Rizla Suzuki’s Tom Sykes, riding with a hand injury, got his Bennetts British Superbike Championship off to a solid start today at Thruxton in Hampshire scoring a sixth place in race one and an eighth in race two. The gritty Huddersfield rider severely bruised his left thumb in a qualifying crash yesterday and had to ride through the pain barrier in race one, coming home in a strong sixth place after starting from 12th on grid. In the second race he clashed with Leon Haslam (Honda) while running in fourth place. This caused a red flag as bike debris was removed from the track. He made the restart and after leading early on he eventually finished eighth. Rizla Suzuki’s two-time Japanese Superbike Champion Atsushi Watanabe finished race one in 17th and race two in 14th. This was his first ever race in the UK and proved a steep learning curve as he got to grips with the 2.4 mile Thruxton circuit and the riding styles of his fellow competitors. Race one was won by Shane Byrne (Ducati) and race two by Cal Crutchlow (Honda). The third round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship takes place at Oulton Park on the May 3rd – 5th. Tom Sykes: “In race two I got a superb start from the third row of the grid and was up to fourth place. The bike felt really good as we had made some changes from race one. Unfortunately Leon Haslam changed his line in front of me and I had no where to go and ended up crashing heavily. I was a little battered and bruised but otherwise OK so I got out in the restarted race on my spare bike and started from the front row. “I got the hole-shot and thought I could settle in but struggled for rear grip and the tyre started delaminating. The vibration got too bad so I dropped off the pace and just nursed it home for the points. I’m really gutted for my team as they worked hard this weekend and we didn’t get the result we had hoped for.” Atsushi Watanabe: “For me this is a very bad result; my lap times improved but I’m not happy with 17th and 14th,” he said. “My team is working well and I’m very happy with that. It was good to race and I now understand BSB race and riders.” Jack Valentine – Rizla Suzuki Team Manager: “The changes we made to Tom’s number two bike following race one made a big difference. It’s a shame about the incident with Haslam as I think we would have been on for a strong result. On the restart we stayed with the same rear tyre, Tom got the hole-shot and was having a really good ride. Sadly his rear tyre went off and he dropped down the order. We were hoping for a fourth or fifth place finish but it was so bad he slipped to eighth. We will re-group and fight back at the next round. “As for Atsushi I think he did fantastic. He gets faster every time he goes out on track. It is not until you are racing that you really learn the tracks and conditions. He is doing as well as we had hoped and his best lap times would put him within the top ten easily.” Race 1 Result: 1: Shane Byrne (Ducati) 25:33.903 2: Cal Crutchlow (Honda) +2.306 3: Michael Rutter (Ducati) +3.573 4: Leon Haslam (Honda) +10.949 5: Leon Camier (Ducati) +18.745 6: Tom Sykes (Rizla Suzuki) +19.048 7: James Ellison (Honda) +19.406 8: Simon Andrews (Yamaha) +22.403 9: Stuart Easton (Kawasaki) +22.709 10: Michael Laverty (Suzuki) +23.902 17: Atsushi Watanabe (Rizla Suzuki)) +45.964 Race 2 Result: 1: Cal Crutchlow (Honda) 19:05.302 2: Shane Byrne (Ducati) +1.807 3: Michael Rutter (Ducati) +2.136 4: Leon Camier (Ducati) +7.942 5: Michael Laverty (Suzuki) +11.863 6: Stuart Easton (Kawasaki) +12.461 7: James Ellison (Honda) +13.632 8: Tom Sykes (Rizla Suzuki) +18.759 9: Guy Martin (Honda) +23.395 10: Billy McConnell (Kawasaki) 23.899 14: Atsushi Watanabe (Rizla Suzuki) +25.146 Championship Standings: 1: Shane Byrne (Ducati) 45 2: Cal Crutchlow (Honda) 45 3: Michael Rutter (Ducati) 32 4: Leon Camier (Ducati) 24 5: Tom Sykes (Rizla Suzuki) 18 6: James Ellison (Honda) 18 7: Stuart Easton (Kawasaki) 17 8: Michael Laverty (Suzuki) 17 9: Leon Haslam (Honda) 13 10: John Laverty (Ducati) 9 17: Atsushi Watanabe (Rizla Suzuki) 2 More, from a press release issued by Team Naturally Best Racing: BRIDEWELL OUT FOR A MONTH WITH BROKEN LEG The opening round of the Italian Superbike Championship promised much but delivered little when Team Naturally Best Racing rider Tommy Bridewell sustained a broken leg in a freak incident at the Mugello circuit yesterday After qualifying the Suzuki GSX-R1000 on row two of the nine row grid on his debut at the track, the 19 year old from Etchilhampton near Devizes in Wiltshire was confident of a good result and on the opening lap was up to third place amongst some of Europe’s best riders. However at the Materassi section of the course, a rider lost control behind Tommy and the resulting wayward machine made contact with Bridewell and knocked him from his bike. Luckily being avoided by the ensuing pack, Tommy limped to the edge of the track where subsequent investigation revealed a re-break to the right tibia which he first injured at Snetterton back in 2002. After visiting the local hospital, it was decided that rather than have the leg pinned in Italy, Tom would travel home with dad Marc and mum Liz in the family motorhome prior to surgery later this week to repair the damage. As a result, Tom will miss the next round of the ISC at Monza on May 4th as well as the second round of the