STEVE PLATER SILVERSTONE Fresh from his triumphant third place at Le Mans in the opening round of the World Endurance championship where he rode in the gruelling 24-hour race for Team Kawasaki France, Lincolnshire rider Steve Plater returned to domestic action at Silverstone where he contested round three of the 2007 Bennetts British Superbike championship for Team AIM Yamaha. But things didn’t go so well for the Woodhall Spa rider who finished 19th in race one and retired from the second leg with a technical problem. Steve began both races from a sixth row grid position and said: “We have discovered some problems with the bike over the weekend and have made a few changes to see if we can improve things. We are trying some new forks for the first race and will see if that makes a difference.” Although his lap times improved Steve was unable to make much progress, coming through the field to complete the 20-laps in 19th place and he said: “The new forks were an improvement but we have other issues that we can’t sort out here at the track and these will be addressed during the next week. All we are worried about is getting the bike prepared for the North West 200 which takes place in less than two week’s time.” As race two got underway Steve saw his lap times improve even further and by lap 14 he had moved up into 18th place. But as he began lap 14 the bike suffered a technical problem causing Steve to pull off and retire and the race to be red-flagged because of an oil spillage. “I went faster again this time, we made some small changes which seemed to work but although my lap times were better I still need to shave another second from my times. “I am off to Albacete in Spain next for the six-hour World Endurance race with Kawasaki France on Saturday before heading straight to Oulton Park for the next British Superbike round with AIM Yamaha on May Monday.” Steve heads to Albacete on Thursday to prepare for free practise on Friday morning followed by qualifying on Friday afternoon and Saturday morning. The race itself will get underway on Saturday evening at 6pm, finishing at midnight. The 3.5k Spanish circuit, 160K to the west of Valencia is the only fully lit track outside Japan and is playing host to the second round of the QMMF Endurance FIM World Championship. The next round of the British Superbike championship is at Oulton Park in Cheshire where free practise begins on Saturday, qualifying on Sunday with the two 17-lap Superbike races due on track at 1pm and 4.15pm on Monday, May 9. More, from a press release issued by Samsung Superbike: Mixed results for Samsung Superbike team at Silverstone. The Samsung Superbike team had mixed fortunes at Silverstone with Dean Thomas on the Suzuki Superbike pulling in two point scoring results in the Bennetts British Superbike Championship. His Ducati Superstock team-mate Jon Kirkham was forced to start from the back of the grid for the Metzeler National Superstock race, due to a technical infringement. Thomas had an eventful qualifying when he crashed and damaged his number one machine. He made it back to the pits to pick up his second bike but unfortunately the red flag came out and halted his progress. This left him in fifteenth place on the grid. Race one got off to a bad start with a clutch problem, “We’ve had a few problems with clutches over the last few weeks and we went on the cautious side and made sure we had plenty of free play in the lever. I put it into gear and it just started going forward before I even needed it to, and I’m frantically trying to stop the thing. I’m thinking “Here we got jump start penalty, ride through that’s it.” I just had a bad run I think I was twenty odd by the time I got off the line and by the time I worked my way through I was fourteenth which is not so bad but it is not quite where we want to be. We need to be running round the tenth mark and we have got the lap times to do that,” explained Thomas. He finished race one in fourteenth place and bettered that in race two with a thirteenth, “Got a better start but I had a bit of an issue through turn two and three off the first lap. Cal Crutchlow had gone off across the grass and come back on track and he sort of dropped right into the middle of us all so I lost a couple of places amongst all that. But I was sitting comfortably in behind Karl Harris and the Bridewells and just waiting until a few laps from the end because I knew their tyres would wear out quicker than mine. I