BSB ‘Title Fighters’ head to Silverstone Showdown The Nissan round of the MCE British Superbike Championship, in association with Pirelli, (BSB) heads to Silverstone this weekend (23 25 September) for the penultimate round of a captivating season. Crucial points will be up for grabs in the two races on Sunday and will go some way to deciding which of the six ‘Title Fighters’ will be crowned 2011 champion. Samsung Crescent Racing Suzuki rider John Hopkins currently leads the championship by three points after winning both races at the first Showdown round. Despite having further surgery this week on the hand injuries he sustained at the MotoGP round in the Czech Republic, Hopkins is confident he will perform well at Silverstone. He commented: “There was a lot of pain in my fingers at Donington Park and I knew it wasn’t right. In fact I was very worried I’d aggravated the injury. So I rushed back to see my surgeon on the Monday. The x-rays showed that my middle finger wasn’t locating properly in the second knuckle. Fortunately the bone area that had previously been crushed was now nicely healed and so my surgeon was able to put in screws and plates to stabilize the finger. I could feel straight away that the finger was much stronger and it’s improved every day since. I’m now very confident that I’ll be able to ride at near-enough one hundred percent at Silverstone next weekend.” After finishing second and third in the last two races, and losing his lead in the championship, Swan Yamaha rider Tommy Hill will be pushing even harder for two wins at Silverstone this weekend. “I am ready for Silverstone and the next two races; coming from a consistent last round at Donington Park I want to go better again this weekend. The points and two podiums were important there for the championship, but at this point of the season we need to be winning and staying ahead of the other Title Fighters. “We need to find a little bit extra for Silverstone, but we know from the World Superbike round that the Yamahas had a good pace there. Hopefully we can replicate that when we kick things off with free practice on Friday. Again, it doesn’t worry me that other teams have been to Silverstone already, as we know we have a good starting point and we will only improve before the races. It is important now that we step up our game again and move forward to try and take those two wins. If anything, finishing second at the last round has made me even hungrier for wins at Silverstone.” After finishing 4th and 2nd respectively in the first race of the last round, HM Plant Honda rider Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne and Swan Yamaha rider Michael Laverty then collided in the second race, causing both riders to miss out on points vital to their title bids. Byrne and Laverty are both looking to make up lost ground this weekend at the penultimate round at Silverstone. Byrne said, “I am looking forward to Silverstone and getting back out on the HM Plant Honda. Basically, this weekend we are taking everything we have learnt so far this season and condensing it so that we can start in a stronger position. The team have been working hard since Donington Park to see what else we can try, but we have a few changes to refine in practice and then we will be focused on the races and doing everything we can to put the HM Plant Honda back on the podium again.” “I am looking forward to Silverstone,” commented Laverty. “Obviously what happened at Donington Park wasn’t what we needed, but we know that the Swan Yamaha has potential for strong results at Silverstone. Hopkins has a bit of a head start after competing there earlier in the season at the World Superbike event, but I am sure it won’t take us long to get up-to-speed, I am approaching Silverstone the same way I did for Donington Park. If anything I need to be less cautious. I just need to go for it, as I don’t have an advantage to defend. I have to win every race and the pressure is on the leading three as they now have more to lose. I feel relaxed going to Silverstone; we have proved we have the pace and the potential, so I will be fighting all the way for the Swan Yamaha team.” Relentless Suzuki rider Josh Brookes, despite being 5th in the standings and finishing 6th and 5th in the last two races, is looking for wins at Silverstone. Looking ahead to this weekend he said, “I am feeling pretty good about Silverstone. Whilst everyone else seems to be pretty stressed by the whole Showdown scenario and the final races, that’s not really an issue for me. I ride at my best every time I am out on track, so I might be down at the moment on points but I don’t go into races thinking like that. Basically, this weekend will be the same as any other; I won’t be thinking about the other five riders in the Showdown I just need to go out and win races.” Reigning BSB champion HM Plant Honda rider Ryuichi Kiyonari, hasn’t given up on this year’s title and is still hopeful ahead of the Silverstone round, despite being 50 points behind championship leader John Hopkins. He said, “The first Showdown round at Donington Park was disappointing as we didn’t score points in Race One, so at Silverstone we have to try and catch up in the points and get ourselves in a better position for the final round at Brands Hatch. The problems we have been having are not easy to solve, but I still think it is possible to fight with the other Title Fighters. The title won’t be easy to win now but I haven’t given up because anything can still happen; we saw that at Donington with Shakey and Michael. I will be trying hard to be back on the podium because I still want to win for the HM Plant Honda team.” Tickets for the penultimate round of the MCE British Superbike Championship, taking