HIGHS AND LOWS FOR HAWK KAWASAKI The Hawk Kawasaki Team experienced the highs and lows of racing this weekend at round seven of the Bennetts British Superbike series at Snetterton Circuit. As Craig Coxhell and Peter Hickman achieved their best results so far this season, fellow team-mate Dean Thomas was involved in an incident in the second Superbike race involving himself and James Haydon. Thomas was treated trackside and also in the medical centre for broken ribs and a punctured right lung, which had to be drained at the circuit. Dean Thomas ended up being 0.3 off gaining a front row start and saw him pushed back to 10th on the gird. Coxhell suffered with a couple of mechanical failures during Saturday’s qualifying session leaving him in 22nd position on the grid. Youngster Hickman had one of his best qualifying sessions to date and ended the session in 19th position. Race one was action packed and the Hawk Trio were prepared for battle. They all gained a great start and Coxhell had worked his way through to 15th position by the end of lap one, passing seven riders. Lap four saw Honda rider Karl Harris fall heavily forcing the safety car to be despatched onto the track. Peter Hickman was riding a brilliant race, his best so far this year despite having been put on a drip on Sunday morning after suffering with a bout of sickness and diarrhoea, he ended finishing the race in a fantastic 14th position. Coxhell gained three more places crossing the line in 12th place one position behind his team-mate Thomas who placed 11th. Once again race two saw the Hawk riders putting on a strong performance with all three riders running in the points. Before the incident occurred on lap 12 involving Dean, he was lying in eighth place with Coxhell in 12th and Hickman in 15th. The race was red flagged immediately whilst the two riders were treated trackside. Once stable they transferred Dean to the Medical Centre for further treatment and have since moved him to the Norfolk & Norwich Hospital. The remainder of the race was to run as an eight-lap sprint to the line, with the riders lining up on the grid in the positions they were in before the race was stopped. Coxhell started in 11th and Hickman in 13th, within two laps reigning British Champion Gregorio Lavilla crashed out, which saw the safety car despatched again. Once the debris was cleared the racing was back on, Coxhell had sprung through to fifth position with Hickman climbing to 10th. Craig Coxhell commented “It’s been a really mixed day today and although I’m really happy about my results my thoughts are with Dean and hoping that he gets better soon. It was a huge crash and I hope he’s ok from it, it’s difficult to be happy about my fifth place when I know Dean is in hospital. I struggled in qualifying and ended up a long way down the grid, I managed to get some good starts and just wanted to get my head down and get some points. The eight lap dash was strange as the safety car was out for two of the laps. I’m really content with my results today and hope I can improve at the next round.” Peter Hickman was delighted with his results saying “I was sick as a dog in the morning and had to be taken to the medical centre to be put on a drip. I wasn’t sure if I would be racing or not but I was feeling a little better by the time the first race came round. I managed to get reasonable starts in both races and was locked in some close battles. I knew that it must have been pretty bad with Dean and James as they stopped the race straight away, I’m glad they are both ok. It’s difficult to get focused again when something like that has happened. I would like to thank the team for working so hard for me this weekend and I’m made up with the results that I achieved.” Team Manager Stuart Hicken said “I would like to wish Dean a speedy recovery and that comes from all of us involved at Hawk Kawasaki. It was a big incident and the details are not yet clear as to what happened. I know the two riders collided at the Esses at the end of the back straight. It was obviously a very mixed weekend with the team with having such a serious crash but also scoring our best results with Craig and Peter. I’d like to thank all the medical staff and Marshals’ at the circuit for treating Dean with such efficiency and professionalism, they did a fantastic job.” Race 1 Result Ryuichi Kiyonari – Honda Leon Haslam – Ducati Gregorio Lavilla – Ducati Jonathan Rea – Honda Michael Laverty – Honda Tommy Hill – Yamaha Michael Rutter – Honda James Haydon – Suzuki Billy McConnell – Yamaha Ben Wilson – Suzuki Dean Thomas – Hawk Kawasaki Craig Coxhell – Hawk Kawasaki Glen Richards – Honda Peter Hickman – Hawk Kawasaki Race 2 Result Ryuichi Kiyonari – Honda Leon Haslam – Ducati Tommy Hill – Yamaha Michael Laverty – Honda Craig Coxhell – Hawk Kawasaki Chris Martin – Honda Scott Smart – Suzuki Glen Richards – Honda Jon Kirkham – Suzuki Peter Hickman – Hawk Kawasaki