From a press release issued by MonsterMob Ducati:

MONSTERMOB DUCATI BRITISH SUPERBIKE TEAM

Round 1 – 2003 British Superbike Championship powered by HALLS, Silverstone

Saturday 29th and Sunday 30th March 2003

BYRNE LEADS BRITISH SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP

MonsterMob Ducati’s Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne drew first blood at the opening round of the British Superbike Championship powered by Halls when he followed up a race win in the opening leg with a safe second place in race two to end the day leading the 24 race series with 45 points from nearest rival Michael Rutter (38 points).

In race one, Shakey took the lead from Michael Rutter in the early stages and pulled away from the field to take the first victory of the season from Suzuki rider Yukio Kagayama.

The 26 year old from Minster, led from the start in race two but traded places with fellow Ducati rider Michael Rutter to end up finishing in second place aboard the MonsterMob Ducati F02 machine.

“The first race was fantastic and what a way to start the season “said Byrne. “I tried a different tyre in race two but I couldn’t hang on to Michael but I’m happy enough with the results”.

MonsterMob Ducati Supersport rider Stuart Easton also led the British Supersport race from the start, finishing in 3rd place after the race was red flagged with four laps to go.

The 18 year old from Hawick ran with the leading bunch for much of the race but when the race was stopped, his hopes of a race win were dashed.

“I was planning a challenge later on in the race but wasn’t sure if the tyre was good enough so I’m happy with a rostrum although I would have liked to have been a place or two higher” said defending champion Easton.

Team owner Paul Bird commented: “That first race win was fantastic and all credit to the boys in the garage who have worked hard. There’s a long way to go yet though but we’ve shown we intend to hang on to our titles.”

The next round takes place at Snetterton over the weekend of April 11th & 12th.

Superbike Results

Race One
1. Shane Byrne (MonsterMob Ducati) 32:28.749
2. Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki) 32:30.090
3. Glen Richards (Kawasaki) 32:33.671
4. Michael Rutter (Ducati) 32:41.183
5. Gary Mason (Yamaha) 32:52.844
6. Scott Smart (Kawasaki) 33:03.957
7. Dean Ellison (Ducati) 33:05.973
8. Steve Hislop (Yamaha) 33:07.230
9. Lee Jackson (Kawasaki) 33:09.817
10. Dean Thomas (Yamaha) 33:15.164

Race Two
1. Michael Rutter (Ducati) 32:21.299
2. Shane Byrne (MonsterMob Ducati) 32:22.464
3. Glen Richards (Kawasaki) 32:36.251
4. Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki) 32:40.804
5. Steve Hislop (Yamaha) 32:41.330
6. John Crawford (Ducati) 32:57.100
7. Scott Smart (Kawasaki) 32:59.031
8. Gary Mason (Yamaha) 33:00.210
9. Dean Thomas (Yamaha) 33:02.418
10. Steve Plater (Honda) 33:12.832

Superbike Championship Standings after Round 1
1. Shane Byrne (MonsterMob Ducati) 45pts
2. Michael Rutter (Ducati) 38pts
3. Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki) 33pts
4. Glen Richards (Kawasaki) 32pts
5. Gary Mason (Yamaha) 19pts
6. Scott Smart (Kawasaki) 19pts
7. Steve Hislop (Yamaha) 19pts
8. Dean Thomas (Yamaha) 13pts
9. Lee Jackson (Kawasaki) 12pts
10. John Crawford (Ducati) 10pts


Supersport Result
1. Karl Harris (Honda) 22:54.507
2. John Crockford (Honda) 22:54.795
3. Stuart Easton (MonsterMob Ducati) 22:55.188
4. Leon Haslam (Ducati) 22:56.011
5. Adrian Coates (Honda) 22:57.959
6. Tom Sykes (Yamaha) 23:00.625
7. Simon Andrews (Yamaha) 23:01.823
8. Michael Laverty (Honda) 23:05.568
9. Craig Jones (Triumph) 23:08.475
10. Kieran Murphy (Kawasaki) 23:09.173

Supersport Championship Standings After Round 1
1. Karl Harris 25pts
2. John Crockford 20pts
3. Stuart Easton 16pts
4. Leon Haslam 13pts
5. Adrian Coates 11pts
6. Tom Sykes 10pts
7. Simon Andrews 9pts
8. Michael Laverty 8pts
9. Craig Jones 7pts
10. Kieran Murphy 6pts


More, from a press release issued by Hawk Kawasaki:

BSB Round 1, Silverstone

RACE 1
Sunday March 30
Weather: dry, slight breeze, sunny, 16°C
Track: dry, 15°C

DOUBLE PODIUM KICKS OFF HAWK’S 2003 BSB CHARGE

Hawk Kawasaki got its 2003 British Superbike Championship challenge off to a dream start at Silverstone today, with hard-earned podium finishes in both races, a Man of the Meeting award for rider Glen Richards and a brilliant second place in the series’ Premier Teams League.