ran quite a hard compound rear and then the red flag came out and that was it. Cut short but thirteenth and fourteenth are point scoring races and it was better than Thruxton and who knows what will happened next week,” he smiled. Kirkham on the Samsung Ducati completed first qualifying in a healthy sixteenth place and followed that up with an eighteenth in second qualifying placing him in seventeenth on the grid. However, due to the problems the team had at Thruxton, Ducati gave them the use of another machine which unbeknownst to the team had a technical infringement. This was picked up on at scrutineering and Kirkham’s times were disallowed forcing him to start from fortieth place on the very back of the grid. “Things were going well until my times were taken away. Being fortieth on the grid left me with a lot of work to do. Unfortunately the pace car came out after just five laps so I couldn’t make any more progress. I had managed to get up to twenty fourth in those five laps, but once the pace car went in we only raced for two more laps and it was red flagged again. The race wasn’t really long enough for me to have made an impact.” he said. “I’m disappointed to have only had five laps of race time, all the work all weekend just for that. We are having some work done on our engines before going to Oulton Park and the Ducati should go well there,” he concluded. The fourth round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship and the Metzeler National Superstock Championship will take place at Oulton Park on the 5th 7th May with race day on the Bank Holiday Monday. More, from a press release issued by Centurion Racing: Learning Curve for Centurion Centurion Racing Riders James Westmoreland and Dan Cooper suffered some minor set backs at Silverstone this weekend and were unable to produce the quality results that have been seen from them at the opening two rounds of the British Supersport Championship. Despite this, Westy still finished in the points in 13th position with Cooper finishing the tough 18-lap race in 21st after suffering tyre problems in the later stages of the race. It was an action packed weekend with the Centurion Team with Westy missing the majority of the second qualifying session after suffering an engine problem. He still managed to qualify in 11th position on the grid with Cooper not far behind in 16th. Westy was locked in a six-way scrap for 10th place, one including Irish Racer Jack Kennedy who went on to break Centurions 14 race win record in the Cup race. Westy still secured second place in the Cup race and a couple of strong points in the main Championship table. Commenting Westy said “Unfortunately the day hasn’t been such a success. We had a few problems during the weekend, and I’m not going to make up excuses to why we didn’t have the pace come race day, it just didn’t happen. It’s a great shame because the boys worked so hard all weekend and I take my hat off to them, but we must re focus and head to Oulton. It’s a good track for me, Silverstone is in the past, and I’m ready to go already. This year is a learning season and we must not forgot that.” Current British 125 Champion Dan Cooper from Stroud worked hard throughout the weekend to improve on his times and his positions. Still adapting to the powerful Honda 600 machine Cooper is making impressive progress in the ultra competitive Supersport class and running with some very experienced names. Speaking with him “After the result that I got at Thruxton I was really looking forward to getting to Silverstone and carry on getting good results but it just didn’t happen. Although I improved on my times throughout the weekend I suffered really badly on the last six laps in the race with grip and I just had to try and bring the bike home in the best position that I could. I’m looking forward to Oulton now which is this weekend and hoping to be back in the points again.” Team Manager Gary Stubbington said “It was just one of those weekends this weekend, we had a number of minor issues that just seemed to keep adding up. The boys still rode really well and they shouldn’t be discouraged by the results they got. Considering the circumstances they both still performed very well. Hopefully Oulton will prove to be a better one for us all.” More, from a press release issued by Riders Racing Team Ducati: Eighth for Jessopp at Silverstone It was a strong weekend for the Riders Racing Ducati Team this weekend at the third round of