Round four MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship Cadwell Park, Lincolnshire Hot, sunny conditions, light breeze, NNE 2mph Air temperature 24.7degrees C Track temperature 38.9degrees C Home victories for Kiyonari and Brookes Ryuichi Kiyonari beat his Cadwell Park jinx by taking the victory in the opening race of the fourth round of the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship the Lincolnshire circuit had been the only one on the calendar that the former two times winner of the crown had previously not conquered and he did it in style in a thriller. The Japanese rider, starting from the second row of the grid made a brilliant get-away to be heading the pack, with series leading Tommy Hill in hot pursuit for Suzuki as Michael Rutter ran third for Ducati ahead of Swan Honda’s Stuart Easton. The Flying Scot was the lone rider for the Swan team as his team-mate James Ellison who had hoped to make a remarkable come-back, six weeks on from breaking his right femur, failed a fitness test at the circuit and was not allowed to compete. Adding to the team’s woes, Easton crashed heavily on the second lap, escaping injury but severely damaging his bike, then on the fourth lap, Hill, trying everything he knew to catch Kiyonari tipped off at Hall Bends. Michael Laverty began to pose problems for Kiyonari, briefly snatching the lead with two laps to go, but the Honda rider used the power of his CBR1000RR to quickly regain the advantage and take his first victory of the season. Rutter ran third to Laverty with Tommy Bridewell fourth on the Quay Garage Honda from Brookes who had overcome a dreadful start, having missed a gear, to charge through the pack into fifth place. Kiyonari’s first race joy turned to despair ahead of the second race when he ran off the track at Charlies, then stopped at the Gooseneck, on the warm-up lap with a technical problem which his team are investigating. Brookes, keen to avenge his earlier error, was up for the challenge, and he quickly reeled in Laverty to take the lead at Hall Bends on the second lap with an audacious move at Hall Bends. The Aussie, once ahead, was able to dictate terms at the front of the pack, en route to his second victory of the season. Behind him, Hill moved through from fourth to be running second ahead of Laverty and Rutter in a race that was stopped three laps early when Dan Linfoot fell heavily ascending the Mountain section. Easton was struggling back in tenth place, salvaging a handful of points in a damage limitation exercise and giving his team some rewards for their hard work to rebuild his bike in between race. Brookes however was the man of the moment, moving second in the title standings 146-110 to Hill. Honda BSB rider quotes After the first race Ryuichi Kiyonari (HM Plant Honda): “For me, very special, the team’s home track, my home track, I live nearby. I try many times for this in earlier years, the team have private tests, help me a lot, but no wins, till this one. The race was very hard, very hot and this is the perfect week for me my baby Koma was born six days ago, now I win the race for him and my wife Madoka. I kept my pace, but then made little mistake after the Mountain, run wide, touch grass, rear end goes wide, nearly high-side, but hold on though Laverty comes past me. Then I pass him and take victory, my first here after many times trying very, very happy.” Havier Beltran (team manager HM Plant Honda): “This was the perfect result Kiyo knows how important it is to win here for himself and for the team. He has worked really hard for this win, coming to the circuit in the evenings to run it or to cycle it to learn every bit of it. This is real reward for him for all of his efforts and he looked so incredibly confident. As for Josh, he wasn’t in gear at the start, and he’s very angry with himself.” Stuart Easton (Swan Honda): “I’m just pleased I walked away from it the bike followed me in and went over me. It just snatched out and spat me off. It puts me on row five of the grid for the second race so we will just have to see what we can salvage from that one.” After the second race Josh Brookes (HM Plant Honda) “I made a good start and made passes while the tyres were still fresh I was good and smooth which you have to be around here. If I am not on the top spot of the podium, then I get a bit annoyed but that