Reeves works hard for double victory at Knockhill The Eastern Airways British F1 Sidecar Championship was back alongside the premier British Superbike Championship series at Knockhill over the weekend and they certainly proved to be two eventful races for the three-wheelers. However, it was reigning champions Tim Reeves and Gregory Cluze who overcame everything that was thrown at them and they took both of the race wins to extend their Championship lead. With wet conditions throughout the first two days, it was Reeves and Cluze who dominated all of practice and it was they who took pole position by just over half a second from Barry James/Jamie Winn with the Irish pairing of John Clarke and Stuart Graham taking a season’s best third a fraction ahead of local stars Scott Lawrie/James Neave. However, in Saturday’s opening 18-lap race it was Reeves/Cluze and James/Winn who repeated their battle from Brands Hatch just over a month ago. Reeves led at the end of the opening lap but James was right in his wheeltracks and the duo exchanged fastest laps as they pulled away from the rest of the field. After three laps there was less than half a second between them whilst an entertaining battle for third between Andy Peach/Charlie Richardson, Lawrie/Neave, Phil Bell/Ashley Hawes and Ben Holland/Lee Watson was taking place five seconds further back but Clarke and Graham were out of luck as they spun out at the hairpin. At the front Reeves and Cluze began to edge away and, as they tried to respond, James and Winn flipped the outfit and crashed out causing the race to be red flagged. Re-started over 8 laps, Reeves and Cluze again grabbed the holeshot and this time it was Lawrie/Neave who took the challenge to them. At half race distance, the English driver still only led by just over half a second with Bell, Peach and Ben Bygrave/Calum Lawson occupying 3rd to 5th, only 0.1s separating the latter two. On lap 5 though, Reeves/Cluze added half a second to their lead something they did for the rest of the race and they eventually took the chequered flag 2.4s ahead of Lawrie/Neave. Bell and Hawes were comfortable in third as were Bygrave/Lawson in a season’s best fourth but the race for fifth went all the way to the end, Peach/Richardson just edging out Holland/Watson by 0.3s. The rain abated for Sunday’s 18-lap race with the crews getting a dry race and it was Lawrie who this time shot into the lead on the opening lap and by lap 3 he’d built up a 1.4s cushion over Reeves with Bell in third followed by a group comprising Peach, Bygrave, Lovelock and Holland, James one further place back in 8th. As the race approached half race distance, Reeves began to lap quicker than Lawrie, reducing the lead down to just 0.016s and on lap 8 he was in the lead as the Scotsman ran into gearbox problems and dropped back to third. Reeves now had a six-second lead but a slow ninth lap dropped him back into the clutches of Bell whilst Lawrie now had a battle on his hands for third with Peach right behind him. Indeed, by lap 12, Lawrie’s troubles were worsening and he slipped all the way back to 8th, the top six now reading Reeves, Bell, Peach, James, Lovelock and Bygrave, just three tenths of a second between Peach and James. However, on lap 13 the red flag came out, James and Winn again crashing out and so the result stood with Reeves the winner from Bell, Peach, Lovelock, Bygrave and Holland and the unlucky Lawrie in seventh. The results mean that Reeves/Cluze now have 165pts to lead second placed Lawrie/Neave by 65 points. They’re followed by Bell/Hawes (83), Peach/Richardson (80, Lovelock/Lawrence (77) and the unlucky James/Winn (70). Race 1 (8 laps): 1st Reeves/Cluze (LCR Honda), 2nd Lawrie/Neave (LCR Suzuki) +2.435s, 3rd Bell/Hawes (LCR Suzuki) +6.230s, 4th Bygrave/Lawson (LCR Suzuki) +10.626s, 5th Peach/Richardson (LCR Suzuki) +13.038s, 6th