British Superbike Championship Thruxton Circuit, Great Britain May 30 Race Two Results (wet conditions, all on Pirelli tires): 1. Shane Byrne (Hon CBR1000RR), 15 laps, 20:07.763 2. Peter Hickman (Hon CBR1000RR), -10.618 seconds 3. John Hopkins (Suz GSX-R1000), -15.524 4. Tommy Hill (Yam YZF-R1), -16.980 5. Dan Linfoot (Hon CBR1000RR), -17.128 6. Josh Brookes (Suz GSX-R1000), -17.983 7. Michael Laverty (Yam YZF-R1), -22.967 8. Chris Walker (Kaw ZX-10R), -26.881 9. Jon Kirkham (Suz GSX-R1000), -32.415 10. Martin Jessopp (Duc 1098R), -34.864 11. Loris Baz (Yam YZF-R1), -36.826 12. James Westmoreland (Yam YZF-R1), -40.589 13. John Laverty (BMW S1000RR), -42.864 14. Gary Mason (Kaw ZX-10R), -44.683 15. Steve Brogan (Hon CBR1000RR), -45.037 16. Barry Burrell (BMW S1000RR), -48.967, EVO 17. Tommy Bridewell (Hon CBR1000RR), -49.351 18. Glen Richards (Hon CBR1000RR), -50.283, EVO 19. Ryuichi Kiyonari (Hon CBR1000RR), -57.044 20. Simon Andrews (Kaw ZX-10R), -57.918, EVO 21. Patric Muff (Hon CBR1000RR), -59.571, EVO 22. Ian Lowry (BMW S1000RR), -61.478 23. Graeme Gowland (Hon CBR1000RR), -74.565, EVO 24. Aaron Zanotti (BMW S1000RR), -80.400, EVO 25. Craig Fitzpatrick (Hon CBR1000RR), -80.737, EVO 26. Joshua Day (Kaw ZX-10R), -1 lap, EVO 27. James Hillier (Kaw ZX-10R), -1 lap, EVO 28. Michael Rutter (Duc 1098R), -2 laps, DNF 29. Hudson Kennaugh (Apr RSV4 Factory), -9 laps, DNF 30. Alex Lowes (Kaw ZX-10R), -10 laps, DNF 31. Tom Tunstall (BMW S1000RR), -13 laps, DNF, EVO More, from a press release issued by Swan Yamaha: SWAN YAMAHA RETURN TO WINNING WAYS AT THRUXTON The Swan Yamaha team were back on the top step of the podium at the fourth round of the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship at Thruxton as Michael Laverty secured his first victory of the season in the opening race. Laverty scored an impressive win in tricky wet conditions as he worked his way through the pack to take the lead on the eighth lap before controlling from the front to take the victory. Tommy Hill had a challenging first race as the team opted for the intermediate tyre and he was later forced to pit and switch to wet tyres. In the second race Laverty struggled with visibility and Hill was able to have a strong performance to finish fourth after a last lap move. Hill said: “In the first race we simply made a wrong choice of tyre and it is always difficult in those conditions to make the decision. We then had to come in during the race and fire in a wet tyre to get a lap time to give us a better position on the grid for the second race. It was gutting as we had been up there throughout free practice and qualifying and I knew we need to push forward and get the points and the podium credits in race two. In race two I was just chipping away and just missed out on the podium but it was good to be moving back up the order. We have gone from seventh to fourth in the championship so are inside that important top six now and we want to be winning again soon for Swan Yamaha.” Laverty said: “It has been a good day for me with the win in the first race and I felt comfortable but knew I still needed to be cautious as I couldn’t afford to make a mistake. It feels like the monkey is off my back now as I had put pressure on myself to get that win and now it is in the bag and I am inside the top six. In race two I had a front row start but the visibility wasn’t good and I settled for points rather than risk a crash as I had a few moments out there. We have scored some good points today and finally got some of those podium credits.” Team Manager Gary Mason Ekerold concluded: “The conditions have made it tricky over the last two rounds to have consistent results, but that said both Tommy and Michael have been inside the top four all weekend throughout practice and qualifying. In the first race the tyre choice didn’t