British Superbike Championship Snetterton Circuit July 3 Race One Results (all on Pirelli tires): 1. John HOPKINS (Suzuki), 17 laps, 31:59.427 2. Tommy HILL (Yamaha), -0.274 second 3. Shane BYRNE (Honda), -2.966 seconds 4. Michael LAVERTY (Yamaha), -3.638 5. Ryuichi KIYONARI (Honda), -4.199 6. Jon KIRKHAM (Suzuki), -5.505 7. Josh BROOKES (Suzuki), -10.427 8. Chris WALKER (Kawasaki), -11.572 9. Loris BAZ (Yamaha), -11.792 10. Peter HICKMAN (Honda), -13.909 11. Gary MASON (Kawasaki), -14.773 12. Martin JESSOPP (Ducati), -16.765 13. Michael RUTTER (Ducati), -17.969 14. James WESTMORELAND (Yamaha), -18.914 15. Graeme GOWLAND (Honda), -19.999, EVO 16. Alex LOWES (Kawasaki), -21.268 17. Simon ANDREWS (Kawasaki), -25.422, EVO 18. Dan LINFOOT (Honda), -26.043 19. Ian LOWRY (BMW), -27.543 20. Glen RICHARDS (Honda), -29.012, EVO 21. Jake ZEMKE (Honda), -29.127, EVO 22. John LAVERTY (BMW), -31.660 23. Patric MUFF (Honda), -44.227, EVO 24. Aaron ZANOTTI (BMW), -49.506, EVO 25. Joshua DAY (Kawasaki), -50.116, EVO 26. Mark MILLER (Aprilia), -59.614 27. Barry BURRELL (BMW), -2 laps, EVO 28. James HILLIER (Kawasaki), -3 laps, DNF, EVO 29. Steve BROGAN (Honda), -4 laps, DNF 30. Scott SMART (Ducati), -6 laps, DNF, EVO 31. Dan KNEEN (Kawasaki), -12 laps, DNF, EVO 32. Hudson KENNAUGH (Aprilia), -13 laps, DNF, EVO 33. Tom TUNSTALL (BMW), -13 laps, DNF, EVO Race Two Results (all on Pirelli tires): 1. Ryuichi KIYONARI (Honda), 9 laps, 16:24.190 2. Josh BROOKES (Suzuki), -0.810 second 3. John HOPKINS (Suzuki), -1.518 seconds 4. Shane BYRNE (Honda), -3.550 5. Michael LAVERTY (Yamaha), -4.819 6. Martin JESSOPP (Ducati), -9.648 7. Loris BAZ (Yamaha), -9.815 8. Chris WALKER (Kawasaki), -16.360 9. Ian LOWRY (BMW), -18.208 10. Jake ZEMKE (Honda), -20.145, EVO 11. Gary MASON (Kawasaki), -20.707 12. Dan LINFOOT (Honda), -23.671 13. Glen RICHARDS (Honda), -23.904, EVO 14. Barry BURRELL (BMW), -26.450, EVO 15. Patric MUFF (Honda), -30.080, EVO 16. Aaron ZANOTTI (BMW), -39.423, EVO 17. James HILLIER (Kawasaki), -39.755, EVO 18. Craig FITZPATRICK (Honda), -39.917, EVO 19. Joshua DAY (Kawasaki), -47.907, EVO 20. Mark MILLER (Aprilia), -65.816 21. Dan KNEEN (Kawasaki), -65.831, EVO 22. Jon KIRKHAM (Suzuki), -3 laps, DNF Overall Championship Point Standings (after 12 races): 1. Byrne, 201 points 2. Hopkins, 182 3. Hill, 140 4. Kiyonari, 120 5. Michael Laverty, 119 6. Brookes, 91 7. Stuart Easton, 89 8. Hickman, 85 9. Kirkham, 84 10. TIE, Mason/Baz, 79 More, from a press release issued by Honda: MCE INSURANCE BRITISH SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 06 SUNDAY 03 JULY SNETTERTON Weather: Bright and sunny Temperature: Ambient 22 degrees C / Track 37 degrees C Weekend attendance: 43,000 KIYONARI TAKES SECOND VICTORY AS BYRNE RACKS UP THE POINTS Ryuichi Kiyonari was back to race winning form in the second race of a dramatic sixth round of the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship on the all-new Snetterton 300 circuit while his HM Plant Honda team-mate Shane Byrne racked up solid points in third and fourth place finishes. American rider John Hopkins was the overall winner on the day with a win in race one and third spot in the second outing. Kiyonari built on his performance in the second race of the previous round with a hard working performance at the radically reconfigured and extended Norfolk circuit. Both he and Byrne overcame problems with chassis set-up with Byrne also being slowed in the third grid deciding session by a rear wheel and tyre issue. As a result both of them started the first race from the second row of the grid as Suzuki’s Hopkins secured pole start though Byrne was quickly on the charge to be running third adrift of Hopkins and Yamaha’s Tommy Hill in the opening race. The intervention of the safety car to deal with a two rider tumble bunched the pack and on the re-start Hill led from Hopkins until the final lap. Byrne was strong in third place while Kiyonari who had been back in eighth place on the opening lap was making steady progress through the pack to take fifth place, but on the eve of his departure back to Japan for practice ahead of the Suzuka Eight Hours race he wanted better things. By setting the fastest