Mixed results for Speedfreaks in Ireland. The Speedfreaks Yamaha team had a tough weekend during rounds six and seven of the Metzeler National Superstock Championship at Mondello Park in Ireland. Gary Johnson pulled in a sixth place finish in the first race but was taken down in a first corner crash in race two. His team-mate Anton Kokshoorn had a similar fate with a nineteenth place finish in race one and a crash in race two. The third member of the team, James Edmeades crashed heavily in qualifying and had to sit both races out. Johnson’s sixth place was his best result to date and he was pleased with the outcome, “I didn’t get a bad start from the second row of the grid, but I boiled my front brakes so I just had no feeling in the lever and it took me a while to settle in. Once I had a few laps under my belt I got into my rhythm,” he said. Once he got into the swing of the race he was able to up his lap times and make inroads into the riders in front of him, “I was only 4 thousandths of a second off the fastest lap time so I was happy with that.” The crash in race two was unfortunate as Johnson was taken down by another rider, “I’m disappointed as I was running the pace and we had made changes to the bike which were positive and really a big improvement. I felt I was capable of winning and that is why I went for the hole shot. I’m disappointed with what happened but it was just a racing incident, I could hear the bike coming but there was nothing I could do. My knee is a bit swollen and my ankle hurts but I’m ok.” The result from Mondello has boosted his confidence and he is now looking forward to the next round at Knockhill. Kokshoorn had a fairly steady outing qualifying in eighteenth in the difficult wet conditions at the twisting Irish circuit. He made good progress until a moment dropped him down the order to twenty third place and he had his work cut out to get back up to nineteenth where he finished the race. His second race ended in the same way as Johnson’s getting caught up in a crash. Edmeades weekend was very much cut short by his crash in qualifying, “My weekend was up and down really. I was running twelfth and thirteenth but I was just struggling with confidence and knowing how hard to push in the wet conditions. The crash, well I’m not sure what happened but I’ve injured my wrist and banged my head. My wrist didn’t show any breaks but I’ve to give it two weeks and have it checked again but I should be ok for Knockhill.” The eighth round of the Metzeler National Superstock Championship is at Knockhill in Scotland on the 29thand 30th June and race day on 1st July. The Speedfreaks are hoping for improved results at the Scottish venue. More, from a press release issued by Steve Plater’s publicist: STEVE PLATER MONDELLO PARK After retiring from the first encounter at Mondello Park, Woodhall Spa rider Steve Plater went on to finish the second race in 12th place to pick up a handful of championship points in round six of the 2007 Bennetts British Superbike championship on Sunday. Heavy rain caused the riders a headache throughout the two days of practise with qualifying leaving them with no dry set-up for Sunday’s two races, which took place in the dry. After travelling from Magny Cours in France where he had been testing for Kawasaki France in preparation for the World Endurance series, Steve took one look at the near torrential downpour and opted out of the first practise session on Friday. “There is little point in going out in this,” said Steve. “There is little to be achieved.” The rain cleared away for the second session later in the day but although the rain had stopped the track was still very wet and slippery. Steve went out to test the AIM Yamaha R1 returning to the pits every few laps to make adjustments. The final session again was held on a wet track although the rain clouds had moved away. This time Steve felt more comfortable on the bike and was running within the top ten for most of the session. But by the time qualifying began on Saturday the rain had been falling steadily for over half an hour making track conditions treacherous. Steve held 12th place for much of the session but was knocked back a place when Greg Lavilla put in a fast lap in the dying minutes leaving Steve to start his two races from 13th place in a fourth row grid position. The rain cleared up for race day and an extended warm-up session was held to allow for lack of dry practise. As the first race got underway Steve settled into 12th place before overtaking Tom Sykes to hold 11th position. But on lap seven Steve returned to the pits to retire with a faulty gear shifter. Race two saw Steve get away to another good start to hold 12th spot for much of the race. But he was having problems with grip and after