Seconds Best for Shakey 2007 Bennetts British Superbike Championship Round 6 Mondello Park, Co Kildare Sunday 17th June 2007 Stobart Vent Axia Motorsport rider Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne overcame a high speed crash during qualifying to record his best two results of the season with a pair of second places at round six of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship held at Mondello Park today. Riding the VK and Vent Axia backed machine Byrne led both races and was looking good for a victory as the races were held in dry conditions after two days of heavy rain but the Dunlop-shod rider repelled the main championship protagonists as he battled it out at the front. The opening race saw Byrne cross the line just 0.158 seconds behind race winner Leon Haslam and in race two he had to give second best to fellow Honda rider Jonathan Rea, but the 40 points has got his outside hopes of the championship back on course. Meanwhile it wasn’t such a good weekend for team mate Tom Sykes as the young Yorkshireman struggled during the wet qualifying session but still managed to post a second row start. Race one proved disastrous for the 21 year old when a technical problem ruled him out in the early stages but he battled back in the second outing to end up in seventh and to add to his impressive points scoring for this season already. As a result Byrne now moves into sixth place in the Championship with Sykes in seventh going into the next round at Knockhill, Fife in two weeks time. Shane Byrne: “It’s been our best weekend so far with two second places and I really thought we had a good strong setting for race two. I think Leon made a move on Jonathan Rea and I managed to cheekily nip past both of them and I was smiling to myself. I was going much faster than in the first race but then Rea passed me and to be fair I didn’t really have an answer for him. We should be happy, but we deserve a win soon.” Tom Sykes: “I got a good start in the second race but I got boxed in at the first turn and just got messed up. I was well back at the end of the first lap and I just started picking some places up again when the safety car came out. I had another moment when I had to stand the bike up when I had nowhere to go and lost some more places but I managed to bring it home in seventh. It was just a shame I had a problem in the first race as that meant we didn’t do enough laps to collect any data to improve the bike for the second race. I just want to move on now and continue improving and scoring more points.” Phil Borley (Crew Chief): “I think overall we’ve had a good day, with two second places from Shakey and after yesterday we would have probably been happy with that but I think Shakey is a little bit disappointed not to get a win. We were unfortunate to have a technical problem with Tom’s bike in the first race but he rode well in the second one, although he maybe could have gone better if he’d got the first race under his belt.” Race 1 Result: 1, Leon Haslam (Ducati) 30m02.146s, 2, Shane Byrne (Stobart Vent Axia Motorsport Honda) +0.158s, 3, Gregorio Lavilla (Ducati) +3.491s, 4, Jonathan Rea (Honda) +9.793s, 5, Ryuichi Kiyonari (Honda) +14.786s, 6, Karl Harris (Honda) +18.354s, 7, Leon Camier (Honda) +18.443s, 8, Cal Crutchlow (Suzuki) +18.685s, 9, Chris Walker (Suzuki) +25.572s, 10, Tommy Hill (Yamaha) +44.003s. Race 2 Result: 1, Jonathan Rea (Honda) 30m14.164s, 2, Shane Bynre (Stobart Vent Axia Motorsport Honda) +2.344s, 3, Gregorio Lavilla (Ducati) +2.460s, 4, Leon Haslam (Ducati) +3.231s, 5, Ryuichi Kiyonari (Honda) +8.121s, 6, Leon Camier (Honda) +13.898s, 7, Tom Sykes (Stobart Vent Axia Motorsport Honda) +14.354s, 8, Karl Harris (Honda) +21.447s, 9, Tommy Hill (Yamaha) +23.490s, 10, Scott Smart (Kawasaki) +38.995s. Bennetts British Superbike Championship Positions after Round 6 1, Ryuichi Kiyonari (Honda) 212pts 2, Gregorio Lavilla (Ducati) 211pts 3, Jonathan Rea (Honda) 187pts 4, Leon Haslam (Ducati) 169pts 5, Leon Camier (Honda) 136pts 6, Shane Byrne (Stobart Vent Axia Motorsport Honda) 127pts 