Solid Seventh for Andrews The Lloyds British backed Jentin Racing team left Oulton Park with one solid seventh place result after Evesham based rider Simon Andrews crashed out of the wet first race at Shell Oils Corner. However Andrews bounced right back from this disappointment to finally gain seventh place in the second action packed Bennetts British Superbike race at the 2.7-mile circuit. In glorious sunshine on Saturday, Andrews and the team found a very good dry set up on the Yamaha and finished seventh and eighth in the two free practice sessions. Heavy over night rain continued into Saturday and the team worked hard to find a comfortable wet set up on the bike, but not quite getting it as far as they would have liked. After a few mechanical problems during the day Andrews upped his game in the qualifying session and put the team in a respectable 10th position on the grid. The rain began for the first race just as the lights turned green and before the completion of the opening lap the race was red-flagged. It then became something of a mad panic for the teams who had to change to wet tyres/settings in a very limited amount of time to comply with the quick restart procedure. Unfortunately the race was short lived for Andrews who crashed out while making good progress through the field in very difficult conditions. Andrews gained a steady start in the second race and was locked in a battle with Scott Smart on the Kawasaki for a number of laps. Making a tidy pass on Karl Harris moved Andrews through to tenth place. Crutchlow and Sykes crashed out of the race and Leon Haslam was later excluded from the results after the incident between himself and Sykes, promoting the Jentin rider to seventh place. Andrews is now 11= in the overall Championship standings and looking forward to Brands Hatch this forthcoming weekend. Andrews commented “I’m gutted to have crashed in the first race but I’d struggled in the wet all weekend as we couldn’t find a set-up that we were really happy with. I still had a few mechanical problems in the second race but knew I had to get the points and I rode a safe race to ensure I finished and got in the points. Hopefully Brands Hatch will run a bit more smoothly for us next weekend.” Team Manager Bernie Toleman said “The whole team have, as usual, worked incredibly hard all weekend and of course we were really disappointed after the race one DNF. However Simon really delivered for us in race two, where despite some mechanical issues we ended up seventh. We start from row two at Brands Hatch this coming weekend and lets all hope for better weather.” More, from a press release issued by Craig Fitzpatrick’s publicist: Another Win for Fitzpatrick Craig Fitzpatrick secured another solid win and fastest lap in the Fuchs-Silkolene British Supersport Cup at Oulton Park, he also gained a fantastic eighth place in the overall race. Fitzpatrick on the BLDS Couriers Yamaha extended his lead in the Cup Championship by 10 points. The 30-year-old from Alfreton, Derbyshire looked smooth throughout the weekend and was consistently running in the thick of the action. Struggling in the first qualifying on Saturday in the wet conditions he dropped down the pack. However, during the second qualifying session he managed to place himself in sixth place on the grid only a second off pole-position rider Chris Martin. Fitzpatrick got a fantastic start in the race and was soon up to a great fourth place. The safety car was deployed on lap three and then the race was red-flagged due to the same incident. The race was re-started as a 12-lap race and unfortunately Fitzpatrick was blocked into the first corner and he dropped back to eighth position. After fighting his way through to sixth place he came under attack from the factory backed Honda of Steve Brogan and also Honda mounted Dan Cooper. He was able to fend off the challenge from TT star Ian Hutchinson and was in eighth place when the chequered flag came out. Commenting he said “It’s been a tough weekend with a number of aspects. I’m really pleased to have gained my first top ten placing in the Supersport class and it gives me confidence as I head to one of my favourite circuits this weekend, Brands Hatch. I had a few problems in the rain on Saturday and was hoping the race would be dry. Although the track was pretty slippery I just got my head down in the race, I was sat in fourth when it was red-flagged and was fighting with the leaders, which was a nice feeling. I got a bad start in the re-start and got pushed backwards into the first corner and slipped back to eighth. It is so hard to fight with the factory boys as they have so much more power so it’s all down to corner speed witch I had but just couldn’t quite pass them. I had some really good battles out on