a battle with Scott Smart and Ollie Bridewell he finally succumbed to their pressure and fell back to 14th. It looked as if he would remain in 14th place but with the demise of two front-runners on the final lap Steve was promoted back to 12th crossing the finish line to claim four championship points and his best finish of the season. “We had some good racing today, but for the gear shifter developing a fault in the first race I could have been a lot further up field,” said Steve. “Then in race two we had a tyre problem, I could have easily finished in the top ten but it wasn’t to be.” Its on to Knockhill next on July 1 where the team will be working with Steve to make further progress with bike development to enable him to edge further up the results sheets and into the top ten. More, from a press release issued by Samsung Superbike Team: Samsung Superbike Team happy with Mondello Park progress. Dean Thomas aboard his Samsung Suzuki Superbike had a suitable result at round six of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Mondello Park in Ireland. He qualified in sixteenth place and finished race one in fourteenth and race two in thirteenth. While his new team-mate in the Metzeler National Superstock Championship, Sean Emmett surprised a few people on his first time out on the 1098 Ducati. Emmett qualified in sixth place and finished both races in thirteenth. Practice and qualifying were held in wet conditions while both races were in the dry which made life difficult for all concerned. Speaking after both races Thomas said, “It’s not been too bad, not quite to plan, we were hoping to run top ten which I feel we are capable of but I just got held up in the first one,” he explained, “By the time I got a rhythm and got through I couldn’t get to where I wanted to be. The times weren’t too bad for where we wanted to be, I’m back in the points but not far enough up the list for my liking.” Thomas admitted that he feels the way forward is to reduce horse power as he went on to say, “We don’t run traction control but nearly everyone else does so maybe we have learned something, maybe we need to know more horse power out of it and see how we go. A thirteenth and a fourteenth it will do I suppose. We’ll just move onto Knockhill and see what we can do.” Emmett meanwhile enjoyed his time on his new machine spending the weekend getting to grips with a completely new bike, new tyres and a new team; he even had to squeeze into former Samsung Ducati rider, Jon Kirkham’s leathers! Team Manager, Enzo Diclemente said, “We are really happy to have Sean on our bike and Ducati are happy too. He knows Ducati and we want him to develop the new 1098. The results this weekend didn’t really reflect what he is capable of. I mean when the weather was real bad in practice he was running third fastest on an unfamiliar bike. In both races he got shunted and tangled up in other people’s crashes which held him up. Its great to have him back and we are hoping for some good results in the near future.” Round seven of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship takes place at Knockhill in Scotland on the 29thand 30th June and race day on 1st July. More, from a press release issued by AIM Yamaha: AIM YAMAHA IN THE POINTS AT MONDELLO After retiring from the first encounter at Mondello Park, Team AIM Yamaha rider Steve Plater went on to finish the second race in 12th place to pick up a handful of championship points in round six of the 2007 Bennetts British Superbike championship on Sunday. Heavy rain caused the riders a headache throughout the two days of practise with qualifying leaving them with no dry set-up for Sunday’s two races, which took place in the dry. With only one bike available Steve took one look at the weather and decided against going out in the first free practise session. STEVE PLATER There is little point in going out in this. With no spare bike this weekend there is nothing to be achieved and a lot to lose if we slide off in the slippery conditions. The rain cleared away for the second session later in the day but although the rain had stopped the track was still very wet and slippery. Steve went out to test the AIM Yamaha R1 returning to the pits every few laps to make adjustments. The final session again was held on a wet track although the rain clouds had moved away. This time Steve felt more comfortable on the bike and was running within the top ten for most of the session. But by the time qualifying began on Saturday the rain had been falling steadily for over half an hour making track conditions treacherous. Steve held 12th place for much of the session but the session was red flagged with two minutes remaining and at the restart Lavilla put in one last flying lap to demote him one place