Round 3 Oulton Park Bank Holiday Monday 7 May WALKER STUNS, THEN BYRNE GIVES IT SIX APPEAL Results Race one top six: 1: Chris Walker (Pr1mo Bournemouth Kawasaki) 2: Shane Byrne (Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki) +1.790s 3: Josh Brookes (Tyco Suzuki) +4.212s 4: Tommy Hill (Swan Yamaha) +14.865s 5: Stuart Easton (Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki) +17.512s 6: Alastair Seeley (Tyco Suzuki) +18.071s Race two top six: 1: Shane Byrne (Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki) 2: Tommy Hill (Swan Yamaha) +2.612s 3: Stuart Easton (Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki) +5.481s 4: Josh Brookes (Tyco Suzuki) +6.093s 5: Tommy Bridewell (Supersonic BMW) +10.464s 6: Noriyuki Haga (Swan Yamaha) +13.209s Championship standings: 1: Tommy Hill (Swan Yamaha) 98 2: Josh Brookes (Tyco Suzuki) 92 3: Shane Byrne (Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki) 88 4: Stuart Easton (Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki) 58 5: Ian Lowry (Padgetts Honda) 52 6: Alastair Seeley (Tyco Suzuki) 49 Report Chris Walker stunned his title rivals in the third round of the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship by taking the victory in the first of the two races ahead of Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne who then became the sixth rider from six different teams to taste the victor’s champagne in the six races so far . The Championship introduced new technical regulations for this season, abolishing electronic aids such as traction control and it has again proven to have levelled the playing field at Oulton Park. For Walker it was an emotional ride to glory, his first in MCE BSB since winning in September 2000 at Brands Hatch and the Pr1mo Bournemouth Kawasaki rider who drew deeply on his years of experience to master the difficult drying conditions at the Cheshire circuit enthused: “It’s amazing really. I’ve missed winning a race for so long, though I always felt it was in me to do it but I began to think it would never happen again and that it might have gone away. “It had been nice to keep up with Shakey last year we were at a totally different level but the new rules have altered that. Now I can hold my own and take them on in a level playing field,” added Walker who was unable to repeat his performance next time out, having to settle for ninth. Byrne had to work hard to take the victory next time out. His Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki team-mate Stuart Easton made the early charge with Josh Brookes and Tommy Hill, once they had taken Walker in hot pursuit. But, the former two times winner of the title was soon reeling them in, moving into second place just into the second half of the race. Hill, who on Sunday had won the race postponed from Brands Hatch aboard his Swan Yamaha, was under intense pressure and it was no surprise that Byrne pushed ahead of him at Lakeside with two laps remaining to take a victory that consolidates his third place in the overall standings. Hill remains at the top of the overall standings, leading by six points over Tyco Suzuki’s Brookes who finished the race in fourth place, adrift of the determined Easton who claimed his first podium of the season. For more information please visit www.britishsuperbike.com More, from a press release issued by Pr1mo Bournemouth Kawasaki: Wonderful Walker gives Pr1mo Bournemouth Kawasaki debut BSB win The Pr1mo Bournemouth Kawasaki team were back in action over the Bank Holiday weekend at Oulton Park, Cheshire for round 3 of the British Superbike Championship and it proved to be an excellent meeting with Chris Walker giving the squad their first ever BSB win. The Nottinghamshire rider was in superb form and put in a scintillating ride in difficult, damp conditions to claim his first victory in the series since 2000 and hand Pete Extance’s squad a dream win. Walker was strong throughout practice and qualifying and with rain having fallen prior to the race, he was able to utilise all of his, and crew chief Ray Stringer’s, experience. A bullet start saw him move up from 10th on the grid to 4th at the end of the first lap and although the track was drying, the set up of the ZX-10R Kawasaki meant that Walker was able to race without his full wet tyres overheating as much as his rivals. Third on lap 5 after overtaking reigning Champion Tommy Hill, Chris enjoyed a good tussle with Josh Brookes for 2nd and after finally passing him for good on lap 10 he set about reducing the gap to leader Shane Byrne. With just 3 laps to go he was right on his back wheel and grabbed the lead at Island Bend on lap 15 eventually taking a fairytale win by 1.79s. Chris also shone in the other two races held over the weekend coming through the pack to take an excellent 7th place in Sunday’s race (rescheduled from Brands Hatch), Michael Laverty pipping him for sixth on the final lap. He then backed that up with