track and managed to take the Cup win, I’m really looking forward to Brands and keeping my fingers crossed that it will be dry!.” More, from a press release issued by Tom Tunstall Racing: Tough Weekend For Tunstall The second round of this year’s British Superbike Championships took place at Oulton Park over the bank holiday weekend and for the Hardinge Ice Valley Superbike Team it proved to be tough weekend. Having suffered major set-up issues at the opening Thruxton round and without opportunity to test prior to arriving at the Cheshire track Tom and the team knew they had work to do. Having started to progress further during Saturdays dry free practice session, track conditions on Sunday were once again wet. And although Tunstall showed great pace it robbed the team any opportunity to improve the set-up. By the end of the single qualifying session the track was virtually dry however the handful of laps Tunstall completed with the slick tyres wasn’t enough to do justice to the teams efforts and he claimed seventh place on the Superbike Cup grid; “It was pretty much worse case scenario for us, in the full wet conditions I’m as fast as any of the cup runners but we still haven’t found a good dry base setting on the Pirellis since swapping back to the 07 suspension. Results wise I’m hoping the race will be a wash out but we do need dry time to sort the bike” Race one initially looked like it was going to be dry but rain started to fall as the riders took their warm-up lap. After a huge crash at the first corner the race was red flagged and the track was wet for the restart. In the opening laps Tunstall cut his way through the field, up to 2nd place and overtaking Rizla Suzuki’s Atsushi Wantanabe. However on lap four Tunstall started to drop back, and as the laps went by and the track dried he struggled more and was forced to pit on lap seven. The team changed the rear tyre and Tunstall completed the race taking ninth. “In the opening laps I was flying but the grip dropped away very quickly and I just couldn’t lean the bike over without the back end coming round, it was lethal! I’m gutted because I know I had an easy second place if not better” The track was fully dry for the second outing and Tunstall took to the grid with a revised setting. As the laps went by Tunstall’s pace got faster as he acclimatised himself with the bike set-up and was chasing cup stalwart James Buckingham when the race was abandoned on lap 12 after a crash. “It’s probably the happiest I’ve been after finishing a race in 6th! Once I got a feel for the bike my confidence was growing each lap. I’m hoping this setting will work well at Brands and I can concentrate on just racing the bike. Its obvious we’re suffering from a lack of testing but the team have done a great job with the situation and conditions we had this weekend & I’m looking forward to getting the results we all deserve…” Tom and the Hardinge Ice Valley Team won’t have to wait long as the next round takes place in less than a week at the re-scheduled Brands Hatch GP round this weekend [May 10th-11th]. More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki Press Office: SUPERSPORT PODIUM FOR LOWRY AT OULTON Ian Lowry jumped onto his first Supersport podium of the season at the Oulton Park British Superbike round with third place while team-mate Michael Laverty continued to score solidly in the Superbike class with seventh and fourth places. Laverty now sits sixth in the British Superbike championship table, also holding the position of leading Suzuki, while Lowry is fifth place in the Supersport class after his opening podium of 2008. Michael Laverty: “It was frustrating to be so close this weekend and I know if we can sort the small issue we have been having with tyres, then I’ll be right there with them. The Relentless Suzuki GSX-R1000 is as good as any bike out there, and with the updates we’ve made to the chassis and the electronics in the past couple of weeks, I’m confident that podiums will come. “Oulton is not one of my favourite circuits but in the first race the mistake was all mine. I just ran onto the grass, over the gravel, then bounced my wheels off the barriers the same way Plater does at Macau! Seriously though, it was more luck that judgement but I fought my way back from 26th to seventh place and I was doing the same lap times as Haslam in second place. In the second race we had that small tyre problem, but our time will come, sooner or later.” Ian Lowry: “I’m happy to be back on the podium and I can take positives from that. I got caught up a little behind Chris Martin, which let Kennaugh and Richards away at the front. I pushed hard for a few laps and gapped Martin but it was too late to close in on the boys at the front. I just settled for a no heroics finish