is the racer in me. It was only me that made a mistake in the first race but the win goes some way to making up for that.” Havier Beltran (team manager HM Plant Honda: “The second race was not exactly what he had in mind it was unfortunate for Kiyo and we are looking into what the problem was and will sort it out. We knew that Josh had the pace and could do what he did and his win was a great result for us. This weekend we have turned things around Cadwell Park is our local circuit but it has never been a really successful or strong circuit for us but now we have a good feeling with wins for Kiyo and Josh.” Stuart Easton (Swan Honda) “What can I say we got six points out of the races that could be really valuable by the time we come back here for the ninth round in August. I had a big crash in the first race, the bike went into the barrier hard. There was quite a bit of damage to the front end in terms of the electrics on the dash and the sub-frame but the team worked hard to rebuild the bike including a last minute change of engine. We got onto the grid but didn’t know at the time that a sensor that control engine braking and traction control was broken and everything was off.” Results Race1 POS / NAME / NAT / BIKE / TIME / GAP 1 / Ryuichi KIYONARI / JPN / Honda – HM Plant Honda / 27:35.356 / 2 / Michael LAVERTY / GBR / Suzuki – Relentless Suzuki by TAS / 27:35.853 / 0,497 3 / Michael RUTTER / GBR / Ducati – RidersMotorcycles.Com / 27:37.233 / 1,877 4 / Tommy BRIDEWELL / GBR / Honda – Quay Garage Honda / 27:37.884 / 2,528 5 / Josh BROOKES / AUS / Honda – HM Plant Honda / 27:40.524 / 5,168 6 / John LAVERTY / GBR / Kawasaki – Buildbase Kawasaki / 27:43.110 / 7,754 7 / Chris WALKER / GBR / Kawasaki – MSS Colchester Kawasaki / 27:45.428 / 10,072 8 / Martin JESSOPP / GBR / Ducati – RidersMotorcycles.Com / 27:46.398 / 11,042 9 / Alastair SEELEY / GBR / Suzuki – Relentless Suzuki by TAS / 27:47.309 / 11,953 10 / Dan LINFOOT / GBR / Yamaha – Motorpoint Yamaha / 27:48.534 / 13,178 11 / Ian LOWRY / GBR / Yamaha – Motorpoint Yamaha / 27:49.291 / 13,935 12 / Adam JENKINSON / GBR / Kawasaki – Buildbase Kawasaki / 27:55.407 / 20,051 13 / Peter HICKMAN / GBR / Yamaha – Ultimate Racing / 27:55.646 / 0.020 14 / Steve BROGAN / GBR / BMW – Jentin Racing – BMW Motorrad / 28:01.929 / 26,573 15 / Tom TUNSTALL / GBR / Honda – Doodson Motorsport / 28:03.876 / 0.029 Fastest lap: Lap 10 Ryuichi KIYONARI 1:28.288 88.89 mph 143.05 kph Results Race2 POS / NAME / NAT / BIKE / LAPS / TIME / GAP 1 / Josh BROOKES / AUS / Honda – HM Plant Honda / 22:15.411 / 2 / Tommy HILL / GBR / Suzuki – Worx Crescent Suzuki / 22:19.809 / 4,398 3 / Michael LAVERTY / GBR / Suzuki – Relentless Suzuki by TAS / 22:21.086 / 5,675 4 / Michael RUTTER / GBR / Ducati – RidersMotorcycles.Com / 22:21.332 / 5,921 5 / John LAVERTY / GBR / Kawasaki – Buildbase Kawasaki / 22:25.876 / 10,465 6 / Tommy BRIDEWELL / GBR / Honda – Quay Garage Honda / 22:26.142 / 10,731 7 / Alastair SEELEY / GBR / Suzuki – Relentless Suzuki by TAS / 22:29.074 / 13,663 8 / Chris WALKER / GBR / Kawasaki – MSS Colchester Kawasaki / 22:34.979 / 19,568 9 / Martin JESSOPP / GBR / Ducati – RidersMotorcycles.Com / 21:06.937 / 1 lap 10 / Stuart EASTON / GBR / Honda – Swan Honda / 21:11.509 / 1 lap 11 / Adam JENKINSON / GBR / Kawasaki – Buildbase Kawasaki / 21:11.979 / 1 lap 12 / Ian LOWRY / GBR / Yamaha – Motorpoint Yamaha / 21:12.190 / 1 lap 13 / Peter HICKMAN / GBR / Yamaha – Ultimate Racing / 21:12.606 / 1 lap 14 / Steve BROGAN / GBR / BMW – Jentin Racing – BMW Motorrad / 21:23.616 / 1 lap 15 / Alex LOWES / GBR / KTM – Redline KTM / 21:37.904 / 1 lap Fastest lap: Lap 4 Josh BROOKES AUS 1:28.166 89.01 mph 143.25 kph Championship points after 4 rounds Name Total 1 Tommy HILL 146, 2 Josh BROOKES 110, 3 Michael LAVERTY 101, 4 Michael RUTTER 88, 5 Stuart EASTON 81, 6 John LAVERTY 80, 7 Alastair SEELEY 79, 8 Ryuichi KIYONARI 78, 9 Martin JESSOPP 57, 10 James ELLISON 41, 11 Chris WALKER 38, 12 Tommy BRIDEWELL 38, 13 Dan LINFOOT 27, 14 Gary MASON 26, 15 Yukio KAGAYAMA 25. More, from a press release issued by Swan Honda: TOUGH DAY AT THE OFFICE FOR SWAN HONDA Swan Honda’s Stuart Easton had a testing time at Cadwell Park for the fourth round of the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship today following a high-speed crash in race one before battling on to finish tenth in race two. Easton