MIST Suzuki Lead Championship After SuperBike Evo Double Win The second round of the season couldn’t have worked out better for the dedicated MIST Suzuki team. Just two weeks after having run the bike for the first time they scored a whole range of firsts at Thruxton to take the double race win in the inaugural SuperBike Evo series. Having qualified at the front of the strong Evo field rider Dave Anthony also secured the Evo lap record at Thruxton and left leading the Championship by 18 points. After all the excitement it is easy to forget that Dave nearly didn’t make it as his flight was one of the last to arrive before the airports were closed on Thursday due to the Volcanic dust in the atmosphere. Even at the time of writing he is still waiting to find out whether he will make it home to California at some point this week or whether he may have to stay a while longer. Having fixed a fuel pump issue at Brands which cost valuable track time the team spent the interim workshop time trying to get to the bottom of why the bike appeared to be down on power. It was only when they got to the circuit on Thursday that a crucial configuration issue was spotted that meant they could fight on more equal terms at the fastest circuit in the country. According to Team Manager Mike Edwards “A small team such as ours can only achieve so much so it is a testament to the help and support we have had from around the paddock to allow is to come so far in such a short time. The guys from Motec have ben brilliant who, along with Tim Seed, have always made time to answer our daft questions. We also had to call on the Ohlins expertise from Harris over the weekend when we had a problem with our forks otherwise we might not have been running at the front at all.”. Taking his time in the first session to learn the track and make some minor suspension changes it was the second practice session where Dave showed his credentials finishing a close second in the Evo class before dominating the third session finishing in 16th place overall in amongst the main SuperBike riders. Just ten minutes in to the session and Dave was up in 9th place with a number of factory SuperBike riders left trailing in his wake. With such a tight budget it was the end of the sessions where many others set their fastest time as they were able to fit new tyres whilst the MIST Suzuki team had to sit on the sidelines and watch the clock. Qualifying went well with the team inside the top twenty and thus making it through to the second qualifying session. Eventually finishing in 18th place Team Manager Mike Edwards was happy although confident that Dave could have gone faster had they more tyres available as they were sidelined half way through the period due to budgetary constraints. Dave made a slow start in the first race and after being held up at the first corner finished the lap in 26th position a fair way down the field and behind many of the top Evo runners. Showing the same determination he had at Brands Hatch he soon found a strong rhythm and fought his way through the pack and was soon battling with the factory supported BMW that is widely recognised as having a good 20 hp more than the Suzuki. Showing that power isn’t everything Dave would overtake on the tighter parts of the circuit only to see the BMW power past on the faster straights. Swapping places every lap allowed some of the other Evo riders catch up but Dave made his pass on the BMW stick on the final lap and crossed the line 13th overall and 1st Evo bike home. With the grid for the second race decided by fastest lap times from the first race the team were up in 16th place for the start. Getting off the line better Dave fought his way passed a couple of Evo bikes that had slipped through and rapidly opened a gap on the rest of the Evo field. Once again getting held up by the BMW Dave fought to get by but was regularly demoted again on the faster sections. Long time SuperBike regular Chris Walker had a few problems early on but used his superior power and experience to get between Dave and the BMW for much of the second half of the race. Aware that the rest of the Evo field was closing in Dave bravely fought his way through to lead for just one lap only to have Chris and Steve Brogan on the BMW power past on the fastest part of the circuit. Giving away 30 hp to the SuperBike he bravely hung on until an incident at the chicane a couple of laps from the end delayed him enough for Tom Tunstall to slip through on another SuperBike. Not to be deterred he crossed the line in 17th place just half a second from Chris Walker in 15th. Another Evo race win and a new lap record to top off an excellent weekend. Mike Edwards commented “We are overjoyed at the progress we have made this weekend. Our first podium in five years of racing and our second so soon after. Working with Dave Anthony has been a real pleasure. He has the experience to tell us what he needs from the bike and everyone then does their best to give it to him. Now we are leading the championship but still have to secure funding to allow us to compete in the next round at Oulton Park in under a fortnight so in between rebuilding the engine we will be out looking for sponsorship as we are determined to win the British SuperBike Evo championship title.”. Anyone that is interested in helping the team please get in touch via the team website at www.mistsuzuki.com or email them at ‘[email protected]’. More, from a press release issued by PTR Honda: Gowland and PTR on the podium PTR HONDA racer Graeme Gowland took a superb second place at the second round of the British Supersport Championship at Thruxton in Hampshire. Gowland got a blistering start before dropping back and then fighting his way back through to second by the chequered flag. Added to his fifth position at the opening round he is now a clear second place in the Championship stakes. The PTR tuned Honda CBR600RR showed its class at Thruxton with Gowland able to make the most of its 140bhp+ at the rear wheel along the back straight. For more details on PTR tuning packages available for CBR600 or Fireblade models, call 01832-730014. Graeme: “I am really happy, it feels like a win. I went for the softest tyre, which not many others did, so I did nothing stupid early on. I had done a lot of laps on the tyre in practice and was confident and then I saw the other riders start to struggle and went for it. It is nice to be racing and heading in the right direction, the next step is to win. My PTR Honda is brilliant and I want to win a few races and the Championship – those are our targets.” Race Result 1: Westmoreland 2: Gowland PTR HONDA +0.355 3: Grant +0.369 4: McConnell +4.712 5: Kennedy +7.135 6: Hutchinson +8.035 Championship Positions (after two of 12 rounds) 