place at Silverstone this weekend (23-25 September), are available from £17 in advance. Children aged 15 and under go free*. For further information, or to purchase tickets, visit www.silverstone.co.uk or call 0844 3728 260. * Child tickets are for children aged 15 years and under at the time of the Event. Children using a child ticket must be accompanied by a full paying adult. Each full paying adult may bring up to a maximum of four children. More, from a press release issued by British Superbike Championship organizers: FUCHS-SILKOLENE BRITISH SUPERSPORT CHAMPIONSHIP SILVERSTONE SET FOR PENULTIMATE ROUND SUPERSPORT THRILLER The fight to be crowned the 2011 Fuchs Silkolene British Supersport champion resumes this weekend at the Silverstone penultimate round as Gearlink Kawasaki’s Ben Wilson takes on title rival Alastair Seeley, who took a double victory at the previous round. Seeley’s double win for the Relentless Suzuki by TAS team at Donington Park cut Wilson’s advantage to 36 points with five races still remaining, as the championship leader failed to finish on the podium for the first time in ten races. The pair have shared the victories over the past three rounds and neither are going to give an inch this weekend before the final title fight will go down to the wire at Brands Hatch. Wilson said: “I am looking forward to getting back on the case at Silverstone after what I considered to be a bad round at Donington Park, despite still having two point scoring finishes. I might have a lead in the standings, but there are still five races remaining so we can’t take anything for granted and we can’t start riding conservatively we still need to be winning races. I feel that this weekend we can really get back to where we need to be and that is ahead of Alastair.” Seeley said: “We had a good weekend at Donington Park but I want to keep that momentum going and I want to be finishing ahead of Ben again this weekend as that is the only way we can take back points. I think with the combination of how the team are working and the way I am riding there is no reason why we can’t be up there again winning both races at Silverstone. I feel like I am riding at the top of my game at the moment so we need to stay p1 as that will give us a mental edge ahead of the races.” Oxford TAG Triumph’s Billy McConnell currently holds third overall in the standings and will be eager to repeat his winning form from the earlier round at Oulton Park to maintain his 19 point lead over team-mate Paul Young, who secured a podium finish last time out. Sam Warren failed to finish both races at Donington Park so he now holds fifth in the standings by just twelve points from Jack Kennedy. Christian Iddon on the third of the Oxford TAG Triumphs though will be aiming to repeat his podium finishing form from the last round as he targets a maiden win. Fuchs Silkolene British Supersport Championship standings ahead of Silverstone: 1. Ben Wilson (Gearlink Kawasaki) 391 2. Alastair Seeley (Relentless Suzuki by TAS) 355 3. Billy McConnell (Oxford TAG Triumph) 200 4. Paul Young (Oxford TAG Triumph) 181 5. Sam Warren (Bike Interceptor Yamaha by Seton) 151 For more information please visit www.britishsuperbike.com More, from a press release issued by Splitlath Motorsport: SPLITLATH CHASING SILVERSTONE SILVERWARE SPLITLATH Motorsport head to Silverstone this weekend hunting a Mirror.co.uk BSB-Evo Championship podium as the series enters its penultimate round. Karl Harris will be joined by the now fully-recovered John Simpson, who will make his British Superbike debut at the historic Northants circuit. Simpson, who joined the team at the end of August, has been unable to make the grid for the last two rounds after picking up a shoulder injury in a Supersport crash at Cadwell. The 20-year-old from Antrim, Northern Ireland, has a lead of 80 points in the Fuchs-Silkolene Supersport Cup with the T3 Racing Triumph team and hopes to wrap up the title this weekend. But he admits he is equally excited about lining up for his first Superbike race. “I probably could’ve ridden at Donington but we decided it was better for me to sit it out and concentrate extending my lead in the Supersport Cup,” he said. “I can hopefully wrap the championship up at Silverstone but if I don’t I’ve got enough of a lead to relax a bit now and really enjoy my first Superbike race. “I tested at Silverstone a few weeks ago and I was far happier with the bike there than I was at Cadwell, so I can’t wait to get out and see how we come on. It’s going to be a great weekend. I joined the team in August but haven’t been able to race yet, so I am very excited about making my Superbike debut.” Harris meanwhile, is determined to come home with at least one piece of Silverware on Sunday afternoon. After a luckless weekend at Donington Park earlier this month he is looking to make amends this time out. “I’m ready for a good one, I’m feeling happy about this weekend and I think we should be looking at a podium all things being well,” he said. “The team have been grafting hard and we’ve got some new engines so I’m confident we can get a couple of decent results. “I love Silverstone, it’s a cracking track and I’ve had some great results there over the years so I don’t see why we can’t get a couple of good races in this weekend.” Team Principal John Dimbylow is looking forward to having a two-man team again. “I think we’re all excited about having Johnno back this weekend and seeing how he can get on in his first Superbike race. “We had a few problems at the last round but the team have worked long and hard to get the troubles ironed out. Karl is determined to get on the podium this weekend and it’s a sentiment shared by all of us. We’ll go and do the best we can.”