work out for Tommy, but we are extremely happy for Michael to take his first win of the season as he has put his title challenge back on track. In race two both riders had a sensible race and scored consistent points and are now both inside the top six in the standings which is what is important.” More, from a press release issued by Honda: MCE INSURANCE BRITISH SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 04 MONDAY MAY 30 THRUXTON Weather: Wet and breezy Temperature: Ambient 14 degrees C / Track 16 degrees C HONDA’S BYRNE EXTENDS TITLE LEAD BUT MORE TROUBLES FOR KIYONARI Shane Byrne tightened his grip on the early season MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship title stakes as he took a hard earned “back to front” third place in the opening race of the rain swept fourth round at Thruxton and then followed that up with his third victory of the campaign. Byrne provided the cheer for the HM Plant Honda team on another afternoon when their reigning champion Ryuichi Kiyonari had a tough time and in the atrocious conditions, and complained of a lack of confidence to push hard at the fast Hampshire circuit. The races were in contrast to qualifying, held in the dry, when Kiyonari settled to the rigours of the circuit, securing sixth fastest time, and with it a second row start, while Byrne found himself at the back of the grid having tumbled on the exit of the chicane on his second flying lap, fortunately escaping injury. Peter Hickman, riding the Fireblade that last year had powered Kiyonari to his third British title, ran marginally faster that the Japanese rider in qualifying on the Tyco backed machine. Race day dawned grey, with storm clouds threatening, and as the Superbikes came onto the grid, the rain lashed down. The riders were given a short “wet” practice and the race distance was reduced by five laps to 15. Michael Rutter, riding Ducati made the break, but by the end of the first lap, Hickman was heading the pack and Byrne had remarkably picked up 17 places to be running in 16th place and attacking fiercely, but Kiyonari was struggling and dropping back down the pack, just as he had done in the previous round at Croft. Hopkins and Alex Lowes, making his debut in the main championship with Kawasaki as replacement rider for their injured rider Stuart Easton, both briefly led before Michael Laverty took charge, taking his first victory of the season for Yamaha, but behind him Rutter only just managed to hold off Byrne in the dash to the line as they duelled for position. Hickman came in fourth while Kiyonari battled hard to salvage six points as he crossed the line in tenth place. Byrne, who had set the fastest lap during his charge into third place, had pole start for the second race and he used that to good effect, powering clear, and taking his third victory of the season, by almost 11 seconds, ahead of the confident Hickman who, in crossing the line in second place, was enjoying his best ever finish in the series. Hopkins grabbed third place from Tommy Hill on the final lap to stay second in the standings to Byrne, his three point deficit going into this round extended to 15 points by the Honda rider. Dan Linfoot, riding the Sorrymate.com Honda ran fifth, but there was no cheer for Kiyonari who trailed him in 19th position. Barry Burrell riding BMW won both of the “back to basics” BSB-EVO class races while Glen Richards finished second in each on the WFR Honda to strengthen his second place in the standings, 145-125 adrift of his former team-mate Lowes who parted company with the team after the Croft round. Honda rider quotes : Shane Byrne (HM Plant Honda): “That was the first time I had ridden the bike in the wet conditions and it was fine. I had some real vision problems and to be honest I couldn’t read my pit board. I only knew it was the