Leon Camier crashed during the second British Superbike race yesterday at Cadwell Park, the 21-year-old from Ashford, Kent sustained a broken left femur and a fractured pelvis. To read more on Leon’s progress since the accident or if you wish to leave ‘Get Well’ messages for Leon then please click on the link below. ~http://www.leoncamier.co.uk/category/news~ More, from a press release issued by Martin Jessopp’s publicist: Confidence Building Fifth Place for Jessopp www.martinjessopp.com Martin Jessopp and the Riders Racing Ducati Team secured their best result of the season so far at Cadwell Park in the Maxxis British Supersport race. Jessopp achieved a solid fifth position in the 16-lap race in front of the huge Cadwell Park crowd. It was a welcome return for the youngster from Yeovil who has suffered a run of bad luck and misfortune this season. Running smoothly all weekend Jessopp was eager to gain a strong result and be back at the top end of the pack. Qualifying in ninth position on the Ducati 749 he was keen to work his way through the pack, a strong start saw him gain one position at the end of the first lap and another by the end of the fourth. He could see a podium position in his sights when he got onto the back of R6 Cup winner Tom Grant and TT legend John McGuinness. The trio were locked in a tight scrap for a number of laps but front tyre problems for Jessopp forced him to back off the pace a little and settle for fifth. Running consistently fast times he proved that he can run up at the front end of the field and was the confidence booster that he has been looking for all season. A pleased Jessopp said “It seems to have been a long time coming, my best result was at Brands at the start of the season but I had that taken away from me due to a minor problem after the race. I’ve had so many strange things happen this year on the racing front that it’s good to be back up there and getting decent points. I’m hoping that I will be able to get some more strong results at the final two rounds at Donington and Brands Hatch. It would be nice to finish off the season on a high note for myself and the team. I’d like to thank them all for working so hard this weekend it was very much appreciated.” Jessopp’s next race is at Donington Park on the 14th 16th September. More, from a press release issued by Centurion Racing: Points for Westy as he battles pain barrier After running strong all weekend at Cadwell Park Centurion Racings sole racer James Westmoreland could only secure 13th position despite his valiant effort in the Maxxis British Supersport series. Westy was running consistently fast times during the practice session on Saturday but after a huge crash at Chris Curves during Sunday’s qualifying sessions he chose to participate in the 16-lap race but was suffering pain and discomfort in his shoulder and back. His team-mate Dan Cooper was also sitting this meeting out after dislocating his right shoulder at Croft Circuit a few weeks ago. Commenting he said “I didn’t want to risk doing any more damage to my shoulder. Cadwell is a very demanding and difficult circuit even when you are fully fit. I have another two weeks now before Donington where I will be making my return and hoping that it will all be fully fixed.” Westy secured a solid 11th place during the qualifying sessions in front of some massive Bank Holiday weekend crowds the youngster was looking strong. The crash hindered the newly crowed 2007 British Supersport Cup Champion and stopped him from gaining another top ten finish. He took another solid win in the Cup Championship, his seventh so far this season out of eleven rounds completed, an incredible achievement for Westy and the Centurion Racing Team. Speaking with him, he said “Well I think it’s fair to say we will call that one a character building weekend! It all started so well running up front on Saturday, then been consistently fast on race tyres on Sunday. I crashed heavily in final qualifying at Chris Curve and to be fair it knocked me for six. Then after morning warm up it was discovered I had something wrong with my tendons in my elbow and shoulder causing me great pain. I rode through the pain but could only finish 13th. It’s disappointing but I will be back even stronger to finish the year. I’m sorry to my team, for this result, but thank you for all the support, and that’s from my family, friends, supporters who turned out to cheer me on, it’s greatly appreciated. Also a massive thanks to Ethos and Dunlop. Once again it wasn’t to be, but my head is high and I’m ready for Donington.” Team Manager Gary Stubbington remarked “We’ve been unfortunate the last few rounds where both riders have suffered crashes and sustained injuries from them. The boys