Guintoli and Camier take the victories Round One Brands Hatch Easter Monday ViSK British Superbike Championship in association with Pirelli Sylvain Guintoli and Leon Camier took the victories in the opening round of the ViSK British Superbike Championship at Brands Hatch but it was the Frenchman, making his debut into the series who took the lead, by seven points, in the title stakes. Guintoli had not a raced a Superbike before, but he had shown the speed and style that had seen him build up a pedigree of 118 grand prix starts by claiming pole position at the first attempt, though he made a sluggish get-away that left him playing catch-up in the opener. Stuart Easton made the early running in a race that was neutralised for four laps early on to enable marshals to clear the tangle at Clearways involving Matt Bond and Tom Tunstall. Then Glen Richards took the lead before his HM Plant Honda team-mate Steve Plater moved out front. But at half distance, Plater slid out and Guintoli was in the right place at the right time to grab the lead and once ahead Guintoli powered a couple of seconds clear on his Worx Suzuki to take the victory. “My start was really bad, but that made it into a very good race. It is good to have a fight like that, and to have a lot of fun in a race and for that I have to thank the team who have worked so hard to give me a great bike,” explained Guintoli. Richards took second ahead of Easton with Leon Camier running fourth but intent on better things next time out as he fought his way through from sixth place on the opening lap which was led by Easton from Karl Harris and Plater. Camier was on the ascendancy while out front Easton was coming under pressure from Plater. Camier moved his Airwaves Yamaha second on the twelfth lap at the expense of Plater and finally overcame the determined Easton at two thirds distance. “Six days ago we did not have a bike, and I did not ride it until first practice here on Friday, but straightaway I knew that we were not a million miles away,” explained Camier. “The team have kept me positive throughout.” Guintoli was on the charge, cutting through to take second place, and with it the lead in 45-38 over Camier in the overall standings, while Plater, who had finished second to Billy McConnell in the Fuchs Silkolene British Supersport race minutes before the start of the second Superbike encounter rode into third place. Gary Mason, with sixth and ninth place overall finishes, won both of the Mirror.co.uk Cup races aboard his Quay Garage Honda with Martin Jessopp aboard the Riders Honda second in each. Peter Hickman took a pair of thirds for the Ultimate Racing Yamaha team. ViSK British Superbike Championship in association with Pirelli Race one 30 laps 1. Sylvain Guintoli (Worx Crescent Suzuki) 24m 27.117secs 2. Glen Richards (HM Plant Honda) +0.952s 3. Stuart Easton (Hydrex Honda) +3.086s 4. Leon Camier (Airwaves Yamaha) +7.007s 5. James Ellison (Airwaves Yamaha) +7.814s 6. Gary Mason (Quay Garage Honda) +8.505s 7. Simon Andrews (MSS Colchester Kawasaki) +9.359s 8. Jason O’Halloran (SMT Honda) +9.639s 9. Graeme Gowland (Motorpoint/Henderson Yamaha) +10.549s 10. Tristan Palmer (Buildbase Kawasaki) +16.181s Race two 30 laps 1. Leon Camier (Airwaves Yamaha) 23m 25.330secs 2. Sylvain Guintoli (Worx Crescent Suzuki) +2.319s 3. Steve Plater (HM Plant Honda) +3.347s 4. Stuart Easton (Hydrex Honda) +3.772s 5. Glen Richards (HM Plant Honda) +3.915s 6. Karl Harris (Hydrex Honda) +11.121s 7. James Ellison (Airwaves Yamaha) +11.531s 8. Chris Walker (Motorpoint/Henderson Yamaha) +11.826s 9. Gary Mason (Quay Garage Honda) +12.968s 10. Julien Da Costa (MSS Colchester Kawasaki) +14.641s Championship standings 1 Sylvain Guintoli 45pts 2 Leon Camier 38 3 Glen Richards 31 4 Stuart Easton 29 5 James Ellison 20 6 Gary Mason 17 7 Steve Plater 16 8 Simon Andrews 14 9 Jason O’Halloran 12 10 Julien da Costa 11 Next round Oulton Park 2/3/4 May More, from a press release issued by GSE Racing/Airwaves Yamaha: AIRWAVES YAMAHA SENSATIONAL WIN ON DEBUT WEEKEND Leon Camier recorded the fourth British Superbike victory of his career in round 1 of the British Superbike Championship at Brands Hatch today. His victory in race two followed a 4th place in race one and puts him second in the Championship standings. Teammate James Ellison finished 5th