us thought he would actually race, but he proved us all wrong and did a fantastic job in very difficult circumstances.” Race 1: 1 Spies (USA-Yamaha), 2 C Checa (E-Honda), 3 Fabrizio (I-Ducati), 4 Kiyonari (J-Honda), 5 Rea (GB-Honda), 6 Biaggi (I-Aprilia). 12 Yukio Kagayama (J-Alstare Brux Suzuki). Race 2: 1 Spies, 2 Fabrizio, 3 Rea, 4 Biaggi, 5 Kiyonari, 6 Smrz (CZ-Ducati). 12 Yukio Kagayama (J-Alstare Brux Suzuki). Points: 1 Haga 265, 2 Spies 212, 3 Fabrizio 201, 4 Rea 133, 5 Biaggi 126, 6 Haslam 122. 12 Kagayama 76. 13 Neukirchner 75. More, from a press release issued by Tom Tunstall Racing: Another Podium for Tunstall Hardinge Doodson Motorsport racer Tom Tunstall made it two podiums in two meetings having climbed onto the rostrum again on Sunday after netting an excellent second place in the British Superbike Cup championship. Only days after an impressive performance at Donington Park Tom Tunstall and the British Superbike Paddock headed south to the ultra fast circuit of Thruxton in Hampshire. The “airfield circuit” is renowned for its wide, bumpy track and is easily the fastest track on the BSB calendar. The lap speeds tell the story eloquently. In qualifying Tunstall averaged over 110mph for the lap, which includes two chicanes, placing him 2nd of the cup contenders for Sunday’s races. “It takes a bit of time to get your head up to speed here – I’m doing just under 200mph on the run to the last chicane which is only 45mph and getting your judgement right is crucial. I’m pretty pleased with qualifying and I’m really enjoying the track, the bike slides around a lot here which is fine and we’re looking to try a few things to improve the stability in warm up which should help” The weather conditions throughout the weekend were perfect and race day was no exception with 27 degrees ambient temperature and unbroken sunshine baking the 2.35mile track. Race one saw Honda mounted Tunstall get away well end completed lap one in third. In the opening laps Tunstall was embroiled in a dice with Martin Jessop jockeying for 2nd. On lap eight Tunstall made it stick and immediately pulled clear. Four seconds ahead was a group containing Jason O’Halloran, Graeme Gowland, and former Japanese Superbike Champion Atsushi Wantanabe. At the flag Tunstall had caught the group but it was too late to mount a challenge. But the impressive ride earned him 2nd place in the cup, 15th overall and only 2 seconds from Karl Harris in 11th. Tunstall launched off the line well in the second of the day’s 20-lappers, but opting for the outside line in turn one he was pushed wide loosing time and valuable places. The Yorkshireman set about cutting his way back through and on lap four held fourth with more than three seconds separating him from the riders ahead. Valiantly Tunstall chipped away at the gap reducing it a few tenths a lap. Tunstall narrowly avoided Wantanabe’s riderless machine on lap 13, and started the last lap having caught the four rider group. Managing to pick off O’Halloran he ran out of time and laps, crossing the line in fourth only 0.5 from second in the cup and Gowland in 13th overall. “I definitely had the pace to make it two 2nd places today but lost too much time getting boxed out in turn one. I’m really happy with the progress the whole team is making and my confidence on the bike is still growing. Race one proved that with we have the pace to run with some of the established superbike teams and riders If we can keep this progress going it certainly bodes well for the rest of the season” After a hectic couple of weeks the teams have a three week break before the Championship heads to another ex-airfield circuit with Snetterton in Norfolk next up on the 12-round calendar, taking place over the June 19th 21st weekend. More, from a press release issued by Paul Bird Motorsports: BITTER SWEET WEEKEND FOR PBM KAWASAKI AT MILLER… As the Hannspree World Superbike Championship crossed the Atlantic for round seven of the series, the PBM Kawasaki World Superbike Championship Team continued their progress at Miller Motorsports Park near Salt Lake City in Utah. British-born AMA veteran Jamie Hacking was replacing Makoto Tamada who was out injured with a broken wrist following his Monza accident and with Aussie Broc Parkes now back to full fitness after a testing