and took my podium. It’s points in the bag and I’m now looking forward to Brands Hatch next weekend.” Philip Neill – Team Principal: “That was a very tough weekend with the up and down conditions, but to bring both riders home with not a scratch on the bikes is just what we needed. Michael has continued to meet all our expectations and could easily have scored his first podium this weekend. He is gearing up for a solid championship position and his podium will come. He has been consistent in all conditions and is ticking all the boxes for us at Relentless Suzuki. “The Relentless Suzuki GSX-R1000 Superbike is running almost perfectly thanks to our team. Big thanks must also go to the outside assistance we receive from K-Tech and Motec Europe who have improved the suspension and electronics on our bike. We are now the top Suzuki in the championship and that is very satisfying. “Ian will possibly be a little disappointed with his performance after such a dominant qualifying on the K8 GSX-R600 Suzuki, but it was a solid result. He possibly showed too much respect for the conditions getting caught behind Chris Martin. What he did show at the end of the race was maturity, settling for a safe third when he knew that Richards and Kennaugh were gone at the front. Its points on the board and that’s vital. “In closing, and on behalf of everyone at Relentless Suzuki, I’d like to pass on my heartfelt sympathy to Martin Finnegan’s family circle and friends. Martin will be a big loss to international road racing, both in the paddock and on the track.” Supersport Results: 1 Glen Richards (Triumph), 2 Hudson Kennaugh (Yamaha), 3 Ian Lowry (Relentless Suzuki). More, from a press release issued by Centurion Racing: Points for Centurion Racing Centurion Racing secured a positive result at Oulton Park this weekend, when riders Dan Cooper and James Westmoreland gained a seventh and eleventh place respectively in the Fuchs-Silkolene British Supersport Championship. This was 20-year-old Dan Cooper’s best result to date in the tough 600 Class. After dislocating his shoulder during first qualifying this was a fantastic result from the youngster. Westmoreland also improved from the 15th position that he achieved at Thruxton a couple of weeks ago and obtained a healthy points scoring position. The Centurion team were missing a rider at Oulton Park, Dennis Hobbs, after the incident at Thruxton involving James Webb, Hobbs is currently seeing specialists regarding an operation on his shoulder, which he hurt during the crash and as yet it is not known when he will return to racing. Cooper from Stroud, looked exceptionally good all weekend and despite his off in qualifying he was keen to get a good result after his disappointment at Thruxton. Seventh place at Oulton has seen him leap to 12th in the overall Championship positions. After completing qualifying he ended up in 14th place on the grid and was left with a lot of work to do if he were to gain a top ten finish. The race was red flagged on lap three after an accident at Druids and was re-started as a 12-lap race. Cooper got a great start and was up to 10th after the first lap. Fighting his way past Ian Hutchinson and Craig Fitzpatrick he was eager to chase down the 2007 R6 Cup Winner Toal, only 0.14 separated the pair as they crossed the line. Commenting the youngster said “I’m really thrilled to have got seventh place. It was a really tough race but I just got my head down and got on with the job in hand. My shoulders were killing me at the end of the race but I was having a good scrap with BJ Toal and I’m sure I’ll be feeling a little second hand tomorrow. It was quite a big crash in qualifying and both my shoulders took a bit of a battering but hopefully they will be feeling a little better by the time that we get to Brands. I would like to thank all the Centurion team for working so hard this weekend and I’m delighted I could get the result that I did for them. We go to Brands this coming weekend and I’m eager to try and get a similar result.” Westy James Westmoreland qualified in eighth position on the Centurion Honda and was unable to gain a good start in the 12-lap re-start and was down in 14th place after the opening lap. After opted for an intermediate front tyre the 19-year-old from Hull struggled for grip throughout the race forcing him to make small mistakes and dropping him places. He said “I’m really disappointed with my result today; I was hoping that I would be able to run within the top eight and get a good result. With the drying weather conditions I choose to run an intermediate front tyre and I struggled with it for most of the race. I also out-braked myself at Knickerbrook which obviously lost vital seconds and a couple of places. It was a shame as I was running really