John Hopkins made a solid start on his return to the British Superbike paddock with Tyco Suzuki, putting the Northern Ireland-based team’s GSX-R1000 on the front row in third position then racing to fifth place in the opening encounter on Bank Holiday Monday.
Hopkins goes into round two at Oulton Park in fortnight’s time holding seventh place in the championship standings. His new team-mate Josh Waters had a tough weekend at Brands taking a solitary point from the opening race at the Kent venue.
In the Supersport class Taylor Mackenzie took eighth place from Monday’s second race after finishing 17th in Sunday’s sprint race.
John Hopkins:
“It’s no secret that the Brands Indy circuit wouldn’t be one of my favourites on the British calendar, but we can take a lot of positives from the weekend. Qualifying was tough in the wet conditions, but to put the Tyco Suzuki on the front row was pleasing. Fifth place was a solid enough result, but in race two I made a small uncharacteristic mistake and lost a few places that I couldn’t get back. Oulton Park was good to me last time I was here in British Superbike so it’s a circuit I’m looking forward to racing next time out.”
Josh Waters:
“I’m obviously disappointed with my results this weekend, but along with the boys in the team, we worked hard to find a suitable set-up and did make progress. I just need to dig deep now and move things forward at Oulton.”
Philip Neill – Team Manager:
“After a long winter it’s good to get the season underway, even though the Brands Hatch Indy Circuit is not the ideal place for us. The weekend didn’t quite return what we had hoped for in terms of results, but we have a strong team spirit and we will be back fighting at Oulton Park for round two.
“A front row qualifying position and a strong ride to fifth in race one for Hopper were the highlights from the weekend, and it was also pleasing to see Josh improving his lap-times as we continue to find the optimum set-up for him.
“Supersport is always a difficult race around the Indy Circuit and Taylor’s second race from 17th on the grid to eighth was pleasing. In reality his weekend was made much harder after a bad qualifying position in very difficult conditions on Sunday. It was also great to see all our sponsors again this weekend. Hopefully we can give them more to celebrate in the upcoming races.”
BSB Race 1: 1 Shane Byrne (Kawasaki), 2 Chris Walker (Kawasaki), 3 James Ellison (Kawasaki), 4 Ben Wilson (Kawasaki), 5 John Hopkins (Tyco Suzuki), 6 Stuart Easton (Kawasaki), 7 Tommy Bridewell (Yamaha), 8 Richard Cooper (Kawasaki), 9 Jakub Smrz (Ducati), 10 James Westmoreland (BMW). 15 Josh Waters (Tyco Suzuki).
BSB Race 2: 1 Byrne, 2 Josh Brookes (Yamaha), 3 Ellison, 4 Ryuichi Kiyonari (BMW), 5 Walker, 6 Easton, 7 Westmoreland, 8 Dan Linfoot (Kawasaki), 9 Bridewell, 10 Wilson. 12 John Hopkins (Tyco Suzuki). 16 Josh Waters (Tyco Suzuki).
More, from a press release issued by MotorSport Vision Racing:
SEELEY AND IRWIN CELEBRATE OPENING WINS AT BRANDS HATCH
Motorpoint British Supersport Championship heavyweights Mar-Train Yamaha and Gearlink Kawasaki kicked off their season with a victory apiece at Brands Hatch with Glenn Irwin scoring his debut in the class whilst Alastair Seeley returned to winning ways in the Feature race.
In the opening race of the weekend Irwin stole the limelight in sensational fashion after a closely-fought battle with Luke Jones and Jake Dixon. The lead pack had been dicing for the opening win of the season in the damp conditions but on the last lap Irwin had the edge over his rivals. In second place Jones was holding off Dixon, who crashed out on the exit of Druids ending his strong race, leaving Seeley to claim the final podium position.
Irwin said: “This weekend has gone really well at the first round with my new team Gearlink Kawasaki. To take my win was such an awesome feeling, everything just felt right and the Gearlink team got my bike working perfectly in the wet. I was nervous with my first pole position but I was also keen to have a good strong race, I pushed hard the entire race and Luke Jones was challenging me on several occasions for the win but I was so keen to be up at the front.”
In the Feature race Seeley and the Smiths Racing Triumph team-mates Graeme Gowland and Billy McConnell were all scrapping for the final podium finishes of the weekend with some exhilarating laps to decide the final outcome. Seeley held on to claim his first win for Mar-Train Yamaha whilst the Smiths Racing Triumphs battled throughout the final lap with Gowland making a move on the drag to the line to push McConnell to third.
Seeley said: “After positive tests we knew we would be coming to Brands Hatch with good pace, but the weather really threw us. It was the first time we’ve ridden the Mar-Train Yamaha in the wet and we didn’t want to take any chances and ruin our championship. In the dry I knew it would be a dogfight as it always is in this class. I sat back and watched for a while and there was a bit of a rub when I made the pass at Paddock Hill but there was nothing malicious. After that I just watched my boards and it was quite comfortable. The Mar-Train Yamaha worked superbly well and I’m delighted to be leaving Brands Hatch leading the championship for the whole team.”