crash in the UK, the team were confident after qualifying for the final Superpole competition for the first time this season which saw Parkes and Hacking start from the second row of the grid. Aboard the www.supercasino.com, Vent Axia and Kick Energy-backed Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10Rs, both riders ran well in the opening race before it was stopped and then in the restart, despite tyre problems towards the end, Hacking went on to record the team’s best result of 7th place but after showing well in the opening stages, Parkes retired with an electrical problem late on. Race two wasn’t quite as successful as an altercation between the two team-mates on the opening corner relegated them down the order but 27-year-old Parkes battled back to claim an impressive 11th at the chequered flag and 37-year-old Hacking brought the machine home in 19th position after an eventful race. Broc Parkes: “It’s my first time here at Miller so when I walked the track on Thursday I was really happy to see that it’s a track that I like with big open and flowing corners. I was really happy to get through all three Superpole sessions and start from the second row on the grid. I got good starts in both races but in the first race we had a few issues with tyres and then I had to pull out of the race with an electrical problem on the final lap. In race two we changed the tyres but I was hit in the first corner so I was dead last so had to try and claw my way back to a decent position as the bike was the best it’s felt all weekend. Our times showed that we could have easily sustained a position in the top eight so I’m a bit disappointed that the results this weekend didn’t reflect how good the team and the bike have been.” Jamie Hacking: “I’ve obviously had some experience at Miller before and some good results in the past on the Kawasaki so I was hoping coming into this weekend that the bike would be good and I was really happy that we were pretty fast from the start. I’ve not ridden on Pirelli tyres before and also I had to get used to the electronics but I was really happy to complete all three Superpole sectors and to start on row two next to Broc. I got a decent start in race two and was feeling really good on the bike and in a comfortable fourth place before the red flag came out but a seventh in the re-start was good. Race two I had an incident on the first corner as I had more entry speed than some of the guys around me and someone ran into me so I couldn’t turn in so had to make my way out of the pack to try and save the bike. Having not raced with these guys I’m unfamiliar how some of them ride so I was really disappointed that this happened. I’d like to have had a solid race result in race two but it wasn’t to be, I just hope that I get the opportunity to come back and show my true potential.” Paul Risbridger, Team Manager: “It’s been a really positive weekend for the team with a fantastic performance in qualifying from both riders. It was really encouraging to see the pace that the bike had and also our reaction to the tyres. We believed we had a good race set-up and could put in a solid top ten performance which was our objective this weekend but unfortunately the races didn’t go our way. Jamie did a great job with a seventh position in race one and Broc put in a fantastic performance in both races, he just didn’t have luck on his side with an electrical problem in race one and an incident on the first corner in raced two which were both not his fault.” The next round of the Hannspree World Superbike Championship takes place in two weekends time (June 19/21) at Misano in Italy. ( www.worldsbk.com) AGGREGATE RESULTS RACE 1 7. Hacking (Kawasaki WSB) – 9 points (highest finish this year) DNF. Parkes (Kawasaki WSB) 1. B. Spies (Yamaha WSB) 2. C. Checa (Ten Kate Honda) 3. M. Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox Team) 4. R. Kiyonari (Ten Kate Honda) 5. J. Rea (Ten Kate Honda) 6. M. Biaggi (Aprilia Racing) 7. J. Hacking (Kawasaki WSB) 8. J. Smrz (Guandalini Racing) 9. N. Haga (Ducati Xerox Team) 10. L. Haslam (Stiggy Racing Honda) FINAL RESULTS RACE 2 11. Parkes (Kawasaki WSB) – 5 points 19. Hacking (Kawasaki WSB) – 0 points 1. B. Spies (Yamaha WSB) 2. M. Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox Team) 3. J. Rea (Ten Kate Honda) 4. M. Biaggi (Aprilia Racing) 5. R. Kiyonari (Ten Kate Honda) 6. J. Smrz (Guandalini Racing) 7. S. Nakano (Aprilia Racing) 8. N. Haga (Ducati Xerox Team) 9. T. Sykes (Yamaha WSB) 10. S. Byrne (Sterilgarda Ducati) Details and profiles of the riders, team and bikes as well as championship information, pictures and calendar etc can be found at www.kawasaki-racingteam.eu/road-race. Exclusive and copyright-free pictures are also available from each round at www.paulbirdmotorsport.com More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki Press Office: TWO FIGHTING FIFTHS FOR RUTTER Michael Rutter claimed two fifth place finishes today at the fourth round of the British Superbike Championship at the Thruxton circuit in Hampshire. With so little time to get to know the 2009 Suzuki GSX-R1000 it was always going to be a tall order to steal a podium finish but Rutter’s two gritty rides took him close. Before the start of the first race, and from the front row of the grid, the team were able to send best wishes via live television to their rider Sylvain Guintoli, who’s still recovering in hospital after the incident at Donington Park last week. When the start came Rutter made a fair fist of it, holding sixth place in the early stages. He then lost a couple of places as he allowed the bike to settle in, but from mid-race onwards Rutter was equaling the pace of the lead riders. Consequently Rutter started claiming places back, ending the race on a high note as he dramatically outbraked Honda’s Glen Richards at the final chicane on the last lap to claim fifth. The second race was no less intense and in fact followed a very similar pattern. A better start saw Rutter fifth on the first lap but again losing places in the scrum of the early stages. Again Rutter rallied and fought back, with lap times that were typically first or second fastest. Michael Rutter: “What a wonderful bike! As a first experience of the GSX-R I’m really impressed. “Looking at the day, I could definitely have done with more time to refine the set-up – this morning’s set-up in warm-up didn’t work quite as we hoped so we rode with what we had yesterday, which wasn’t quite perfect. I could have ridden better too – smoother would have been faster – but I have to be happy for I know I can improve. It’s been a great weekend in so many ways.” Jack Valentine, team manager: “We’ve had a very good weekend. We came here only three days after the disaster of Donington and started with a new rider who’d never ridden the bike before. There was so little time to sort bike and rider that in all fairness Michael did a very good job. “We can’t grumble with getting two fifths, and the way Michael was matching the lap times of the leaders through the later stages of the races also showed he can be very quick. It’s just a matter of getting more time on the bike, that’s what cost him in the early stages of each race, but you can see that with time in the saddle he’d build his confidence and belief.” ViSK British Superbike Championship in association with Pirelli Round Four, Thruxton Race one result: 1. Leon Camier (Airwaves Yamaha) 2. James Ellison (Airwaves Yamaha) +1.296s 3. Stuart Easton (Hydrex Honda) +7.236s 4. Simon Andrews (MSS Colchester Kawasaki) +10.670s 5. Michael Rutter (Worx Crescent Suzuki) +11.304s 6. Glen Richards (HM Plant Honda) +11.515s 7. Josh Brookes (HM Plant Honda) +15.872s 8. John Laverty (Buildbase Kawasaki) +19.707s 9. Gary Mason (Quay Garage Honda) +23.199s 10. Julien Da Costa (MSS Colchester Kawasaki) +27.292s Race two result: 1. Leon Camier (Airwaves Yamaha) 2. James Ellison (Airwaves Yamaha) +3.505s 3. Josh Brookes (HM Plant Honda) +3.640s 4. Stuart Easton (Hydrex Honda) +5.963s 5. Michael Rutter (Worx Crescent Suzuki) +6.632s 6. Simon Andrews (MSS Colchester Kawasaki) +8.089s 7. Glen Richards (HM Plant Honda) +11.365s 8. Ian Lowry (Relentless Suzuki by TAS) +11.648s 9. Karl Harris (Hydrex Honda) +14.344s 10. Julien Da Costa (MSS Colchester Kawasaki) +17.324s Championship points (after four rounds): 1 Leon Camier 167, 2 James Ellison 129, 3 Stuart Easton 107, 4 Glen Richards 95, 5 Sylvain Guintoli, Worx Crescent Suzuki 77, 6 Karl Harris 72, 7 Simon Andrews 58, 8 Gary Mason 57, 9 Chris Walker 49, 10 Ian Lowry 48, 16 Michael Rutter, Works Crescent Suzuki 22.