Round five 24 June Knockhill LAVERTY RINGS IN SECOND VICTORY TO PUT TITLE BID ON TRACK Results Race one: 1: Shane Byrne (Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki) 2: Tommy Hill (Swan Yamaha) +1.199s 3: Michael Laverty (Samsung Honda) +1.551s 4: Josh Brookes (Tyco Suzuki) +8.494s 5: Tommy Bridewell (Supersonic BMW) +10.160s 6: Noriyuki Haga (Swan Yamaha) +10.211s Race two : 1: Michael Laverty (Samsung Honda) 2: Shane Byrne (Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki) +0.765s 3: Tommy Hill (Swan Yamaha) +3.091s 4: Josh Brookes (Tyco Suzuki) +4.119s 5: James Westmoreland (WFR Honda) +11.068s 6: Tommy Bridewell (Supersonic BMW) +11.227s Championship standings: 1: Tommy Hill (Swan Yamaha) 159 2: Shane Byrne (Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki) 153 3: Josh Brookes (Tyco Suzuki) 150 4: Michael Laverty (Samsung Honda) 122 5: Ian Lowry (Padgetts Honda) 79 5: Tommy Bridewell (Supersonic BMW) 77 Report Shane “Shakey” Byrne and Michael Laverty took the victories in a hard fought Scottish fifth round of the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship at Knockhill in which title holder Tommy Hill scored a second and third place to regain the lead in the overall points standings. Laverty, who had been on the pace across the whole weekend at Fife circuit, forced his Samsung Honda into the lead in the opening race but was soon taken by the hard-riding former two times title winner Byrne aboard his Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki with Hill moving his Swan Yamaha into second shortly afterwards. Laverty held on to a strong third place running clear of Tyco Suzuki’s Josh Brookes who lost his lead in the overall standings. In race two the Ulsterman rewarded the hard work of his team who had made changes to his Honda Fireblade between races by powering to his second victory in three races. It was hard earned as Hill rode determinedly out front but Laverty twice edged ahead at the Hairpin only to concede the position by running off line but on lap eleven he made the move stick and then edged out a defendable lead, taking the race by 0.755 seconds from Byrne with Hill third and Brookes again fourth. “A few people had written me off after the opening rounds and said the win at Snetterton was a one off but we have really found our feet now. I always knew that we would come on strong as this win shows. We had some bad luck in the early rounds but four podiums in the last four races has consolidated my place in the top four in the standings and now my title bid is back on track,” enthused Laverty. For more information please visit www.britishsuperbike.com More, from a press release issued by Splitlath Redmond: THREE TOP 20s FOR SPLITLATH REDMOND BOYS AT KNOCKHILL THE Splitlath Redmond team took three top 20 finishes at Round Five of the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship at Knockhill. French teenager Florian Marino grabbed two 19th places, while John Laverty crossed the line 18th in today’s opening race, but was forced to retire his Aprilia RSV4 on the penultimate lap of Race Two. The short Scottish track was another new one for Marino, while Laverty always knew its twisty nature would be tricky with regards to his physical condition as he continues to build his fitness. But both riders were determined to get some good results as they arrived at the circuit for Friday’s first sessions, and had an encouraging start when they found themselves running in the top 10 during the earlier practices. Laverty qualified 22nd for the first race with Marino lining up beside him 23rd, and both got good starts and enjoyed steady races, finally crossing the line in formation with John 18th and Florian 19th. Race Two saw Marino line up 22nd and Laverty 24th, and both were looking for improvements over the 30 lap challenge. But after around 12 laps, Laverty began to struggle with a technical problem and tried to ride around it until the end of Lap 28 when he was forced to retire. Marino kept a cool head and rode to his second 19th place of the day, but admitted he had struggled throughout. “It was very tiring, I have had a tough fight at this track as it has tired me a lot,” he said. “This track is very different to the ones I have ridden before and has just been something else to learn. I do like it here though and I’m disappointed not to have been able to reach the points this weekend.” Laverty also found the event a challenge as he continues to rebuild his strength and fitness. “It is tiring for me here, more so than somewhere like Thruxton but I’ve given it a good shot today. “It was unfortunate we had to retire there at the end