From a press release:
MONSTERMOB DUCATI BRITISH SUPERBIKE TEAM
Round 4 – 2002 MCN British Superbike Championship, Oulton Park
Sunday 5th/Monday 6th May 2002
Race Report
Double Win for Team MonsterMob
MonsterMob Ducati riders Steve Hislop and Stuart Easton claimed a win a piece in round four of the 2002 MCN British Superbike Championship at Oulton Park on Monday, a bank holiday.
Superbike Championship leader Steve Hislop extended his lead to 34 points after winning the opening Superbike race of the day after a race long dice with fellow Ducati rider Michael Rutter to claim his fifth successive Oulton Park victory.
But any hopes of repeating the feat were dashed when a multi-bike pile-up stopped the second race at half distance when the 40-year-old Scot was lying in a close second place to Rutter.
The resulting oil spillage meant the track was too slippery to continue racing so the decision was taken to declare a result as of 8 laps with half points awarded.
“There was no way we could race over that oil. It was so slippery and it was the right decision to make. It was disappointing as I reckon I could have won the restart. But race one was perfect and I’m glad I extended my lead in the Championship.”
For 17-year-old Stuart Easton, the Hawick rider scored his third successive win in the Supersport class with an easy start-to-finish victory aboard his 748cc Ducati.
Easton now leads the series by 13 points and was delighted with his success.
“Everything went to plan and I was surprised how easy it was. My lap times were good and its another 25 points.”
Team owner Paul Bird was happy with the results.
“Another Oulton Park double was great in front of our sponsors and we’ve achieved our objectives with extending both championship leads.” said the Penrith businessman.
Superbike Race One Result – 1. Steve Hislop (MonsterMob Ducati) 27:47.928, 2. Michael Rutter (Ducati) 27:50.189, 3. Sean Emmett (Ducati) 28:04.816, 4. Paul Brown (Ducati) 28:06.481, 5. John Reynolds (Suzuki) 28:08.041, 6. Steve Plater (Yamaha) 28:12.106.
Race Two Result – 1. Michael Rutter (Ducati) 12:25.313, 2. Steve Hislop (MonsterMob Ducati) 12:25.517, 3. Sean Emmett (Ducati) 12:26.977, 4. Paul Brown (Ducati) 12:27.796, 5. John Reynolds (Suzuki) 12:29.108, 6. Karl Harris (Suzuki) 12:37.073.
Supersport Result – 1. Stuart Easton (MonsterMob Ducati 748) 26:08.044, 2. Scott Smart (Honda) 26:12.869, 3. Pete Jennings (Kawasaki) 26:13.356, 4. Michael Laverty (Honda) 26:13.477, 5. Ben Wilson (Honda) 26:15.050, 6. Tom Tunstall (Suzuki) 26:28.340
British Superbike Championship Standings – 1. Steve Hislop (MonsterMob Ducati) 156pts, 2. Sean Emmett (Ducati) 122pts, 3. Michael Rutter (Ducati) 114.5pts, 4. Shane Byrne (Ducati) 88.5pts, 5. Steve Plater (Yamaha) 88pts, 6. John Reynolds (Suzuki) 85.5pts
More, from another press release:
Oulton Park 125 race scrapped
In an extraordinary twist in the day’s events, the 125 race at Oulton Park has been cancelled in the interests of rider safety.
The decision follows a four-bike accident in the second superbike leg after John Reynolds’ Suzuki GSX-R1000 blew its engine, spreading oil over a large proportion of one of the fastest sections of the circuit. Reynolds’ bad luck became his team’s misfortune when team-mate Karl Harris also crashed out on the oil, suffering multiple injuries in the process. According to his team’s spokeman, Harris will be out of contention for 8-10 weeks.
After nearly an hour of extra practice, track cleaning and protracted riders’ meetings, the decision to abandon the Superbike re-start and the following 125cc race was made by the race director at around 5:35 p.m.
The news came as a crushing blow to the entire 125 paddock who, after three days of hard work, simply had to pack up and head for home.
‘I’m blown away,’ said 17 year-old Rookie rider Guy Farbrother. ‘I was fastest for most of this morning’s warm-up and ended up third quickest. I knew a podium result was a reality here and I needed that for myself and the guys in the team who’ve all worked so hard. I don’t know what to say.’
Fellow Red Bull Rookie rider, 15 year-old Midge Smart, looked equally devastated at the news to can the 125s at Oulton Park. ‘I’ve been sat here in my leathers for over an hour and we’ve been looking at the clock wondering what’s going on for all that time. Gutted is not the word,’ said Smart.
Smart impressed in Monday morning’s warm-up, too. The newcomer to Oulton Park posted the tenth quickest time, shaving nearly a second off his qualifying time – a performance that promised great things for the race.
Rookies team-manager Robin Appleyard summed up the events: ‘It’s not just us who are massively disappointed today – the entire 125 grid is gutted. But, at the end of the day, it’s rider safety that matters and I totally respect the Superbike lads’ decision that the oil from Avenue to Cascades would make racing too dangerous. I feel for Midge and Guy because they were up for it today. Guy and the team were looking forward to our first podium of the year and little Midge was definitely up for another points-scoring top ten. I hear we’re running two rounds at Silverstone in a fortnight to make up for it so I guess we’ll just have to knuckle down for that and put all this behind us.’
Hislop And Rutter Won In British Superbike On Monday
Hislop And Rutter Won In British Superbike On Monday
© 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.
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