in race one and 7th in race two. James and Leon maintained their grid positions at the start of race one but each lost a place just before an incident on the 2nd lap saw the safety car being deployed. After 4 laps behind the safety car, Leon pushed hard to move up to 3rd but dropped down to 10th after going wide on lap 16. Both James and Leon continued to work their way through the field and by lap 26 Leon was right behind his teammate. Following a close battle, Leon overtook James at the end of lap 28 to finish 4th with James crossing the line in 5th. After another good start in race two, Leon broke away with the leading pack early on. A succession of impressive passes saw Leon take the lead on lap 19, eventually crossing the line to take victory by over 2 seconds. James meanwhile enjoyed a three-way battle for 7th for most of the second race which he eventually won on the very last lap. Delighted with his race two win Leon commented, “After the first race I knew I had the pace to be on the podium, but to win is amazing. In the first race I made a few mistakes which really cost me but the performance of the YZF R1 was faultless. I’m looking forward to Oulton Park to get some more time on the bike and continue its development and I don’t see why we can’t be competitive there too. I must say a massive thank you to everyone at Airwaves Yamaha, GSE Group and Jewson for making this win today possible.” Reflecting on the weekend James said, “A top five finish was my aim at the start of the weekend, so to achieve that in race one was great. I was really aiming for a podium in race two but after being held up in traffic, to come away with some solid points was a good result. I’m really happy for Leon and the whole Airwaves Yamaha team to get such a fantastic victory today. I’ll be working hard when we get to the next round at Oulton Park to make sure the next win is mine”. Colin Wright added “What a day! Leon was sensational in race 2 and James did a superb job in both races. Considering we only started the Airwaves Yamaha’s on Wednesday and the riders put their leg over them on Thursday, to complete the weekend with four point scoring positions is truly outstanding. I hope to have the opportunity to thank many people over this season but for now a big thank you to the Yamaha WSB team and Davide Gentile (race engineer, Yamaha WSB Team). These guys have pulled out all the stops to provide us with a fantastic motorcycle, massive amounts of experience and data”. Race One Results: 1. Sylvain Guintoli Worx Crescent Suzuki 2. Glen Richards HM Plant Honda 3. Stuart Easton Hydrex Honda 4. Leon Camier Airwaves Yamaha 5. James Ellison Airwaves Yamaha Race Two Results: 1. Leon Camier Airwaves Yamaha 2. Sylvain Guintoli Worx Crescent Suzuki 3. Steve Plater HM Plant Honda 4. Stuart Easton Hydrex Honda 5. Glen Richards HM Plant Honda 6. Karl Harris Hydrex Honda 7. James Ellison Airwaves Yamaha Championship Standings: 1. Sylvain Guintoli Worx Crescent Suzuki 45 2. Leon Camier Airwaves Yamaha 38 3. Glen Richards HM Plant Honda 31 4. Stuart Easton Hydrex Honda 29 5. James Ellison Airwaves Yamaha 20 More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki News Service: Sylvain Guintoli made good on his pole position in qualifying today at Brands Hatch, placing first and second in the two races to place his Worx Crescent Suzuki at the head the British Superbike Championship. But the BSB debutant didn’t have the racing go all his own way in this the first round of the Championship: In race one Guintoli’s wheelie off the start put him back in seventh place into turn one. He then pushed hard through the early stages of the race to make back the places and took over the lead on lap 16. Honda’s Glen Richards shadowed Guintoli for the rest of the race and while, at three-quarter distance, Richards was able to close to barely 0.3-seconds, for the last quarter of the race Guintoli was able to maintain his blistering pace while his challenger faded. While Guintoli made a better start in the second race, a little bumping in the first corner saw him placed fifth after one lap. The racing was rather more frenetic second time around and in a crucial early development Guintoli was first passed by rival Leon Camier and then found himself caught behind Karl Harris. In the three laps Guintoli took to