MCE BRITISH SUPERBIKE CONTENDERS FEEL THE NEED FOR SPEED AT THRUXTON

The MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship contenders will hit top speeds of around 195mph this weekend (1/2/3 August) as the action at the high-speed Thruxton circuit in Hampshire for the sixth round of the season.

Leading the high-speed duel for title supremacy is Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne. The triple champion narrowly missed out on victory at Brands Hatch two weeks ago to a fighting Ryuichi Kiyonari and both are heading to Hampshire with the focus of adding to their winning tally in the quest to take a record-breaking fourth title.

Byrne said: “Thruxton is an important round and one where we can see if the improvements we have made since Brands Hatch have paid off. I personally like the circuit and I think we will see that nobody will get away there. Thruxton is a case where, if there is a pack, then the race will be decided on the last lap. You get a bit of a run out of Church and then everyone gets a bit of a beating up at the chicane. That said, you only need to be in striking distance at Church and then you can have a good go! I certainly hope that we can come away with another win or two, that’s not being greedy that is just the target.”

Kiyonari said: “Thruxton is all about going fast and I like that. I think that this circuit should be another good one for the BMW, the bikes are very equal in the championship but this one should be good for us. I have lots of confidence and we have been improving all the time and that shows we are ready to try and win at every round. I like the circuit a lot so I want to have good results again. I want to win – if I didn’t think I could then I wouldn’t be going this year!”

Josh Brookes rates Thruxton as one of his favourite circuits on the calendar and the Milwaukee Yamaha rider knows that he needs to return to podium-finishing form to cement an early place in the Showdown. The Australian and his team-mate Tommy Bridewell return to Britain fresh from competing in the Suzuka Eight Hour race in Japan, with Thruxton the home round for Devizes-based Bridewell who will be hunting to add to his single podium finish so far this season at his local round.

Chris Walker flies the flag for the Lloyds British GBmoto Racing Kawasaki team this weekend with James Ellison recovering from injury; the Nottinghamshire rider currently holds the final place in the top six in the overall standings ahead of the chasing pack.

Thruxton also marks the home round for the Quattro Plant Bournemouth Kawasaki team and Dan Linfoot will be pushing to move back inside the top six again. However Stuart Easton and Richard Cooper are closing in and the Tyco Suzuki pairing of John Hopkins and Brands Hatch race winner Josh Waters are also set to upset the order.

For more information please visit www.britishsuperbike.com

More, from a press release issued by Milwaukee Yamaha:

HIGH-SPEED THRUXTON NEXT UP FOR MILWAUKEE YAMAHA’S BROOKES AND BRIDEWELL

Milwaukee Yamaha’s Josh Brookes and Tommy Bridewell return to MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship action at Thruxton this weekend (1/2/3 August) for the sixth round of the season, following their top ten successes in last weekend’s Suzuka Eight Hour event.

Brookes returns to Thruxton determined to fire himself back into podium contention after missing out at the previous rounds of Knockhill and Brands Hatch. The Australian currently lies second in the overall standings but will be pushing to add to his podium credits tally ahead of the all-important Showdown later in the season. Thruxton marks the home round for Bridewell and the Devizes rider is hunting for home glory as he bids to add to his podium finish at Snetterton earlier in the season.

Brookes said: “I am looking forward to Thruxton and now we have had the Suzuka event, which was the last one of my other races, it means now I just have BSB to focus on. I am hoping that we can have a good event at Thruxton and we can have better results than we have had in the past couple of races. We have had a good start to the season but I am not satisfied unless I am winning races. I think both myself and Tommy have both returned from Suzuka even more fired up to represent the team well in the Championship after doing the same at the race in Japan. I always enjoy Thruxton so there is a lot of positive energy and motivation to do well this weekend.”

Bridewell said: “To be honest Thruxton has never been a good circuit for me in the past, but every time I go, I am really determined to make it a different story and I am approaching this weekend with a positive outlook. We want to have a good weekend and we have shown we have a good race pace, but we have just had a few issues in the last couple of races that affected us. In race two at Brands Hatch we beat our main competitors, the ones who are ahead of us in the standings, with a fourth place and so we need to keep that up.

“At Thruxton anything can happen because of the nature of the circuit so hopefully we are in a good position in the race to try and have a go because I want to get my head down and fight hard in the races. I want to come away from the weekend with two good results and the way I am feeling with the Yamaha that bodes well for a good weekend.”

For more information visit www.milwaukeeyamaha.com

More, from a press release issued by FFX Yamaha:

FFX YAMAHA READY TO GET STUCK IN AT THRUXTON

The FFX Yamaha team return to action this weekend as the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship heads to Hampshire for the sixth round of the season at Thruxton with both Ian Hutchinson and Andy Reid ready to push hard to add to their points tally.

At Brands Hatch last time out Hutchinson narrowly missed out on a points-scoring finish and now the multiple TT race-winner is pushing to come back stronger at the high-speed Thruxton circuit. The last time Hutchinson raced at the track he scored a podium finish in the Superstock class so he is hoping for a strong performance this weekend.

Reid still heads the Pirelli National Superstock 600 Championship standings, but after ending his run of podium finishes is eager to return to the top step of the podium this weekend. Reid hasn’t raced at Thruxton in several seasons but is hungry to return to winning ways in Hampshire.

Hutchinson said: “I was a bit frustrated after Brands Hatch because I really wanted to add points to our tally and so I want to turn that around at Thruxton this weekend. We have been making improvements at each event and we are getting closer to the top ten, so I want to be pushing again in the two races. I like Thruxton as a circuit, although I have never ridden the Superbike there so I just need to get out and do the laps in practice, which is what I have tried to do all season. The last time I raced at Thruxton was in 2010 and I was on the podium in the Superstock race so I want to get stuck in and see what we can do.”

Reid said:”I am looking forward to Thruxton as it is one of those tracks where you can really go for it. I haven’t been there in about five years and when I was there last it was on a 125 so it should be good getting out on the bigger bike this weekend. I hope that this kind of track suits me, but either way, the results at Brands Hatch have made me even more motivated to get back out and try and win again.”