FIFTH FOR LAVERTY AT SUN KISSED MALLORY Stobart Motorsport rider Michael Laverty emerged with a best finish of fifth position following on round six of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship held at Mallory Park in Leicestershire today. Riding the VK and Vent Axia backed Honda Fireblade, the 24 year old Ulsterman celebrated his impending birthday in fine style by following up his fifth position in the opening race with a strong result in race two to claim seventh after the two hectic 28 lap races around the revised Mallory circuit. Team mate Michael Rutter, racing at his local circuit whereby he took a double last year, recorded a pair of sixth place finishes after a strong performance in the opening stages of each race but sadly he faded back as each race progressed and now lies in seventh position in the Championship. Laverty who is just nine points behind his team mate commented “I’m happy enough with the first race. Fifth was pretty good and in the second race I wanted to be able to fight with Shakey Byrne and Karl Harris but I seemed to lose a bit on a couple of the corners and there was nothing I could do to challenge them. It’s a step forward and we’re closer to the leaders but we need to do more at Snetterton, but at least we’re going in the right direction.” Meanwhile Rutter was reasonably pleased with his best combined performance of the season. “Two sixth place finishes are not ideal but at least we’re back on the pace and in the second half of the season I’m hoping to be challenging for rostrums and race wins as we’ve had a tough time of it of late. The bike worked well and we are now making real progress and I’m looking forward to Snetterton in two weeks’ time” commented Rutter who finished third is last season’s chase. Prior to jetting back to the Isle of Man to oversee his team’s assault on the 2006 TT races, team owner Paul Bird said “We’ve put in some strong performances today and both riders proved in the early stages that we are not a spent force yet. We have work to do but hopefully we’re now turning the corner and we can look forward to better results in the forthcoming races.” Stobart Motorsport TT rider Ian Lougher, who finished second in the Superbike TT yesterday, hopes to go one better on Friday when he takes the Stuart Bland prepared Honda Fireblade into the Senior TT hoping to land his first big bike win. Laverty and Rutter will be in action in two weeks’ time for round seven of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Snetterton. Superbike Race One Result: 1, Ryuichi Kiyonari (Honda) 27:06.734s, 2, Leon Haslam (Ducati) +1.935s, 3, Gregorio Lavilla (Ducati) +4.856s, 4, Shane Byrne (Suzuki) +7.325s, 5, Michael Laverty (Stobart Honda) +9.028s, 6, Michael Rutter (Stobart Honda) +11.249s, 7, Karl Harris (Honda) +22.092s, 8, Dean Thomas +24.764s, 9, Craig Coxhell +27.420s, 10. Ben Wilson (Suzuki) +36.253s. Superbike Race Two Result: 1, Gregorio Lavilla (Ducati) 26m21.786s, 2, Leon Haslam (Ducati) +1.310s, 3, Ryuichi Kiyonari (Honda) +4.188s, 4, Karl Harris (Honda) +10.141s, 5, Shane Byrne (Suzuki) +10.409s, 6, Michael Rutter (Stobart Honda) +11.305s, 7, Michael Laverty (Stobart Honda) +15.904s, 8, Jonathan Rea (Honda) +21.657s, 9, Dean Thomas (Kawasaki) +24.405s, 10, Glen Richards (Honda) +28.108s. Bennetts British Superbike Championship Standings (after round 6) 1, Gregorio Lavilla (Ducati) 223pts 2, Leon Haslam (Ducati) 161pts 3, Ryuichi Kiyonari (Honda) 149pts 4, Karl Harris (Honda) 110pts 5, Shane Byrne (Suzuki) 105pts 6, Jonathan Rea (Honda) 83pts 7, Michael Rutter (Stobart Honda) 81pts 8, Michael Laverty (Stobart Honda) 72pts 9, Tommy Hill (Yamaha) 61pts 10, Dean Thomas (Kawasaki) 59pts 2006 Bennetts British Superbike Race Dates R1: 2426 March, Brands Hatch, Kent (Indy) www.motorsportvision.co.uk R2: 79 April, Donington Park, Leics www.donington-park.co.uk R3: 1417 April, Thruxton, Hants www.barc.net R4: 29 April1 May, Oulton Park, Cheshire www.motorsportvision.co.uk R5: 1921 May, Mondello Park, Co Kildare www.mondellopark.ie R6: 24 June, Mallory Park, Leics www.mallorypark.co.uk R7: 16-18 June, Snetterton, Norfolk www.motorsportvision.co.uk R8: 1416 July, Knockhill, Fife www.knockhill.co.uk R9: 21-23 July, Oulton Park, Cheshire www.motorsportvision.co.uk R10:11-13 August, Croft, N Yorks www.croftcircuit.co.uk R11: 26-28 August, Cadwell Park, Lincs www.motorsportvision.co.uk R12: 15-17 September, Silverstone, Northants www.silverstone-circuit.co.uk R13: 29 September 1 October, Brands Hatch, Kent (GP) www.motorsportvision.co.uk More, from a press release issued on behalf of Wayside Racing: TOP TEN FOR TOM AT MALLORY BUT OLLIE MISSES OUT AFTER CRASHING”¦ Racing brothers Tommy and Ollie Bridewell experienced mixed fortunes at a warm and sunny Mallory Park when round six of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship visited the Leicestershire circuit this weekend. From Etchilhampton near Devizes in Wilshire, 17 year old Tommy continued his meteoric rise to stardom in the British Supersport Championship with a superb ninth place finish whereas 20 year old Ollie had to remount after a crash in the opening Bennetts British Superbike Championship race to finish in 20th place which he followed up with