of the second race because the team has worked so hard. We’ve tried a lot of new things this weekend, some have worked and others haven’t, but it’s all still a step in the right direction as we continue to develop the Aprilia RSV4.” Team co-owner John Dimbylow was also disappointed not to see any of his riders make the points. “Obviously it’s disappointing,” he said. “We had a great start in the three free practices we were right up there in the top 10, even running fifth and sixth for a long, long time. “From there we’re not quite sure what’s happened, why it’s all gone backwards. We need to look at all of the data and see what happened and sort this out to make sure it doesn’t happen again. “At the end of the day it’s one of those things – it’s very tough and very competitive and there are some very good people out there and we need to just raise our game.” More, from a press release issued by Swan Yamaha: SWAN YAMAHA REGAIN MCE BSB STANDINGS LEAD AT KNOCKHILL Swan Yamaha’s Tommy Hill regained the lead in the overall standings after a double podium finish at the fifth round of the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship at Knockhill whilst Noriyuki Haga scored a sixth place on his first visit to the Fife circuit. In the opening race of the weekend Hill came out fighting and was lying third on the opening lap before making a determined move on Michael Laverty to claim second place before the trio again went head-to-head in race two, with the defending champion securing a third place. Haga was able to score a solid sixth place in the opening race but whilst in contention for fifth in race two he crashed out at Scotsman unhurt. Hill said: “We can’t complain about the results this weekend; two podium finishes is good although as a racer you always want to win. We have been consistent and I knew the races would be tough as you can never underestimate anybody as there are so many riders capable of winning. I rode hard in the first race but so was Shakey and Michael and it was like an elastic band; where one of us was quicker in one section the other was faster somewhere else. It was a bit of a game of cat and mouse and we knew that the Swan Yamaha had the pace to be up there at the front, there were a couple of times that I thought about having a bit of a lunge and I was tempted but at the same time I didn’t want us to all end up crashing. We were all pushing really hard again in race two as we all know that we need the podium finishes so we have the credits for the Showdown. I wasn’t as comfortable in race two but we kept trying and two podiums was better than two crashes – we are even hungrier for Oulton Park now!” Haga said: “In race one I was happy with the result for my first time here, but during the race I wasn’t comfortable to run at the pace that we needed to be at the front. We made a mistake with the direction we went with the setting and we wanted to improve in race two. The second race I had a better feeling but I still couldn’t push as hard as I wanted to and then I lost the front and crashed. We didn’t have a lot of time to make big setting changes this weekend but my Swan Yamaha crew worked very hard and I need to thank them and also say sorry for the crash. I am ninth in the standings and I will do everything I can to jump to fifth or sixth which we need for the Showdown. I look forward to Oulton Park and I think we can have another good result there.” Team Owner Shaun Muir concluded: “It was another solid weekend from Tommy and two podium finishes was a fantastic result; it is great for the team to be back at the top of the standings. It was a shame for Noriyuki to have crashed out, especially as he had made some improvements for race two and was moving up the order. He will be back at Oulton Park though and will be aiming for that top six.” For more information visit www.swanyamaha.co.uk More, from a press release issued by Honda: MCE INSURANCE BRITISH SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 05 SUNDAY 24 JUNE KNOCKHILL Weather: Variable cloud, dry with occasional sun Temperature: Ambient 18 degrees C / Track 22 degrees C LAVERTY TAKES SECOND RACE TO CONSOLIDATE TITLE CHALLENGE Michael Laverty consolidated his fourth place in the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship with determined rides aboard his Samsung Honda into third place and then his second victory of the season at the tight, short Scottish circuit, Knockhill in Fife. Laverty had been on the pace throughout the weekend, narrowly missing out on taking pole start, sliding off in his frantic efforts to take the top spot on the qualifying leaderboard, and he carried that speed