good times with would have put me nearer the top end. I had an engine problem in morning warm up and therefore had to use the second engine from my other bike which was slightly different. Hopefully things will change for the better at Brands at the weekend.” Team Manager Gary Stubbington commented “It’s been a good weekend for the boys in general despite some minor problems that cropped up. Both have scored points in the Championship and that’s the main priority. After Thruxton we needed a little bit of a confidence boost and that was just the thing. Dan Cooper rode an exceptional race despite his injured shoulders; it would be nice to be able to gain similar results to those at the remaining races. We are still waiting to hear from Dennis and his situation but the team would like to wish him well and hope to see him back out on our bikes soon.” General Manager Paul Rees, was delighted with the results commenting, “Especially after the engine problems we had. The engineers worked extremely hard and fast to enable the bikes to be on the circuits both at Thruxton and here at Oulton. Dan had to grit his teeth and ride through the pain in order to gain such an important position at this stage of the competition. It was a shame Westy out-braked himself at Knickerbrook though, as he was riding strong and this obviously lost him time and places. He did well to come in at eleventh position and gain some points. However, a good weekend was had and we are looking forward to the short visit back to Brands Hatch this coming weekend. The Centurion teamwork in the paddock was again exceptional, so a huge thanks go to the whole team for their efforts.” More, from a press release issued by Steve Plater’s publicist: Following a disastrous qualifying session and a non finish in the first Bennetts British Superbike race at Oulton Park on Monday, AIM Yamaha Superbike racer Steve Plater from Woodhall Spa in Lincolnshire rose to the occasion and powered the Yamaha R1 through to a strong 12th place finish to pick up four championship points for the team. A few niggling teething issues with the bike disrupted Plater’s free practice sessions but these appeared to be resolved in time for the 50- minute qualification period on Sunday and he was quickly on the pace on a damp track. As the track began to dry Plater came in for a tyre change and immediately moved up into eighth position. Encouraged by this he returned for a second qualifying tyre to try to improve his position but on the run to Druids the chain snapped and he had to jog back to the garage and jump on his spare bike. “I must have run half a lap to pick up the spare bike, but of course the slick qualifying tyres were on the bike parked at Druids,” said Plater. “We are only permitted to use a certain amount of qualifiers and we had reached our quota so I had no alternative but to set off with an intermediate tyre on the front. It was like riding on marbles and I nearly crashed three times in the space of one lap. I went as hard as I dare but could only post a time fast enough to secure 22nd place on the grid which is disappointing to say the least.” The first race was disrupted by rain and Steve chose the wrong compound tyre, which affected his pace on a drying surface. He explained: “On reflection it was not quite wet enough for full wets. I chose a harder compound tyre and was sliding around quite a bit. I had a couple of moments and decided it wasn’t worth carrying on and perhaps crashing as I was unlikely to have made it up into the points so I pulled into the pits at the end of lap four.” Race two was a different matter, and Plater began to make steady progress towards the riders ahead, picking them off one a lap until he reached 14th position. The race was then red-flagged and a result declared at positions on lap 13 giving him 14th place and two championship points. The results were then quickly amended to exclude a faller on lap 13 and Plater awarded 13th place. But after an inquiry in which Leon Haslam was deemed to have been the cause of a crash that took out Tom Sykes, the HM Plant Honda rider was excluded from the results, which was an added bonus for Plater as he was promoted to 12th place and awarded an extra championship point giving him four in all. “That was hard work really,” said Plater. “I worked so hard to come from 22nd to finishing in 12th place. I got stuck behind one or two riders at times but eventually managed to get by and get my head down and keep consistent. It was a little bit of guess work with tyre choice, I went for a softer compound this time and it seemed to hang in there but I was struggling for rear grip if anything.” Plater will miss the next two rounds of the series as he travels directly from Oulton Park to Albacete in Spain for the second