7, Tom Sykes (Stobart Vent Axia Motorsport Honda) 115pts 8, Chris Walker (Suzuki) 83pts =, Tommy Hill (Yamaha) 83pts 10, Karl Harris (Honda) 65pts More, from a press release issued by Rizla Suzuki: Rizla Suzuki racer Cal Crutchlow crashed out on the final lap of the second race while competing for a career best sixth place in today’s sixth round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship in the Republic of Ireland. In the opening race Cal dropped from fifth on the grid to 11th on lap two, before coming through to finish eighth. In the second event he got away in fourth and spent the whole race battling for the top six in his strongest showing in the Superbike class to date. On the last lap he crashed out unhurt while in seventh and challenging for sixth. Chris Walker rode his first ever dry laps of the Mondello Park circuit in morning warm-up after two days of pouring rain. Both races were in the dry so it was a steep learning curve for the popular Nottingham rider and in race one despite a strong start he faded towards the end to finish ninth. In the second race ‘Stalker’ was 11th and had just recorded his fastest lap when he ran off track and suffered a slow-speed fall, getting up and walking away uninjured but bitterly disappointed. Ducati’s Leon Haslam won the opening race and Honda’s Jonathan Rea the second. Rizla Suzuki returns to race action at Knockhill, near Edinburgh in Scotland, at the seventh round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship on Sunday, July 1st. Cal Crutchlow: “It’s been a hard day for me and the Rizla Suzuki team. In the first race I was consistent and fast but a poor start cost me the chance to run further up the field. “In the second race I was trying and pushing very hard to try and hold on to sixth. On the last lap I went into a long left-hander faster than ever before and lost the front end. I am disappointed – doubly so after crashing at the end of an otherwise good race. I will learn from this and come back stronger than ever at Knockhill.” Chris Walker: “I got a good start in the first race but lost time as the laps went by because of a lack of track knowledge – today was my first time riding Mondello Park in the dry on a Superbike. “In the second race I was mugged when the early safety car returned to pit lane and lost a couple of places. I was recovering and riding faster than ever when I ran off the track. I stayed upright through the gravel and grass but had to lay the bike down before hitting the tyre wall to minimise damage. We deserved better results today.” Simon Buckmaster – Team Manager: “It’s been a spectacularly tough day for Rizla Suzuki and both its riders. Cal put in the most impressive race performance of his Superbike career in race two only to crash out on the final lap. He’s rightly disappointed but remains unbowed and more determined than ever to do well at the next round. His day will come. “Stalker showed real flashes of brilliance in both races but ultimately a lack of track knowledge caught him out. “We all want to see Rizla Suzuki fighting at the front in BSB and that’s something the whole team will be working on before Knockhill.” Race One Result: 1: Leon Haslam (Ducati) 30:02.146, 2: Shane Byrne (Honda) +0.158, 3: Gregorio Lavilla (Ducati) +3.491, 4: Jonathan Rea (Honda) +9.793, 5: Ryuichi Kiyonari (Honda) +14.786, 6: Karl Harris (Honda) +18.354, 7: Leon Camier (Honda) +18.443, 8: Cal Crutchlow (Rizla Suzuki) +18.685, 9: Chris Walker (Rizla Suzuki) +25.572, 10: Tommy Hill (Yamaha) +44.003. Race Two Result: 1: Rea 30:14.164, 2: Byrne +2.344, 3: Lavilla +2.460, 4: Haslam +3.321, 5: Kiyonari +8.121, 6: Camier +13.898, 7: Tom Sykes (Honda) +14.354, 8: Harris +21.447, 9: Hill +23.490, 10: Scott Smart (Kawasaki) +38.995. Chris Walker (Rizla Suzuki) DNF. Cal Crutchlow (Rizla Suzuki) DNF. Championship Positions (after five of 13 rounds): 1: Kiyonari 212, 2: Lavilla 211, 3: Rea 187, 4: Haslam 169, 5: Camier 136, 6: Byrne 127, 7: Sykes 115, 8=: Chris Walker (Rizla Suzuki), Hill 83, 10: Harris 65, 11: Cal Crutchlow (Rizla Suzuki) 51.