had qualified seventh on the grid for the opening race and from the third row he had got a usual flying start off the line to move up to fourth on the opening lap, but on the next lap he crashed out heavily at Charlies which left him battered and bruised. The race one crash cost him dearly in race two, he started thirteenth on the grid and a problem with a sensor meant that he raced without the traction control, anti-wheelie or engine braking systems to battle to tenth. Easton said: “It has been a tough weekend in all and it hasn’t really come together for us today unfortunately, but these happen so we are staying upbeat as we know that we have more to come. In the first race I had a massive crash at Charlies and we can’t work out what went wrong, so we are a bit puzzled by what happened. It was a big one and I’m happy that we got away with it to be honest; I just flipped over the front and it all happened really quickly. I just got that sky, grass, sky, grass feeling and the bike did clip me but I got away with it. The down side was that we then needed to start from 13th on the grid. “The team worked hard to get me back out for race two and we didn’t realise it at the time but where there was damage to the Swan Honda it broke a sensor which meant we didn’t have any traction control, anti-wheelie or engine braking for the second race so it was tough. I feel a bit beaten up but other than that I am ok so we will use the break before Mallory Park to work out our next line of attack and go from there. I am optimistic that we can come back strong at the next round and make amends.” More, from a press release issued by John McGuinness’ publicist: McGuinness back in the top ten at Cadwell John McGuinness was back in the top ten in round 4 of the Metzeler National 1000cc Superstock Championship when he finished in 10th place at Cadwell Park on Sunday. The Padgetts Honda rider fought his way through from 16th place on the first lap to claim six hard-earned Championship points to slot in to 9th place overall in the title table. The weekend got off to a fine start for John as he posted the third fastest time in free practice on Friday and when first qualifying took place later he was again lapping close to the pace of the leaders. Indeed, at the end of the 25-minutes, he found himself in a strong fourth place, just 0.217s adrift of pole position. Conditions were again perfect at Saturday but with a red flag interrupting the second session, the final 15 minutes saw some hectic action out on the track. Knocked back to fifth place, John was on a good lap when he slid off at the bottom of the Mountain with 5 minutes of the session remaining and he ended up 10th overall for a third row start although this wasn’t true indication of the pace he’d been running at. Subsequently, hopes were high going in to Sunday’s 15 lap race but any chance of a high finish disappeared on the first lap when John found himself down in 16th place. In extremely hot conditions, there was plenty of action out on the circuit but by half race distance John was up into the points in 15th and this became 14th on lap twelve when Sam Warren crashed out. John then moved up to 13th with two laps to go, which looked like would be the place he’d finish, but on the final lap Matt Whitman, Kenny Gilbertson and Richard Cooper crashed out together at the chicane promoting him up to 10th place at the chequered flag. Speaking afterwards, John said: “There was a fair bit of carnage out there today, largely due to the heat probably and there were a lot of mistakes being made. Cadwell’s one of my favourite tracks and the slight spill in practice meant I was a lot further back on the grid than where I felt I should have been whilst I didn’t help myself by making a poor start. Dropping back to 16th definitely wasn’t in the script but I dug deep, concentrated hard and kept out of trouble, picking up places as the race wore on. A few boys crashed out in front of me which helped me get in to the top ten and whilst I don’t think we’ve got the result our efforts and pace deserved, I’m glad to have got a solid finish and we can now concentrate on the TT races.” John now turns his attention back to the roads with his main event of the year – the Isle of Man TT Races – on the horizon. First practice on the legendary 37 3/4-mile Mountain Course takes place on Saturday 