round of the World Endurance championship to be run over six hours on Saturday, May 10. Plater took the victory in the event last year and will be hoping to match that performance this time with Team Yamaha Austria. Following that he will ride in the North West 200 in Ireland, a previous winner at the North West, Plater will be hoping to make it to the top of the podium once again for AIM Yamaha. The next round of the British Superbike series follows at Donington Park on May 26 but the races clash with practice for the Isle of Man TT and Plater is due to commence his qualifying laps on the island over the same weekend. The next time Plater will see race action with the British Superbike championship will be on June 15 at Snetterton in Norfolk. More, from a press release issued by AIM Yamaha: AIM YAMAHA OULTON PARK REPORT Both AIM Yamaha riders, Steve Plater and Ian Hutchinson brought more points back to the team from Oulton Park on Monday, Plater scoring a 12th place in the second Superbike race and Hutchy a ninth on the Supersport event. A few niggling teething issues with the bike disrupted Plater’s free practice sessions but these appeared to be resolved in time for the 50- minute qualification period on Sunday. As the track began to dry Plater switched to a qualifying tyre but on the run to Druids the chain snapped and he had to jog back to the garage and jump on his spare bike. But of course the only remaining qualifiers from his permitted quota were already in use on the bike that was parked up at Druids. Plater had to make do with the intermediate front that was already in place on the spare R1 and consequently was only able to post a time quick enough to make it up to 22nd on the grid for the start of the set of two races. The first race was disrupted by rain and Steve chose the wrong compound tyre, which affected his pace on a drying surface. He had a number of “moments” and decided it was not worth carrying on and perhaps crashing so reluctantly retired at four laps distance. Race two was a different matter, and Plater began to make steady progress towards the riders ahead, picking them off one a lap until he reached 14th position. The race was then red-flagged and a result declared at positions on lap 13 giving him 12th place and four championship points. Hutchy started from a third row grid position and was soon on the pace in the restarted race. He made it through to fourth place but then fell back to complete the race in ninth position to claim seven championship points and move to sixth place in the rider points table. STEVE PLATER TEAM COORDINATOR That was hard work really; I worked so hard to come from 22nd to finishing in 12th place in that second race. I got stuck behind one or two riders at times but eventually managed to get by and get my head down and keep consistent. It was a little bit of guess work with tyre choice, I went for a softer compound this time and it seemed to hang in there but I was struggling for rear grip if anything. Hutchy had a bit of a bad race because he chose the wrong front tyre. He went for an intermediate when he should perhaps have used a dry front. He got a good start but by the end he dropped back to ninth. IAN HUTCHINSON I started off well at the restart and got up to fourth place but went on the side of caution a bit too much and used an intermediate tyre so couldn’t really hang in there with it. It was heating up a lot more than a dry tyre so I was moving around a lot. It’s a shame cos to be honest I think we could have run with them today. The team have put a lot of effort into this weekend and it’s a shame for them I couldn’t have finished further up the field. More, from a press release issued by NW200 Ducati: Positive Results for NW200 Ducati It was another positive weekend for the NW200 Ducati team at Oulton Park this weekend. Michael Rutter on the North West 200 Ducati scored a fourth and seventh place respectively in the two Bennetts British Superbikes races on his Ducati F08. Team-mate John Laverty on the Buildbase NW200 Ducati gained a sixth and a strong win in the Daily Star Cup races. Following an incident between Tom Sykes and Leon Haslam in race two, Haslam has been excluded from the second British Superbike race subject to a ‘rights of appeal’ from Honda. Therefore this promotes Rutter from seventh to sixth and John Laverty from 14th to 13th. Rutter is now lying in joint third position in the overall Championship with only two points separating him and Leon Camier who is in second, with 20 races still remaining there is a long way to go and anything can happen. The 36-year-old rider from the West Midlands qualified in fifth position on the grid and was keen to repeat his results from Thruxton. As race one at Oulton got underway the heavens opened causing