New from British Superbike seems to indicate that the 1000cc formula favors Ducatis, which have been dominant. This is a press release from Monstermob Ducati:

MONSTERMOB DUCATI BRITISH SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM

Round 5 – 2002 MCN British Superbike and Round 6 National Supersport Championship – Snetterton, Norfolk June 2/3rd

HISLOP’S LEAD PINNED BACK

MonsterMob Ducati rider Steve Hislop emerged from a disastrous weekend at Snetterton with his championship lead still in tact but substantially reduced after a second and a fourth place finish at the Norfolk circuit in races nine and ten of the 2002 MCN British Superbike Championship.

The Isle of Man based Scot struggled all weekend with machine set up which was compounded by having to use a new profile Dunlop tyre which didn’t suit his riding style, and to top it all, main championship rival Sean Emmett won both races to reduce the gap at the top to just 17 points.

“We’ve been chasing our tails so much this weekend, we’ve met ourselves coming backwards. It simply wasn’t my bike this weekend and no matter what we did, the problems didn’t get any better. I’m glad I kept my championship lead but I can’t wait to get away from here as I hate the place” fumed Hislop afterwards.

It may have been a different story had both races not been red-flagged early on whilst Hizzy was comfortably in command but he trailed home a distant fourth in the opening leg before bravely hanging onto second in race two despite a concerted last lap challenge from Michael Rutter and Steve Plater.

Team pride was salvaged by Supersport rider Stuart Easton winning his fifth consecutive race in the Supersport class to extend his lead to 47 points at the head of the table, but for once the 17 year old from Hawick didn’t have it all his own way.

Starting from his fourth successive pole position, young ‘Ratty’ had to fend off a concerted challenge from Irishman Michael Laverty but just as Laverty was poised to strike, out came the red flags as conditions deteriorated due to a rain shower:

“I felt I had it under control and was just keeping an eye on my pit board. I must admit though, I was a little surprised to see Michael giving me such a hard time and he was really riding well” said Easton who blotted his copybook by drowning the pit lane commentator (who happened to be his team’s press officer………) in champagne on the rostrum.

As a result, colleagues within the media are requested to keep all publicity relating to Easton to an absolute minimum until such time as an apology (or financial compensation) is forthcoming………

Race Results

Superbike Race 1
1. Sean Emmett (Ducati)
2. John Reynolds (Suzuki)
3. Steve Plater (Yamaha)
4. Steve Hislop (MonsterMob Ducati)
5. Paul Brown (Ducati)
6. Simon Crafar (Yamaha)

Superbike Race 2
1. Emmett
2. Hislop
3. Michael Rutter (Ducati)
4. Plater
5. Shane Byrne (Ducati)
6. Brown

Championship Positions after five rounds:
1. Hislop 189
2. Emmett 172
3. Rutter 130.5
4. Plater 117
5. Reynolds 105.5
6. Brown 104.5

Supersport
1. Stuart Easton (MonsterMob Ducati)
2. Michael Laverty (Honda)
3. Scott Smart (Honda)
4. Jeremy Goodall (Suzuki)
5. Chris Bishop (Honda)
6. Ben Wilson (Honda)

Championship Positions after six rounds
1. Easton 125
2. Smart 78
3. Pete Jennings (Kawasaki) 63
4. Goodall 58
5. Tom Tunstall (Suzuki) 51
6. Jim Moodie (Yamaha) 45