29th May. More, from a press release issued by Marty Nutt’s publicist: Nutt adds more points at Cadwell Castlerock’s Marty Nutt made it three points-scoring finishes from three rides in 2010 when he finished in 13th place at Cadwell Park on Sunday in round 4 of the British Supersport 600cc Championship. The Nutt Travel.Com/Dawn/T&G Racing rider fought his way through from 17th on the grid to claim three more championship points and maintain his 100% finishing record. With the team still searching for more power from the Yamaha engine, subsequent dyno tests revealed that the bell mouths weren’t operating correctly and although this was corrected, Marty was still lacking a bit of top end speed along the two long straights at the Lincolnshire circuit. A lap of 1m31.303s in Saturday’s opening qualifying session saw him slot into 17th place but the warmer temperatures in the afternoon meant that it was even harder to find time and although he was one of the few riders to improve his time in the final session, it wasn’t enough to see him climb up the grid so he lined up on the sixth row. The weather was even warmer for Sunday’s 16-lap race and a good start saw Marty move in to 15th at the end of the first lap, a position he maintained until he found a way past fellow Irishman Lee Johnston. Once ahead, his lap times immediately dropped and he promptly pulled away but, by this time, the group in front of him and pulled clear and although he was lapping quicker than them, he ultimately ran out of laps to get on level terms with them. However, with Tom Grant crashing out on the 14th lap he was promoted to 13th place and the three points have seen him move up to 14th in the Championship table. Speaking later, a satisfied Marty said: “We took a bit of a gamble in morning warm-up and made a few changes, mainly fitting a heavier rear spring, and it definitely improved the bike so it was a shame we hadn’t made that change in second qualifying as we would definitely have been higher up the grid but I was happy with how I rode in the race. Cadwell’s a really physical circuit and it was extremely hard in the heat whilst I got held up in the first half of the race by Lee Johnston. I just couldn’t find a way by him but as soon as I did, my lap times dropped by a second a lap and I was able to pull away but by then I was in no-man’s land a bit. I kept giving 100% and was reeling the pack in ahead of me but I ran out of laps to get close enough to be able to start thinking about any overtaking attempts so I eventually settled for the 13th place. It’s another solid finish and some more points on the board but we still need to do a bit more work on the bike so we’ll use the break to do just that and ensure we’re back on top of the game for the next round.” Marty now has a five week break before the next round with round 5 taking place at Mallory Park, Leicestershire from 25-27 June. More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki: HILL PODIUMS AT CADWELL AFTER 1ST RACE CRASH Team Suzuki Press Office – May 23. Worx Crescent Suzuki’s Tommy Hill had to recover from a first-race crash at Cadwell Park to secure a strong podium finish in the second race and protect his lead in the 2010 British Superbikes Championship. After qualifying in pole position; then posting fastest time in morning warm-up, Hill looked set for podium finishes. However, in the first race while tailing the leader, Ryuichi Kiyonari, Hill made a momentary mistake as he raced through Hall Bends and ground an engine case on one of the kerbs, causing him to crash. The Worx Crescent Suzuki team worked flat out to clean-up the GSX-R1000 – which had been subjected to a dose of fire extinguisher foam to quell oil burning in the bellypan – in time for race two. He then repaid their hard work with a strong runner-up finish in a race that was shortened after a competitor crashed heavily on The Mountain. Tommy Hill: “I was behind Kiyo in that first race and was mindful that I wanted to stop him building a gap. And then, quite simply, on the fourth lap, I clipped a kerb and went down. But for the hole in the generator cover, where it hit the kerb, there was no damage. Only then the little bit of oil that had dribbled out ran on to the exhausts and caught alight which meant the marshals poured on the fire extinguishers – and gave the team a whole lot more to clean