and onto the fourth row. The rain cleared up for race day and an extended warm-up session was held to allow for lack of dry practise. As the first race got underway Steve settled into 12th place before overtaking Tom Sykes to hold 11th position. He was beginning to reel in Tommy Hill and had plans to overtake him but the gear shifter caused the engine to misfire and Steve reluctantly withdrew after completing seven laps. Race two saw Steve get away to another good start to hold 12th spot for much of the race. But he was having problems with grip and after a battle with Scott Smart and Ollie Bridewell he finally succumbed to their pressure and fell back to 14th. It looked as if he would remain in 14th place but with the demise of two front-runners on the final lap Steve was promoted back to 12th crossing the finish line to claim four championship points and his best finish of the season. STEVE PLATER We had some good racing today, but for the gear shifter developing a fault in the first race I could have been a lot further up field. Then in race two we had a tyre problem, there was just no grip. If the tyre had not let me down I would have been in the top ten for sure. ALISTAIR FLANAGAN After three weeks at the TT it was a quick turn around to prepare for Mondello. We only had the one Superbike ready for the races and so took the Supersport bike as well just in case we had any problems. As it turned out we used the Superbike and despite the non-finish in the first race it was running well in race two until the tyre problem began to take its toll. But Steve brought it home in 12th place to claim a few more championship points and we now move on to Knockhill. We have two new engines and a different chassis modification to test at Knockhill before going on to Croft for the two- day test there. The next round is north of the border at Knockhill on July 1 where Team AIM Yamaha will be hoping the new modifications will assist Steve to secure a brace of strong results. More, from a press release issued by Tom Tunstall Racing: More Points for Tunstall Hardinge Ice Valley Motorsport racer Tom Tunstall picked up yet more points in his hunt for the British Superbike Cup Championship in Ireland at the weekend, but it was far from a straight forward task”¦ With a short trip across the Irish Sea for the British Superbike teams, the latest of the 13 round championships took place at Mondello Park near Dublin. The tight and twisty 2.17mile track proved to be testing for Superbike rookie Tom Tunstall having not seen the track since 2004 which has been modified since his last visit. Inclement weather throughout practice and qualifying proved another challenge for the Huddersfield racer having never ridden the high powered 1000cc machine on anything but a dry track. Having qualified 5th fastest of the cup contenders Tunstall commented: “It’s been a tough weekend so far. I’ve learnt a lot about the feeling of the Superbike in the wet. I steadily built my confidence and understanding but it was harder being so unfamiliar with the circuit. The forecast for tomorrow [race day] is dry so I guess we’ll start from scratch again!” Although the forecast was correct, the circuit was still damp for the Sunday morning warm-up session meaning Tunstall was to start the race with no dry experience of the track. After being baulked in the opening corners Tunstall lost ground and took time to find pace but by lap five had found his feet and started to close on the riders ahead. First up was former Cup winner & current series leader James Buckingham. The Yorkshireman slashed a 2.5second gap in four laps and once past immediately pulled away by more than a second each lap. Next up was experienced cup runner Malcolm Ashley whose 3.5second advantage was eroded in just three laps. Tunstall eased past to take fifth which he held to the flag. “It took me a few laps to get going but once I did my pace was the same as the podium guys, considering the lack of experience here especially in the dry and we took an educated guess on set-up it was a good start. We’ll make some changes for race two and I hope to build from here”. In the second of the days races; Tunstall’s pace was slightly faster, knocking seven seconds off his race time but was unable to improve his position and ended the race in sixth. “I was hoping to be stronger in the second race but I brought it home and got some more points. I knew it was going to be tough here with the Irish guy’s home advantage. But it’s been stacked against us with the changing conditions and my lack of superbike experience. But then again there’s only one way to get experience and that by doing weekends like this. That’s the thing about racing, you never stop learning”¦” The next round of the Championship is