the Maxxis British Supersport Championship at Silverstone Circuit, 27th 29th April. Martin Jessopp brought the Ducati 749 home in a strong eighth place after a disastrous start saw him fall back to 16th position after the first lap. The 21-year-old from Yeovil ran consistently good times throughout the weekend at the 2.21 mile track and looked comfortable on the Ducati. A strong second qualifying session saw the youngster end up on the front row, for the second time this season. However, disaster struck as the lights changed and unable to keep the front end down he was swallowed up by the rest of the pack and was 16th into the first corner. Landing on the tank heavily he was winded for the first three quarters of the lap. Once he regained his breath he managed to get his head down but within half a lap the safety car came out when Jamie Robinson crashed at the chicane. The car was out for three laps and so put a stop to Jessopp working his way back through the field and making up some places. With only 14 laps remaining he got his head down and started plucking off the riders one by one, the last being his ex team-mate Stuart Easton on the last lap into the chicane. Commenting Martin said “Things had been going well all weekend and once again I was on the front row. I got a really bad start and this pushed me backwards through the pack, with the safety car being out this stopped me from passing for three laps and with the pace I was doing that was vital as I knew I could have ended up in the top five. Hopefully I will get a better start at Oulton and I will be aiming to get on the podium and boost my position in the overall Championship. It was a tough race having to work from near the back but I proved I could pass people and work my way through the field. Hopefully my luck will change for the better at the next rounds.” More, from a press release issued by AIM Yamaha Racing: BRITISH SUPERBIKE AND SUPERSPORT CHAMPIONSHIP SILVERSTONE Team AIM Yamaha saw an improved performance in the British Supersport championship with Richard Cooper scoring a strong 10th place finish at Silverstone on Sunday, but the team were disappointed not to have moved forward with the development of the Yamaha R1 Superbike as it threw up more problems over the weekend leaving Steve Plater to finish race one in 19th place before retiring from race two with a technical problem in the second encounter. Steve began both races from a sixth row grid position and although his lap times improved he was unable to make much progress, coming through the field to complete the 20-laps in 19th. As race two got underway Steve saw his lap times improve even further and by lap 13 he had moved up into 18th place. But as he began lap 14 the bike suffered a technical problem causing Steve to pull off and retire and the race to be red-flagged because of an oil spillage. STEVE PLATER “We have a number of issues with the bike that cannot be rectified at the circuit, we fitted new forks this morning and although they have made a difference I am still over a second off the pace.” ALISTAIR FLANAGAN “It’s been quite an eventful weekend for us here at Silverstone. We have been struggling with the Superbike and trying to find out what the causes are but it appears there is an accumulation of problems. “In the second race Steve was still off the pace but then was unfortunate to have a technical fault which caused a major engine blow therefore the race was red-flagged. We have a lot of work to do between now and Oulton Park next weekend and from there we go directly to the North West and then back to the mainland to Snetterton for the next British Superbike meeting so its going to be an interesting few days for the team!” Richard Cooper was much more successful and completed his qualifying in sixth place for a second row start to the Supersport race. But things did not go smoothly for him during the race as he had a problem with his visor misting up. Despite this Richard completed his race in 10th place to pick up a further six championship points and move to 12th in the standings. RICHARD COOPER “It was a hard race, which was to be expected. I got away with the leaders at the start but then encountered one or two problems one with my visor steaming up and another with the front brake lever. “Despite all that I am pleased with 10th place, it’s a vast improvement after Thruxton and I picked up some more points as well. “Its on to Oulton Park next, I like the circuit