SHAKEY WINS AT MALLORY! 2007 Bennetts British Superbike Championship Round 9 Mallory Park, Leicestershire Sunday 22nd July 2007 Stobart Vent Axia Motorsport rider Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne took his first victory of the season in a dramatic round nine of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship held at Mallory Park today. After torrential rain had caused havoc over the previous two days, Byrne took advantage of the drier conditions to win his first race of the season and in doing so took the first victory in three long years for the Paul Bird Motorsport team. When early pace setter Ryuichi Kiyonari had crashed out, Byrne controlled the opening race to take a 2.5 second victory which he followed up in the second race with another deserved podium with third to keep his outside hopes of the Championship alive. Team mate Tom Sykes was left rueing a couple of bad starts which cost him the chance of a podium but still the 21 year old Yorkshireman continued his good form with another pair of top six places with a sixth in race one followed by a fourth in race two. The nett result sees Shakey lying in fifth position in the Championship with Sykes in seventh going into the next round at Croft in three weeks time. Sadly for the team, team owner Paul Bird was not at Mallory to witness his team’s first victory in a long time as he was returning from the Manx International Rally which he had been contesting over the weekend and in which he finished fourth in his Stobart VK Subaru. Shane Byrne: “When I got into the lead they were the longest nine laps of my life. This win is for two groups of people Team NB, my heart goes out to them for the sad loss of Ollie Bridewell, and the win is also for Birdy and the team it’s been a long time coming for him. In the second race I got a decent start but I seemed to struggle a bit, I’m not sure if the pace was a bit quicker. Maybe it was a lucky podium in race two, but I’ll take it. I’d like to thank all the team who have worked so hard and turned it all around for me, and also Dunlop who have been really supportive this weekend.” Tom Sykes: “In both races I seemed to get off the line well but then immediately got duffed up and lost places. In race one I had an 18 second gap from the man behind so I just kept pushing as hard as I could but didn’t want to make any silly mistakes. In the second race I managed to latch on to the leading bunch and once I got past Greg Lavilla and Chris Walker I decided to make a charge and was catching Shakey. But then the red flag came out and that was it, otherwise I think I could have got a podium. We’ve got a few weeks off now so I’ll do some training and get my head together and come back stronger at Croft as there’s still a lot more to come.” Phil Borley (Crew Chief): “We’ve had a very good day but it’s obviously been a sad weekend. A win for the first time in three years feels really nice. Shakey was top points scorer once again and hopefully we can get some more wins this season. Tom was unfortunate to get duffed up in the first race but in the second I think he would have been up there on the podium had it not been red flagged. Tom has ridden well considering he’s had hardly any dry track time on the bike and we’re all feeling confident for the remainder of the year.” Race 1 Result: 1, Shane Byrne (Stobart Vent Axia Motorsport Honda) 28m21.458s, 2, Jonathan Rea (Honda) +2.779s, 3, Leon Haslam (Ducati) +2.938s, 4, Chris Walker (Suzuki) +6.058s, 5, Gregorio Lavilla (Ducati) +7.422s, 6, Tom Sykes (Stobart Vent Axia Motorsport Honda) +9.137s, 7, Tommy Hill (Yamaha) +27.263s, 8, Leon Camier (Honda) +29.758s, 9, Cal Crutchlow (Suzuki) +29.858s, 10, Scott Smart (Kawasaki) +30.184s. Race 2 Result: 1, Ryuichi Kiyonari (Honda) 21m24.315s, 2, Leon Haslam (Ducati) +1.780s, 3, Shane Byrne (Stobart Vent Axia Motorsport Honda) +4.497s, 4, Tom Sykes (Stobart Vent Axia Motorsport Honda) +5.457s, 5, Cal Crutchlow (Suzuki) +5.924s, 6, Chris Walker (Suzuki) +6.282s, 7, Gregorio Lavilla (Ducati) +6.979s, 8, Michael Rutter (Kawasaki) +14.666s, 9, Tommy Hill (Yamaha) +15.481s, 10, Scott Smart (Kawasaki) +15.752s. Bennetts British Superbike Championship Positions after Round 9 1, Ryuichi Kiyonari (Honda) 298pts 2, Jonathan Rea (Honda) 282pts 3, Leon Haslam (Ducati) 267pts 4, Gregorio Lavilla (Ducati) 246pts 5, Shane Byrne (Stobart Vent Axia Motorsport Honda) 228pts 6, Leon Camier (Honda) 179pts 7, Tom Sykes (Stobart