fight past Harris, he lost over a second and a half to Camier. Finally past Harris, he mounted a race-long fight to regain positions. Typically pulling back two-tenths-of-a-second each lap on his rivals, Guintoli took second from Steve Plater on lap 27. The remaining three laps were not enough to close the gap to Camier in the lead. Guintoli’s 1-2 result to Camier’s 4-1 affords him a seven-point advantage at the head of the championship as the BSB paddock heads north to the second round of the BSB championship at Oulton Park on May 2-4. Sylvain Guintoli: Race 1: “It was my mistake at the start, the front came up and I had to shut it down to control it. But after that, it was okay, I knew the tyres would be good for the first half of the race so I got on with making the passes – it is quite a difficult circuit to pass on, so you have to be calculating. After that I was able to control the lead. When Glen did close on me I picked up the pace a little bit and we were fine.” Race 2: “I made a better start, but I just didn’t feel that I had the same grip as in the first race. Maybe I was overdoing it a bit; I had to work hard to make the passes. When Leon passed me I could see he was in a good rhythm and I wasn’t finding my rhythm as quickly – and I knew I didn’t want him to get away. The Honda riders weren’t so easy to pass; they ran so deep into the corners and so I overshot a couple of times trying to make the passes – good for the TV but not so good for us. “But I am very happy. This weekend we took pole position and we took a win and a second and so have the championship lead. I came here expecting to be fighting at the front but what’s happened has been really good.” Jack Valentine – Team manager: “We’re very pleased with how the bike is performing. Obviously it starts moving around a bit toward the end of the race – particularly as Sylvain has had to use his tyres up in the early laps to make the passes – but we’ve been very happy with the set-up, which was identical for both races. “I was impressed with how Sylvain controlled the first race; when Glen started to catch him he responded in a considered way, there’s no sense of panic with him. “In the early stages of that second race there was quite a bit of sparring going on with the Honda riders and we could see he was being held up. But you could see Sylvain’s quality shine through when he got a clear track, being smooth and not so aggressive on the bike, he was pulling in the leaders. He just needed more laps! “In the end it was a proper welcome to BSB for Sylvain; he’s come out on top but he’s also gained an understanding that the BSB riders won’t take any messing about and I’ll think he’ll come back at the next round all the stronger for it.” Race 1: (30 laps): 1 Sylvain Guintoli, Worx Crescent Suzuki, 24:27.117; 2 Glen Richards, HM Honda, +0.952; 3 Stuart Easton, Hydrex Honda, +3.086; 4 Leon Camier, Airwaves Yamaha, +7.007; 5 James Ellison, Airwaves Yamaha, +7.814; 6 Gary Mason, Quay Garage Honda, +8.505; 7 Simon Andrews, MSS Colchester Kawasaki, +9.359; 8 Jason O’Halloran, SMT Honda, +9.639; 9 Graeme Gowland, Motorpoint/Henderson Yamaha, +10.549; 10 Tristan Palmer, Buildbase Kawasaki, +16.181. Race 2: (30 laps): 1 Leon Camier, Airwaves Yamaha, 23:25.330; 2 Sylvain Guintoli, Worx Crescent Suzuki, +2.319; 3 Steve Plater, HM Plant Honda, +3.347; 4 Stuart Easton, Hydrex Honda, +3.772; 5 Glen Richards, HM Plant Honda, +3.915; 6 Karl Harris, Hydrex Honda, +11.121; 7 James Ellison, Airwaves Yamaha, +11.531; 8 Chris Walker, Motorpoint/Henderson Yamaha, +11.826; 9 Gary Mason, Quay Garage Honda, +12.968; 10 Julien Da Costa, MSS Colchester Kawasaki, +14.641. Championship points (after one round): 1 Sylvain Guintoli, Worx Crescent Suzuki, 45, 2 Leon Camier 38, 3 Glen Richards 31, 4 Stuart Easton 29, 5 James Ellison 20, 6 Gary Mason 17, 7 Steve Plater 16, 8 Simon Andrews 14, 9 Jason O’Halloran 12, 10 Julien Da Costa 11. More, from a press release issued by SMT Honda: Strong start to 2009 for SMT Honda SMT Honda’s hopes for a strong start to the 2009 British Superbike season were fully justified on Easter Monday as riders Jason O’Halloran and Adam Jenkinson gave the team three points-scoring finishes inside the top twelve at the opening round at Brands Hatch. Australian O’Halloran qualified in 13th for the feature