haven’t crashed that much this season and then they both do at roughly the same time. Westy did well under the circumstances and we’re hoping that the pair will be fully fit and back on form at Donington Park in a couple of weeks times.” The next race is at Donington Park on the 14th 16th September. More, from a press release issued by Tom Tunstall Racing: Podium at the Double for Tunstall Hardinge Ice Valley racer Tom Tunstall had another great weekend at the 11th round of the British Superbike Championships. Scoring a brace of third places, and making it five podium “doubles” of the year so far. Sunshine bathed the massive record crowd that had made the journey to Cadwell Park in Lincolnshire for the bank holiday event. Ever improving Superbike rookie Tunstall adapted well to the twisty and undulating 2.18mile track and qualified his Honda CBR1000RR 4th on the Superbike Cup Grid In the first of the days two races the Huddersfield rider didn’t get off the line well losing four places before reaching the first corner. Tom Immediately re-took Malcolm Ashley and ended lap one third of the cup riders. With few passing opportunities on the tricky circuit it wasn’t until lap six he’d managed to pass both Aaron Zannotti and Dave Johnson. By which time the gap to Buckingham and eventual race winner Tristan Palmer was too large. Having just stepped of the third step of the podium Tunstall remarked; “My start was shocking!!… I slipped the clutch too much and got swamped. I knew the pace would be fast and I needed to be with the leaders from the start to stand a chance of the win. Plan for race two? Get it off the line!!” As the lights changed for the second outing the Hardinge Ice Valley rider made a better get away and once in front of Guy Martin had clear track between the two cup riders ahead. Even the intervention of the pace car on lap 9 hindered rather than helped as Tom caught it on the narrow mountain section losing more time. A pace just a little faster than Tom’s meant he was unable to fight for the race win. At the end of the 18 laps Tunstall crossed the line in 3rd taking his 12th podium of the year. “It turned out to be a bit of a lonely race. I lost a bit of time trying to pass Guy at the start, but I still needed to find a few more tenths to be in with a shot today. Cadwell is not my strongest track so to come away with another two rostrums and more points is great”. The results take Tom up to 4th in the Cup Championship only four points from 3rd. The next and penultimate round takes place at Donington Park over the weekend of the 22nd-23rd September. More, from a press release issued by Samsung Suzuki: Samsung Suzuki struggle at challenging Cadwell Park. Dean Thomas aboard his Samsung Suzuki had a difficult race weekend at the undulating Cadwell Park, achieving a fourteenth place finish in race one and a DNF due to a slipping clutch in race two not the result he had been hoping for. The weekend got off to a bad start with a crash in third free practice which is just ahead of qualifying. “We had been struggling with too much feedback from the forks and losing a bit of rear grip. Each time we made an alteration to make the bike steer a little better we lost more grip, we changed it back to get the grip back but then the bike wouldn’t steer. We seemed to be stuck in a rut,” explained Thomas. The team made some changes which improved the situation however it didn’t work out well on track. “We made some changes and went a bit quicker. On the lap I crashed I was half a second up on that split alone. I pushed a bit hard I think and just turned into turn two, got to the middle of the turn the front chattered twice and then folded the front tyre,” he said. The team had to work hard to ready Thomas’ number two machine for qualifying that afternoon. They spent a lot of time ironing out little problems during the single qualifying session which left them down the field in sixteenth place. Race one got off to a bad start due to a tyre issue as Thomas said, “We had a bit of an out-of-round front tyre which gave us even more chatter than we already had so it just hindered us. I got hung up with Simon Andrews when he was trying to move out of the road when his clutch was playing up. They just got away from me and to cut a long story short I finished in fourteenth place. It’s not a fantastic result; it is a result as it is in the points but it is not a great result.” Things went from bad to worse during race two, “That one didn’t go to plan either! It hasn’t been a very good weekend really!” joked Thomas. “I got a good start and got away well, I was sitting on the back of Plater and Haydon and there was a small gap to Smart. I was just hanging on and doing really good lap times, best we had