through into the two 30 lap races, taking the fight to his title rivals. He had the lead in the early stages of the opening race but was taken first by the former two times title winner Shane Byrne and then the reigning champion Tommy Hill. Laverty took a strong third place ahead of Suzuki’s Aussie Josh Brookes. Laverty laughed aside the remark by Brookes after his winning ride at Snetterton in the previous round as a “one-off” by taking the second race by storm. Hill had made the perfect start, running ahead of Byrne with Laverty third but he was soon on the ascendancy, repaying the work of his team in between races to make minor changes to the handling of the bike as he attacked. He picked off Byrne and then audaciously took Hill by surprise by riding around the outside of him at the Hairpin on lap 11 and once in the lead, there was no looking back as he took his second victory of the campaign. The bonus for Laverty was that he won the Steve Hislop Trophy for setting the fastest Superbike race lap of the weekend, the second time that he had won the award which commemorates the late, legendary Scottish rider. In contrast Laverty’s team-mate Jon Kirkham had a tough weekend, struggling in both races, but scoring points in each as he ran in mid-pack. The Derby rider had made some changes between races but has more work to do ahead of next month’s sixth round at Oulton Park. Ian Lowry, the Padgett’s Honda rider looked set for a strong points haul in the opening race but crashed out of fifth place, however bounced back to take tenth next time out, just enough to maintain his fifth place in the overall standings. WFR Honda riders Graeme Gowland, eighth, just ahead of Alex Lowes and eleventh placed James Westmoreland packed the points in the first race and next time out Westmoreland took a fighting fifth with Lowes eighth ahead of Gowland. In terms of the championship, Hill regained the lead 159-153 ahead of Byrne while Brookes slipped from first to third on 150 points while Laverty moved onto 122 points. HONDA RIDER COMMENTS Michael Laverty (Samsung Honda): Race result: 3rd / 1st Championship position: 4th “I knew that these races would be tough we made a small change to the set-up after the morning warm-up, however that did not work and I was losing the front in places, but we had a look at that between the races. In the first I was stronger than the leaders in some places, but they were stronger in others. I also made a little mistake or two going into the Hairpin and that lost me a bit of ground in the closing stages. Always at this circuit it is so close, so difficult to pass. We made a few tweaks between races and they paid off. It was good to win the second race – a few people had written me off but we have really found our feet now. I always knew that we would come on strong as this win shows. I made some fast passes, got my head down and got a lead and did not take any chances it all worked out perfectly. We had some bad luck in the early rounds, but four podiums in the last four races has consolidated my place in the top four in the standings and now my title bid is back on track.” Jon Kirkham (Samsung Honda): Race result: 12th / 14th Championship position: 13th “I had only done one full race since the meeting at Thruxton before going into the first race here and it was a tough one as this is a really hard and physical circuit to ride and to be honest I felt a bit tired by the end of it. I picked off a few people in the opening race, but had a bit of a problem going through turn one. I could not break through the 50 seconds a lap barrier which I was able to do last year. There seemed to be something stopping me, but we were looking at it between races and made some changes which improved things, however not enough. It was a tough weekend, but something just did not click for me. Now we have to work to be ready for the next round at Oulton Park.” RESULTS BRITISH SUPERBIKE RACE1: POS / RIDER / NAT / MOTORCYCLE / TIME / GAP 1 / SHANE BYRNE / GBR / KAWASAKI – RAPID SOLICITORS KAWASAKI / 24:48.730 / 2 / TOMMY HILL / GBR / YAMAHA – SWAN YAMAHA / 24:49.929 / 1.199 3 / MICHAEL LAVERTY / GBR / HONDA – SAMSUNG HONDA / 24:50.281 / 1.551 4 / JOSH BROOKES / AUS / SUZUKI – TYCO SUZUKI / 24:57.224 / 8.494 5 / TOMMY BRIDEWELL / GBR / BMW – SUPERSONIC RACING TEAM / 24:58.890 / 10.160 6 / NORIYUKI HAGA / JPN / YAMAHA – SWAN YAMAHA / 24:58.941 / 10.211 7 / ALASTAIR SEELEY / GBR / SUZUKI – TYCO SUZUKI / 24:59.815 / 11.085 8 / GRAEME GOWLAND / GBR / HONDA – TEAM WFR / 25:01.565 / 12.835 9 / ALEX LOWES / GBR / HONDA – TEAM WFR / 25:02.654 / 13.924 10 / MICHAEL RUTTER / GBR / KAWASAKI – MSS BATHAMS KAWASAKI / 