British Superbike Championship races and despite suffering sluggish starts in each of the two 30-lap encounters that saw him outside the top 15, his determined riding saw him climb through the field on each occasion, resulting in two excellent finishes of 8th and 12th. With 12 points already on the board, the 21-year old goes in to round two at Oulton Park lying a strong 9th overall in the Championship table. Meanwhile, Jenkinson, returning to the saddle after 12 months out with injury, was extremely strong throughout the weekend and after qualifying in seventh place for the National 1000cc Superstock race, he took a brilliant sixth place, only 3 seconds off the race win. Eleventh on the opening lap, a series of fast laps saw him soon up to sixth and only backmarkers in the closing stages prevented him from challenging for the podium. An extremely pleased team owner Robin Croft commented; “I’m really happy with how the weekend has gone and Jason has once again shown what a quality rider, and racer, he is. We were that focused on the race set-up though we overlooked the starts so this is an area we’ll be addressing in time for round two. To come through from 16th into 8th and 12th respectively is no mean feat and it’s even more pleasing to see ourselves 9th overall in the Championship.” “It was Adam’s first race in 12 months so looking at it like that, we’re very pleased with sixth place although we felt a podium was on the cards so there’s slight disappointment as well. He didn’t get the start he would have liked but his pace was good and he was lapping quicker than the front four and only the backmarkers prevented him from getting even higher. We’ve got ten good points in the bag though and it gives us a solid platform to build upon. It’s on to Oulton now, our home circuit, so we’re all eager to impress and build upon this weekend.” Round Two of the British Superbike Championship takes place at Oulton Park, Cheshire from May 2-4. More, from a press release issued by John McGuinness’ publicist: Superb start to 2009 for McGuinness John McGuinness got his 2009 season off to a superb start on Easter Monday when he took an excellent fifth place in the opening round of the National Superstock 1000cc Championship at Brands Hatch. The Morecambe ace was only two seconds adrift of the race win and it was only a run of backmarkers that prevented him from climbing on to the podium. Riding the Padgett’s Honda, McGuinness had been strong throughout qualifying and 6th on the grid left him feeling very confident for the 22-lap race. Sure enough, when the lights turned green, John made a great start to immediately slot in to fifth. There was little to choose between the leading riders and John gradually closed the gap to the front group, moving up to fourth on the 14th lap. Within one second of the lead, John was all set to stake his claim for the podium when backmarkers came into play on the small Indy circuit and James Hillier managed to find his way through. John stayed firm in fifth and crossed the line just two seconds adrift of the race winner Alastair Seeley for 11 valuable Championship points With his season off to a flying start, a delightd John said: “I really enjoyed the race today and I couldn’t have asked for a better start to the year. We had a good pre-season out in Spain and that good form has carried over here to Brands with the bike flying all weekend. I felt sharp throughout qualifying although I perhaps should have stayed out on the track a bit more but second row was a good starting point.” “I knew the start would be crucial and couldn’t have timed it any better. I was right in the hunt and although the front group edged away I began to reel them in and felt that a podium was definitely on the cards. When we caught the backmarkers, it all got a bit hectic and Dan Hegarty went down right in front of me and them James sneaked through so I tried all I could to find a way through. I was running almost identical times to the leaders and I was still putting in strong laps at the end of the race so it bodes well for the rest of the year. The team have done an awesome job with the bike and it’s great to be running at the sharp end.” The next round of the Championship takes place at John’s local circuit, Oulton Park in Cheshire, over the Bank Holiday weekend of May 2-4.