SUPER SHAKEY SPLASHES TO DOUBLE PODIUM 2007 Bennetts British Superbike Championship Round 8 Oulton Park, Cheshire Sunday 15th July 2007 Stobart Vent Axia Motorsport rider Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne overcame the wet conditions to record two podium finishes in round eight of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Oulton Park in Cheshire today. Riding the VK backed Dunlop shod Honda Fireblade, Byrne battled back from a poor start in race one before taking advantage of the drying conditions in race two to score his second double podium of the season for the Paul Bird Motorsport team. It was reward indeed for the 30 year old Londoner after a number of problems in qualifying had hampered his bid but he was delighted to leave Oulton having scored top points for the day. Meanwhile for 21 year old team mate Tom Sykes the meeting had promised much with a superb second place qualifying position but delivered little as a crash in race one and a technical problem in race two scuppered his bid. Sykes was in the leading bunch in the opening race and looking good for his first podium of the season when he slid off at the fast Druids Corner without injury, but any hopes he had of making amends in race two disappeared when his machine developed a water-inspired misfire in the early stages but he gallantly held on to finish in sixth position. The team now moves on to Mallory Park next weekend hoping to continue their success in recent races. Shane Byrne: “All of my team deserved that. We’ve had a really difficult weekend especially after I fell off twice, but that happens when you give 100%. The team has been awesome and I was really happy to get a podium in the first race and to make it two was even better. The team has done a great job and thanks to Dunlop also who have been great. We ended up top points scorer and its all credit to them.” Tom Sykes: “I had bad starts in both races and in the first race I was running comfortably on the back of the bunch for second but was struggling with visibility and missed an apex and ran wide at Druids and lost the front. I had another bad start in the second race but I was picking my way through and I passed Shakey, who ended up on the podium, and from lap three I had a bit of a problem with the bike and just struggled from there and managed to hold on to sixth place. It’s just heartbreaking because I could have been on the podium in both races but we’ll carry on to Mallory and crack on from there.” Paul Bird: “It’s a great result for the team after a difficult weekend with a couple of crashes, and to come out top points scorer just shows the character of the riders and the team. It’s fantastic for Shakey but luck just wasn’t on Tom’s side today but he showed maturity to bring the machine home in the top six in the second race. All in all it’s a fantastic result for the team and now we’ll go to Mallory Park and carry on the momentum.” Race 1 Result 1, Ryuichi Kiyonari (Honda) 31m03.104s, 2, Shane Byrne (Stobart Vent Axia Motorsport Honda) +20.075s, 3, Chris Walker (Suzuki) +20.890s, 4, Leon Haslam (Ducati) +23.634s, 5, Cal Crutchlow (Suzuki) +29.967s, 6, Leon Camier (Honda) +42.345s, 7, Scott Smart (Kawasaki) +1m24.828s, 8, Tommy Hill (Yamaha) +1m28.272s, 9, Ollie Bridewell (Suzuki) +1m32.318s, 10, Guy Martin (Honda) +1m43.863s. Race 2 Result 1, Jonathan Rea (Honda) 24m33.750s, 2, Karl Harris (Honda) +12.103s, 3, Shane Byrne (Stobart Vent Axia Motorsport Honda) +19.949s, 4, Leon Haslam (Ducati) +26.780s, 5, Leon Camier (Honda) +29.256s, 6, Tom Sykes (Stobart Vent Axia Motorsport Honda) +51.584s, 7, Michael Rutter (Kawasaki) +1m00.028s, 8, Chris Walker (Suzuki) +1m10.681s, 9, Ollie Bridewell (Suzuki) +1m13.025s, 10, Gregorio Lavilla (Ducati) +1m14.807s. Bennetts British Superbike Championship Positions after Round 8 1, Ryuichi Kiyonari (Honda) 273pts 2, Jonathan Rea (Honda) 262pts 3, Leon Haslam (Ducati) 231pts 4, Gregorio Lavilla (Ducati) 226pts 5, Shane Byrne (Stobart Vent Axia Motorsport Honda) 187pts 6, Leon Camier (Honda) 166pts 7, Tom Sykes (Stobart Vent Axia Motorsport Honda) 148pts 8, Chris Walker (Suzuki) 128pts 9, Karl Harris (Honda) 99pts 10, Tommy Hill (Yamaha) 94pts More, from a press release issued by Rizla Suzuki: Torrential rain at today’s eighth round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Oulton Park failed to dampen the spirits of Chris ‘Stalker’ Walker as he stormed to third place on the podium, or of Cal Crutchlow as