but haven’t ridden it on a 600 machine before. The last time I was there was in 2002 when I rode in the BMW Boxer Cup I won that round so am looking forward to seeing how it goes next weekend.” ALISTAIR FLANAGAN “Richard Cooper had a good race but again we think he should have been a lot higher up. He was boxed in on the first lap and then had a moment with another rider at the end of the lap. “He dropped off the pace for a while but towards the end of the race he picked up again and was as quick as the front guys. In fact his best time was set on the very last lap. We have got to try and work with Richard as we feel he is a talented rider and we now have to see how we can raise his game up to the next level. If we can find a bit more speed he will be up with the front runners, we have no doubt about that but we just have to understand how we can do this.” The next round is at Oulton Park where free practise takes place on Saturday, qualifying on Sunday and racing on Bank Holiday Monday. The British Supersport race is scheduled for a 12.05pm start followed by the first British Superbike race at 1pm and leg two at 4.15pm. More, from a press release issued by Dijon Compton: More Points for Compton Dijon Compton once again got in the points at Silverstone Circuit this weekend finishing in a comfortable 12th position in the Metzeler National Superstock Cup. Having struggled all weekend at the fast circuit to find a good set up on the Kawasaki ZX10 Compton could only secure 22nd position in qualifying which left him with a lot of work to do during the race. Improving on his times in every session he was having problems with front end chatter and the team were unable to find a solution as to why this was happening. From the 46 riders entered Compton secured 22nd on the grid. After finally getting round the problem by morning warm up and feeling comfortable on the bike he was fourth fastest in the morning session and feeling more confident as he headed into the 14 lap race. A good start saw Compton cross the line in 15th position at the end of the first lap and was making progress through the field all the time. Locked in a six bike battle for 10th place he managed to hold off the chasing pack and secure 12th overall. Compton was happy with this result commenting “I’m still finding my feet back into the racing scene after the three year break and I’m beginning to enjoy it again. I really struggled to get the bike to handle well this weekend and by the time I figured out the problem it was too late. I knew I could run well with the times that I got in morning warm up and I was eager to get into the race and make up some ground. I got a great start and was pushing hard from the early stages of the race and passed a number of people on the first lap. We are heading to Oulton this weekend and I’m hoping to find a good race set up early in the weekend which should allow me to gain a stronger place on the qualifying grid for the race. Fingers crossed.” The Metzeler National Superstock Cup will next race at Oulton Park. More, from a press release issued by Hydrex Honda: Silverstone yields more points for Hydrex Honda. The third round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Silverstone was another point scoring exercise for the Hydrex Honda team. Karl Harris qualified his Superbike in eleventh and completed race one in ninth and race two in twelfth. His Superbike team-mate, Guy Martin qualified in eighteenth but pulled that back in the race to achieve a sixteenth and a fifteenth place finish. The third and final member of the team, Allan Jon Venter who is riding in the Metzeler National Superstock championship backed by PSM, qualified well in sixteenth place and finished in an impressive eleventh. Superbike qualifying suffered a red flag with ten minutes left to run, which didn’t help Harris, “Qualifying went pretty good, I ended up on the third row as I got pipped. My qualifying tyre wasn’t so good, I preferred the race tyre and then the red flag coming out didn’t help matters either,” he lamented. His team-mate Martin wasn’t so concerned with it, “Qualifying was my best one this year, well I was eighteenth and I could have done with binoculars to see the start lights but it was ok. The bike is better than me but I’m getting faster each time I go out. I’m not ecstatic about it but I wasn’t far behind these so called professional racers and I’m a part time road racer. The red flag wasn’t really a problem for