a number of riders to crash into the first corner and forcing the race to be red flagged. It became a mad dash between the teams to change from dry tyres to wet in preparation for a complete re-start. At the end of lap one Rutter was lying in seventh position when Karl Harris crashed out in front of him causing him to lose valuable seconds on the leading pack. He had to dig deep and set his sights on reeling in Crutchlow and Sykes to a confident fourth place behind Shane Byrne, Leon Haslam and Leon Camier. Minor set up issues caused Rutter to struggle slightly in race two, by lap eight he had fallen back to ninth place and was having to fight hard to ensure he gained a good result and some healthy Championship points. A crash on lap 12 involving Cal Crutchlow forced the race to be red flagged and because of the two thirds distance ruling, a race result declared. Rutter commented “I’m pretty happy with my first race result but I just had a few issues in the second race that I couldn’t do anything about. I still managed to get two good points scoring positions and with the incidents today it’s not affected my Championship position drastically. We have Brands next weekend and then straight to the North West 200; I’m joint third in the Championship and looking forward to improving that at the next round next weekend.” John Laverty who is still running on the Metzeler tyres in the Daily Sport Cup Championship, suffered with terrible grip problems during the first race, which was declared wet. After qualifying in first position (Cup) and 15th overall, he opted for the harder compound Metzeler tyre for race one and struggled from start to finish from lack of grip causing him to finish in sixth position in the Cup. Race two saw a totally different result for Laverty when he regained the form and promise that he showed at Thruxton and took a strong win in the dry race, extending his Championship lead in the Cup to 29 points from his nearest rival Chris Burns. Speaking with the Ulsterman he said “I was really unhappy with my first race result. After crashing yesterday at Lodge and destroying my number one bike I just wanted to ensure that I finished the first race. I had a nightmare with tyres and hopefully soon I’ll be able to run on the Pirelli’s and have more of a choice on what I can use. The second race, thankfully, was dry and I managed to take another win in the Cup which I was really pleased about. We go straight to Brands next weekend and with the qualifying already finalised I’m looking forward to racing at one of my favourite circuits.” Team Manager Ken Foley commented “It’s been a roller-coaster ride this weekend for the team but that is nothing unusual at this level. We are obviously very pleased with John Laverty’s performance in the second race and he has now extended his lead in the Daily Star Cup, which is great news. Rutter has done a fabulous job for the NW200 Team this weekend, given the fact that we are still waiting for certain parts to arrive from Italy, which would have eradicated some of the problems that we’ve had to overcome at Oulton. We are now looking forward to Brands Hatch where we had two great days testing at the beginning of April, which has given us lots of useful data and information. Whilst the qualifying positions have already been set we know that we will be in good shape for the races.” More, from a press release issued by John McGuinness’ publicist: Oulton misery for McGuinness John McGuinness had a race to forget at Oulton Park on Monday as the Morecambe ace found himself the innocent victim of another rider’s mistake in round 2 of the British Supersport Championship and he was knocked off his Padgett’s Honda on only the second lap of the race. Practice and qualifying saw a mixture of conditions and John’s fortunes were equally mixed as he slipped back to 12th in the final, damp qualifying session after running as high as fifth in the first session. He was consistently in the top 8 in Saturday’s dry practice sessions so hopes were high going into race day. However, rain began to fall as the riders completed their sighting lap for the race and tyre choice was anybody’s guess but with a wet front and an intermediate rear, John felt in good shape as the lights turned green. No sooner had the race begun though the red flag came out and with only two laps completed, a complete re-run was scheduled. With the track drying all the time, John made a great start and left the line in 9th place but on only the second lap, Sam Owens missed his braking point for the Hizzy’s chicane and hit John with enough force to knock him clean off his bike. Aaron Walker was also caught up in the melee with a few strong words subsequently exchanged between him and John but the damage had already been done