a solid ninth place in Monday’s second race to move onto 46 points and move up to 7th overall in the Championship table. Team-mate James Hillier enjoyed his best qualifying of the year so far in 19th place overall but was thwarted by mechanical problems in two of the races. First up was Sunday’s rescheduled race and he was again looking good for some points as he ran in 15th place in the early stages only for an oil leak to intervene. A rear brake problem caused him to retire from Monday’s first race but he bounced back well to take a strong 18th in the second race. It was a good day for third team member Kyle Wilks with the 17-year old taking a strong 16th place in the Metzeler National Superstock 600cc Championship race. The Southampton rider was unlucky not to score a debut point, finishing just 0.150s adrift of 15th placed Tom Young. Chris Walker: “At the beginning of the season, I felt we’d perform strongly so to get a win so early in the year is simply brilliant. We had a really good wet setting which meant I could ride hard without overheating the tyres so fair play to all the boys in the team and it’s thanks to them that I could take the top step. I’ve genuinely surprised myself with my pace this year but the rules are playing into my hands and with two more good top ten finishes, I couldn’t have asked for anymore from the weekend. It was a long winter for me and a lot of people – friends, family etc – have dug deep to get me back out onto the grid so this win’s for them. The team are brilliant and I’m enjoying my racing as much as ever so it’s been a dream weekend.” James Hillier: “Two DNF’s is obviously disappointing but we can put it down to sheer bad luck and I’ve enjoyed myself a lot this weekend. One of my aims at the beginning of the year was to make it into the top 20 regularly and I feel I’m now doing that so once the luck turns, I’m sure the points will follow. The potential’s definitely there so when I come back to the BSB races, that’s what I’ll be aiming for. Now, I’ll just focus on the month ahead and the North West 200 and Isle of Man TT, which I’m really excited about.” Pete Extance: “What can I say, it’s just been a brilliant weekend and I’m so thrilled for everyone connected with the team, especially Chris obviously. It’s been a while since he’s had a win but we all knew he had it in him this year, particularly in tricky conditions, and he was in great form all weekend. To get out first ever BSB win is an absolute dream and with two more good top ten finishes, Chris is now up to 7th and we aim to keep him up there for the rest of the year. We’ve said all along our aim was to get him into the Showdown and there’s nothing at all to alter that view so let’s hope we can.” “I was also pleased with how James rode all weekend and it was only a few niggling little mechanical problems that prevented him from getting the results he deserved. He made it into the second phase of qualifying for the first time and it was very satisfying to see him finish in 18th in the last race of the weekend. Coming through from the back of the grid was a great effort indeed. Overall, we’re delighted so a big thanks to all the guys at Pr1mo and all our team sponsors as this is a day we’ve all dreamed of.” There’s now a three week break before the next BSB round at Snetterton but, prior to that, Hillier will be in action at the International North West 200, the first International road race of the year. Held in Northern Ireland, the meeting is run on the public roads linking the towns of Portstewart, Coleraine and Portrush and takes place from May 15-19. More, from a press release issued by Swan Yamaha: SWAN YAMAHA’S HILL LEADS THE STANDINGS AFTER OULTON PARK TRIPLE HEADER Swan Yamaha’s Tommy Hill leads the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship standings after the third round at Oulton Park as he followed up his race one win with a podium finish as Noriyuki Haga ended his weekend with a top six result. In the second race of the weekend Hill was edged out of a podium finish in drying conditions however in the final race Hill was again challenging at the front and after holding the lead for several laps he was forced to settle for second. Haga had a disappointing second race as he suffered with lack of grip in the changeable conditions to finish 13th before fighting his way to sixth place in the final race of the weekend to move to tenth in the overall standings. Hill said: “It was a frustrating first race with the conditions changing, but it was the same for everyone. Fourth place was not quite a podium but still consistent points for the championship and that is what we need. Fortunately it stayed dry for the last race and the Swan Yamaha was working really well and I dropped a couple of places but just stayed calm and then got into a rhythm. By the time I pulled in Stuart I had used the best of my tyre and it became harder work. Shakey then hunted me down and