up before the second race! “In race two I started on the second row and it took some time to get past Michael Rutter and Michael Laverty. With the race red-flagged I ran out of time to catch Josh Brookes but I’m still really happy to get back on the podium; to keep my lead in the Championship; and to get more of those important podium points that we can carry forward into the Showdown at the end of the year.” Jack Valentine – Team Manager: “Obviously race one was a disappointment, particularly after the fantastic qualifying, but then Tommy more than redeemed himself with an excellent second race. “The team also put in some excellent work to clean up a bike that was covered in fire extinguisher dust and have it 100% ready for race two. Tommy’s progress in that race was excellent. He was maybe too aggressive early on, but as soon as he settled into a rhythm, the race came to him and he made two inspired passes on Rutter and Laverty: He did a great job. “We’re looking forward to Mallory Park now, although there’s a bit of a wait. Yukio Kagayama was here at Cadwell today as a very-interested spectator and he should be a very interested racer come Mallory in five weeks time! We’re still only one-third the way through the season so far, so there’s plenty to play for yet, both for Tommy and Yukio.” MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship, Cadwell Park Race one result: 1. Ryuichi Kiyonari (HM Plant Honda) 2. Michael Laverty (Relentless Suzuki by TAS) +0.497s 3. Michael Rutter (Ridersmotorcycles.com Ducati) +1.877s 4. Tommy Bridewell (Quay Garage Honda) +2.528s 5. Josh Brookes (HM Plant Honda) +5.168s 6. John Laverty (Buildbase Kawasaki) +7.754s 7. Chris Walker (MSS Colchester Kawasaki) +10.072s 8. Martin Jessopp (Ridersmotorcycles.com Ducati) +11.042s 9. Alastair Seeley (Relentless Suzuki by TAS) +11.953s 10. Dan Linfoot (Motorpoint Yamaha) +13.178s Race two result: 1. Josh Brookes (HM Plant Honda) 2. Tommy Hill (Worx Crescent Suzuki) +4.398s 3. Michael Laverty (Relentless Suzuki by TAS) +5.675s 4. Michael Rutter (Ridersmotorcycles.com Ducati) +5.921s 5. John Laverty (Buildbase Kawasaki) +10.465s 6. Tommmmy Bridewell (Quay Garage Honda) +10.731s 7. Alastair Seeley (Relentless Suzuki by TAS) +13.663s 8. Chris Walker (MSS Colchester Kawasaki) +19.568s 9. Martin Jessopp (Ridersmotorcycles.com Ducati) 1 lap 10. Stuart Easton (Swan Honda) 1 lap MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship standings (after four rounds): 1. Tommy Hill (Worx Crescent Suzuki) 146 2. Josh Brookes (HM Plant Honda) 110 3. Michael Laverty (Relentless Suzuki by TAS) 101 4. Michael Rutter (Ridersmotorcycles.com Ducati) 88 5. Stuart Easton (Swan Honda) 81 15. Yukio Kagayama (Worx Crescent Suzuki) 25 More, from a press release issued by Quay Garage Racing: BEST EVER FOURTH PLACE FOR BRIDEWELL AT CADWELL Quay Garage Racing’s Tommy Bridewell came within less than a second of scoring his and the team’s first outright British Superbike podium when he finished a sensational fourth in today’s first race in round four of the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship at a sun drenched Cadwell Park today. Aboard the 2008 specification ex Gregorio Lavilla Honda Fireblade, the 21 year old from Etchilhampton in Devizes near Wiltshire qualified in sixth position for the opening 18-lap race and in front of another bumper Cadwell Park crowd got a good start to run with the leading pack in the opening stages of race one. Bridewell continued to battle against a number of the factory supported works riders and with a lap to go was set to challenge the Ducati of Michael Rutter but try as he might he couldn’t get past and had to settle for a career best fourth position at the chequered flag. A repeat of the heroics looked on the cards for race two but a clash with Kawasaki’s Chris Walker forced Bridewell onto the grass at the chicane but with typical determination he bounced back from tenth position into sixth and was set to challenge John Laverty for fifth position when the race was stopped after Dan Linfoot crashed on the Mountain, luckily without injury. Tommy Bridewell: “We had two strong results but I’m a little disappointed not to get on the podium. I’m now fighting at the sharp end and have proved that Brands Hatch wasn’t just a one off. We lacked a little bit of top speed but you’re always going to have that