Suzuki GSX-R 750 European Cup back at Monza on May 11th but is hoping to be back in action at round three of the Italian Superbike Championship at Vallelunga over the weekend of May 23rd to 25th. Speaking en route through France today, Tommy said: “The doctors told me it would be around thirty days after the operation before I’d be fit enough to ride again so if we can get the operation done this week, and there are no complications, I’ll do my best to get back for Vallelunga, which will be a bonus. If not, I’ll definitely be riding the Suzuki in Germany on June 15th. This is a real kick in the balls as I was confident of winning the race and the team and bike were fantastic but it was one of these freak things you hear about. Everyone has worked so hard, including Dunlop Tyres and Adriani Suspension and we have a great package now and I’ll be doing all I can to get fit as soon as I can. ” More, from a press release issued by Uel Duncan Racing: Magic Johnson performs heroics at Thruxton Broughton’s Gary Johnson put in a quite simply sensational ride in the opening round of the British Superstock Championship on Sunday, coming through from 34th on the gird to finish in a brilliant 8th on his Robinson Concrete Honda. Riding the bike for the first time, the Uel Duncan Racing rider was penalised in first qualifying due a technicality and he subsequently had his 5th fastest time removed. With second qualifying held in damp conditions, Gary’s lap of 1m23.273s at least got him qualified for the race in 34th spot although, more tellingly, he was again the fifth fastest rider in the session. Race day conditions were a lot more favourable and with his knowledge of the Honda improving all the time, he was quietly confident coming into the race. A good start was always going to be crucial and Gary timed the lights to perfection, ending the first lap in an amazing 13th position! It was a similar story in the next couple of laps and he was soon inside the top ten putting in, arguably, the ride of the race. On the 7th lap he overshot the final chicane and dropped back a few places and with race positions changing with extreme regularity, Gary’s group lost the tow to the group dicing for 3rd. Nevertheless, Gary hauled himself up to 8th to close in on the riders in front of him and although he ultimately ran out of laps, 8th was a fantastic achievement and he was only 3 seconds adrift of the podium and the 3rd placed rider. Immediately after the race, Gary said: “That was a great race and if it wasn’t for getting involved in a bit of cat and mouse with the other riders I’m sure I could have been inside the top six. That messed me up a bit, so I’m a little disappointed as I was faster than most of those around me. I got a great start though and I had superb corner speed and fantastic grip so was able to pass loads of people in the first few laps.” “There was nothing in it on top speed but the changes we’d made in the set-up prior to the race worked wonders and the Fireblade is an awesome bike, I love it already! I lost some time when I overshot the chicane trying to overtake about 4 riders at once but soon regrouped and if the race had been a few more laps, I’m sure I would have been with the group dicing for 3rd. Overall, it’s a great result and everyone in the team did a great job all weekend. It’s set us up nicely for the road race season but it’ll be ‘steady away’ to begin with as I’ve got some new circuits to learn.” Gary’s next race is at the Cookstown 100 road races in Northern Ireland, the curtain raiser for the Irish Road Race Championship season. The meeting takes place on the Orritor circuit next Saturday, April 26th. More, from a press release issued by John McGuinness’ publicist: Thruxton troubles for McGuinness John McGuinness had a weekend to forget at Thruxton when he could only finish 16th in the first round of the Fuchs-Silkolene British Supersport Championship. The Morecambe rider struggled in the damp qualifying conditions and he never recovered from his 24th spot and 6th row of the grid. Although he managed to overhaul a number of riders, the damage had been done and he left the circuit pointless. John came into the meeting high on confidence and he carried over his Brands Hatch form to the free practice sessions at Thruxton, where he ran comfortably inside the top ten. More of the same was expected in qualifying on Saturday but he struggled to master the tricky conditions and 28th in the morning session was not on the agenda. He improved considerably to 13th mid way through the final session but that was as good as it got and he was shuffled back to his lowly 24th place by the sessions’ end. Conditions on Sunday were far more to John’s liking and the sun was shining when the 18-lap race got underway. A good start saw him up to 20th at the completion of the first lap but such is the competitiveness of the class, the top 25 riders in the race were lapping within 1.5seconds of each other and progress was clearly going to be steady rather than fast. Sure enough, the evenness of both the riders and machines meant John could climb no higher than 16th and he missed out on the points by an agonising 0.529seconds. It was a dejected John who spoke after the race: “I don’t want to say, I’m gutted and at a bit of a loss to know what’s gone wrong this weekend. The bike is working brilliantly and I’ve got nothing