Glen Richards, who ruffled the feathers of many of the series’ 1000cc riders throughout yesterday’s qualifying sessions, once again demonstrated his awesome corner speed aboard the ex-factory Hawk Kawasaki ZX-7RR and was rewarded with his first two trips to a BSB podium.

The likeable Aussie, famed for his 110 per cent riding style, took the fight to the leading riders in both races. After a blistering start in race one, which elevated him to third on the opening lap, Richards set his sights higher up the field, reeling in leader Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne – after taking Suzuki GSX-R1000 mounted Yukio Kagayama for second. Glen’s blistering corner speed eventually took its toll on the tyres though, forcing him to settle for a brilliant third and 16 championship points.

‘It’s been a while since I’ve been on the podium,’ beamed a delighted Richards after race one. ‘I’ve sprayed champagne before, but it’s been a long time. It’s just a big relief really because I’ve been waiting a long time to get up here again. We’ve been close a lot of times, but the new bike’s really good, I feel really comfortable on it and it’s working really good so there’s no reason why we can’t keep doing it. I was making up time on Shakey, then I started to lose grip and had to slow down because I didn’t have enough at the front of the bike. Apart from that, the bike was perfect.’

The Hawk Kawasaki rider then backed up his stunning first race result with another third in race two – making him first four-cylinder machine home. His two stunning performances also won him The Man of the Meeting award, as chosen by former GP star Niall Mackenzie. After spraying Hawk Kawasaki Team Principle Stuart Hicken with champagne, Glen said: ‘To be honest, this meeting couldn’t have been much better. I’d really like to thank the mechanics for all their hard work too. They’ve been up against it because they’ve had to build six bikes, but they’ve done a really great job.’

Hawk Kawasaki’s other two riders, Scott Smart and Lee Jackson, were also hugely impressive in their first two races aboard the ZX-7RR. Both riders finished inside the top 10 in race one – Smart a superb sixth and Jackson an excellent ninth.

‘I’m very pleased with the result because it was very hard work throughout the race,’ explained Smart after his first race. ‘I got a good start and was in the right place on the track to avoid the early lap chaos. But as the tyres started to go off the bike became more wild, then the steering damper came loose so it was just a case of trying to find a steady lap time and ride as smoothly as I could while still managing the gap to the guy behind me. Over all it worked pretty well.’

Scott finished the second leg in seventh after a dramatic tussle with Yamaha R1 men Gary Mason and Dean Thomas, in which he got the better of both the 1000cc riders.

Lee Jackson was also pleased with his debut race for the team, in which he almost led defending British Superbike Champion Steve Hislop home: ‘The bike’s working really, really well, although we had a bit of a problem with the front – maybe the front tyre was a little soft. I tried my hardest to pass Dean Ellison, but he just seemed to get better drive. I’m really happy to get some solid points in the bag though.’

And Hawk’s excellent first race showing obviously wasn’t lost on Stuart Hicken: ‘I’m over the moon. We wanted a rostrum –anywhere on it would have done – and for sure Glen was running up there and could have won the race. The front tyre went off with about five or six laps to go, but it was the right choice for the weather conditions. But as everyone can see, we’ve got the chassis working brilliant and there’s still more to come from the engine.

‘All three of our lads were brilliant, because what I wanted for the first race were three bikes upright and we got all three in the top 10. I’m delighted; today’s results mean so, so much to everyone involved with Hawk Kawasaki. We might be severely underpowered compared to the 1000s but we’ve got a great chassis and three excellent riders, as today has proved.’


BSB Race 1 result
1) Shane Byrne, Ducati
2) Yukio Kagayama, Suzuki
3) Glen Richards, Hawk Kawasaki ZX-7RR
4) Michael Rutter, Ducati
5) Gary Mason, Yamaha
6) Scott Smart, Hawk Kawasaki ZX-7RR
7) Dean Ellison, Ducati
8) Steve Hislop, Yamaha
9) Lee Jackson, Hawk Kawasaki ZX-7RR
10) Dean Thomas, Yamaha
11) Paul Jones, Suzuki
Fastest Lap: Yukio Kagayama, Suzuki: 1:27.573, 90.97mph

BSB Race 2 result
1) Michael Rutter, Ducati
2) Shane Byrne, Ducati
3) Glen Richards, Hawk Kawasaki ZX-7RR
4) Yukio Kagayama, Suzuki
5) Steve Hislop, Yamaha
6) John Crawford, Ducati
7) Scott Smart, Hawk Kawasaki ZX-7RR
8) Gary Mason, Yamaha
9) Dean Thomas, Yamaha
10) Steve Plater, Honda.
11) Lee Jackson, Hawk Kawasaki ZX-7RR
12) Paul Jones, Suzuki.
Fastest Lap: Michael Rutter, Ducati: 1:27.435, 91.11 mph (new lap record)

BSB Premier Teams Championship
1) Monstermob – ETI Ducati: 169
2) Hawk Kawasaki: 163
3) Virgin Mobile
Aiwa Yamaha: 161
4) Renegade Ducati: 149
5) TDB Yamaha: