Rizla Suzuki’s Tom Sykes took two hard-earned podium places at today’s 10th round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Croft in North Yorkshire while his team mate Atsushi Watanabe came home 12th twice. In the opening dry race, Sykes got a lightning start and by the end of the first 2.12-mile lap he had taken the lead. He relinquished the front spot by lap seven and then settled into a fight for the last step on the podium, eventually making a tough pass on Ducati’s Shane Byrne on the final corner to secure third. Ducati’s Leon Camier won the race. In the second race, after making a geometry change on his Rizla Suzuki, Sykes was visibly more comfortable. He led from the half-way point until the last two laps when he was passed by eventual winner Leon Haslam on a Honda. He held on to second place and is now a close third in the Championship race behind runaway leader Byrne and Haslam. Rizla Suzuki travels to Silverstone for the penultimate 11th round of the British Superbike Championship in two weeks times, with the race action taking place on Sunday, 28th September. Tom Sykes: “A big thank you to my Rizla Suzuki crew and to PJ, my Chief Mechanic; they worked hard and made the double podium result possible. In the opening race I was struggling for grip and feel so PJ made some major changes to the chassis geometry for the second race that really worked. I only wish I could have rewarded the boys with a win. “It’s tight in the race for second in the Championship and now I’m four points behind Haslam. I’ll be looking to get those points back with interest at the next round and as long as there is a mathematical chance of winning the Championship I am not going to give up, it’s still all to play for.” Atsushi Watanabe: “It has been a difficult race day for us and I am not happy with the results but I would prefer to be in the top 10. I am OK that my lap times keep improving and my Rizla Suzuki is good but I want better result.” Jack Valentine – Rizla Suzuki Team Manager: “I am happy to have achieved two strong podiums but disappointed that we didn’t get a win at the same time. Tom was brilliant in race two but a lack of grip with three laps to go allowed Haslam to nip past him and take the victory. The race for second place in the Championship is going down to the wire and while Shakey is still within reach, then we will keep going for the wins and see what happens. “Atsu tried hard but ended up in no-man’s land. He needs to dig in and get into the group just in front fighting for seventh – 10th and that will bring on his performance. He can run the lap times and has a fast bike so will be eager to score more top 10s in the last two rounds.” Race One Result: 1: Leon Camier (Ducati) 27:06.760 2: Leon Haslam (Honda) +2.544 3: Tom Sykes (Rizla Suzuki) +6.113 4: Cal Crutchlow (Honda) +6.366 5: Shane Byrne (Ducati) +6.581 6: Michael Rutter (Ducati) +13.889 7: Michael Laverty (Suzuki) +19.031 8: Karl Harris (Yamaha) +19.583 9: James Ellison (Honda) +19.722 10: Simon Andrews (Yamaha) +24.907 12: Atsushi Watanabe (Rizla Suzuki) +31.013 Race Two Result: 1: Haslam 27:04.305 2: Tom Sykes (Rizla Suzuki) +1.133 3: Crutchlow +1.614 4: Byrne +1.864 5: Camier +3.740 6: Rutter + 9.788 7: Ellison +17.037 8: Harris +18.735 9: Andrews +19.893 10: Laverty +21.857 12: Atsushi Watanabe (Rizla Suzuki) +34.079 Championship Positions (after 10 of 12 rounds): 1: Byrne 388 2: Haslam 294 3: Tom Sykes (Rizla Suzuki) 290 4: Crutchlow 265 5: Camier 241 6: Rutter 215 7: Ellison 193 8: Laverty 140 9: Andrews 140 10: Harris 91 15: Atsushi Watanabe (Rizla Suzuki) 58 More, from a press release issued by British Superbike Championship Organizers: Camier and Haslam take the victories Byrne has to wait to seal title BENNETTS BRITISH SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP Round 10 Sunday 14 September Croft Leon Camier and Leon Haslam took the victories in the tenth round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Croft where Shane Byrne fell six points short of sealing his second title success in five years. The focus of attention was always going to centre on Airwaves Ducati rider Byrne who had taken a battering in a big high-side during opening practice and he was well on the pace in an opening race in which Yorkshireman Tom Sykes made the early running. The Rizla Suzuki rider was at his most determined, heading the pack while behind him Haslam was duelling, and winning the scrap for second place with his HM Plant Honda team-mate Cal Crutchlow. Haslam aiming to become the first rider to win four races on the bounce moved out front on the seventh lap with Sykes coming under pressure from Crutchlow. Behind them, Camier was impressing, closing the leaders down and snatching second place on the tenth lap and then pressurising Haslam, taking him three laps later and then charging to his Airwaves Ducati to a second victory of the season. Byrne was up to third on the penultimate lap, but next time around was on the end of a determined challenge from Sykes at the Hairpin. The Rizla Suzuki rider emerged in third place, with Byrne dropping back to fifth. “It’s no point reflecting on what happened,” said the disappointed Byrne. “My objective was to finish ahead of Tom but he made a move and I went wide both him and Cal Crutchlow got back in front of me. I’m a bit frustrated, to say the least.” Sykes gave his version: “He stuck to his line and I stuck to mine and we met in the middle and there was a bit of fairing bashing It was a bit unfortunate but there was nothing controversial about it we’d changed places a couple of times and on the last lap there was a fair gap.” Pole-starter Crutchlow made the running in the second race with Sykes tucked in behind but Haslam was on the charge, moving into third place on the eighth lap and then closing in as Sykes finally found a way into the lead. It was closely fought but Haslam had the momentum, snatching second from Crutchlow with a couple of laps remaining and then grabbing the lead, and the race victory on the penultimate lap. Sykes took second from Crutchlow and Byrne who now leads the title chase 388-294 from Haslam with Sykes third on 290 points as they head for the penultimate round at Silverstone over the weekend of 26-27-28 September. John Laverty powered through the pain barrier to clinch the Daily Star Cup title. He was still suffering from the knee ligament injuries sustained at Knockhill but he put on a battling performance to take a pair of seconds, adrift of Gary Mason in each race. “It’s a great feeling to wrap it up here,” said the Buildbase NW200 Ducati rider. “I knew that I needed strong results but I was worried that this is a demanding, twisty circuit, quite bumpy circuit and I didn’t want to do any more damage to my knee. “I really didn’t expect to do it but this is great we have had a brilliant season and apart from a sore knee, I am feeling fine,” said Laverty as he opened up an unassailable 127 points lead over Riders Racing Honda race-ace Martin Jessopp. More, from a press release issued by GSE Racing/Airwaves Ducati: CAMIER WINS AT CROFT Leon Camier recorded his 2nd win of the 2008 season in round 10 of the British Superbike Championship at Croft today. He followed up a win in race one with a 5th in race two whilst teammate Shane Byrne had a frustrating day with a 5th and 4th place finish. Having got a poor start in an action packed first race Leon Camier had to push hard to catch the leading group. He then took 4th position from his teammate before picking off the two Honda’s and a Suzuki to take the lead on lap 13. Leon pulled out a significant lead to cross the line 2.5 seconds ahead of the rest of the field. Shane, who had moved up into 3rd on the final lap, was pushed wide on the last turn causing him to drop two places to finish in 5th. The start of race two saw Shane work his way up from 10th place at the end of the first lap to take 5th position by lap 13. He recorded some of the fastest race laps of the day to move ahead of Leon Camier with two laps to go; however he was not able to catch the podium contenders and crossed the line in 4th place with his teammate behind him in 5th. Following his race win and 5th place Leon had a mixed reaction to his day saying; ‘Obviously I ‘m delighted to get another win for the Airwaves Ducati team but I am disappointed not to get on the podium in race two. I had a pretty average start in race one but was feeling really good and confident with my overtaking. I knew I could win it and was pleased when I did eventually cross the line. The second race just didn’t go to plan after that; I got a much better start but struggled with grip and when I knew Shane was behind me I thought he would probably have a better chance of catching the front runners so I let him pass me. I am disappointed with race two but will take my experience of race one and move ahead to think about Silverstone now.’ Shane was clearly disappointed with his day saying; ‘It’s been a bad day at the office for me! I am gutted that I did not get on the podium in either race and I am disappointed not to have wrapped up the championship here at Croft. In race one I worked hard to get myself up to 3rd however I was pushed very wide on the final corner and driven back to 5th. It was gutting but it got me really fired up for race two, however that didn’t go to plan either and although I was lapping fast I couldn’t catch the front guys and had to settle for 4th. It has been a frustrating weekend but I’ll now focus on Silverstone and hopefully take the championship for Airwaves Ducati there.’ Race 1 Result 1. Leon Camier Airwaves Ducati 2. Leon Haslam HM Plant Honda 3. Tom Sykes Rizla Suzuki 4. Cal Crutchlow HM Plant Honda 5. Shane Byrne Airwaves Ducati Race 2 Result 1. Leon Haslam HM Plant Honda 2. Tom Sykes Rizla Suzuki 3. Cal Crutchlow HM Plant Honda 4. Shane Byrne Airwaves Ducati 5. Leon Camier Airwaves Ducati