north of the border at Knockhill in Scotland on 1st July. More, from a press release issued on behalf of Martin Jessopp: Top Ten For Jessopp Mondello Park Round 6 After missing round five of the Maxxis British Supersport series at Snetterton Circuit with a fractured hand, Martin Jessopp and the Riders Racing Ducati team made a welcome return to the Championship gaining ninth position. Still struggling with swelling on his hand Jessopp was pleased with the overall result. Having struggled throughout the weekend with qualifying after not riding a bike since Oulton Park at the beginning of May, Jessopp had to readjust to the bike and get a good feeling at the bumpy circuit of Mondello Park, in the wet conditions throughout the practice and qualifying sessions. A crash in Friday’s practice left the already wounded Jessopp in more pain and discomfort, not deterring him he could only gain 24th position over the two qualifying sessions which left him with a lot of work to do in the race. A good start saw the 21-year-old from Yeovil move through the field into a points scoring position. With the race being stopped and rescheduled and then stopped again, it was a long drawn out affair for the riders to remain focused on the job in hand. On the eventual restart and planned nine lap race Jessopp worked his way through the field and moved into ninth position. Gaining a good start he fought his way through to 12th by lap six he made a move on TT winner Ian Hutchinson and Honda rider Joe Dickinson and slipped into ninth place after passing Sam Owens on lap seven. Commenting he said “It’s been a strange and difficult weekend to be fair in all aspects, the weather, my injury and the crashes that occurred in the races. It was hard to remain focused and keep your mind on what we had to do. In the final restart I got a good start and really wanted to gain a top ten position. I’m still in a lot of discomfort with my hand still and it’s still very swollen. Hopefully I will be back on the pace at Knockhill in a couple of weeks time.” The Riders Racing Ducati team would like to express their sympathies to the family and friends of Guy Sanders who sadly lost his life in a racing incident yesterday in the Supersport race. Maxxis British Supersport Result Hobbs Honda Robinson Honda Lowry Suzuki McGuinness Honda Easton Kawasaki Grant Yamaha Fitzpatrick Yamaha Westmoreland Honda Jessopp Riders Racing Ducati Owens Honda More, from a press release issued by Bridewell Brothers Racing: POINTS FOR OLLIE, PAIN FOR TOMMY… Team NB racing brothers Ollie and Tommy Bridewell experienced contrasting fortunes when round six of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship took place at Mondello Park in County Kildare at the weekend. Fresh from a brilliant start to the season, both of the riders from Etchilhampton near Devizes in Wiltshire were hoping to continue their good form on their respective Suzukis and arrived at the Irish circuit in good spirits. Qualifying went well for 21 year Ollie who managed to post a row three start, just ahead of ex champion Gregorio Lavilla, but for 18 year old Tommy, a crash on Friday had hindered his progress and he was forced to start from row seven of the grid. In the opening race, Ollie and Tommy were battling for the lower leaderboard points when Tommy high-sided, crashing spectacularly out of 13th place and to compound the misery for the team, Ollie suffered an engine failure whilst holding 11th just five laps from home. With a battered and bruised Tommy unfit to take his place on the grid for race two, it was left to Ollie to uphold family and team honours and after a race long battle, was unlucky just to miss out on a top ten placing, eventually finishing in 11th place. “We struggled with grip all weekend long, but it was a compromise and we did the best we could” said Ollie. “Overall, it wasn’t too bad but I’m disappointed that I retired in race one and missed out on a top ten in race two but we now move on to Knockhill and look to score more points there.” “I was lucky to get away with so few injuries after crashing out” said Tommy. “I’m sore all over and going for a check up to make sure nothing is broken but I hope to be back at Knockhill. We need to work on the set up and to optimise the grip and once we have that sorted, we can improve.” As a result of the weekend’s events, Ollie moved ahead of his sibling into 14th in the overall points standings with Tommy just a point adrift in 15th going into the next round at Knockhill in two weeks time. More, from a press release issued by Centurion Racing: Points for Centurion at Mondello Park Maxxis British Supersport Round 6 Despite appalling weather conditions at Mondello Park this weekend the Centurion riders, James Westmoreland and Dan Cooper