For more information please visit www.britishsuperbike.com
More, from a press release issued by Halsall Racing Team:
Hartley becomes youngest ever BSB points scorer at Brands Hatch
HALSALL Biker Gear Kawasaki’s Harry Hartley became the youngest ever rider to score points in the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship after taking an impressive 13th place at Brands Hatch Indy on Easter Monday.
The Bolton-based team was only just denied having both riders finish in the points when Lee Costello suffered a tyre problem towards the end of the race which resulted in him falling from 12th to 18th spot in the closing laps.
And now the team returns home feeling buoyed up ahead of the rest of the season after making a solid start to the 2014 campaign.
Both riders were left on the back foot after the weather played havoc during qualifying on Easter Sunday, with heavy rain lashing the Kent track just in time for the session. Costello had initially looked very strong and on course to take a top 10 position but he joined most of the pack in crashing out as the track conditions worsened. He eventually qualified second last in 31st spot while Hartley lined-up 27th.
But on race day the weather had changed completely, and as the lights changed in bright, sunny conditions Costello made a lightning-quick start, shooting up to 24th place in the first lap alone. From there he continued to push his way up the order, eventually finishing in 16th. Hartley, meanwhile, had a slower start and dropped two places, but was soon on a charge, picking up a handful of spots to cross the line a respectable 23rd.
For Race Two, where grid spots are based on fastest laps in the previous race, Hartley lined-up in 17th spot with Costello two places behind in 19th. Both riders got good starts, Costello making up three places in the opening lap as Hartley held on to 17th. By the end of Lap Nine Costello was running in 13th spot while Hartley had crept up to 15th after barging past veteran Michael Rutter on the Bathams BMW.
Costello moved up to 12th on the 13th lap and Hartley kept his head down and pushed on, eventually making his way up to 13th seven laps later. The Halsall Racing Kawasakis were now running together in 12th and 13th spot, but Costello’s tyre started to go a couple of laps later. Despite his best efforts he was unable to hold his place, and dropped back to 18th. Hartley had been running in 12th but was just pipped across the line by Martin Jessopp’s BMW.
Harry Hartley: “This has been a brilliant weekend, I came here looking for two top 20 finishes so to come away with a 13th and my first ever BSB points is great, more than I could’ve hoped for. The first race went as I’d have expected but I’d have liked to have finished higher up, but I think the second more than made up for it. I got stuck with a lot of bunch-up at the start which slowed me down and I had a big moment there on the last lap coming out of Graham Hill and it let Jessopp close right in so he was able to get me at the end. But all in all it’s been brilliant. It’s our local round next and this puts us in a great position to go out there and really challenge for points.
Lee Costello: “It was just one of those things today, what can you do? The second race was going really well but then the tyre went off and that was it. Harry came past and then the others and I couldn’t do anything about it. It’s been a hard weekend after crashing in qualifying because that set us back a lot but it is what it is. There’s no point crying about it, we just have to put it behind us and look ahead to the next one at Oulton Park in a fortnight.”
Martin Halsall Team Owner: “It’s been a fantastic start to the season for the whole team. What a great second race that was for Harry. We knew he was a talented youngster and now everyone can see why we chose him. He rode a mature and solid race and here we are now, Harry Hartley, youngest ever BSB points scorer and there is clearly a lot more to come. Lee was just unlucky after a really good start to the weekend, and it just goes to show how important qualifying is. Had he started higher up he could’ve been a serious top 10 challenger there today. It’s been a brilliant weekend and puts us in a great position ahead of our home round at Oulton. We can’t wait to get back out there.”
*The next round of the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship will be held at Oulton Park, Cheshire over the weekend May 3-5, 2014.
More, from a press release issued by FFX Yamaha:
FFX YAMAHA READY TO BUILD ON BRANDS HATCH SEASON OPENER
The FFX Yamaha team made their debut at Brands Hatch for the opening round of the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship over the Easter Bank Holiday weekend with Ian Hutchinson and Andy Reid gaining experience at the first event.
Hutchinson used the weekend as his first circuit race experience since returning from injury and continued to gain momentum throughout the sessions despite being hampered by the wet conditions on Sunday for qualifying. The TT legend continued to build lap by lap and finished outside the points in 23rd. In race two Hutchinson was making further steps forward when he was forced to retire with a technical problem.
Reid made a sensational start to his Pirelli National Superstock 600 Championship debut, scoring a pole position under the existing lap record. The Northern Irishman however was hit by illness on raceday but despite this fought his way to a sixth place finish on his debut weekend.
Hutchinson said: “It was a tough weekend for me really and I had to keep reminding myself that this was my first race back in a couple of years so it was always going to be a learning weekend. The fact that we had qualifying in different conditions also made it more difficult as we ideally wanted another dry session before the races, but we still worked hard as team ready for Monday. The first race I was settling back into it and then in race two we had a technical problem that meant we didn’t finish, but we have the first round under our belt now and Oulton Park is a totally different track so it should be a different story.”
Reid said: “We had a good start to the weekend setting the pole position under the lap record and I felt really comfortable and ready for the race. But when I woke up Monday morning I really didn’t feel good and at one point I considered not racing. I didn’t want to miss out so I just got on with the job and for my first race on a 600 on the Indy circuit I felt happy to score some solid points as you can’t win the championship at the first round but you can sure lose it! We have some ideas on what we can work on now so I am happy with the progress we have made already.”