last lap because I saw the flag on the start line. I thought ‘oh no it’s the last lap, I had better pull my finger out’ and I couldn’t have pushed it any harder. For race two it was a bit easier as I started from pole rather than the back of the grid. After the first race I was desperate to get to the front and just ride my own race. I was smoother, getting into a good rhythm. The track was quite grippy and I think I could have even gone faster if I pushed a bit, but I was happy, running 11 seconds clear, so all things considered I am really happy with the weekend.” Ryuichi Kiyonari (HM Plant Honda): “This weekend we were feeling better after free practice and finding more confidence and we had good settings for the dry conditions. Then it rained for the races and it was disappointing as we had the same problem in both. We had tried different settings compared to Croft, but I just couldn’t get the confidence to push harder and it was at times a bit scary for me. We will work hard to be fast again at the next round as we need to fight for the championship.” Peter Hickman (Tyco Honda): “These races have been mega for me, especially taking second place in the second race. I really don’t know what to say having a bike like this after struggling over the years with bikes that have not been up to it. Now I have a bike that is capable of winning races and I am really enjoying riding it. I was quick in qualifying, running on race tyres and was comfortable when the rains came. We are just starting now there is much more to come.” RESULTS BRITISH SUPERBIKE RACE1: POS / RIDER / NAT / MOTORCYCLE / TIME / GAP 1 / Michael LAVERTY / GBR / Yamaha – Swan Yamaha / 20:42.995 / 2 / Michael RUTTER / GBR / Ducati – Rapid Solicitors Bathams Ducati / 20:44.276 / 1.281 3 / Shane BYRNE / GBR / Honda – HM Plant Honda / 20:44.328 / 1.333 4 / John HOPKINS / USA / Suzuki – Samsung Crescent Racing / 20:44.918 / 1.923 5 / Peter HICKMAN / GBR / Honda – Tyco Honda / 20:45.468 / 2.473 6 / Dan LINFOOT / GBR / Honda – Team Sorrymate.com / 20:46.092 / 3.097 7 / Alex LOWES / GBR / Kawasaki – MSS Colchester Kawasaki / 20:51.858 / 8.863 8 / Chris WALKER / GBR / Kawasaki – Pr1mo Racing / 20:53.943 / 10.948 9 / Josh BROOKES / AUS / Suzuki – Relentless Suzuki by TAS / 20:57.713 / 14.718 10 / Ryuichi KIYONARI / JPN / Honda – HM Plant Honda / 21:00.127 / 17.132 11 / Steve BROGAN / GBR / Honda – Jentin Racing Honda / 21:11.370 / 28.375 12 / Martin JESSOPP / GBR / Ducati – Rapid Solicitors Bathams Ducati / 21:16.428 / 33.433 13 / Barry BURRELL / GBR / BMW – Buildbase BMW Motorrad / 21:17.466 / 34.471 14 / Glen RICHARDS / AUS / Honda – Team WFR / 21:20.252 / 37.257 15 / Patric MUFF / SUI / Honda – Tyco Honda / 21:27.368 / 44.373 Fastest lap: Shane BYRNE GBR Honda – HM Plant Honda Lap 14 1:21.012 168.49 Km/h RACE2: POS / RIDER / NAT / MOTORCYCLE / TIME / GAP 1 / Shane BYRNE / GBR / Honda – HM Plant Honda / 20:07.763 / 2 / Peter HICKMAN / GBR / Honda – Tyco Honda / 20:18.381 / 10.618 3 / John HOPKINS / USA / Suzuki – Samsung Crescent Racing / 20:23.287 / 15.524 4 / Tommy HILL / GBR / Yamaha – Swan Yamaha / 20:24.743 / 16.980 5 / Dan LINFOOT / GBR / Honda – Team Sorrymate.com / 20:24.891 / 17.128 6 / Josh BROOKES / AUS / Suzuki – Relentless Suzuki by TAS / 20:25.746 / 17.983 7 / Michael LAVERTY / GBR / Yamaha – Swan Yamaha / 20:30.730 / 22.967 8 / Chris WALKER / GBR / Kawasaki – Pr1mo Racing / 20:34.644 / 26.881 9 / Jon KIRKHAM / GBR / Suzuki – Samsung Crescent Racing / 20:40.178 / 32.415 10 / Martin JESSOPP / GBR / Ducati – Rapid Solicitors Bathams Ducati / 20:42.627 / 34.864 11 / Loris BAZ / FRA / Yamaha – Motorpoint Yamaha / 20:44.589 / 36.826 12 / James WESTMORELAND / GBR / Yamaha – Motorpoint Yamaha / 20:48.352 / 40.589 13 / John LAVERTY / GBR / BMW – Buildbase BMW Motorrad / 20:50.627 / 42.864 14 / Gary MASON / GBR / Kawasaki – MSS Colchester Kawasaki / 20:52.446 / 44.683 15 / Steve BROGAN / GBR / Honda – Jentin Racing Honda / 20:52.800 / 45.037 Fastest lap: Shane BYRNE GBR Honda – HM Plant Honda Lap 7 1:19.617 171.44 Km/h CHAMPIONSHIP POSITIONS TO DATE: 1 BYRNE 136, 2 HOPKINS 121, 3 EASTON 89, 4 HILL 70, 5 LAVERTY 69, 6 HICKMAN 68, 7 KIYONARI 65, 8 RUTTER 62, 9 KIRKHAM 61, 10 BAZ 56, 11 BROOKES 48, 12 MASON 46, 13 LINFOOT 44, 14 LOWES 39, 15 WALKER 35. NEXT EVENT: ROUND 05 SUNDAY JUNE 19 KNOCKHILL More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki News Service: After a frustrating qualifying session on Sunday, Josh Brookes kept his cool in today’s treacherous conditions at the Thruxton British Superbike Championship round, closing the gap on the BSB top six with two solid points-scoring finishes with ninth in race one and sixth in race two on his Relentless Suzuki by TAS Racing GSX-R1000. Josh Brookes: “Obviously starting from 14th was not the ideal preparation for today’s races. But we did make it up to ninth in race one with the seventh fastest lap and took sixth in race two with the fifth fastest lap, so we are improving. I’ve now got to go away and look to see where we are losing out, as this time last year I was winning races. We’ll keep circulating and remain positive, and as long as we are in the top six by the end of round nine – then the job’s a dream. I’ll take a break now and head over to the TT for a few days.” Philip Neill – Team Manager: “It was a very difficult day for everyone and what really hurt Josh was his lowly qualifying position and maybe being a little bit tentative in the early laps. His lap times were comparable to the fast men but you just can’t do it from that far back. On a positive note we have closed the gap on the top six to 20 points. There’s certainly nothing wrong with the bike or the rider; it’s just taken a little longer getting Josh used to the GSX-R1000 and those two big crashes at the start of the year lost us some momentum. Race 1 Results: 1 Michael Laverty (Yamaha); 2 Michael Rutter (Ducati) +1.281s; 3 Shane Byrne (Honda) +1.333s; 4 John Hopkins (Suzuki) +1.923s; 5 Peter Hickman (Honda) +2.473s; 6 Dan Linfoot (Honda) +3.097s; 7 Alex Lowes (Kawasaki) +8.863s; 8 Chris Walker (Kawasaki) +10.948s; 9 Josh Brookes (Relentless Suzuki by TAS) +14.718s; 10 Ryuichi Kiyonari [Honda) +17.132s. Race 2 Results: 1 Shane Byrne (Honda); 2 Peter Hickman (Honda) +10.618s; 3 John Hopkins (Suzuki) +15.527s; 4 Tommy Hill (Yamaha) +16.980s; 5 Dan Linfoot (Honda) +17.128s; 6 Josh Brookes (Relentless Suzuki by TAS) +17.983s; 7 Michael Laverty (Yamaha) +22.967s; 8 Chris Walker (Kawasaki) +26.881s; 9 Jon Kirkham (Suzuki) +32.415s; 10 Martin Jessopp (Ducati) +34.864s. More, from another press release issued by Team Suzuki News Service: John Hopkins made it five podiums from his last six races after two gritty performances today at the fourth round of the 2011 British Superbikes Championship at Thruxton in Hampshire as the Samsung Crescent Racing rider fought vision problems caused by wet weather to place 4-3 in today’s races. Hopkins’ team mate Jon Kirkham was forced out of race one with set-up problems but came back strong in race two, climbing from a P25 start position to place a worthy ninth. John Hopkins: “Today reminded us we’re racing in England; it was about time we had a wet race! I can’t say I welcomed it because after getting to grips with the circuit in last practice and qualifying I was looking forward to some real race battles. “My bike was excellent in both races, but I struggled with vision – the rain was getting on the inside of the visor. In race one I elected to take it steady as I’d not ridden this circuit in the wet, but by the end I was feeling stronger and despite my visor I was able to make back some positions to finish fourth. In race two I was