with an old bike. I rode my heart out and thought I deserved a podium but I’m now aiming for a double podium at Mallory next time out. We’ve made good progress but the boys in front of me are all on factory bikes. The team have done a great job this weekend, so it’s a big thanks to them.” Ian Woolacott: “Tommy has done a brilliant job this weekend. Our bike lacks a little on top end power. It’s been a great weekend, we’ve had two very good results and we’ve beaten factory teams and we were next to HM Plant Honda on the grid so I’m very pleased.” The next round of the Championship takes place at Mallory Park on 25/26/27th June. MCE InsuranceBritish SuperbikeChampionship race 1 result (18 laps) 1 Ryuichi Kiyonari (Honda) 27m35.356s 2 Michael Laverty (Suzuki) +0.497s 3 Michael Rutter (Ducati) +1.877s 4 Tommy Bridewell (Quay Garage Honda) +2.528s 5 Josh Brookes (Honda) +5.168s 6 John Laverty (Kawasaki) +7.754s 7 Chris Walker (Kawasaki) +10.072s 8 Martin Jessopp (Ducati) +11.042s 9 Alastair Seeley (Suzuki) +11.953s 10 Dan Linfoot (Yamaha) +13.178s MCE InsuranceBritish SuperbikeChampionship race2 result (15 laps) 1 Josh Brookes (Honda) 22m15.411s 2 Tommy Hill (Suzuki) +4.398s 3 Michael Laverty (Suzuki) +5.675s 4 Michael Rutter (Ducati) +5.921s 5 John Laverty (Kawasaki) +10.465s 6 Tommy Bridewell (Quay Garage Honda) +10.731s 7 Alastair Seeley (Suzuki) +13.663s 8 Chris Walker (Kawasaki) +19.568s 9 Martin Jessopp (Ducati) +1 lap 10 Stuart Easton (Honda) +1 lap Championship standings (after 4 rounds) 1 Tommy Hill (Suzuki) 146pts 2 Josh Brookes (Honda) 110 3 Michael Laverty (Suzuki) 101 4 Michael Rutter (Ducati) 88 5 Stuart Easton (Honda) 81 6 John Laverty (Kawasaki) 80 7 Alastair Seeley (Honda) 79 8 Ryuichi Kiyonari (Honda) 78 9 Martin Jessopp (Ducati) 57 10 James Ellison (Honda) 41 11 Tommy Bridewell (Quay Garage Honda) 38 More, from a press release issued by GNS Racing: LOWES BATTLES TO CADWELL PODIUM GNS Racing’s Sam Lowes fought valiantly at Cadwell Park today to finish in a close third place in round four of the Fuchs-Silkolene British Supersport Championship. The 19-year-old from Lincoln had been battling a stomach bug all weekend but dug deep at his home round to claim 16 hard-earned points and hold on to second place in the Championship table. Having qualified in a strong fourth place at his local track, Lowes made a good start to slot into fifth place into the first corner but was up to fourth at the completion of the first lap. Lowes then found himself in a ferocious three-way dice with Graeme Gowland and Ian Hutchinson for the final podium position, the trio never more than a few tenths of a second apart. On the fifth lap, Sam overhauled Hutchinson at Park Corner to move up to third and once there he continued to pull away over the next few laps to secure the position. Although the pace setting Yamahas of Billy McConnell and James Westmoreland were seemingly too far ahead to catch, Lowes never stopped trying and, having left the pack firmly behind him, he consistently lapped over half a second a lap quicker than Westmoreland to close to within 0.126s of his Championship rival at the chequered flag. Indeed, the final lap almost saw Sam take second as he and Westmoreland touched at the hairpin as he tried to overhaul him. The 20 points for Westmoreland means he now has a four point lead over Lowes in the title race as the series now takes a five-week break. Team-mate Paul Jordan qualified in 23rd place on the second GNS Honda, the fifth highest placed Cup competitor but couldn’t make a real impact in the race and finished in 24th place. This was enough for the Ulsterman from Magherafelt to be the 8th Cup competitor home. Sam Lowes: “It was my own fault at the start as I simply wasn’t aggressive enough but I got stuck in and was lapping at a good pace all the way until the end so all the fitness work I’ve been doing has clearly paid off. I tried to have a go at James at the hairpin on the last lap but he had the line covered and although it was close, it was good, clean racing and I just couldn’t find a way through. It was a tough weekend what with being unwell at the beginning but I felt good today and I’m really pleased for all of the team that we’re on the podium again and still fighting it out at the top of the Championship table. I’d like to say a big thanks to the team, my sponsors and all the fans, we