1 Westmoreland 45 points 2 Gowland PTR HONDA 31 3 McConnell 29 More, from a press release issued by Tom Tunstall Racing: Strong weekend for Tunstall Doodson Motorsport racer Tom Tunstall bounced back from a mechanical issue in Sunday’s first British Superbike race. Producing another strong performance, Tunstall fought his way through the field only to be denied a points scoring finish by just a few tenths of a second off Superbike legend Chris Walker. The second round of twelve in 2010 British Superbike Championship campaign was staged at the ultra fast Thruxton Circuit in Hampshire at the weekend. Tom Tunstall and his Doodson Motorsport team progressed well through the free practice sessions optimising bike set-up for the bumpy high speed track. The culmination was an impressive qualifying lap, with an average speed of 111mph, placing him 17th on the grid of 34 riders. Tunstall explained: “I’m really pleased with the progress the team have made. We changed the bike set up overnight which gave me a lot more rear grip and also helped the bike to turn. I’m lapping nearly two seconds faster which says it all really. The times are close and I think everyone will have tyre issues towards the end of the 20-lap race, I’m confident we’re capable of turning it into results in the race” The conditions were near perfect for Sunday’s races with unbroken blue skies and sun baking the 2.36mile track. As Tunstall took to the grid a slight oil leak was spotted by the team, and after attempting to solve the issue the Yorkshireman was forced to start from pit lane. However after completing only one lap oil smoke was visible from Tunstall’s machine and forcing him to retire from the race. Things took a turn for the worse as his machine then caught fire but the swift work of the marshals meant no serious damage was done. The Doodson Motorsport team once again worked swiftly to re-prepare the bike for the second race, but with new rules basing the race two grid positions on race one lap times Tunstall was dealt another blow being shuffled to the rear of the grid as he’d only completed one lap. Undeterred Tunstall made swift and continued progress throughout the race. Maintaining his relentless pace even after the tyres had gone well past their best, Tunstall closed down a three second gap to a five rider battle for the final points placing. On lap 17 the group hurtled into the Club Chicane four abreast with Tunstall managing to find his way past two of the riders taking the outside line. However the close battle ended in tears for two of the pack [Craig] Fitzpatrick & Supermoto Champion Christian Iddon as they crashed out with Tunstall having to ride over the chicane to avoid being taken out. BMW mounted Steve Brogan managed to pull away from the fracas leaving Tunstall and Chris Walker to fight it out for the last point. Tunstall found a way past once into the Campbell Complex and also into the 120mph plus Church Corner only for Walker to find his way past on both occasion. On the run into the chicane for the final time Walker misjudged his entry and took evasive action over the chicane, which meant Tunstall couldn’t mount a final attack and followed the multiple race winner over the line missing out on 15th and the point by only a few tenths. “The oil leak and the change in grid positions meant I had a big hill to climb & I’m gutted to miss out on the points, the team and I definitely deserved it. “To come from that far back was good fun but hard work. Everyone was in the same boat with the tyres at the end but I was able to keep a strong pace and catch them. “To be honest I was focussing so hard I didn’t realise it was the last lap! Chris was struggling and I should have had it but I’m happy with the bike, how I was riding and the team have done a great job all weekend. The next round is the first of two visits to Oulton Park in Cheshire taking place over the May Day bank holiday weekend. More, from a press release issued by Steve Plater’s publicist: STEVE PLATER TAKES WIN AT THRUXTON HM Plant Honda ace Steve Plater extended his series lead to 10 points when he secured the win in round two of the 2010 Metzeler National Superstock championship at Thruxton on Sunday. Qualifying saw the affable Lincolnshire rider head the leaderboard in each of the qualifying sessions and unofficially break the lap record with a scorching lap of 1m 17.297s on his way to setting pole position. He said: “Every session has been good, we have been working on a race set up rather than one lap and I have gone faster each time – not by a lot, just a little bit – and then I posted a really good lap in the second qualifying session. I am happy enough as I am over half a second quicker than anyone else but of course it’s the race that counts and I need to get a good clean start and then get my head down and see what I can do.” But the clean start did not happen for the vastly experienced rider from Woodhall Spa near Lincoln as he was clipped by another rider and pushed wide into the first corner. He came out of the corner in eighth position and held station to let the rest of the field settle down before making his move forward. By lap four he had reached fourth place and then nipped past Tristan Palmer at the complex to claim third position. Two laps later and he was up to second and chasing Howie Mainwaring for the lead. As the race progressed Plater reduced the gap and eventually swept past Mainwaring at the complex and into the lead. But Mainwaring wasn’t giving up his position easily and stuck with him. The pair exchanged places on more than one occasion but Plater held station and took the chequered flag for his second win of the current campaign crossing the finish line just two tenths of a second ahead of his rival. As well as the race win Plater smashed a massive 0.7s from the existing lap record with a time of 1.16.938s 110.23mph on lap two of 15. “Another lap record and another win which obviously is good for me and HM Plant Honda. The Fireblade is working so well to be honest and I am riding it well so the package is complete. I nearly got run in to at the first corner so I lost some time. But I didn’t panic and just got my head down and came through the pack to slot in behind the front two. I sat there for a little while and then went on attack mode and hit the front just in case there was a stoppage. That didn’t happen and I was able to stay in control and win the race.” With maximum points from the first two races under his belt, Plater leads Mainwaring by 10 championship points 50 40 with Conor Cummins in third place on 26 points. The next round is at Oulton Park in Cheshire over the May Day bank holiday weekend (May 3) where Plater will be looking to add to his points tally and to further extend his series lead.