managed all weekend. The bike didn’t feel so bad and then the clutch went, it just started slipping eight laps into the race and that was that.” He couldn’t believe his bad luck and did his utmost to nurse it home, “I persevered with it for a lap or two just to see whether it would make the distance or not and it wasn’t going to. So I decided to pull in then,” he concluded. Thomas and his Samsung Suzuki team are now putting Cadwell behind them and looking to Donington Park in a few weeks time. “I am looking forward to Donington; it should suit us a little bit better. I’m looking forward to the last two rounds to be fair. I think Donington will be better for us and I’m looking forward to it, it will be good to get out and get a result in the last two rounds.” Round twelve of the Bennett British Superbike Championship will take place at Donington Park on the 21st 23rd September. More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki Press Office: Michael Laverty firmly cemented his place at the top of the British Supersport standings earlier today after a faultless performance on his GSX-R600 Relentless Suzuki, taking his tally to five wins for the season. Laverty also recorded the fastest lap of the race and now sits on 190 points, 37 ahead of nearest challenger Dennis Hobbs. Team-mate Ian Lowry was unfortunately forced to retire from third place after only six laps when a missed gear change caused his engine to over-rev. He now drops to third place in the series behind Hobbs on 149 points. Michael Laverty: “That was exactly what I needed from the weekend especially after scoring no points at Croft. I’m well happy. Everything went according to plan and in the race I wasn’t even trying to pull away but very quickly I found myself with a good gap. I just rode steady today and didn’t push too hard; I had more in me to give, if it was required but my Relentless Suzuki didn’t miss a beat and although I rode to preserve my Pirelli tyres, they were faultless. If every round was that easy it would be great! I now only need a fourth place from the final two rounds to win the championship so I can go to Misano this weekend to watch my brother Eugene racing and enjoy it. I must thank the team for their effort this weekend: everything ran like clockwork and we had the perfect set-up so hopefully we can finish the job at Donington.” Ian Lowry: “I think I may have popped a valve today after missing a gear coming down to the Mountain section that ended my race. If I’m honest, I didn’t feel that comfortable this weekend as Cadwell is not one of my favourite circuits. It’s complicated and has that much around it and I struggled both in practice and qualifying. In saying that, I got a reasonable start and was up to third before I had to retire. I was actually in a comfortable third and was reeling in Billy McConnell, so I was happy to sit there and wait. I am gutted to have lost second place in the championship but it’s one of those things. Michael now has a healthy lead but it’s a Suzuki one-two that we want in the championship, so I’ll be giving it my all at the final two rounds. It’s not out of the question just yet!” Philip Neill – Team Principal: “Michael recorded his fifth win of the season today under immense pressure from leading the championship since the opening day. He has shown once again what a class act he really is and I don’t think it would be out of order to say that he now deserves to win the championship even though it’s not over just yet. He is simply a class act and having been lucky enough to have won some championships myself I do understand the pressure he’s been under. “I felt sorry for Ian today but I was also proud of the way he came through on a circuit that he’s not so fond of. The team are also proud of the way he held his hand up after missing a gear that caused his engine to over-rev ending his race. These things happen. It’s far from over for him just yet and I’m sure he’ll fight all the way through to the last lap at Brands. “I must again say a big thank you to Suzuki, as the GSX-R600 has proved faultless throughout this campaign to date. Hopefully we are leading our way up to repaying the faith that both they, and our partners Relentless have shown in TAS Racing this season. Our package, as always, was complimented today by Pirelli, WP Suspension and Putoline Motorcycle Oil.” Results: 1 Michael Laverty [Relentless Suzuki] 24:28.062; 2 Billy McConnell [Yamaha] +1.511; 3 Tom Grant [Yamaha] +4.340; 4 John McGuinness [Honda] +4.575; 5 Martin Jessopp [Ducati] +10.276; 6 Dennis Hobbs [Honda] +12.772. More, from a press release issued by Steve Plater’s publicist: Lincolnshire ace Steve Plater from Woodhall Spa rode to his best result of the current campaign when he