25:09.565 / 20.835 11 / JAMES WESTMORELAND / GBR / HONDA – TEAM WFR / 25:14.842 / 26.112 12 / JON KIRKHAM / GBR / HONDA – SAMSUNG HONDA / 25:15.049 / 26.319 13 / TRISTAN PALMER / GBR / HONDA – GBMOTO RACING / 25:18.339 / 29.609 14 / LUKE QUIGLEY / GBR / HONDA – GBMOTO RACING / 25:19.171 / 30.441 15 / PATRIC MUFF / SUI / BMW – SUPERSONIC RACING TEAM / 25:22.988 / 34.258 Fastest lap: Tommy HILL GBR Yamaha – Swan Yamaha Lap 25 49.112 149.97 Km/h RACE2: POS / RIDER / NAT / MOTORCYCLE / TIME / GAP 1 / MICHAEL LAVERTY / GBR / HONDA – SAMSUNG HONDA / 24:42.773 / 2 / SHANE BYRNE / GBR / KAWASAKI – RAPID SOLICITORS KAWASAKI / 24:43.538 / 0.765 3 / TOMMY HILL / GBR / YAMAHA – SWAN YAMAHA / 24:45.864 / 3.091 4 / JOSH BROOKES / AUS / SUZUKI – TYCO SUZUKI / 24:46.892 / 4.119 5 / JAMES WESTMORELAND / GBR / HONDA – TEAM WFR / 24:53.841 / 11.068 6 / TOMMY BRIDEWELL / GBR / BMW – SUPERSONIC RACING TEAM / 24:54.000 / 11.227 7 / ALASTAIR SEELEY / GBR / SUZUKI – TYCO SUZUKI / 24:55.847 / 13.074 8 / ALEX LOWES / GBR / HONDA – TEAM WFR / 24:58.162 / 15.389 9 / GRAEME GOWLAND / GBR / HONDA – TEAM WFR / 24:59.431 / 16.658 10 / IAN LOWRY / GBR / HONDA – PADGETTS HONDA / 25:03.997 / 21.224 11 / BARRY BURRELL / GBR / BMW – BUILDBASE BMW MOTORRAD / 25:04.170 / 21.397 12 / TRISTAN PALMER / GBR / HONDA – GBMOTO RACING / 25:08.638 / 25.865 13 / PETER HICKMAN / GBR / BMW – BUILDBASE BMW MOTORRAD / 25:10.071 / 27.298 14 / JON KIRKHAM / GBR / HONDA – SAMSUNG HONDA / 25:11.366 / 28.593 15 / LUKE QUIGLEY / GBR / HONDA – GBMOTO RACING / 25:11.897 / 29.124 Fastest lap: Michael LAVERTY GBR Honda – Samsung Honda Lap 13 48.861 150.74 Km/h CHAMPIONSHIP POSITIONS TO DATE: 1 HILL 159, 2 BYRNE 153, 3 BROOKES 150, 4 LAVERTY 122, 5 LOWRY 79, 6 BRIDEWELL 77, 7 SEELEY 67, 8 EASTON 66, 9 HAGA 65, 10 WALKER 64, 11 WESTMORELAND 57, 12 LOWES 56, 13 KIRKHAM 51, 14 GOWLAND 43, 15 RUTTER 36. NEXT EVENT: ROUND06 JULY 8 OULTON PARK More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki News Service: Tyco Suzuki’s Josh Brookes raced to two fourth-placed finishes at a dry round five of the British Superbike Championship at Knockhill in Scotland at the weekend and is now third in the Championship standings – just nine points off top spot. His GSX-R1000 team-mate Alastair Seeley also doubled up with two seventh-placed finishes and climbs to the same position in the Championship table and is now just 10 points outside the magical top six. Josh Brookes: “I was disappointed not to be in the battle for the podium in race one and having to watch the guys in front pulling away, as when you feel like you are giving it everything; it’s not a nice feeling as a rider. The crash in morning warm-up probably didn’t do my confidence much good. The second race was different but also frustrating as I couldn’t just bridge that gap to the podium positions. We’re still well in there in the Championship and have two weeks to prepare now for Oulton Park.” Alastair Seeley: “I’m a lot happier with the way things went this weekend, and although I want to be higher up fighting for podiums, seventh place today helped me edge closer to the top six. It’s nice to be passing people again on the big Suzuki but I need to go away and practice my starts. There’s no point qualifying well then throwing all the hard work away in the first lap of races. I can look forward to Oulton now knowing we are back in with a shout of challenging.” Philip Neill – Team Manager: “It was one of those weekends that promised a little more than we actually got. Both riders were very strong in the wet, which we expected, but with race day being dry we probably lacked a bit of pace. Josh probably didn’t have the perfect start with a crash in morning warm up, but we scored solid results and it keeps the Championship hopes well on track. From here we will look to moving on to the more flowing circuits, which suit us a little better.” BSB Race 1: 1 Shane Byrne [Kawasaki] 24:48.730 2 Tommy Hill [Yamaha] +1.199 3 Michael Laverty [Honda] +1.551 4 Josh Brookes [Tyco Suzuki] +8.494 5 Tommy Bridewell [BMW] +10.160 6 Nori Haga [Yamaha] +10.211 7 Alastair Seeley [Tyco Suzuki] +11.085 BSB Race 2: 1 Michael Laverty [Honda] 24:42.773 2 Shane Byrne [Kawasaki] +0.765 3 Tommy Hill [Yamaha] +3.091 4 Josh Brookes [Tyco Suzuki] +4.119 5 James Westmoreland [Honda] +11.068 6 Tommy Bridewell [BMW] +11.227 7 Alastair Seeley [Tyco Suzuki] +13.074 Championship Points: 1 Tommy Hill 159 [15 podium credits] 2 Shane Byrne 153 [13 podium credits] 3 Josh Brookes 150 [8 podium credits] 4 Michael Laverty 122 [9 podium credits] 5 Ian Lowry 79 [3 podium credits] 6 Tommy Bridewell 77 [0 podium credits] 7 Alastair Seeley 67 [2 podium credits]