he recorded his career best ever result of fifth. Walker, starting from 11th on the grid at the 2.69-mile long track, was always in contention for the podium in the opening race, dicing for second right until the chequered flag – eventually finishing third on the rostrum for just the second time in 2007. In the second race he was comfortable in third when after nine-laps he ran on into a gravel trap and fell over. He remounted and joined the race 11th, fighting his way back to eighth by the end. From seventh on the grid, Crutchlow went back as far as 14th before getting the bit between his teeth and dragging himself up to fifth in the opening race, his best ever result in a British Superbike Championship event. In the second race his rear wheel spun on the start-line and he was battling back from 12th when forced to retire on lap three with an electrical fault. Honda’s Ryuichi Kiyonari won the opening race and Jonathan Rea the second. Chris Walker: “I am incredibly happy with my second podium result of the season. My Rizla Suzuki was well prepared, I felt confident with it and really enjoyed the race; it was great to be mixing it at the front and just a shame I missed out on second place by the smallest margin. “I was in third in the second race when I pushed just a little too hard into the final corner. I didn’t crash but ran into the gravel and then fell over. With a little help from some friends I managed to get back on track and up to eighth by the finish. It may have been wet but that was one race I wish there had been another 10-laps so I could have climbed even further back up the results sheet. Either way, it’s been a great weekend and a big thanks to Rizla Suzuki and the fans for their support.” Cal Crutchlow: “I have achieved my season’s goal of a top six finish and I am very happy about that. My pace was good, the Rizla Suzuki performing well and it all just clicked. That’s another tick in the box for my career ambitions and now the podium is my next target and I want it by the end of the season if possible. “In all honesty I think I could have made fifth in the second race. My Rizla Suzuki was doing what I asked of it and despite a poor start I was carving up through the field when I lost power because of a minor electrical fault. That’s disappointing but overall I am delighted with my performance today and can’t wait to get racing again.” Simon Buckmaster – Team Manager: “Well done to Chris for a very impressive podium in the opening race and for showing immense determination and courage in the second race to remount and fight back to eighth. He showed his quality today and we liked what we saw. “Congratulations to Cal on achieving his goal of the top six just over half-way through the season. He was on course for a second top six finish but a small electrical problem robbed him of that. As he has done all season, he will continue to improve and we are looking forward to seeing what he can achieve. “There’s no rest for Rizla Suzuki as we are racing at Mallory Park next weekend. We will go there on the back of our best results of the year and with fire in our bellies for a repeat performance or better. Well done to all of the Rizla Suzuki team for their efforts. “Finally, I’d like to thank former Team and Commercial Manager Robert Wicks for all his work with the team for the last two and half years. He is moving on to new challenges but he will always be a member and friend of this team in our eyes and we wish him all the best for his future career.” Race One Result: 1: Ryuichi Kiyonari (Honda) 31:03.104 2: Shane Byrne (Honda) +20.075 3: Chris Walker (Rizla Suzuki) +20.815 4: Leon Haslam (Ducati) +23.634 5: Cal Crutchlow (Rizla Suzuki) +29.967 6: Leon Camier (Honda) +42.345 7: Scott Smart (Kawasaki) +1:24.828 8: Tommy Hill (Yamaha) +1:28.272 9: Ollie Bridewell (Suzuki) +1:32.318 10: Guy Martin (Honda) +1:43.863 Race Two Result: 1: Jonathan Rea (Honda) 24:33.750 2: Karl Harris (Honda) +12.103 3: Byrne +19.949 4: Haslam +26.780 5: Camier +29.256 6: Tom Sykes (Honda) +51.584 7: Michael Rutter (Kawasaki) +1:00.028 8: Chris Walker (Rizla Suzuki) +1:10.681 9: Ollie Bridewell (Suzuki) +1:13.025 10: Gregorio Lavilla (Ducati) +1:14.807 DNF: Cal Crutchlow (Rizla Suzuki) Championship Positions (after eight of 13 rounds): 1: Kiyonari 273 2: Rea 262 3: Haslam 231 4: Lavilla 226 5: Byrne 187 6: Camier 166 7: Sykes 148 8: Chris Walker (Rizla Suzuki) 128 9: Harris 99 10: Hill 94 11: Cal Crutchlow (Rizla Suzuki) 67