lap in the first race Kiyonari had pole start next time out, but Hopkins out-gunned him to lead with Byrne back in fifth place adrift of Josh Brookes and Michael Laverty. Byrne was riding strongly and had moved fourth when the action was red-flagged by a horror crash that saw the bikes of Steve Brogan and Simon Andrews flying high as they hit the barrier. Andrews sustained a broken right leg, Brogan a shoulder injury. The re-start, over nine laps, again saw Hopkins make the break, but Byrne had soon grabbed second from Brookes and was closing the leader down. Kiyonari was fourth and attacking Brookes in a fast moving thriller. On the penultimate lap Byrne nosed into the lead and Kiyonari took over in third place. Hopkins battled back and tried to take Byrne on the final lap. The two bikes touched. Byrne ran wide, but held on. Kiyonari charged through to take his second victory of the campaign. Brookes and Hopkins took the other podium finishes with Byrne fourth, his lead in the title stakes reduced to 19 points. Kiyonari meanwhile moved into fourth place in the rankings, consolidating his position among the six “title-fighters” who go forward to the end of season “showdown” title deciding sequence. In the BSB-EVO Class WFR Honda riders Graeme Gowland and Jake Zemke shared the victories with their team-mate Glen Richards, third and second, maintaining his lead in the standings. Honda rider after race quotes: Ryuichi Kiyonari (HM Plant Honda): “I am of course happy for the win in the second race and I was lucky as I could have been third rather than first. I found it very difficult to pass Josh Brookes and then I tried to catch the leading group and I think with more laps maybe I could have. I am sorry for Shakey and John (Hopkins), but we needed the win here for our championship especially after some bad results. In race one we were fast and I was much happier though we made a few changes for the second race. Our hard work has finally paid off and my confidence is high so now I look forward to Oulton Park.” Shane Byrne (HM Plant Honda): “I felt comfortable enough in the opening race even though I had a few worries about tyre wear and lost a bit of grip, but third place and another podium credit is not too bad a result though I am a bit disappointed as the team had worked so hard. We expected to be fast from the start and we improved in qualifying though it was not until the races that we had the real pace. I have real trust in the team to work on my bike and they had it working fantastically for the second race. I felt in a real position to win so I was very disappointed to be taken out. John (Hopkins) as since apologised, but I think everyone could see that I wanted to win the race.” RESULTS BRITISH SUPERBIKE RACE1: POS / RIDER / NAT / MOTORCYCLE / TIME / GAP 1 / JOHN HOPKINS / USA / SUZUKI – SAMSUNG CRESCENT RACING / 31:59.427 / 2 / TOMMY HILL / GBR / YAMAHA – SWAN YAMAHA / 31:59.701 / 0.274 3 / SHANE BYRNE / GBR / HONDA – HM PLANT HONDA / 32:02.393 / 2.966 4 / MICHAEL LAVERTY / GBR / YAMAHA – SWAN YAMAHA / 32:03.065 / 3.638 5 / RYUICHI KIYONARI / JPN / HONDA – HM PLANT HONDA / 32:03.626 / 4.199 6 / JON KIRKHAM / GBR / SUZUKI – SAMSUNG CRESCENT RACING / 32:04.932 / 5.505 7 / JOSH BROOKES / AUS / SUZUKI – RELENTLESS SUZUKI BY TAS / 32:09.854 / 10.427 8 / CHRIS WALKER / GBR / KAWASAKI – PR1MO RACING / 32:10.999 / 11.572 9 / LORIS BAZ / FRA / YAMAHA – MOTORPOINT YAMAHA / 32:11.219 / 11.792 10 / PETER HICKMAN / GBR / HONDA – TYCO HONDA / 32:13.336 / 13.909 11 / GARY MASON / GBR / KAWASAKI – MSS COLCHESTER KAWASAKI / 32:14.200 / 14.773 12 / MARTIN JESSOPP / GBR / DUCATI – RAPID SOLICITORS BATHAMS DUCATI / 32:16.192 / 16.765 13 / MICHAEL RUTTER / GBR / DUCATI – RAPID SOLICITORS BATHAMS DUCATI / 32:17.396 / 17.969 14 / JAMES WESTMORELAND / GBR / YAMAHA – MOTORPOINT YAMAHA / 32:18.341 / 18.914 15 / GRAEME GOWLAND / GBR / HONDA – TEAM WFR / 32:19.426 / 19.999 Fastest lap: Ryuichi KIYONARI JPN Honda – HM Plant Honda Lap 4 1:48.496 158.53 Km/h RACE2: POS / RIDER / NAT / MOTORCYCLE / TIME / GAP 1 / RYUICHI KIYONARI / JPN / HONDA – HM PLANT HONDA / 16:24.190 / 2 / JOSH BROOKES / AUS / SUZUKI – RELENTLESS SUZUKI BY TAS / 16:25.000 / 0.810 3 / JOHN