I tried to defend it but that was the best I had at that stage of the race. I am happy with our results with a win, a fourth and a second place and the championship lead. We probably had the most consistent weekend of all our rivals and that is what is important.” Haga said: “It hasn’t been a bad weekend as we had our first podium finishes but in the second race I had struggled a bit with grip where the conditions changed. In race three I think with a better grid position we could have been higher up the order like in race one. I also made a bad start and then I gave myself work to do and where I pushed to pass the other riders I used my tyre too quickly and then I didn’t have enough for the end of the race. I am happy to have shown our speed this weekend and I think Snetterton we will come back and fight again.” Team Owner Shaun Muir concluded: “This weekend we have seen great performances from both riders with Tommy now at the top of the standings and Nori securing his first podium finish. We had a few issues that the team worked hard to overcome and our aim is to come back even stronger at Snetterton.” For more information visit www.swanyamaha.co.uk More, from a press release issued by Marks Bloom Racing: Superb result at Oulton for Kneen Dan Kneen got his 2012 Metzeler National 1000cc Superstock Championship campaign firmly up and running at Oulton Park on Bank Holiday Monday when he took his Marks Bloom Racing Suzuki into a superb 12th place. The Braddan rider made a brilliant start to the race and overhauled over a dozen riders to move up from 28th on the grid and claim 4 well earned Championship points. The weekend started steadily for Dan though with 36th place in Saturday’s opening qualifying session but with a number of improvements to the bike, he was able to take almost two seconds off his time in the final session on Sunday to move up to 28th place and ensure he qualified for the race outright. Further changes to the front end of the bike were made in preparation for Monday’s 14-lap race. Indeed, Dan eventually made drastic changes, reverting to the set-up he had used at the early season Donington Park meeting and with the forecasted rain holding off, he was able to take to the grid for a fully dry race. Starting from the 7th row of the grid should have made for a tough race but with the aforementioned lightning start, he made huge strides forward on the opening lap and passed a staggering 12 riders to move up to 16th. His progress didn’t stop there and, lapping almost a second quicker than what he had done in qualifying, he soon moved up to 14th and by half race distance he was up to 12th. With his pace similar to that of the leading group, positions remained the same for the next few laps and with the race ending prematurely, Dan was able to hold onto a superb 12th place and take his first points of the season. Speaking afterwards, a pleased Dan commented: “I’m well chuffed with today’s result especially after the changes I made meant I went into the race a little bit blind. We’d been changing things all weekend and although we were continually improving, it was only by small amounts so I decided to go back to what we had at Donington back in March and it paid dividends. I made a lightning start and really got stuck in and the pleasing thing was that the leading riders weren’t that far in front of me nor were they pulling away. By the time I’d got up to 12th, they’d opened up a gap but once there it remained pretty much the same and lapping so much quicker than what I’d done in qualifying showed how much happier I was with the handling of the bike, especially the front end. I was able to run with the riders I know I’m capable of running with so it’s great to finally get the result I know I’m capable of and it’s a good platform for us to build on. There’s still room for improvement with the bike but if I can hit the ground running next time out and qualify well, I’m sure a top ten finish is just around the corner.” The next round of the series will see two races held at Donington Park alongside the World Superbike Championship programme. The event takes place on May 11-13. More, from a press release issued by John McGuinness’ publicist: Spirited ride by McGuinness at Oulton Morecambe’s John McGuinness put in a fine ride at his local Oulton Park circuit on Bank Holiday Monday to finish in 9th place in round 3 of the Metzeler National Superstock 1000cc Championship. Competing in the series for the first time since Easter, John showed strong form throughout practice and qualifying on the Padgetts Honda Fireblade and his efforts were rewarded on race day to see him pick up his first points of the season. Tenth in opening qualifying on Saturday, a strong performance in Sunday’s final qualifying session saw John take exactly a second off his time and a lap of 1m39.383s meant he lined up in 7th place and on the second row of the grid. Conditions on race day weren’t expected to be good but, fortunately, the predicted rains stayed away and the 14-lap race got underway in dry weather. However, a sluggish start by John, later diagnosed as a clutch problem, meant he got pushed back in the usual opening lap melee and he found himself back in 12th place as he went onto lap 2. He was soon up to 10th though and although he was unable to overtake any other riders, he was running the same pace as the front runners and was only 3 seconds adrift of third and the final podium place. As the race went into its final third, John was right on the back of a three-way dice for 8th but when Adam Jenkinson crashed out of 6th, the race was ended prematurely and John was promoted up a spot to 9th for a strong finish as he heads into the pure road racing season. Speaking aftewards, a satisfies John said; “Oulton’s always been kind to me and I always enjoy coming here so it was good to get a run out on the Superstock bike and even more pleasing to end the weekend with a strong performance. I had a few niggling little issues in qualifying but I was happy with the final session and 7th on the grid boded well. One of the problems we’d had was with the clutch and although we thought it had been resolved, it came back on the warm up lap and when the race came under starters orders it was ‘grabbing’ a little and I had to be really careful so as not to get a jump start. That meant I was more cuatious than normal and that’s why I got pushed back a few places like I did. I regrouped though, got stuck in and was really happy with my lap times, which were really competitive. Ninth’s a little bit frustrating as I felt a top six finish could have been ours today but it was a good ninth and it puts me in a really good frame of mind for the important month ahead. The North West 200 and Isle of Man TT are very much on the horizon now so with a good result today, I can now look ahead to the roads and fully focus on the job in hand.” The International North West 200 takes place on the 8.9-mile road circuit linking the towns of Portstewart, Coleraine and Portrush with first practice getting underway on Tuesday 15th May. John will be action on the Honda TT Legends Superbike and Padgetts Honda Supersport and Superstock machines. More, from a press release issued by Seton Tuning Yamaha: Seton Tuning Yamaha’s Sam Warren produced the save of the decade to record his fourth podium finish of the season at the Cheshire circuit of Oulton Park (5-7 May). The Derbyshire-based rider has proved his mettle in all weather conditions this season, propelling his Seton Tuning Yamaha YZF-R6 into championship contention. With a solid qualifying, Sam lined up third on the front row for the 10-lap Sprint. Powering from the lights, Sam majestically pushed through the pack to run second as the Motorpoint British Supersport Powered by Datatag field closed out the first lap. Chasing down Jack Kennedy, the race looked to be unfolding into a battle of the Yamahas, with the two protagonists vieing for the lead with each lap. A typical late breaking manoeuvre into Lodge corner on lap 4 put Sam into the lead as he powered up Deers Leap and across the white stripe. Looking to make the break, the action became relentless as Kennedy clung to Sam’s red tail section desperate for a way through. Sam’s mix of aggressive and defensive riding kept his nose in front until Kennedy made the decisive move out of Cascades on the run past the lake towards Island on lap 8. Now it was Sam’s turn to ride shotgun. The 29 year old looked settled and supremely confident in the grip his Pirellis afforded him. A trademark move on the final corner at Lodge looked on the cards. Sam had excellent drive up Clay Hill as the riders attacked the final third of the lap. Then ‘The Moment’ scuppered all chances of a second win of the season. Powering through Druids, Sam cracked the throttle a millisecond earlier than previously sending both tyres into the slide of all slides. Miraculously, he regained control keeping his Yamaha rubber side down and as Wilson passed for second Sam clung on to the final rostrum place for 16 points. Sam’s race lap time of 1:38.542 elevated him to second on the grid for the main Bank Holiday Monday 16-lap event. A more restrained start saw Sam circulate on the tail of the leading group during the opening exchanges. As the race reached the mid-point it was clear that he had ridden a mature, level-headed race as he ducked under Iddon’s Triumph at Lodge to move fourth and start to make his challenge on the podium places. Unfortunately, as the riders passed the two-thirds race distance marker, a red flag incident prematurely halted proceedings just as Warren looked ready to make his assault, leaving him in fourth and just shy of his second podium of the weekend. The Seton Tuning Yamaha trio of Ben Burke, Bjorn Estment and Mark Wilkinson carried their point-scoring momentum from Thruxton with them to the scenic, undulating 2.69-mile Cheshire circuit. With the weather having played a deciding factor in the Superbike race, the team opted for a wet front and dry rear Metzeler tyre set-up on the still damp track. Lining up on the inside of the front row in fourth, Ben made a blistering start from the lights to take the holeshot into turn one, with pole-sitter Wainwright hot on his heels. Leading into the second lap, Ben overshot the tricky Hizzy chicane, taking to the wet grass. Ben managed to save what looked like a certain crash to rejoin the train albeit back in seventh spot. Pushing as hard as his wet front Metzeler tyre would allow on the now dry track, Ben was unable to make in-roads into the leading group but secured sixth as race direction halted the race on lap 11 for an incident involving Wainwright and Blackshaw. Buoyed by solid performances last time out, Bjorn Estment and Mark Wilkinson made excellent starts from rows five and seven respectively. The pair became locked together in a four-way battle just outside of the top ten with Groves and fellow Yamaha rider Kinloch. With less than half a second splitting the quartet for the vast majority, the pair soon got into their stride, posting successively quicker lap times towards the close of the race, with Bjorn stealing bragging rights from his teammate by just 0.2s across the line as they finished 12th and 13th. Sam Warren: “A 3rd and 4th places in the races doesn’t really show what we were capable of this weekend and I have to say I’m a little disappointed I couldn’t grab another race win. In the Sprint, we were running very strong, taking the lead early on. The tyre went off quickly and Kennedy came past. I’d pretty much settled for a podium when on the last lap Kennedy started to tighten up. I got mega drive on him into Druids and then I had ‘The Moment’. The data shows I went in 6kph faster with 5degrees more lean angle and cracked the throttle earlier than the previous lap! So I guess lady luck was on my side and luckily the slide didn’t turn into a high-side. 3rd was good considering. The feature race started off slow. About 6 laps in the tyre came to me and I started to attack. Getting up into 4th and right on the leaders, I thought I had the pace to win it, when the reds came out. So you could say I used all my luck up in race 1! Anyway, points in the bag, still in the hunt and back to full fitness following the break in my hand at Thruxton. Good job by all the team.” Ben Burke: “It was a good weekend, and I seemed to be on pace early being 3rd fastest in Saturday’s practice. With weather conditions holding for dry qualifying sessions, I was able to put myself 4th on the grid. We had a tricky decision to make for tyre selection as the weather was so changeable prior to the race, as it turned out we should have gone with dry tyres but the decision had been made to use a wet front and dry rear. I pushed hard during the race after a good start and was leading through the first few laps but struggled to recover on my chosen tyres after hitting the grass and losing ground. I couldn’t keep the pace with the front runners after that. Still very happy to score some points with a 6th place finish. I look forward to next week at Donington. Well done as always to the team for another great weekend.” Bjorn Estment: “That was a tough learning curve and a hard race with the tyre choices we made but great to be in the points again. Looking forward to a solid outing at Donington. Big thanks to Scotty my crew chief and John with electronics. Wishing Josh Wainright a speedy recovery!” Mark Wilkinson: “What an up and down weekend for me! It started badly with a nasty high-side in practice which put us behind with set-up for qualifying. The team made big improvements to the bike for Q2, which knocked 0.7s off my Q1 time, but still left me in 28th on the grid for the race. Race day brought changeable conditions, with the team making a strategic call on tyre choice that paid off in the shortened race. I made an excellent start to the race making up 12 positions on the opening lap and rode hard to come home with my best result of 13th. I have to thank the entire Seton Tuning Yamaha team for their efforts this weekend and getting me back on track. I’m really looking forward to the Donington WSBK double-header next weekend now! Hopefully I can make a better qualification and get some more championship points.” Phil Seton, Team Owner: “Great qualifying from Ben showed his true potential. I was really pleased to see him at the front for the second meeting in a row. My call on the tyres for the Superstock race was wrong, thougth the window between right and wrong is very narrow. However, it was a good performance from all 3 stock riders, so I’m very happy. Another great weekend for Sam. Solid points with 3rd on Saturday. It was a great save on the final lap, though it cost him second. I think that our luck was used up as the second race was cut short just