were ONIT! We’ll be back at Mallory and look to be on the pace again there too.” Paul Jordan: “I’m very disappointed with my result today. I made a good start but then got stuck in a rut, I got by several riders but then developed arm pump with six laps to go and couldn’t hold my position. It’s a very physical circuit and I found it tough out there. I had been chipping away at my times all weekend and I would like to say a huge well done to all the guys at GNS Racing who are putting in so much effort, I’m just disappointed for them as well as myself.” Gary Stubbington: “I’m delighted for Sam, he has shown yet again his determination to succeed, and despite being ill throughout the opening day, came back strongly in qualifying and once more proved he is a class act, by finishing on the podium, narrowly missing out on second place. Sam is now proving his ability week in week out, and now realises that remaining consistent will bring him big rewards come the end of the season. We have a new technician on board this weekend too, and the team is working very hard to give both riders the best opportunity to succeed. Paul has had a difficult weekend, and developed arm pump during the race to come home in a disappointing 24th position, he knows he needs to improve, so he will be looking to make amends next time.” More, from a press release issued by Conor Cummins’ publicist: Top six all round at Cadwell for Cummins Conor Cummins got back into Championship contention at Cadwell Park on Sunday when he finished in 6th place in round 4 of the Metzeler National 1000cc Superstock Championship. The Team Blackhorse Kawasaki rider overcame a tough first qualifying session to steadily increase his pace over the course of the weekend and he was rewarded with a fighting sixth place in the 15-lap race to move into fifth place in the title race. Slight problems with the handling in Friday’s opening qualifying session saw Conor down in an unfamiliar 15th place but only 1.2 seconds off the pole position time so, with a few changes to the set-up of the bike, he was confident of moving up the grid during Saturday’s second and final qualifying session. Sure enough, the changes to the geometry worked and he was able to shave over a second off his time, jumping up to 8th on the grid, which was good enough for a third row start on the 3×3 grid. With extremely warm temperatures on Sunday, it was going to be a tough race for the 36-strong field but a good start by Conor saw him move up to sixth straightaway and when the safety car came out on the sixth lap he was up to fifth and more than handily placed. Two laps later, the car pulled in and for the second half of the race Conor was embroiled in a fine seven-rider battle for fourth place, a position he briefly held having overhauled Luke Quigley before the Suzuki rider fought back. With the leading three riders clear, fourth place was still anyone’s but Quigley manfully resisted all challenges Conor made and in the run in to the line he slipped back to fifth as Glen Richards just sneaked by. Nevertheless, after crashing out of the last round at Oulton, it was good to be back in the top six and the ten Championship points picked up by Conor see him well placed in fifth overall. Talking later, the 23-year old said: “I’m really happy to be back in the top six again and it’s been nice to move back up to fifth in the Championship table. With the TT so close, it’s important to stay out of trouble but you’ve also still got to give 100% so it’s a bit of a fine line but we put together a strong race and were rewarded with a good result. We had a few handling issues on Friday but all the team and the guys from Maxton got their heads together and we made a few changes to the bike to try and make it steer a bit better and it was a lot better on Saturday. In the race, I got a good start and the bike was flying but, try as I might, I just couldn’t find a way past Luke. He was stronger than me in places but I was faster in others and if I could have got by I think I could have pulled clear but fair play to him he rode a good race. It would have been nice to have held onto fifth but Glen was more confident than me through the Gooseneck although I’m still chuffed to be back in the top six. I’m really looking forward to the TT now and can’t wait for it to begin!” The next round of the Superstock series