secured eighth and 15th place respectively in round six of the Maxxis British Supersport Championship. With rain hitting the Irish circuit throughout the weekend the team experience a number of different challenges before the final race result was finalised. Westy struggled during qualifying after his bike suffered a mechanical problem which took up valuable time throughout both qualifying sessions and therefore he only managed to get the Centurion Racing Honda to 30th position on the starting grid. Cooper rode cautiously during first qualifying but came strong in the second session when he set the fastest time of the wet session, pulling him up the starting grid to 17th place. Both riders gained a good start for the 18-lap race with Cooper up to 12th after the first lap and Westy moving to 26th. The race was red flagged on lap 10 due to an incident and was rescheduled for an nine lap sprint after the second British Superbike race. The riders lined up on the grid for the second time in the position in which they were when the first race was stopped, with Cooper starting from 15th and Westy from 17th. Once again the race was stopped after only the first lap after a serious crash. On the re start both got great starts and by lap two, Westy was 14th and Cooper in 16th, the pairing both worked their way through the field and made good progress gaining two sturdy results for the team. Westy commented “After a tough qualifying and only just scraping onto row eight, I knew it was going be tough going! The bike worked fantastic all weekend in the wet and dry, and I rode my heart out, from 30th to eighth. It was hard going but I made some strong passes and consistent lap times to pick my way through the pack. During the weekend I definitely made a big step forward with my confidence and riding, and now feel more complete as a Supersport rider. The Championship is tightening up and Knockhill is one of my favourite circuits so hopefully I can improve on my eighth position overall. I would like to thank the whole Centurion team for their effort and continued support.” Cooper said “Before Mondello Park I had never ridden a 600 in the wet so I was feeling a little apprehensive about how I was going to get on in the first sessions of the weekend. I seemed to pick it up really well and it gave me a lot more confidence knowing that I could ride the bike in wet conditions. Come race day and morning warm up, which was our only dry testing time of the weekend and I knew that I would have my work cut out in the short ten minute warm up session to get the bike set up right for the race. The day was mixed with the racing and it was stop start all day, I managed to get a great start in the final race but I had a huge slide half way through which cost me a lot of time but I still brought the old girl home in 15th place. My deepest sympathy goes out to all of Guy’s family and the Gearlink Kawasaki Team at such a difficult time. RIP Guy, gone but never forgotten.” The entire Centurion Team would like to pass on their condolences to the family and friends of Guy Sanders who sadly lost his life in the Supersport accident on Sunday. Maxxis British Supersport Result: Hobbs Honda Robinson Honda Lowry Suzuki McGuinness Honda Easton Kawasaki Grant Yamaha Fitzpatrick Yamaha Westmoreland Centurion Racing Honda Jessopp Ducati Owens Honda Hutchinson Honda Dickinson Honda Young Triumph Walker Honda Cooper Centurion Racing Honda More, from a press release issued by Hydrex Honda: Front row and top tens for Hydrex Honda in Ireland. Karl Harris and his Hydrex Honda team had a successful weekend with a front row start and a sixth and eighth place finish for round six of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Mondello Park in Ireland. Harris had to brave a rain soaked track to achieve his front row start as the typical Irish weather kicked in. Then for race day it dried up leaving the teams to sort out a dry set-up during morning warm-up. “It has been our best weekend so far, it has not been too bad,” said Harris, “The first race was good but in the second one I got punted by Cal Crutchlow and that let four or five riders pass me. I lost my run onto the straight, Tommy Hill made a break and by the time I got past him it was just too late. Obviously not enough laps to go so I was a bit disappointed, but a better weekend all round I feel.” The team have been working hard to improve and develop Harris’ bike and this weekend they had a new engine to try out, “I’ve got a new engine which is better bit I still need a bit more on the chassis work but I do feel we are getting there,” he explained. The next round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship takes place at Knockhill and Harris is looking forward to it. “Knockhill