HOPKINS / USA / SUZUKI – SAMSUNG CRESCENT RACING / 16:25.708 / 1.518 4 / SHANE BYRNE / GBR / HONDA – HM PLANT HONDA / 16:27.740 / 3.550 5 / MICHAEL LAVERTY / GBR / YAMAHA – SWAN YAMAHA / 16:29.009 / 4.819 6 / MARTIN JESSOPP / GBR / DUCATI – RAPID SOLICITORS BATHAMS DUCATI / 16:33.838 / 9.648 7 / LORIS BAZ / FRA / YAMAHA – MOTORPOINT YAMAHA / 16:34.005 / 9.815 8 / CHRIS WALKER / GBR / KAWASAKI – PR1MO RACING / 16:40.550 / 16.360 9 / IAN LOWRY / GBR / BMW – BUILDBASE BMW MOTORRAD / 16:42.398 / 18.208 10 / JAKE ZEMKE / USA / HONDA – TEAM WFR / 16:44.335 / 20.145 11 / GARY MASON / GBR / KAWASAKI – MSS COLCHESTER KAWASAKI / 16:44.897 / 20.707 12 / DAN LINFOOT / GBR / HONDA – TEAM SORRYMATE.COM / 16:47.861 / 23.671 13 / GLEN RICHARDS / AUS / HONDA – TEAM WFR / 16:48.094 / 23.904 14 / BARRY BURRELL / GBR / BMW – BUILDBASE BMW MOTORRAD / 16:50.640 / 26.450 15 / PATRIC MUFF / SUI / HONDA – TYCO HONDA / 16:54.270 / 30.080. Fastest lap: Shane BYRNE GBR Honda – HM Plant Honda Lap 4 1:48.023 159.23 Km/h CHAMPIONSHIP POSITIONS TO DATE: 1 BYRNE 201, 2 HOPKINS 182, 3 HILL 140, 4 KIYONARI 120, 5 LAVERTY 119, 6 BROOKES 91, 7 EASTON 89, 8 HICKMAN 85, 9 KIRKHAM 84, 10 MASON 79, 11 BAZ 79, 12 RUTTER 72, 13 WALKER 62, 14 LINFOOT 49, 15 JESSOPP 41. NEXT EVENT: ROUND 07 JULY 17 OULTON PARK More, from a press release issued by Swan Yamaha: SWAN YAMAHA RETURN TO THE PODIUM AT SNETTERTON The Swan Yamaha team returned to the podium again at the sixth round of the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship at Snetterton as Tommy Hill took an impressive second place in the opening race. In race one Hill had been battling for the victory; leading the race in the second half before John Hopkins took the lead on the final lap at Riches. Hill was putting the pressure on his American rival but despite his best attempts he had to settle for second. Michael Laverty put in a strong performance to move from his twelfth place grid position through to fourth and score vital points for his title challenge. In race two Hill got off to a flying start but on the opening lap he crashed out at Montreal as he clipped the rear tyre of Ryuichi Kiyonari who was forced to slow in front of him when the lead changed. He was able to return to the garage, but wasn’t back out on track in time before the red flag meaning he was forced to miss the restart. Laverty meanwhile took another solid finish in fifth with the pair now lying third and fifth respectively. Hill said: “In the first race it felt good to lead the race but Hopper just had the legs on me down the straight and I couldn’t quite get in his slipstream. I felt confident though for the win and he just pipped me on the last lap. I gave it everything I could and there was just nothing I could do to get back into the lead without it all ending in tears! In race two I knew we had the pace to challenge for the win and I got off the line well and maintained third position. We just went into Montreal and Kiyo stopped directly in front of me and there was nothing else I could do other than brake hard but I had nowhere to go. I got back on and there was some damage to the Swan Yamaha and unfortunately I couldn’t make the restart as I hadn’t made it back out before the red flag. I am gutted as I thought we could have won that second race and I desperately wanted to be out there rather than watching from the garage. We missed out in race two but next up we move on to Oulton Park where we set the pace before so I am looking forward to getting stuck in there.” Laverty said: “It has been a bit of a frustrating weekend for me as I didn’t have the speed to challenge for the podium for the first time this season. I was reasonably happy with race one as I started twelfth so to recover to fourth and be running times faster than the leaders on the final laps was encouraging. We tried to fix the problems we were having with chatter for race two but there was still places where I was losing out. One of the places I had previously been able to make up ground was at Riches, but after the red flag incident it wasn’t as easy on the restart. I had a few moments so I settled for fifth to avoid crashing as it was then two solid results for the