secured a 9th and 13th place finish to his two Bennetts British Superbike races on Bank Holiday Monday. Re-united with his AIM Yamaha R1, Plater encountered a few technical issues with the bike but persevered through qualifying to secure a fifth row start to Monday’s two races. “I don’t know what to say really,” said the affable 35-year-old rider. “I have been pushing as hard as I can and shaved a further second from my lap times. The qualifying tyres did a good job and I am riding the wheels off the bike but still am down in 20th place. If I push any harder I will end up in the tyre wall and I cant afford to do that as I have a World Endurance race in three week’s time. My aim for today is to bring it home safely within the top 15.” As race one got underway Steve made up a couple of places on the first of 18 laps and gradually picked off riders finding himself up into 13th place at the chequered flag to claim three championship points. But when the lights went out at the start of race two Steve was quick off the line to move straight into 14th place before dropping back to 15th as James Haydon went past. But Steve wasn’t to be outpaced and followed Haydon all the way home eventually finishing in ninth place just half a second behind him to claim a further seven championship points and move up the standings to 18th. “That was a good result, considering our disastrous practice and qualifying,” said Steve. “I got a cracking start in both races and got away with the tail end of the front group. Obviously the pace car coming out for the incident involving Leon Camier in the second race helped me a bit and then Scott Smart and Michael Rutter had a coming together at the Old Hairpin, which elevated me further up field. But the bike was quite a bit better and my lap times improved in the second race so we were happy that we have gone forward. “We still have a few issues which need resolving before the next round but we are aware of these and hopefully they will be rectified and we will be much stronger for Donington and looking at some more top ten finishes.” There is a four-week break before the next round but there will be no respite for Plater who will be heading off to Magny Cours in France for the penultimate round of the World Endurance Championship on September 15/16. The Bol d’Or 24-hour race begins on Saturday (15th) at 3pm (2pm GMT) finishing the next day at the same time. Steve along with the other two Team Kawasaki France riders is currently holding second place in the series and a good result at Magny Cours could see him edge nearer to the series leaders SERT. Steve was testing at Magny Cours last week but the rain hampered his progress. He found a good wet set up on Tuesday but although the track dried out on Wednesday for a while the rain came back with a vengeance ruining any chance of making further progress. More, from a press release issued by Aim Yamaha: AIM YAMAHA MAKE POSITIVE STEPS AT CADWELL AIM Yamaha made a big step forward on Bank Holiday Monday when Steve Plater secured two strong points-finishes in the Bennetts British Superbike championship at Cadwell Park. He completed race one in 13th place and went on to secure his best result of the season with a fine ninth in the second encounter. Re-united with his AIM Yamaha R1, Plater encountered a few technical issues with the bike but persevered through qualifying to secure a fifth row start to Monday’s two races. As race one got underway Steve made up a couple of places on the first of 18 laps and gradually picked off riders finding himself up into 13th place at the chequered flag to claim three championship points. But when the lights went out at the start of race two Steve was quick off the line to move straight into 14th place before dropping back to 15th as James Haydon went past. But Steve wasn’t to be outpaced and followed Haydon all the way home eventually finishing in ninth place just half a second behind him to claim a further seven championship points and move up the standings to 18th. STEVE PLATER – That was a good result, considering our disastrous practice and qualifying. I got a cracking start in both races and got away with the tail end of the front group. Obviously the pace car coming out for the incident involving Leon Camier in the second race helped me a bit and then Scott Smart and Michael Rutter had a coming together at the Old Hairpin, which elevated me further up field. But the bike was quite a bit better and my lap times improved in the second race so we were happy that we have gone forward. We still have a few issues which need resolving before the next round but we are aware of these and hopefully they will be rectified and we will be much stronger for Donington and looking at some more top