Vent Axia Motorsport Honda) 171pts 8, Chris Walker (Suzuki) 151pts 9, Tommy Hill (Yamaha) 110pts 10, Karl Harris (Honda) 102pts More, from a press release issued by Rizla Suzuki: Rizla Suzuki racers Chris ‘Stalker’ Walker and Cal Crutchlow showed impressive pace to mix it at the sharp end of today’s double-header ninth round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Mallory Park in Leicestershire. Despite practice and qualification being cancelled due to torrential rain and floods, the Rizla Suzuki aces made the most of a 35-minute morning practice session to set their bikes up for the dry and sunny race day conditions. In the absence of qualification, starting positions were determined by current Championship standings and Stalker got off to a blistering start in both races from eighth. In the opener he was always in contention for the podium and ended up fourth. In the second race he was at the front again and fighting for third when a red flag brought the race to an early end and he was sixth. Crutchlow, starting from 11th, made early progress in the opening race and was looking strong for a top six finish until his quick-shifter malfunctioned and he was reduced to manual gear changes, ending up ninth. In race two he set the second fastest lap of the race and was menacing for the podium when the red flag cut his challenge short. Honda’s Shane Byrne won the first race and Ryuichi Kiyonari the second. Rizla Suzuki is back in action on Sunday, August 12th, at the 10th round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Croft in North Yorkshire. Chris Walker: “It’s a relief to be racing in the dry for the first time in what seems like ages. It’s also great to be running at the front at a technically-difficult track and that goes to prove the sort of progress Rizla Suzuki has made in the last few rounds, we are getting closer and closer to challenging for race wins, which is just what we all want. “Thanks to all the Stalker fans who made the trip to support me today. It was great to hear the cheers in the crowd and I really enjoyed myself. Everything is starting to come together and I can’t wait until the next round to keep the momentum going.” Cal Crutchlow: “The second race was slightly disappointing as it was red flagged and I was sure I had the speed to take a couple of the riders in front – fourth or even third may have been possible. However, I’ve equalled my best-ever BSB fifth place from last week and I’m happy with that, it shows we are capable of running consistently toward the front of the field. “Mallory Park is my home circuit and the fans have been really great this weekend. It’s been tough with a lack of practice and qualification but I’m leaving here knowing we are at our most competitive of the season and now targeting podium finishes for the rest of the year. Bring it on.” Simon Buckmaster – Team Manager: “Rizla Suzuki proved at the last round it could compete in the wet and this round we have shown we can do it in the dry. It’s great to be mixing it in the thick of the action – that’s where we want to be for the rest of the season. “Chris had a superb first race and Cal a brilliant second. Between them they showed guts, determination and sheer speed. We are starting to unlock the potential of the Rizla Suzuki GSX-R1000 and we like what we see, so the next round at Croft in three weeks time cannot come quick enough for us. “On a final note, I’d like to congratulate the MCRCB – the BSB organisation – for its excellent handling of a very difficult weekend of very wet weather and tragedy.” Race One Result: 1: Shane Byrne (Honda) 28:21.458 2: Jonathan Rea (Honda) +2.779 3: Leon Haslam (Ducati) +2.938 4: Chris Walker (Rizla Suzuki) +6.058 5: Gregorio Lavilla (Ducati) +7.422 6: Tom Sykes (Honda) +9.137 7: Tommy Hill (Yamaha) +27.263 8: Leon Camier (Honda) +29.758 9: Cal Crutchlow (Rizla Suzuki) +29.858 10: Scott Smart (Kawasaki) +30.184 Race Two Result: 1: Ryuichi Kiyonari (Honda) 21:24.315 2: Haslam +1.780 3: Byrne +4.497 4: Sykes +5.457 5: Cal Crutchlow (Rizla Suzuki) +5.924 6: Chris Walker (Rizla Suzuki) +6.282 7: Lavilla +6.979 8: Michael Rutter (Kawasaki) +14.666 9: Hill +15.481 10: Smart +15.472 Championship Positions (after nine of 13 rounds): 1: Kiyonari 298 2: Rea 282 3: Haslam 267 4: Lavilla 246 5: Byrne 228 6: Leon Camier (Honda) 179 7: Sykes 171 8: Chris Walker (Rizla Suzuki) 151 9: Hill 110 10: Karl Harris (Honda) 102 11: Cal Crutchlow (Rizla Suzuki) 85