championship. I am now looking forward to Oulton Park and trying to get back on the podium again.” Team Manager Gary Ekerold concluded: “The first race was fantastic for the Swan Yamaha team. Tommy was back on the podium and it was a great result for his championship. It was a case of either rider could have won on that last lap of race one and it was a brilliant show for the fans. Michael also had a great performance to come through from twelfth on the grid to take fourth place in race one. In race two unfortunately for Tommy he had that crash and sometimes these things happen; it is of course disappointing but he will regroup and next we go to Oulton Park where he had dominated until his warm up crash. Michael had another strong finish in fifth to score vital points and we are happy to leave here with both riders still inside the top six in the standings which is obviously out priority.” More, from a press release issued by Splitlath Motorsport: MILLER BRINGS MAGIC OF THE ROADS TO SNETTERTON SPLITLATH Motorsport’s Mark Miller reignited an epic battle of the streets as he beat his old Macau rival Dan Kneen across the line by 0.015secs in this afternoon’s second MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship race at the Snetterton 300 circuit. Meanwhile, the team’s Mirror.co.uk BSB-Evo rider Hudson Kennaugh was lucky to walk away unharmed after a huge highside in race one, which left his Aprilia RSV4 machine too damaged to be repaired in time for the second race at the Norfolk track. South African Kennaugh this weekend returned to the Splitlath fold after missing the previous round at Knockhill, and switched from the main championship to the Evo battle. After borrowing a standard stock engine from Mark Clark at Linxcel, the team began building his machine early on Saturday morning, giving him just one practice session to get the bike set up before the afternoon’s qualifying session, while Mark Miller got to grips with his first ride on the team’s Superbike. As today’s first race approached, Kennaugh lined up in 30th place and 11th in Evo, with Miller close behind in 33rd. At the green light, Kennaugh got a quick getaway, searing his way past a handful of riders to cross the line seventh in Evo by the end of the first lap. He continued to reel in the riders ahead of him until disaster struck on Lap Five when he highsided. Unfortunately, Tom Tunstall who was a handful of spots behind him on the Doodson Motorsport BMW then crashed into Hudson’s bike. “This was my first crash for some 18 months and I’m devastated, not just for me but for Tom who had nowhere to go but into my bike as it was on the floor,” said Kennaugh. “We were running okay in Evo, I was never going to be on a par with those WFR ‘aliens’ but I think a podium may have been possible. It felt like a big one as it happened and I’m lucky to just have a sore neck, but when Tom hit the bike he smashed the sump so there was no way we could get it rebuilt for Race Two. I hope he is going to be okay, and I send him all of my best.” Miller, who crossed the line in 26th spot in Race One, was the only team rider out for the second, and soon found himself in a battle with Dan Kneen on the Marks Bloom Racing Kawasaki. When the race was stopped seven laps in after a huge accident involving Simon Andrews and Steve Brogan, Miller was keen to get the restart underway so he could resume the battle. The pair fought for the whole of the nine lap restarted race, swapping positions lap after lap. As they began the final lap, it was Miller who led the way, but Kneen took the spot back a few corners later. But the Californian wasn’t done yet, and put his head down and made a last gasp charge across the finish line, beating his old road racing rival to the flag to take 20th spot by a mere 0.015secs. “That was an awesome fight with Dan, and it is almost a carbon copy of what happened in Macau last year,” explained Miller. “We had an epic battle there for the whole race, and I beat him on the last lap. “So we come here today, just a few months on and it’s exactly the same. We fought all the way through the race and diced all the way to the line and I beat him by half a wheel. It was incredible.” Team