again struggling to see and this time the spray was truly awful, but my bike was excellent and it helped me to make the push at the end for the podium finish.” Jon Kirkham: “I had a serious set-up problem in race one that meant I had very little rear grip. I carried on for as long as I could but once any chance of championship points had gone I stopped – it was too dangerous. “Race two was much better, but with having to start from 25th and with it being so wet it was a real struggle to pass. On lap one I was motoring down the back straight at about 190mph when I ran off the track – the spray was that heavy I couldn’t see where the track ended and the grass began! “I know I have the speed and my race craft is good, so while I dropped out of the top six today, I’m confident I can regain those places.” Jack Valentine – Team Manager: “Hopper was brilliant again today and there was a lot for him to contend with: learning Thruxton in the wet, major issues with his visor; and a bunch of British lads who just love these conditions. But again he kept his head. He actually led quite a few laps, but he was calm when he was overtaken, learned what he could from following and then applied this by the race end. “JK had a real tough time. There was a lot of commotion before the start of the first race and in all the hustle and bustle he found himself on the start with the wrong rear set-up for the conditions. His comeback in race two was another great performance and to pass 16 people in such awful conditions was incredible. A great bit of damage limitation. “So, not our best weekend but both riders, and the team, have learnt from the experience. Hopper has strengthened his grip on the second position in the points tables and really not lost that many to the leader. JK’s performing consistently well as a rider; we just need to tidy up on some of the ‘bad luck’ and he’ll right in the thick of the fight.” More, from another press release issued by Team Suzuki News Service: Alastair Seeley suffered cruel luck in the today’s second British Supersport Championship race at Thruxton, being forced to retire with an electrical problem after streaking to what looked like an unassailable seven-second lead. But despite his disappointment, the Ulsterman maintained his second place in the Championship standings and is upbeat and looking forward to the next round at Knockhill in Scotland on June 19th. Alastair Seeley: “To say I am disappointed is an understatement. Philip and I had made a plan to get into the lead and pull the pin to break them and that’s exactly what I did. I did have a couple of moments but once I had the gap I calmed down and just watched my board. The bike just seemed to tighten up and it wouldn’t rev so I pulled in. It just wasn’t meant to be. We have a bit of a break now before Knockhill, so we can look to improve and make another push to close the gap down on Ben.” Philip Neill – Team Manager: “What can you say about Alastair? He had a great ride yesterday and showed his confidence today in the wet by totally dominating that race – domination that you don’t normally see in the Supersport class and he was very impressive to watch. He was robbed by a minor electrical problem, which was not even a Suzuki part. I feel bad for the team and also for our sponsors but I especially feel bad for Alastair. He really has found his stride now, wet or dry, and we must re-group and look forward to Knockhill. As I’ve said before it’s a long season and with two races a weekend, Alastair is still in with a big shout of this Championship.” British Supersport Championship (Race 2): 1 Paul Young (Oxford TAG Triumph); 2 Sam Warren (Yamaha) +1.721s; 3 Dan Cooper (Triumph) +1 lap; 4 Ben Wilson (Kawasaki) +1 lap; 5 Billy McConnell (Oxford TAG Triumph) +1 lap. DNF: Alastair Seeley [Relentless Suzuki by TAS].