From a press release issued by Team Suzuki Press Office: The Rizla Suzuki team was left disappointed this weekend as the first round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Brands Hatch in Kent had to be abandoned due to heavy snow. MotorSport Vision Racing, the event organiser, has rescheduled the meeting for May 10th-11th with grid positions from qualifying on April 5th still standing. This means that the Rizla Suzuki pairing of Tom Sykes and Atsushi Watanabe will start from fifth and ninth places respectively. Both Rizla Suzuki racers were disappointed not to race however it has given Watanabe a chance to learn the arduous 2.3 mile track. “I’m sorry not to race; this is big surprise for me as I never have race cancelled before,” he said. “I had not seen snow until I came to England – now I see it a lot. For Thruxton I hope for good weather.” Sykes spent his weekend fine tuning the front end of his Rizla Suzuki and is confident of a strong result on his return to the Brands Hatch GP circuit in May. He said: “It was a very wise and safe decision to cancel the event today. I think it is a good decision by Race Control. Even if the snow had gone it would still have been too cold to run safely. “It is a shame as I was very confident for my first race with Rizla Suzuki. We wanted to put on a good show for the fans as there has been a good turn out. I’m happy with the information we gained this weekend, it has been useful and I can’t wait to get to Thruxton.” Team Manager Jack Valentine echoed his rider’s sentiments saying: “The weather has been unbelievable; I’ve never known a start to a season like this. I’m disappointed that it was cancelled as I think we had a good chance for a strong result. In a way it has done us a favour as it has given Atsushi some time on an English track, plus when we come back here he will know the circuit. Tom has gained a lot of data too so we will be stronger on our return. I’m pleased with how well and how hard the team has worked this weekend.” All race day, weekend and grandstand tickets will be valid for the revised date, May 10-11th. 10-11th. Round two of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship will take place at Thruxton in Hampshire on the 13th-15th April. More, from a press release issued by Hydrex Bike Animal Honda: BRANDS POSTPONED BUT NEW DATE ANNOUNCED 2008 Bennetts British Superbike Championship Rounds 1 & 2 – Brands Hatch GP, Kent 5/6th April 2008 Hydrex Bike Animal Honda riders James Ellison and Guy Martin were left frustrated after heavy snow caused the postponement of the opening round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Brands Hatch today. Despite an intermittent forecast, the paddock awoke to a slight covering which proceeded to get heavier as the morning progressed. However, it soon became apparent that racing would not be possible and at 11.15, Chief Executive of MotorSport Vision Jonathan Palmer made the announcement that racing was cancelled. However, Palmer announced that plans to run the meeting at a later date had been arranged and as such, the racing from round one will be rescheduled for the weekend of May 10th & 11th meaning the full 12 round championship is still planned. Shaun Muir (Team Owner): “Like everyone else, we are bitterly disappointed but there was just no way we could race and after our problems in practice, perhaps this can be construed as a blessing in disguise for us. This gives us more time to work on our bikes and hopefully by Thruxton, we’ll have sorted one or two things out. You have got to feel for the fans as well as the organisers, this really has been disastrous and although it’s good we have a rescheduled race, we have an even busier time in May what with three BSB meetings and the North West 200!” Round 1 – 4th/6th April – Brands Hatch GP, Kent Round 2 – 18th/20th April – Thruxton, Hants Round 3 – 3rd/5th May – Oulton Park, Cheshire Round 4 – 24th/26th May – Donington Park, Leics Round 5 – 13th/15th June – Snetterton, Norfolk Round 6 – 27th/29th June – Mallory Park Round 7 – 18th/20th July – Oulton Park, Cheshire Round 8 – 8th/10th August – Knockhill, Fife Round 9 – 23rd/25th August – Cadwell Park, Lincs Round 10 – 12th/14th September – Croft, North Yorkshire Round 11 – 26th/28th September, Silverstone, Northants Round 12 – 10th/12th October – Brands Hatch Indy, Kent More, from a press release issued by Bennetts: Snow joy for Bennetts BSB The season opener of the 2008 Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Brands Hatch was snowed off today. The flakes started falling just before 7am this morning and within one hour the entire circuit was covered in white. However, the Bennetts Babes made the most of the weather with a snowball fight on track at the Kent circuit. Bennetts-backed British MotoGP contender James Toseland even joined in with the fun before a final decision was made to cancel all racing for the day. The event has been postponed until the weekend of 9-10 May at Brands Hatch with guaranteed live coverage on British Eurosport. It was a disappointment for contenders who had been looking forward to getting back on track after the final pre-season test at Snetterton two weeks ago was snowed off. Attention now shifts to round two of the season at Thruxton on 20 April for the season kick-off. “I was looking forward to watching some exciting, competitive racing at Brands Hatch today,” says James. “It’s disappointing for the riders to be at the track and unable to compete, so I really feel for them. I did get to have a snowball fight with the Bennetts Babes though to keep my temperature up, so I can’t complain!” Round three of the Bennetts-backed Superbike World Championship took place in a sunny Valencia with Max Neukirchner on pole position. More, from a press release issued by series organizers. MotorSport Vision: Brands Hatch BSB abandoned today Extensive snowfalls at Brands Hatch this morning have caused the opening round of the Bennetts British Superbike championship to be abandoned. At 11.15am Sunday morning Jonathan Palmer, Chief Executive of MotorSport Vision, the owner of Brands Hatch, announced that following a review of circuit conditions and the latest forecast, the meeting would be cancelled for the day. “It is bitterly disappointing for all the fans who have come and of course for all the teams and organisations including the Brands Hatch team who have put so much into this weekend”, said Palmer. “Apart from the inability to put on the great show fans expect from BSB, safety is our number one priority and this must not be compromised. “I have been very eager however to see if we could find a way not to just cancel, but postpone the first Brands Hatch event. Fortunately a major benefit of MSV now running BSB is that following a review of our calendar, I am delighted to be able to immediately announce that we have rescheduled this meeting which will now take place on the Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit on 10/11 May. “All race day, weekend and grandstand tickets for today’s event will be valid for the new date with no extra charge. The grids for all of the races within the BSB programme will be as set yesterday, 5 April. The 10/11 May date was scheduled to be a BMCRC meeting and some races from this will be incorporated into the BSB event. “I am so sorry that so many people have had a frustrating day of uncertainty but can assure everyone we have done everything possible to minimise the disruption of such extreme weather in April.”