STEVE PLATER WINS AT CADWELL Woodhall Spa ace Steve Plater had plenty to smile about at Cadwell on Monday as he celebrated his birthday with a fantastic win in round nine of the British Supersport championship and was presented with a bottle of champagne after being pronounced rider of the day by the Eurosport presenters. Plater had been on form throughout the weekend and held pole in final qualifying until the session was stopped because of a fire in the campsite which saw smoke billowing across the track along Park Straight. As the session continued Plater was caught out by a cold tyre and slid off at Barn Corner. Unable to improve his lap times he was relegated to third place for a front row start to Sunday’s planned 16-lap race. As the race got underway Plater was a bit too keen to get started and nearly incurred a penalty for a jump-start. But the race was red-flagged almost immediately because of a two-rider crash at Charlies on the first lap. After a lengthy delay the race was re-started and run over 14 laps. This time Plater made no mistake at the start and slotted straight into second place behind Hudson Kennaugh. By lap five he had taken the lead with series leader Glen Richards following through. Richards began to challenge for the lead and eventually made his way past Plater on lap eight. But Plater was not to be denied his win on home tarmac and stuck with Richards eventually making his move along Park Straight to regain the lead, which he held to the chequered flag. It was a popular win for the local hero and the crowd gave him a standing ovation on his slow down lap. “Its not all gory for me today as my teammate David Paton was involved in the first lap crash, he is ok and I hope the other guy involved will be ok. “The crash was a get out of jail card for me because I jumped the start and would have incurred a penalty. But at the restart I got away well and sat behind Kennaugh through the first few corners and took the lead at Mansfield when he made a mistake. “I dropped my pace a little bit to try and conserve my tyres and then Glen (Richards) came past. I just followed him and bided my time, as I knew I could pass him at some stage. I left it until the last lap and took him at Park Corner and kept him behind me to the chequered flag.” Although Steve remains in seventh place he has gained ground on Chris Martin in sixth and is just six points adrift. But because of a date clash with the World Endurance Championship Plater will miss the next round of the British Supersport series at Croft on September 14 and will no doubt have it all to do again in the penultimate round of the series at Silverstone on September 28. More, from a press release issued by Guy Martin’s publicist: Martin shows good form at Cadwell Kirmington’s Guy Martin put in two fine performances at Cadwell Park on Bank Holiday Monday, with two points scoring finishes in the latest round of the British Superbike Championship. The Hydrex Bike Animal Honda rider improved his times dramatically around the 2.18-mile Lincolnshire circuit and was rewarded with 11th and 15th in the two races. Whilst many of the riders were lapping between one and two seconds slower than what they had done 12 months ago, Guy lapped a second quicker thus confirming his short circuit credentials and proving how he is constantly getting closer to the front runners. Free practice saw both wet and dry conditions, with Guy shining in the former as he posted the 8th fastest time. When the new qualifying format got underway on Sunday afternoon though, sunny skies ensured that slick tyres were the order of the day and Guy comfortably made it through to the second stage of the knockout format. In the second part of the ‘shootout’, Guy knocked another four tenths of a second off his lap time and a time of 1m30.520s saw him finish in 17th position. Keen to impress at his local circuit, Guy also had the added pressure of flying the team flag single handedly after team-mate James Ellison was forced to withdraw due to a wrist injury but he did a great job in Monday’s races, running a strong pace throughout. Fifteenth in the first 18-lap race was a solid reward but he really shone in the second race and looked comfortable running with the likes of Tristan Palmer, Billy McConnell and Stuart Easton. Guy managed to get the better of all them to finish in a strong 11th place and he only missed out on a top ten position by just two tenths of a second. Speaking afterwards, the 26-year old commented: “That’s a bit more like it! On the whole, it’s been a good weekend for us and it’s good to get points in both races to show people what I can do. At the beginning of the year, I was battling with people like Palmer, McConnell and John Laverty, and getting the better of them, but we lost our way a bit with bike set-up and have had a run of terrible bad luck so it’s great to bounce back and beat them again!” “I had a try out on James’ bike in morning warm-up but I couldn’t get on with it so I opted to race with mine and it paid off. We’ve had a faultless weekend with no problems at all with the bike so big thanks to everyone in the team for all their hard work. We’ve found a good set-up with the bike and it’s a lot closer to how I want it to be so I’ve simply told the team to wipe the flies off, give the old girl a bit of a polish and change the gearing for Croft and we’ll be right!” The North Yorkshire venue of Croft hosts the next round of the British Superbike Championship on Sunday September 14th. More, from a press release issued by John McGuinness’ publicist: More points for McGuinness at Cadwell John McGuinness had one of his strongest performances of the year on Monday when he competed in round 9 of the British Supersport Championship at Cadwell Park. The Morecambe ace was in contention throughout the weekend and he brought his Padgett’s Honda home in 12th place, right in the wheel tracks of the factory Suzuki and Honda riders, Ian Lowry and Steve Brogan. Always at home around the 2.18-mile Lincolnshire venue, John signalled his intentions with 6th place in the opening qualifying session, which was held in difficult, damp conditions. By the time the afternoon’s final 40-minute session got underway, the weather had improved dramatically with sunny skies greeting the riders and a time of 1m31.119s saw John finish in 8th place overall, good enough for a 3rd row start on the revised grid formation. With a bumper crowd again in attendance, the largest of the year, the original race was red-flagged due to an incident but when it did commence, John slotted in to 10th place on the opening lap. Throughout the race, John found himself embroiled in a terrific ten-rider battle for eighth place with places changing hand frequently around the undulating and technical course. After 14 hard fought laps, John crossed the line in 12th place, just behind the official Honda UK entry of Steve Brogan, for 4 more championship points. Speaking afterwards, a pleased John commented: “Cadwell is one of my favourite circuits so I always enjoy riding there and right from the beginning of the weekend, I felt at home. The bike was working excellently and sixth in first qualifying was a great confidence booster for all of us. Although I slipped back to 8th in the second session, I was only half a second adrift of pole position and we were extremely competitive in both the wet and dry conditions.” “I didn’t quite get the start I would have liked but it was nip and tuck all the way and one of the most pleasing aspects was that I was comfortably running the same pace as many of the championship contenders. There was very little between any of the bikes but I stayed strong throughout the race, running some very consistent times, and we’ve got a solid result. I was right with Lowry and Brogan, who are running in the top 5 of the championship, so I think I’ve proved that it’s only a run of bad luck that has prevented me from being in the points on a more regular basis. I’m feeling fit and as sharp as ever so I’m looking forward to a strong end to the season and getting as many points as possible.” John now has a three-week break before his next meeting, with round 10 of the British Supersport Championship taking place at Croft on Sunday September 14th. More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki News Service: Relentless Suzuki’s Michael Laverty consolidated his BSB Superbike Championship position at Cadwell Park yesterday with a brace of top-10 results. The Toomebridge rider maintains ninth place in the series following eighth and ninth places, only two points behind Simon Andrew with six races remaining. Ian Lowry showed true grit and determination at Cadwell Park, coming from a lowly qualifying position of 16th to eventually finish eighth on the tight and twisty Lincolnshire circuit in the Supersport class. Having crashed heavily during free practice at over 120mph, it was a brave effort from the battered and bruised 21-year-old. Aussie Cameron Donald joined Lowry in the sick bay at Cadwell with a stomach bug, but didn’t let it deter him, eventually finishing in 11th place. This was Donald’s last race in the British Superstock Championship for 2008 as he returns to Melbourne on Monday. Michael Laverty: “I struggled with my set up this weekend and was very frustrated with the results. In saying that, we did set a goal of top ten at the start of the year but I know we are much better than that. Cadwell is a difficult circuit to find the perfect set-up at, although I do think I under-achieved this weekend, so I’m now looking forward to riding the GSX-R1000 Superbike at Croft in two weeks time.” Ian Lowry: “That’s not where I want to be at any circuit, but after crashing heavily on Friday I struggled on the bike with a few bumps and bruises. Starting from 16th on the grid left me a big task and I probably used the best of my tyre in the early stages. All I can say is ‘roll on Croft.'” Cameron Donald: “I’m disappointed to have ended my season in such a way – I actually wish I was racing at Croft now to make amends! At the start of the year people told me to aim for top-10 finishes in the Superstock Championship, but after a podium early on I set my goals pretty high. It’s another circuit under my belt and a bit more knowledge gained for 2009.” Philip Neill – Team Principal: “It was a tough weekend all round for us. Michael struggled to find the perfect set-up on his GSX-R1000 but his results were reasonable and we can still make progress in the championship before the end of the season, which is positive. The team worked very hard and tried numerous settings but it just wasn’t to be our meeting. “It was a shame that Ian’s weekend had to start with such a heavy crash and there’s no doubting the fact that it restricted him on the bike. The tight nature of the track was always going to stop him getting a top result from 16th on the grid, so he sensibly brought it home in eighth. I’m sure he will come out strong at Croft. “Cameron was unlucky to have picked up a bug and that cost him time in the early sessions; then with his race reduced in laps and the pace car out for almost half of it, he didn’t have much of a chance to improve. We’ve had a very enjoyable season with Cameron and everyone in the team will be sorry to see him leave next week although he will be back with us in 2009.”