as Sam was ready to make his move. Still, good points though. The team is looking forward to World’s next week at Donington.” Round 4 of the 2012 MCE British Superbike Championship takes place at Snetterton, Norfolk, 25-27 May, with the Superstock trio enjoying a stint on the world stage next weekend as the Superstock classes battle it out at the Donington Park round of the World Superbike Championship. More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki News Service: DOUBLE PODIUM FOR BROOKES AT OULTON Team Suzuki Press Office – May 8. Tyco Suzuki’s Josh Brookes consolidated his second place in the British Superbike Championship standings with two third placed podiums and a fourth at the triple header at Oulton Park over the Bank Holiday weekend for Tyco Suzuki. In Sunday’s re-scheduled 16 lap race from Brands Hatch, Brookes looked comfortable at the head of proceedings before the safety car was deployed, followed by a red flag situation. In the re-started race, run over just eight laps, the Australian eventually settled for third. Monday’s opener was a war of attrition with a wet tyre set-up making it very tricky in the closing stages on a drying track. Brookes rode a calculated race and his fourth consecutive podium of the season in third place helped him to the top of the British Superbike standings. He couldn’t quite make it a full house of podiums from the weekend in Monday’s second race, but fourth place keeps him well in the hunt in the Championship and helped him notch up some valuable podium credits. Alastair Seeley recovered from a high-speed crash at Cascades during qualifying to run at the front in the opening race on Sunday, eventually finishing sixth. In Monday’s two races he took 15 points for his efforts in sixth and 11th position. Josh Brookes: “I’m happy with the podiums this weekend but obviously a little disappointed not to get my first win at Oulton. It was a tough weekend with changeable weather conditions and we’ve come away with solid points; that’s always a bonus. We led the Championship briefly after race two but we’re still within striking distance. We’re in the right place and if I can keep racking up podiums and credits then I’ll be a in a good position come the cut off.” Alastair Seeley: “It was good to be back up at the sharp end in that first race, especially after the crash in qualifying. We’re finding our feet again with the Superbike and scored enough points to get ourselves into that all-important top six. I think we maybe could have scored some more points in that last race, but overall a decent enough weekend.” Philip Neill – Team Manager: “To be honest that was a pretty tough weekend with mixed weather, cold temperatures and a three-race schedule keeping everyone on their toes. After being right on the pace all weekend we probably were hoping for a little more; however for one reason or another we didn’t quite have a winning package this weekend although the new GSX-R1000 still performed extremely well and we can be very satisfied with what was a solid weekend for Josh. “Alastair also showed a return to form setting him up nicely for our next event, the North West 200. I think it’s clear already that this is going to be a very close season with multiple race winners and with that in mind, consistency will certainly be key. With five podium finishes from six race starts, our guys can justifiably feel proud at this point of the year. Although it is very early days, we currently have both inside the all important tip six, so that’s another positive. “Thanks to Suzuki, Tyco and all our sponsors for their support. On a sad note, one of our close racing partners suffered the loss of a family member in the days leading up to Oulton. All at Tyco Suzuki would like to offer our condolences to Chris Taylor and his family circle on the sad loss of his son Aaron.” Race one result: 1. Tommy Hill (Swan Yamaha) 2. Noriyuki Haga (Swan Yamaha) +1.525s 3. Josh Brookes (Tyco Suzuki) +1.685s 4. Alastair Seeley (Tyco Suzuki) +4.320s 5. Tommy Bridewell (Swan Yamaha) +4.460s 6. Michael Laverty (Samsung Honda) +6.340s 7. Chris Walker (Pr1mo Bournemouth Kawasaki) +6.879s 8. Michael Rutter (MSS Bathams Kawasaki) +9.223s 9. Stuart Easton (Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki) +9.252s 10. James Westmoreland (WFR Honda) +9.661s Race two result: 1. Chris Walker (Pr1mo Bournemouth Kawasaki) 2. Shane Byrne (Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki) +1.790s 3. Josh Brookes (Tyco Suzuki) +4.212s 4. Tommy Hill (Swan Yamaha) +14.865s 5. Stuart Easton (Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki) +17.512s 6. Alastair Seeley (Tyco Suzuki) +18.071s 7. Tommy Bridewell (Supersonic BMW) +19.356s 8. Patric Muff (Supersonic BMW) +29.967s 9. Dan Linfoot (Buildbase BMW) +33.367s 10. Alex Lowes (WFR Honda) +34.810s Race three result: 1. Shane Byrne (Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki) 2. Tommy Hill (Swan