and their race was over abruptly. After returning to the pits on his damaged Honda, John said: “What a disaster! I got a great start in the race but there was loads of bumping and barging going on in to the first corner and I got squeezed right on to the inside kerb, losing a few places in the process. I re-grouped and was just getting back into my rhythm when I got hit from nowhere. I had no chance of staying on and ended up having a bit of a scuffle with Walker as I thought it was him that had hit me it turned out it was Sam Owens and he didn’t even come off!” “I was still struggling a bit for confidence in the front tyre but the crash was out of my hands so to have my race end like that is obviously disappointing. Sam came up after the race to apologize but that’s the third time in four years I’ve been knocked off there so it’s fair to say it’s not my luckiest corner! With no points from two rounds, let’s hope our bad luck is out of the way and we can get some much needed points on the board at the next round.” John won’t have long to wait to make amends with the next round of the British Supersport Championship taking place at Brands Hatch this weekend, Sunday 11th May. More, from a press release issued by GSX-R Trophy Press Office: Action packed start to the GSX-R600 Trophy The ACU Suzuki GSX-R600 Trophy roared into life on 4th-5th May at Cadwell Park with a double header to kick off the action. Chris Hawkes took a spectacular double win to lead the fledgling 12-round championship. The drama started to unfold during qualifying when Ritchie Thornton who had just claimed pole position with a time of 1min 39.13secs, crashed at Hall bends dislocating his shoulder. The gritty rider received some medical attention and then proceeded to take part in the race later the same day. Race one saw Hawkes get the hole shot from second place on the grid, he then proceeded to take a lights to flag victory coming over the line 13.31secs clear of Thornton who bagged a safe second place. The final step of the podium went to Rogerio Lacerda who started from seventh on the grid – he battled through the pack to take third place from Adam Foster and William Bergin. His on track antics gained him his first podium finish, the Express Insurance Top Gun novice of the day award as well as the Relentless Rider of the Day which is awarded by the race commentators. Colt Dwyer, the MCN competition winner, who won the chance to race in the GSX-R Trophy, rode to ninth place at the end of what he described as a tough race. The second race of the weekend took place on Bank Holiday Monday and saw the Crescent prepared machines take to the track with Hawkes once again picking up the race win at a sun bathed Cadwell Park. It was a much closer battle this time with Thornton coming over the line in second place just 3.2secs behind. The final step of the podium went to Ulsterman Stanley Gamble. Hawkes got another clean get away while Gamble slipped into second place with Thornton chasing and passing him on lap two. Paul Rogers and MCN’s competition winner Colt Dwyer crashed out on lap three in separate incidents. Rogers escaped unhurt however Dwyer was sent to hospital where a broken collar bone and cracked elbow were diagnosed. He aims to be race fit in time for the next round at Donington Park. As the race progressed Scotsman William Bergin got in on the action making a play for third place but unfortunately crashing out between the Hairpin and Barn corner on the run to the flag. Rogerio Lacerda cut his way through the pack and managed to grab fourth place from a determined Adam Foster. Thornton set the fastest lap of the race with a time of 1min 37.6secs on lap 10. Lacerda once again picked up the Express Insurance Top Gun Award for highest placed novice, in his last ride as a novice as he now qualifies for his Clubman Racing Licence. Colin Hargreaves won the Relentless Rider of the Day award for starting at the back of the grid and battling to eighth place. Hargreaves suffered a difficult weekend after crashing out in free practice on Sunday and again in morning warm-up on Monday. Rolls of duct tape and determination to win earned Hargreaves a case of Relentless Energy drink and a Relentless Hoody. The youngest rider on track was 16-year old Joe Moore who achieved a sixth place finish. Huw Davies, the only Granddad racing in the Trophy, improved his lap times and set a new personal best. The next two rounds of the ACU Suzuki GSX-R600 Trophy will be supporting the British round of MotoGP at Donington Park on the 21st-22nd June. Championship Standings 1: Chris Hawkes 50 2: Ritchie Thornton 40 3: Rogerio Lacerda 29 4: Stanley Gamble 27 5: Adam Foster 21 6: Joe Moore 19 7: Marcus Woodbine 17 8: Colin Hargreaves 13 9: William Bergin 13 10: Stephen Woulds 8