takes place at Silverstone alongside the MotoGP, over the weekend of June 19-20, but prior to that Conor will be back on the roads with the McAdoo Kawasaki team at Isle of Man TT races, his main event of the year. First practice takes place on Saturday 29 May. More, from a press release issued by Simon Low’s publicist: Low beats pain at Cadwell for strong finishs Simon Low narrowly missed out on scoring championship points for the second time this season when he finished 17th in round 4 of the British 125cc Championship, an heroic ride given that a collision on the opening lap had caused him to suffer a cracked fibia bone! Held at Cadwell Park, Lincolnshire, Low fought his way through the pack from 27th to pull up to 17th at two thirds race distance but ultimately ran of time to climb any higher. However, he had been as high as 14th before the collision took place and dropped him down the order so it was most definitely a strong ride by the 22-year old and confidence boosting for the whole team. Throughout practice, Simon consistently reduced his lap times as he edged closer to the top 20 and, after being 5.9seconds off the fastest time in free practice, he chopped over a second off his time in Saturday’s first qualifying session to lie in 23rd place, now 4.8seconds off the pace setting reigning British Champion James Lodge. In extremely warm temperatures during second and final qualifying, Simon took almost three quarters of a second off his time and a 1m38.6s lap was the 22nd fastest of the session. However, when the times for the two sessions were combined, Simon was placed 25th overall although he was pleased to have had a relatively troublefree two days and was looking forward to the race. Sunday saw even hotter temperatures for the 14-lap race and, with a new hydraulic clutch fitted, Simon made a lightning start and found himself up to a brilliant 14th place half way round the first lap just behind Championship contender Rob Guiver. However, as he exited the hairpin, the bike tried to highside him and he was hit from the side by another bike causing them both to run off the track also damaging Simon’s leg in the process. This dropped him all the way back to 27th but, despite the pain, he battled back and by lap 4 he was up to 23rd when the safety car came out for three laps. When it pulled in, Simon immediately moved forward and had leapt up to 19th by start of lap 9. A lap later this was 18th and, lapping three tenths of a second quicker than what he had done in qualifying, he climbed even further up to 17th with two laps to go. Sadly, the gap to the 15th place man was too large to make up in the final two laps and Simon had to settle for his 17th place position although he was more than happy with getting a strong ride and race under his belt after the non-finishes of Thruxton and Oulton. Speaking afterwards, despite being in pain, it was a pleased Simon that said: “To be honest, I’m really happy with how the weekend’s gone and it’s nice to have had a troublefree time with the bike and it’s ran really well over all three days. The speed is really good now and we were consistently in the top ten through the speedtraps whilst I was also able to get quicker and quicker all weekend. The new clutch we fitted was absolutely superb and allowed me to make an even better start than usual so when I was up to 14th on the first lap, things were looking really good. Coming out of the hairpin though the bike highsided me and how I stayed on I’ll never know although it did cause me to run off the track and get hit by another rider. I knew something had happened to my leg straightaway and so was in a lot of pain for the rest of the race but I dug deep and kept picking them off one by one. A couple of riders in front of me also crashed which allowed me to move up another couple of places but to finish 17th after what happened on the first lap is pleasing. It’s also a bit frustrating as if that hadn’t have happened, I think 12th place could have been the end result. What with the heat as well, today has definitely been the hardest race I’ve ever had but luckily the bone is only cracked rather than broken and we’ve got a good break before the next round so we should be 100% for then.” The series now has a 5-week break with the next round taking place at Mallory Park, Leicestershire over the weekend of June 25-27.