Yamaha) +2.612s 3. Stuart Easton (Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki) +5.481s 4. Josh Brookes (Tyco Suzuki) +6.093s 5. Tommy Bridewell (Supersonic BMW) +10.464s 6. Noriyuki Haga (Swan Yamaha) +13.209s 7. Michael Laverty (Samsung Honda) +13.637s 8. Graeme Gowland (WFR Honda) +13.865s 9. Chris Walker (Pr1mo Bournemouth Kawasaki) +18.276s 10. Alex Lowes (WFR Honda) +18.514s BSB Championship Standings: 1. Tommy Hill (Swan Yamaha) 98 2. Josh Brookes (Tyco Suzuki) 92 3. Shane Byrne (Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki) 88 4. Stuart Easton (Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki) 58 5. Ian Lowry (Padgetts Honda) 52 6. Alastair Seeley (Tyco Suzuki) 49 More, from a press release issued by Honda: TOUGH WEEKEND FOR HONDA MEN IN CHANGEABLE CONDITIONS Michael Laverty racked up points in the three races of the third round of the 2012 MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship at Oulton Park, but his Samsung Honda team-mate Jon Kirkham, after crashing heavily in the opening race, was ruled out of the action for the remainder of the meeting. Yamaha’s Tommy Hill was the overall victor of the round, with an opening race win on Sunday afternoon followed up by a fourth and second place in Monday’s two races. Hill now also now leads the title chase. Ian Lowry, the Padgetts Honda rider who had gone into the meeting at the Cheshire circuit leading the championship standings endured a difficult weekend, suffering technical problems, and making only one points scoring ride, running 13th in the third race. Laverty had begun the weekend strongly. He had an uphill struggle in the Sunday race which was held over from the rain lashed circuit contaminated Brands Hatch opening round, as he started from the eighth row of the grid. But, as he predicted, there were ample overtaking opportunities for him to exploit and he did that to good effect moving through the pack to be running sixth when the action was red-flagged. Jon Kirkham had crashed at around 150mph on the approach to Druids, his bike somersaulting over the trackside barrier as he slid across the grass. The Derby rider was briefly knocked out in the incident and took a bruising, but escaped with nothing worse and was able to return to the team’s pit-garage later in the afternoon. Laverty maintained his sixth position in the race, re-started and decided over eight laps, but Lowry was forced out of the race by a slipping clutch. Laverty ran eighth fastest in qualifying for the first of the two Monday races and though he was able to run in the top six in the early stages he was soon losing ground in the damp drying conditions, struggling with tyre wear which left him back in twelfth place. Lowry was again struggling with a machine problem, finishing a further nine places back. Alex Lowes riding in WFR colours was the the leading Honda rider in that race, crossing the line in tenth place with his team-mates James Westmoreland and Graeme Gowland running 14th and 15th though the latter, one of only three riders to opt for intermediate, rather than wet tyres, set the fastest lap of the race to earn pole start for the third and final race, run in the dry. Gowland finished that race in eighth place, two tenths of a second down on Laverty who had again battled tyre wear in a damage limitation exercise ride to seventh. Lowes was again tenth while Lowry, starting from the sixth row of the grid, salvaged some pride from a difficult weekend with 13th place, and three points, but, he dropped to fourth place in the overall points standings. At the sharp end of the action, defending champion Tommy Hill took his first victory of the campaign on his Yamaha in Sunday’s race. Chris Walker powered his Kawasaki to a first BSB victory in 12 years in the first race of Monday afternoon and then former two times title winner Shane Byrne, also riding Kawasaki, became the sixth rider in as many races to taste the victor’s champagne. HONDA RIDER COMMENTS Michael Laverty (Samsung Honda) Race results: 6th / 12th / 7th Championship position: 11th “We had the top six as our aim in the race held over from Brands hatch and if there had been more laps then perhaps we could have been even higher. It was good progress from the eighth row of the grid to finish sixth. I qualified for a second row start for the first Monday race, but the conditions made it tough going on a drying track and looking for the wet bits. I’m scratching my head as to why I didn’t do better as normally as I am good in those conditions, but my tyre was gone I don’t know if I had a bad one, or the set-up we had was causing the wear. And the final race was hard work again. I tried to push on, tried to conserve my pace, but I didn’t have the tyres.” Jon Kirkham (Samsung Honda) Race results: DNF /DNS / DNS Championship position: 8th “I can’t really remember too much about the crash to be honest. I have seen the footage and all I can remember was just