but praise for the effort being put in by Clive and the team but I just lost a lot of confidence during Saturday’s session. I felt good on the bike and felt that the times would also be good but that clearly wasn’t the case and my head just wasn’t in gear.” “It was always going to be hard from that far back on the grid and so it turned out. I got a good start and picked a few off but although I got to the edge of the points, I couldn’t take that next step. This class is so tough, it makes qualifying crucial and if you’re not on the front two rows, it’s extremely difficult to get to the front. Like I said, the bike is working brilliantly so I’ll dig deep for Oulton and hope I can replicate the result from last year when I got 2nd. It’s one of my favourite circuits so I need to put today behind me and get my championship back on track.” The second round of the championship takes place at Oulton Park in Cheshire from May 3-5. More, from a press release issued by AIM Yamaha: AIM YAMAHA SCORE CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS AT THRUXTON Both AIM Yamaha riders brought points back from their respective races at Thruxton on Sunday with Sean Emmett scoring 11th in the first Superbike race and Ian Hutchinson a strong eighth place in the Supersport event. Standing in for the absent Steve Plater who was competing in the Le Mans 24-hour race, Emmett took the AIM Yamaha R1 to 10th position in qualifying and started the two British Superbike races at Thruxton from a third row grid position. After dropping back to 13th in the opening laps Emmett began to make headway and completed the 20-lap affair in 11th place. In race two however he was lying 11th when the race was red flagged and at the restart, scheduled for a 15-lap dash to the flag, Emmett completed just three laps before returning to the pit garage after encountering a problem with the bike. Ian Hutchinson was making his debut in the Fuchs-Silkolene British Supersport championship for AIM Yamaha and powered the R6 through to sixth place in qualifying to claim a second row start to the 18-lap race. The race was disrupted with the safety car being deployed for three laps and once proceedings got underway once again, Hutchinson continued his battle with Marty Nutt who beat him to the finish line by just over half a second leaving Hutchy to claim eighth place and pick up eight championship points. ALISTAIR FLANAGAN TEAM PRINCIPAL Hutchy was 6/10ths of a second behind the guy in front when the pace car went in and he really should have been up to fourth or fifth at the finish. But this is the first time the bike has really been ridden in anger in the dry and he had a massive problem with the launch control at the start and ended up dropping from sixth to 15th on the first lap before fighting his way back. The bike is fast enough but we just have a few teething issues at the moment. We are not really sure what the problem is with the Superbike, maybe something to do with tyres or the traction control as Sean said he had absolutely no grip. SEAN EMMETT I seemed to lose power in that second race. It felt as if it was revving slow and bikes were going past me on the straight even though I was at full throttle. Despite this set back we have made a lot of progress with the bike throughout the weekend and I really enjoyed the first race on it. But no one likes to not finish a race, especially as the guys have worked so hard over the last few days. NEXT ROUND OULTON PARK MAY 5 More, from a press release issued by Centurion Racing: Bad Fortunes for Centurion Racing Centurion Racing had a tough weekend at the second round of the Maxxis British Supersport Championship at Thruxton Circuit this weekend. After a great Qualifying day on Saturday with all three riders making it into the top 15, the team’s luck changed dramatically on Sunday when Dennis Hobbs, riding an impressive race and against the factory-built bikes of Glen Richards and Steve Brogan was the hapless victim of a seventh lap rear-end double shunt at the s-bend chicanes at the hands of James Webb. This lost Dennis his third place position, and the crash caused the deployment of the safety car. Dan Cooper suffered with technical problems with the Centurion Honda on the race day and was forced to retire. With both Centurion riders out of the race, it was left to James Westmoreland to secure the team a result in the 18-lap race with 15th place. The trio of riders started well at the super fast 2.4-mile circuit and had all qualified well with Hobbs in fifth, Cooper in ninth and Westmoreland in 14th place. Cooper had a slow crash in first qualifying on Saturday and due to the extremely high curbs at Thruxton, and unluckily wrote off his number one bike. He was left with just one bike for the second qualifying session and the race. This was the first race of the year for the riders, as the first round of the Championship at Brands Hatch was cancelled due to heavy snow. With varying weather conditions at Thruxton the team had to try many different set-ups on their machines. Hobbs managed to qualify on provisional pole in the first qualifying session but was pushed down the pack in the second session. Dennis Hobbs suffered a dislocated shoulder in the crash during the race and commented “I’m not very happy at the moment as I was running well in the race and out of no-where James hit me and hit me hard, and I’m in a fair bit of pain but hopefully all will be ok for Oulton. I don’t seem to have much luck with other riders but hopefully I can bounce back from this one too and get the season started at Oulton.” Dan Cooper said “I’m gutted not to have been able to finish the race as during the wet qualifying sessions I was running pretty high up and feeling really good on the bike. After half distance today in the race I was struggling really badly with grip on the rear tyre and this circuit is so hard on tyres that it just wasn’t physically possible for me to carry on. I’m gutted for my team as they’ve all worked really hard.” James Westmoreland added “I’m disappointed for all the team and all the Centurion riders as it’s not been the best of weekends for us. It’s a real shame when everyone has worked so hard and I wish I could have got a stronger result than this but it was the best I could manage this weekend. That was the first time that I rode that bike in the dry conditions and it wasn’t set up as I’d like it. I had a few problems with my tyres and just couldn’t get any further through the pack. I like Oulton Park so hopefully we’ll all be able to get some good results for the team there. I hope Dennis has a quick recovery and is back fit for then.” The next race is at Oulton Park on the 3rd – 5th May. More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki Press Office: Relentless Suzuki by TAS Racing made a positive start to their 2008 British Championship campaign at Thruxton with a debut British Superstock podium for Aussie Cameron Donald in third place; a fifth-placed British Superbike debut for the Relentless Suzuki GSX-R1000 in the hands of Michael Laverty, and a hard-fought fifth place for Ian Lowry in the Supersport class. Normally used to running only two riders in one class within the series, it was a busy day for the Relentless Suzuki team competing in four races at Thruxton. All eyes were on the team’s BSB debut and Michael Laverty did them proud after having to deal with tyre problems in race one. Donald has continued to impress everyone since joining the team and his podium will only add to his eve- increasing profile in Relentless Suzuki colours. Ian Lowry ended a tough opening weekend with a positive result and the Moira man will have more to offer in the coming rounds. Michael Laverty [BSB]: “I’m reasonably happy with today’s results; at least we have shown potential. In the first race the tyre spun two-thirds of the way round on the rim knocking the tyre out of balance and it was hard just to hold on. In race two I had a bit of a problem on the side of the tyre through the really fast curves, but the Relentless Suzuki was up to the job and only for that I could have possibly held on to the Hondas. Top five in the first meeting of the year is positive and it was also satisfying to be the first Suzuki home in the second race.” Cameron Donald [Superstock]: “That was a tough little weekend but I’m absolutely pumped with the result. That must be the happiest I’ve ever been with third place! I was confident all weekend that we could go quicker and although I qualified ninth, when the boys told me that Michael won last year from 12th on the grid that gave me even more confidence. That was my first race at a fast circuit on the Superstock Suzuki and I just can’t wait now to race it at the North West 200. I’m pumped for all the guys in the team and I’m just rapt with this new bike!” Ian Lowry [Supersport 600]: “I’ve had easier weekends in British Supersport but along with the support of the whole Relentless Suzuki team, we worked hard all weekend and salvaged what was a respectable fifth place. It’s not where I want to be but it’s points on the board and Oulton, which is up next, is one of my favourite circuits.” Philip Neill – Team Principal: “This was a good solid start to our career in the British Superbike Championship and we have already bettered the goals we set ourselves for each round of the series. It’s just a shame that we had a small tyre problem in the opening race, which unsettled the bike for Michael or we could have had two fifth places. We always knew that Michael was a better racer than a qualifier and he’s proved that this weekend on what is essentially a home-built bike. We still have a bit to do but I’m pleased nonetheless. “Ian Lowry had a tough weekend but it was good to see him pulling something out of the bag. The result doesn’t reflect his effort or lap times in the race, but again it’s a good solid start for Ian. Hopefully he can now regain some of the confidence that had him topping the pre-season time sheets in Spain on the all-new K8 GSX-R600. “What can I say about Cameron? He has produced a phenomenal result and just continues to impress everyone. He has been hired to do a job at the international road races for Relentless Suzuki but he has proved to everyone what he can also do on the circuits. It is surprising how comfortable he is, and to come from ninth in qualifying to a podium on his debut race with the team is just superb. He’s a guy who deserves a full time ride in the UK and it’s almost a shame we haven’t scheduled to do a full season of Superstock with him. “Overall this weekend has been very positive for all three riders and I would like to thank all our sponsors, especially Suzuki and Relentless for making our Superbike dream a reality.”