ten finishes. Steven Neate was riding the AIM Yamaha R6 for the first time at Cadwell and soon got to grips with his new steed. He qualified in 18th place but as the race began had to take evasive action to avoid a rider ahead whose bike had cut out at the start. After that he noticed a problem with the power and as the race progressed so did the problem, so much so that Steven decided to pull in after completing eight of the 16 laps. STEVEN NEATE I had a bit of a bad start as a bike stalled in front of me. That lost me a few places but then almost straight away I found the bike wasn’t making any power. We had a problem with the bike getting to hot and after about six laps the temperature was reading over 100 degrees so I decided it was time to pull in. It was a disappointing end to the weekend as we had been going so well until that point. I am looking forward to the next round at Donington Park and I have to say that I really have enjoyed working with the team, they are a great bunch of lads and really easy to get on with. If we can continue with the progress we made this weekend then I think we will do well at Donington. ALISTAIR FLANAGAN Steven has done really well this weekend. It’s just a shame this has happened. We think its something to do with the engine that was in the crash at Croft with Steve Allan. We thought we had sorted it out but it lasted a while so must have been something minor that we missed at the time. Steve Plater also did well and brought us our best result in the Superbike class this year. He finished both races in a points-scoring position and we are optimistic he can do as well again at Donington next time out. More, from a press release issued by Hawk Colchester Kawasaki: Hawk Colchester Kawasaki had a strong weekend at round 11 of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Cadwell Park. James Haydon made his Hawk Colchester debut for the team and secured two very hard fought results of ninth and eighth places respectively and he was the first Kawasaki home in both of the 18-lap races. His team-mate Scott Smart also gained point scoring results with 10th and 12th positions. The pairing were consistent throughout the weekend and finished every session on virtually identical times to each other. Eventually Haydon qualified in 13th place with Smart in 14th with only 0.05 separating the pair. Both riders rode extremely well around the very demanding and technical 2.18-mile circuit. Haydon who has not ridden competitively since Silverstone in April and has only completed a handful of laps on the Hawk bike before racing at Cadwell Park made a welcome return to the series. Haydon looked strong and comfortable all weekend and despite making his come back at one of the most difficult circuits in the UK he also gained two very creditable results for the team. A poor start in the first race saw the 32-year-old drop back to 15th and Smart moving up to 13th. Haydon made a move on Simon Andrews on lap two and was then hunting down his team-mate Smart and Kawasaki mounted Michael Rutter. As the trio battled it out over the 18-lap duel it was Haydon that got the better of the two other Kawasaki’s and took a sturdy eighth position with Smart only a few tenths behind as they crossed the line. Once again Haydon struggled to get off the start in the second race and lost places after the first lap. The safety car was despatched on lap ten after a crash at the top of the mountain, which allowed the riders to bunch up. Lap 14 saw Smart have a coming together with Rutter at the hairpin, both were forced onto the grass but managed to re-join. Smart had to fight his way through the field and secured 12th place as he crossed the line. Commenting Haydon said “It’s good to be back, it’s not the easiest of circuits to make a return to and I’m still getting used to how the ZX10 works so I was kind of thrown in at the deep end. The team worked really hard and we found a good set up by race day which I felt comfortable with. I though it was weekend over for me on Saturday as I twisted my back, luckily I managed to get it sorted and I was ready for the race. It’s a nice feeling to be racing again and hopefully I’ll be back in the future.” Smart added “I’ve had a pretty good weekend, we struggled to find a good set up initially but changed a few things throughout the weekend which made the bike work better and feel more stable around the track. Cadwell is always a hard place to get a decent set up and we did make some progress this weekend. I’m looking forward to Donington in a few weeks time and hoping to get some good results there.” Maxxis British Supersport Cup rider Alex Camier was forced to pull in after only the second lap of the race after suffering a mechanical problem.