before I got a bit of a slide on at the chicane and knew I had to push as Haga was there. I had another moment going up the hill and them something set me wide and the back wheel was off the edge of the track. I’m still a bit confused, had concussion and ache a bit. All I can say really is I am absolutely gutted to have ended the weekend like this as I miss three races and a lot of points and given the conditions would have gone well. But I’m still here with nothing broken though I just feel so disappointed for the whole of the team.” Ian Lowry (Padgetts Honda) Race results: DNF / 21st /13th Championship position: 4th “We didn’t have any data for the circuit and this was always going to be the one that would challenge us. It proved a very difficult meeting. We had a couple of technical issues and then had to ride hard from the sixth row of the grid in the final race. You get weekends like this and you just have to pick yourself up and look ahead to the next round.” RESULTS BRITISH SUPERBIKE RACE1: POS / RIDER / NAT / MOTORCYCLE / TIME / GAP 1 / TOMMY HILL / GBR / YAMAHA – SWAN YAMAHA / 12:55.805 / 2 / NORIYUKI HAGA / JPN / YAMAHA – SWAN YAMAHA / 12:57.330 / 1.525 3 / JOSH BROOKES / AUS / SUZUKI – TYCO SUZUKI / 12:57.490 / 1.685 4 / ALASTAIR SEELEY / GBR / SUZUKI – TYCO SUZUKI / 13:00.125 / 4.320 5 / TOMMY BRIDEWELL / GBR / BMW – SUPERSONIC RACING TEAM / 13:00.265 / 4.460 6 / MICHAEL LAVERTY / GBR / HONDA – SAMSUNG HONDA / 13:02.145 / 6.340 7 / CHRIS WALKER / GBR / KAWASAKI – PR1MO BOURNEMOUTH KAWASAKI RACING / 13:02.684 / 6.879 8 / MICHAEL RUTTER / GBR / KAWASAKI – MSS BATHAMS KAWASAKI / 13:05.028 / 9.223 9 / STUART EASTON / GBR / KAWASAKI – RAPID SOLICITORS KAWASAKI / 13:05.057 / 9.252 10 / JAMES WESTMORELAND / GBR / HONDA – TEAM WFR / 13:05.466 / 9.661 11 / SHANE BYRNE / GBR / KAWASAKI – RAPID SOLICITORS KAWASAKI / 13:05.507 / 9.702 12 / PATRIC MUFF / SUI / BMW – SUPERSONIC RACING TEAM / 13:08.052 / 12.247 13 / LUCA SCASSA / ITA / HONDA – PADGETTS RACING / 13:08.334 / 12.529 14 / LUKE QUIGLEY / GBR / HONDA – GBMOTO RACING / 13:09.125 / 13.320 15 / DAN LINFOOT / GBR / BMW – BUILDBASE BMW MOTORRAD / 13:09.342 / 13.537 FASTEST LAP: TOMMY HILL GBR YAMAHA – SWAN YAMAHA LAP 7 1:35.842 162.73 KM/H RACE2: POS / RIDER / NAT / MOTORCYCLE / TIME / GAP 1 / CHRIS WALKER / GBR / KAWASAKI – PR1MO BOURNEMOUTH KAWASAKI RACING / 32:20.110 / 2 / SHANE BYRNE / GBR / KAWASAKI – RAPID SOLICITORS KAWASAKI / 32:21.900 / 1.790 3 / JOSH BROOKES / AUS / SUZUKI – TYCO SUZUKI / 32:24.322 / 4.212 4 / TOMMY HILL / GBR / YAMAHA – SWAN YAMAHA / 32:34.975 / 14.865 5 / STUART EASTON / GBR / KAWASAKI – RAPID SOLICITORS KAWASAKI / 32:37.622 / 17.512 6 / ALASTAIR SEELEY / GBR / SUZUKI – TYCO SUZUKI / 32:38.181 / 18.071 7 / TOMMY BRIDEWELL / GBR / BMW – SUPERSONIC RACING TEAM / 32:38.466 / 18.356 8 / PATRIC MUFF / SUI / BMW – SUPERSONIC RACING TEAM / 32:50.077 / 29.967 9 / DAN LINFOOT / GBR / BMW – BUILDBASE BMW MOTORRAD / 32:53.742 / 33.632 10 / ALEX LOWES / GBR / HONDA – TEAM WFR / 32:54.920 / 34.810 11 / PETER HICKMAN / GBR / KAWASAKI – MSS BATHAMS KAWASAKI / 32:55.764 / 35.654 12 / MICHAEL LAVERTY / GBR / HONDA – SAMSUNG HONDA / 33:00.076 / 39.966 13 / NORIYUKI HAGA / JPN / YAMAHA – SWAN YAMAHA / 33:00.922 / 40.812 14 / JAMES WESTMORELAND / GBR / HONDA – TEAM WFR / 33:04.721 / 44.611 15 / GRAEME GOWLAND / GBR / HONDA – TEAM WFR / 33:15.871 / 55.761 FASTEST LAP: GRAEME GOWLAND GBR HONDA – TEAM WFR LAP 17 1:43.391 150.85 KM/H RACE3: POS / RIDER / NAT / MOTORCYCLE / TIME / GAP 1 / SHANE BYRNE / GBR / KAWASAKI – RAPID SOLICITORS KAWASAKI / 29:08.916 / 2 / TOMMY HILL / GBR / YAMAHA – SWAN YAMAHA / 29:11.528 / 2.612 3 / STUART EASTON / GBR / KAWASAKI – RAPID SOLICITORS KAWASAKI / 29:14.397 / 5.481 4 / JOSH BROOKES / AUS / SUZUKI – TYCO SUZUKI / 29:15.009 / 6.093 5 / TOMMY BRIDEWELL / GBR / BMW – SUPERSONIC RACING TEAM / 29:19.380 / 10.464 6 / NORIYUKI HAGA / JPN / YAMAHA – SWAN YAMAHA / 29:22.125 / 13.209 7 / MICHAEL LAVERTY / GBR / HONDA – SAMSUNG HONDA / 29:22.553 / 13.637 8 / GRAEME GOWLAND / GBR / HONDA – TEAM WFR / 29:22.781 / 13.865 9 / CHRIS WALKER / GBR / KAWASAKI – PR1MO BOURNEMOUTH KAWASAKI RACING / 29:27.192 / 18.276 10 / ALEX LOWES / GBR / HONDA – TEAM WFR / 29:27.430 / 18.514 11 / ALASTAIR SEELEY / GBR / SUZUKI – TYCO SUZUKI / 29:28.539 / 19.623 12 / DAN LINFOOT / GBR / BMW – BUILDBASE BMW MOTORRAD / 29:36.523 / 27.607 13 / IAN LOWRY / GBR / HONDA – PADGETTS HONDA / 29:38.004 / 29.088 14 / PATRIC MUFF / SUI / BMW – SUPERSONIC RACING TEAM / 29:38.519 / 29.603 15 / MICHAEL RUTTER / GBR / KAWASAKI – MSS BATHAMS KAWASAKI / 29:38.584 / 29.668 FASTEST LAP:SHANE BYRNE GBR KAWASAKI – RAPID SOLICITORS KAWASAKI LAP 6 1:36.200 162.12 KM/H CHAMPIONSHIP POSITIONS TO DATE: 1 HILL 98, 2 BROOKES 92, 3 BYRNE 88, 4 EASTON 58, 5 LOWRY 52, 6 SEELEY 49, 7 WALKER 46, 8 BRIDEWELL 46, 9 KIRKHAM 43, 10 HAGA 42, 11 LAVERTY 36, 12 WESTMORELAND 30, 13 RUTTER 25, 14 SCASSA 21, 15 LINFOOT 21. NEXT EVENT: ROUND04 MAY 27 SNETTERTON 300