boss John Dimbylow praised both of his riders’ efforts. “It’s been a fantastic weekend’s racing. Mark has improved lap by lap and has entertained us all weekend both in and out of the garage. It was great to see Mark and Dan, the two road racers, having their own race out there, and it shows the difference between their sport and short circuit racing. “Obviously I’m very upset for Hudson who looked to be heading towards a podium in his first Evo race this year on a stock engine borrowed from a friend. He had a big crash and unfortunately Tom Tunstall got caught up in the carnage and hit our bike. We wish him all of the best.” More, from a press release issued by Samsung Crescent Suzuki: HOPKINS WINS AT SNETTERTON BSB Samsung Crescent Racing’s John Hopkins took a win and a podium from the inaugural BSB meeting at the Snetterton 300 circuit today. With the highest points tally of any rider on the day, Hopkins strengthened his position in the 2011 British Superbikes Championship and after six of 12 rounds is second to Shane Byrne by a gap of 19 points, but significantly is just one point behind on podium credits. His team-mate Jon Kirkham struggled with grip issues in both races. He battled these to record a hard-earned sixth place in race one (just 5.5-seconds behind winner Hopkins), but crashed out of the restarted race two while trying to recover from a slow start. Kirham has dropped to ninth place in the championship but with the lower leaderboard positions being so tight he in fact only lies seven points outside the important top-six ‘Title Fighters’ (that go on to battle for the championship over the final three rounds). John Hopkins: “I’m happy, my Samsung Crescent bike was brilliant today, I can’t thank my crew enough for creating a bike that I feel so confident with. We got the biggest points haul today and that’s really helped my championship position — to be just one point behind Byrne on podium credits will do fine at this stage of the championship. “I must also say, again, that I really enjoyed this circuit. It’s been so much fun. All of us riders said before today that it would create close and exciting racing and it did. It also led to some bar banging, quite literally, and ultimately that cost both Byrne and myself the chance to win the second race. I’m sorry for the both of us on that, we both probably wanted that win maybe too much, and in the heat of the moment you want to do everything you can to make that win happen.” Jon Kirkham: “I’m feeling pretty secondhand after crashing at the Bombhole in that second race. It’s been a really tough day’s racing as I haven’t had the rear tyre grip I need to do the job. Emotionally right now I don’t feel so upbeat, but I guess if I can finish this close to the lead on a bike that’s not yet ‘mine’ then what can come when we get the set-up sorted?!” Jack Valentine, team manager: “We had a cracking first race. Hopper proved his set-up was right by doing great lap times throughout the race and being able to manage his tyres so that he had what he needed to steal the win at the flag. In the second race it looked like he stood a chance of running away with the win, only for the race to be stopped because of a crash. With the race re-run as a nine-lap dash it became something of a banzai affair for everyone — hard passes were being made on every corner. We lost the win in all of that, but the podium finish is some consolation. “JK’s had a very testing weekend. He hasn’t yet found a set-up that will work for him as Hopper’s found on his bike. We’re doing everything we can to make that happen. That JK can in the meantime make a top six result like he did in race one is testament to his considerable skill. The re-run of the second race cost him more than it did for Hopper. He made his worst start of the weekend and crashed while trying to recover so many places over so few laps. I can understand his frustration, but as soon as we can solve his grip issues then I know he’s going to be podium material again. “We’re looking forward now to Oulton Park in a fortnight’s time, for our second visit (the venue of Hopper’s first win). We’ll be looking for more podiums, hopefully more wins again!”