should be good. I don’t mind the circuit so we’ll just wait and see what comes our way,” he grinned. Round seven of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship takes place at Knockhill in Scotland on the 29thand 30th June and race day on 1st July. British Superbikes – Mondello Park Race One Result 1 – Leon Haslam – Ducati – Airwaves Ducati – 30.02.146 2 – Shane Byrne – Honda – Stobart Vent Axia Motorsport – 30.02.304 3 – Gregorio Lavilla – Ducati – Airwaves Ducati – 30.05.637 4 – Jonathan Rea – Honda – HM Plant Honda – 30.11.939 5 – Ryuichi Kiyonari – Honda – HM Plant Honda – 30.19.932 6 – Karl Harris – Honda – Hydrex Honda – 30.02.500 7 – Leon Camier – Honda – Honda – 30.20.589 8 – Cal Crutchlow – Suzuki – Rizla Suzuki – 30.20.831 9 – Chris Walker – Suzuki – Rizla Suzuki – 30.27.718 10 – Tommy Hill – Yamaha – Virgin Media Optoma Loans – 30.46.149 British Superbikes – Mondello Park Race Two Result 1 – Jonathan Rea – Honda – HM Plant Honda – 30.14.164 2 – Shane Byrne – Honda – Stobart Vent Axia Motorsport – 30.16.508 3 – Gregorio Lavilla – Ducati – Airwaves Ducati – 30.16.624 4 – Leon Haslam – Ducati – Airwaves Ducati – 30.17.395 5 – Ryuichi Kiyonari – Honda – HM Plant Honda – 30.22.285 6 – Leon Camier – Honda – Honda – 30.28.062 7 – Tom Sykes – Honda – Stobart Vent Axia Motorsport – 30.28.518 8 – Karl Harris – Honda – Hydrex Honda – 30.35.611 9 – Tommy Hill – Yamaha – Virgin Media Optoma Loans – 30.37.654 10 – Scott Smart – Kawasaki – Hawk Kawasaki – 30.53.159 More, from a press release issued by Hawk Kawasaki: Improvement in Ireland Mondello Park Round 6 It was another step in the right direction at Mondello Park Ireland for the Hawk Colchester Kawasaki Team. Both Scott Smart and Peter Hickman gained Championship points. With Smart securing a 12th and 10th position and Hickman scoring a 17th and 14th position the team are making progress and moving in the direction that they want to be going in. In torrential weather conditions during Friday and Saturday practice sessions and a very wet qualifying session on Saturday afternoon Smart qualified in 15th position with Hickman in 21st both riders had to work their way through the strong field to gain the overall results. Smart who has been making progress on the Kawasaki ZX10R throughout the season has made a number of changes to his machine to help him push himself forward on the grid and be more competitive in the ultra-tough Bennett’s British Superbike Championship. Commenting Smart said “We are steadily going forward and developing the bike and getting the set up right for racing. I had a few small problems this weekend, however, some were time consuming and I missed out on a bit of track time. I’m beginning to feel more confident on the bike and getting it working the way I like it. We have only just reached the half way point in the season and therefore there is still a lot of time to get it all perfect.” Hicky said “It’s been a fairly mad weekend, the weather conditions were very difficult to ride in and the track was very slippery. I had a crash coming out of the last corner on Friday when I got run wide and touched the white line. Thankfully I didn’t do much damage but I could have done without it. I’ve had a few offs at the last couple of races and it’s knocked my confidence a little. I’m just working as staying on and rebuilding my confidence and getting some good results. I’m content with the second race result and feeling happier about going to Knockhill in a couple of weeks time.” The next British Superbike race is at Knockhill, 29th, 30th June and 1st July. A full timetable can be viewed here: – ~http://www.mcrcb-events.co.uk/gallery/knockhill%20final.pdf~ N.B Hawk Kawasaki team up with Colchester Kawasaki East Anglian Kawasaki dealer Colchester Kawasaki have recently become sponsors of the Hawk Kawasaki Team which sees the Team now being named, with immediate effect, Hawk Colchester Kawasaki. This partnership with the Hawk Team will continue into 2008. Dealer Principals of Colchester Kawasaki, Ian Stewart and Julie Bentley are no strangers to the British Superbike Paddock after running Shaun Muir (now team owner of Hydrex Honda) in 1996 on an ex World Superbike Reve Racing Kawasaki ZXR 750 and having also run riders in the past including Ray Stringer, Jeremy McWilliams, John Roach and Phil Giles. Hawk Colchester Kawasaki Team Owner Stuart Hicken commented “We are very much looking forward to the partnership with Colchester Kawasaki. Ian (Stewart) and I have run riders together in the past and we see this tie up as something that can only benefit both parties”. It is their mutual desire to sell Kawasaki ZX10 and ZX6 race replicas on the road and various other related products. The partnership will commence with immediate effect.