a battling 17th in the second 28 lapper. Riding the 600cc Vivaldi Suzuki, Tommy qualified on row four of the grid but in the 26 lap race, he was soon embroiled in a battle for the lower leaderboard points and gradually made his way through the quality field. Riding with maturity way beyond his years, Tommy scooped ninth place and but for another lap, could have been as high as seventh as he reeled in the riders in front. “I’m well chuffed with that result and glad that we are making progress in the right direction. I had a race plan and that was to get a good start and keep out of trouble on the opening lap and it worked out. I just got the bit between my teeth and rode as hard as I could and I’m delighted with ninth place” said Tommy who moved inside the top twenty of the series thanks to his best result of the season to date. Meanwhile, elder brother Ollie was hoping to get back to form after a great start to the season but his bid was thwarted in the opening race when he was involved in a collision on the opening lap but undeterred, he remounted and brought the 1000cc Vivaldi Suzuki home in a gallant 20th place in race one which he improved to 17th in the second outing after another race long battle. “I’m very disappointed if I’m being honest and to come away from a meeting without any points is not good. I was taken out in race one and then I didn’t get a great start in race two so it’s been a tough old weekend for me. Hopefully we can put things right at Snetterton next time out as I was on the podium there last season and I like that track” said Ollie who dropped to 17th in the championship having non-scored in his last six races now. The next round sees the brothers Bridewell in action at Snetterton in Norfolk over the weekend of June 17th and 18th. More, from a press release issued by Hawk Kawasaki: SOLID PERFORMANCE FOR HAWK KAWASAKI The three Hawk Kawasaki riders rode strong races this weekend at Mallory Park (2nd – 4th June), with all three riders Dean Thomas (33), Craig Coxhell (23) and Peter Hickman (19) scoring British Championship points in race one. Thomas gained an eighth and ninth, Coxhell ninth and 14th and Hickman a fantastic 14th and 19th positions in the two Superbike races. After the cancellation of Mondello Park the Hawk riders were eager to get back on track. For the first time this season, the Bennetts British Superbike round was blessed with glorious sunshine throughout the weekend with temperatures over 25oC, a contrast to the weather at Mondello a few weeks previously. Thomas was once again the strongest qualifier putting his Dunlop-shop Kawasaki ZX10-R in ninth position in the grid with Coxhell 16th and Hickman 22nd. Fortunately the three riders gained a great start in race one, avoiding the crash on the start line involving Glen Richards and also the incident at the new Chicane which saw Tommy Hill and Steve Plater crash out. The safety car was despatched onto the circuit whilst the scattered debris was cleared. Once the car pulled in Thomas was sitting in ninth with Coxhell in 12th and Hickman in 17th position. Coxhell was making his way through the field passing Scott Smart and Billy McConnell and moving his way to tenth position. A number of incidents saw Jonathan Rea, Scott Smart and Billy McConnell crash out of race one which saw all three Hawk Kawasaki riders in the Championship points for the first time this season. The second race saw the Hawk riders struggle with their starts and having to fight their way back through the field for the 28-lap race. Thomas was locked in a close knit battle with factory Honda rider Jonathan Rea and Honda rider Glen Richards, Thomas fended off the eager Richards to take ninth position. Coxhell struggled in the second race for rear grip and managed to bring the bike home in 14th place whilst Hickman was locked in an eight wheeler battle and got the better of the hounding pack for 19th position. Thomas was content with the results commenting “It’s been a tough weekend and we’ve had to make a few changes with the bikes round here. It’s seems to be getting more difficult against the factory teams as they seem to be getting faster and faster at each round. I was suffering a little with arm pump in the first and second race but I needed to get some good results to help me in the Championship standings.” Coxhell was a little disappointed with his second race result saying “I really wanted to push harder in the second race but I was really struggling for rear grip with the bike. I didn’t want to push to hard and crash instead I wanted to make sure I brought it home and get two lots of points. I need to start getting more consistent as I’ve had a couple of set backs this season and want to get some confidence back and get back on track again, as I started the year well.” Hickman was very happy with his results saying “Getting Championship points seems to have been a long time coming and now I’ve finally managed to break the barrier. I enjoyed the weekend and got two finishes which is the main thing. No matter what I did or changed this weekend though I still struggled to go any faster, I was certainly consistent but my aim is to be in the points every weekend and that is all part of the learning process.”