Holland/Watson (LCR Suzuki) +13.340s Race 2 (13 laps): 1st Reeves/Cluze (LCR Honda), 2nd Bell/Hawes (LCR Suzuki) +3.158s, 3rd Peach/Richardson (LCR Suzuki) +13.139s, 4th Lovelock/Lawrence (LCR Suzuki) +17.019s, 5th Bygrave/Lawson (LCR Suzuki) +20.009s, 6th Holland/Watson (LCR Suzuki) +21.894s Round 4 of the Championship takes place at the new Snetterton 300 circuit on July 9/10. More, from a press release issued by AP Kawasaki: Scottish Frustration For AP Kawasaki There was a mixture of joy and disappointment for the AP Kawasaki team today when riders Leon Hunt and Freddie Russo were in action at Knockhill in Scotland. Brighton rider Hunt was denied his best finish of the season so far in the latest round of the Metzeler National 1000cc Superstock Championship after he had performed heroics during the two days of practice and qualifying when, in changeable conditions, he qualified the ZX-10R Kawasaki in a brilliant fifth place. With confidence high, Leon and the team had high hopes for the 22-lap race but all hopes of a top six result were dashed on the opening lap when he was part of a multiple machine pile up after a good start. The race was subsequently red flagged but sadly for Leon, the bike was too badly damaged in the short space of time allowed and he reluctantly had to miss out. Brentwood rider Russo made up for the team’s disappointment by taking his AP Kawasaki to 10th in the Metzeler National 600cc Superstock Championship race. Having qualified in 13th place, it was always going to be a hectic 22-lap race around the 1.27-mile circuit and so it proved. Shuffled back to 14th on the opening lap, the safety car was soon out on track and when racing resumed at the end of lap four, Freddie found himself pushed back further to 16th. However, battling hard he gradually began to move back forward and in the second half of the race he was able to pick off a few places in front of him. Part of a five-man group battling for 11th, Freddie overtook all of them and, setting his personal best lap on the penultimate lap of the race, he was rewarded for his efforts with a solid 10th place at the chequered flag. Leon Hunt: “I’m obviously very disappointed as this was looking to be our best weekend to date having qualified in fifth position. I got a great start and then all hell broke loose on the first corner and I got taken down in the melee when I was up to fourth place. The bike was too badly damaged which not only put paid to my chances in the race but has ruled me out of the Snetterton test tomorrow so I’m doubly frustrated. Also, my arm feels a lot better after the operation so I’m really looking forward to the next round at Snetterton.” Freddie Russo: “To end up in tenth place was a pretty good achievement as it was a real scrap out there and I think I could have maybe got a few places higher had I not been held up by the riders I was trying to pass. Still, this represents a good result and I’m pleased with it, it’s certainly better than last year when I left Knockhill very battered and with two black eyes after my crash! I’m hoping we can challenge for a podium at Snetterton in two weeks’ time and build on this solid performance.” Alan Greig, Team Manager: “Overall, I’m very pleased with the team’s performance this weekend but frustrated at the same time. Leon qualified really well and it wasn’t his fault he was taken down on the first corner but these things happen and he paid a heavy price for someone else’s mistake. Freddie showed his battling spirit and I was delighted with his result. What it means most is we are now in a position we want to be and that is challenging for top honours. It’s taken a little longer than we anticipated but hopefully we can continue our progress at Snetterton in two weeks’ time.” Metzeler National Superstock 600cc Championship (22 laps) 1 Keith Farmer (Yamaha) 19m59.314s 2 Glenn Irwin (Kawasaki) +3.570s 3 Cody Nally (Kawasaki) +3.928s 4 Tom Young (Kawasaki) +5.615s 5 Deane Brown (Yamaha) +5.738s 6 Daniel Kinloch (Kawasaki)+6.393s 7 Johnny Blackshaw (Triumph)+9.227s 8 Connor Behan (Kawasaki) +9.279s 9 Ben Burke (Yamaha) +14.724s 10 Freddie Russo (AP Kawasaki) +17.246s Championship Positions (after 5 rounds) 1 Farmer 100pts 2 Brown 52 3 Behan 51 4 Burke 48 5 East 44 6 Nally 42 11 Russo 27 Metzeler National Superstock 1000cc Championship (17 laps) 1 Tristan Palmer (Honda) 14m26.750s 2 Richard Cooper (BMW) +3.686s 3 Danny Buchan (Kawasaki) +3.931s 4 Adam Jenkinson (Honda) +6.358s 5 Howie Mainwaring (Kawasaki) +8.930s 6 Joe Burns (BMW) +10.123s 7 Luke Quigley (BMW) +12.450s 8 Victor Cox (Kawasaki) +12.847s 9 David Johnson (Honda) +17.462s 10 Michael Robertson (Kawasaki) +21.235s DNS Leon Hunt (AP Kawasaki) Championship Positions (after 5 rounds) 1 Palmer 104pts 2 Buchan 97 3 Cooper 79 4 O’Halloran 61 5 Quigley 39 6 Mainwaring 38 25 Hunt 1 More, from a press release issued by Cartersport Media on behalf of Tommy Bridewell: More Points For Bridewell At Knockhill After the disappointment of not scoring at his local round at Thruxton two weeks ago, Tommy Bridewell bounced back with a superb points scoring ride into 11th place when round five of the 2011 MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship took place at Knockhill in Scotland today. The 22-year-old from Etchilhampton near Devizes in Wiltshire was hoping for a good result following the long trip north and with mixed weather prevailing during practice and qualifying, Bridewell slotted the Tyco Honda onto row four as the track dried during Saturday afternoon’s qualifying session. With brighter weather for today’s races, Bridewell was feeling confident and despite not getting a good start, eventually battled into 11th place in the opening 30-lap encounter, just missing out on a top ten placing after chasing home reigning champion, Ryuichi Kiyonari on the HM Plant Honda. With similar conditions for race two, Bridewell made a great start but on lap three, he slid off the machine at Seat Curves, luckily without injury meaning he was unable to add to his superb podium placing in the opening round at Brands Hatch over Easter. Tommy Bridewell: “We made some changes to the bike this weekend and it felt a lot better although we got very little dry time because of the weather. In the opening race, I didn’t get a good start so had my work cut out to get a result and ended up in 11th place. Race two saw me get a better start and I was feeling good when I lost the front end and slid right across the track, somehow managing not to get hit by the pack so I’m feeling very lucky. Despite that, I felt we made some good progress and hope we can continue that at Snetterton in two weeks’ time.” MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship Race 1 (30 laps) 1 Tommy Hill (Yamaha) 24m35.133s 2 John Hopkins (Suzuki) +8.907s 3 Shane Byrne (Honda) +9.123s 4 Gary Mason (Kawasaki) +15.354s 5 Josh Brookes (Suzuki) +21.816s 6 Michael Laverty (Yamaha) +21.823s 7 James Westmoreland (Yamaha) +24.920s 8 Jon Kirkham (Suzuki) +26.558s 9 Loris Baz (Yamaha) +26.665s 10 Ryuichi Kiyonari (Honda) +26.925s 11 Tommy Bridewell (Tyco Honda) +32.340s MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship Race 2 (30 laps) 1 Tommy Hill (Yamaha) 26m12.073s 2 Shane Byrne (Honda) +2.464s 3 Michael Laverty (Yamaha) +2.728s 4 Ryuichi Kiyonari (Honda) +10.983s 5 James Westmoreland (Yamaha) +17.370s 6 Gary Mason (Kawasaki) +18.557s 7 Chris Walker (Kawasaki) +19.955s 8 Peter Hickman (Honda) +20.201s 9 Michael Rutter (Ducati) +21.351s 10 Simon Andrews (Kawasaki) +23.787s DNF Tommy Bridewell (Tyco Honda) 4 laps Championship Positions 1 Byrne 172pts 2 Hopkins 141 3 Hill 120 4 Laverty 95 5 Easton 89 6 Kiyonari 84 7 Hickman 79 8 Kirkham 74 9 Mason 69 10 Rutter 69 17 Bridewell 33