me as I’ve not got used to qualifiers yet. I need to open the throttle sooner. I’m holding back a bit as I want to make sure I stay in one piece for the TT, a 100th race win doesn’t happen often,” said the pure road specialist. Once the racing began it was Harris who had a tough time on track saying, “As for the races”¦well race one my tyre fell apart and in race two, I over shot at the hairpin! Unfortunately that is the way it goes sometimes. I’m putting it all behind me and looking to Oulton Park. I like it there it is one of my favourite circuits.” Martin also had a difficult race one but pulled it back in race two only to have the race halted prematurely due to a red flag, “Race one was a disaster I actually came in and said “Sorry” to the team. I was about twenty fifth by the end of lap one. Some of the lads dropped off so I finished sixteenth. I was riding round by myself, I passed some of the professional racers but I was not happy where I finished and I don’t want to be here just to make up the numbers.” Things did get better in race two as he said, “Race two I got my finger out and got a better start. I was running fourteenth but Scott Smart got me. I could have done with the race going full distance, I felt a bit short changed. I beat Plater so I’ll be there for the North West I’m looking forward to it as I’ve done a lot of riding and work on the bike.” AJ in the superstock class had an eventful race with the Safety Car being deployed and then the race being red flagged, but the young South African stayed cool despite the chaos around him. “It was a good turn over compared to Thruxton where I was twenty ninth on the grid, I qualified sixteenth but I pulled my way up to twelfth. I had a good race and managed to finish eleventh. A big thank you must go to the team, thank you to my personal sponsors PSM and to Shaun Muir, Mick Shanley and my mechanic Stuart. My race was a bit disturbing because first we had the safety car and then we had the red flag. I was just starting to work my way through and I really didn’t want the red flag but that is racing.” He enjoyed the new but famous F1 circuit saying, “Its awesome and good fun, it is nice to be here where you see all the big names all the F1 hero’s and now I’m actually here!” The fourth round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship and the Metzeler National Superstock Championship will take place on the 5th 7th May at Oulton Park with race day being held on the Bank Holiday Monday. British Superbikes – Silverstone Race One Result 1 – Ryuichi Kiyonari – Honda – HM Plant Honda – 28.49.500 2 – Jonathan Rea – Honda – HM Plant Honda – 28.55.300 3 – Chris Walker – Suzuki – Rizla Suzuki – 28.58.260 4 – Leon Camier – Honda – Honda – 28.58.347 5 – Gregorio Lavilla – Ducati – Airwaves Ducati – 29.05.573 6 – Leon Haslam – Ducati – Airwaves Ducati – 29.05.847 7 – Tom Sykes – Honda – Stobart Vent Axia Motorsport – 29.07.512 8 – Tommy Hill – Yamaha – Virgin Media Optoma Loans – 29.11.681 9 – Karl Harris – Honda – Hydrex Honda – 29.15.595 10 – Michael Rutter – Kawasaki – Isilon MSS Discovery Kawasaki – 29.17.548 11 – Cal Crutchlow – Suzuki – Rizla Suzuki – 29.17.712 12 – Tommy Bridewell – Suzuki – Team NB – 29.25.301 13 – Ollie Bridewell – Suzuki – Team NB – 29.30.250 14 – Dean Thomas – Suzuki – Samsung Superbike Team – 29.30.415 15 – James Haydon – Yamaha – Virgin Media Optoma Loans – 29.42.485 16 – Guy Martin – Honda – Hydrex Honda – 29.52.786 British Superbikes – Silverstone Race Two Result 1 – Ryuichi Kiyonari – Honda – HM Plant Honda – 18.37.312 2 – Gregorio Lavilla – Ducati – Airwaves Ducati – 18.39.762 3 – Jonathan Rea – Honda – HM Plant Honda – 18.49.070 4 – Chris Walker – Suzuki – Rizla Suzuki – 18.49.909 5 – Leon Haslam – Ducati – Airwaves Ducati – 18.53.648 6 – Tom Sykes – Honda – Stobart Vent Axia Motorsport – 18.54.278 7 – Cal Crutchlow – Suzuki – Rizla Suzuki – 18.54.902 8 – Tommy Hill – Yamaha – Virgin Media Optoma Loans – 18.58.539 9 – Michael Rutter – Kawasaki – Isilon MSS Discovery Kawasaki – 18.58.915 10 – Tommy Bridewell – Suzuki – Team NB – 19.08.952 11 – Ollie Bridewell – Suzuki – Team NB – 19.09.680 12 – Karl Harris – Honda – Hydrex Honda – 19.09.878 13 – Dean Thomas – Suzuki – Samsung Superbike Team – 19.10.592 14 – Scott Smart – Kawasaki – Hawk Kawasaki – 19.17.177 15 – Guy Martin – Honda – Hydrex Honda – 19.18.495 National Superstock – Silverstone Race Result 1 – Hudson Kennaugh – Yamaha – Raceways Yamaha – 15.48.913 2 – Glen Richards – Yamaha – Embassy Racing – 15.49.601 3 – Luke Quigley – Suzuki – PDM Racing – 15.50.502 4 – Ben Wilson – Suzuki – Windmill Suzuki – 15.50.705 5 – Steve Brogan – Honda – Tengo Honda Racing – 15.52.475 6 – Kieran Murphy – Suzuki – Goldstar Suzuki – 15.52.662 7 – Howie Mainwaring – MV Agusta – Bullet Racing – 15.53.052 8 – Gareth Glynn – Yamaha – Raceways Yamaha – 15.53.538 9 – Lee Jackson – Yamaha – Krystal Racing/Space Air – 15.53.775 10 – John Laverty – Ducati – Buildbase Ducati – 15.54.170 11 – Allan Jon Venter – Honda – Hydrex Honda – 15.54.431 More, from a press release issued by Tom Tunstall Racing: Tough time for Tunstall The third round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship proved to be a tough day for Superbike Cup contender Tom Tunstall including a 120mph crash! The International circuit at Silverstone holds good memories for Hardinge Ice Valley Motorsport rider Tom Tunstall. Having scored podium results in both the British 250cc and Supersport Championship races Tunstall was looking to add a Superbike Cup podium to his tally, as well as increasing his lead of the Superbike Cup Championship. During the practice and qualifying sessions Tom made good progress, understanding the fastest way of getting the high powered Honda CBR1000RR round the Northamptonshire track. However Tom didn’t capitalise fully the single qualifying tyre and was disappointed to be placed 5th of the Cup riders. “Unfortunately I didn’t get a good rhythm on the qualifier but I’m feeling confident for my pace over the full race distance so now I’m concentrating on getting a good start and working hard over each of the 20 laps” However cup runners James Buckingham and Marty Nutt faired worse both crashing and ruling themselves out of the following days races. Tom’s determination was clear as he launched of the grid for the first of the two races immediately picking up positions through the first few corners. Disaster stuck as the packed headed into the Abbey Hairpin. Having his front wheel clipped Tom was launched into the air. He managed with the help of the marshals to restart the 1000cc machine but the damage caused meant he was forced to enter the pit lane to retire. “I can’t believe it – to be out of the race is very disappointing. It was a case of too many riders and not enough tarmac. I was up the inside of another rider who turned in early and I didn’t have the room to miss his bike. Still at least I get another shot this afternoon.” The sun was starting to burn through as the grid was formed on the 2.2mile track for the second race. Completing the first lap Tunstall was up to third, and battling with Kawasaki mounted Malcolm Ashley. By the start of lap 14 Tom had pulled clear by four seconds and was at the same pace as the Cup leaders ahead, unaware however that just ahead Steve Plater’s Yamaha had blown up dropping oil on the track. As the Yorkshireman entered the 4th gear copse corner he was thrown from his machine at around 120mph. fortunately with the large run-off area Tunstall slid to a halt grazed and bruised but otherwise ok. The same couldn’t be said for his bike which had stayed on its wheels and careered into the air fence at near 100mph. Having walked back to the pits a battered Tunstall remarked: “After not scoring in the first race the plan was to bring the bike home and get any step on the podium. It was all going well until I hit the oil. I’d seen a yellow flag but before I could react I was just a passenger and in the air. I’m a bit knocked about but it’s testament to my Arai helmet and M-Tech leathers that I can walk away from a crash as quick as that. I’ll console myself that it could have been worse and must now focus on getting things straight for Oulton”. Tom was one of three riders brought down by the oil and the race was stopped for safety reasons. In a cruel twist the British Superbike Championship rules [unlike all other high level motorcycle championships] dictate any riders not on their bikes when the race is stopped are excluded, robbing him of third place and the championship lead by only 3 points. Tom and the team haven’t got long to prepare physically and mechanically with the next race at Oulton Park this coming bank holiday weekend. More, from a press release issued by Hawk Kawasaki: Mixed Weekend for Hawk Kawasaki Hawk Kawasaki had a mixed weekend of results this weekend at the third round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championships at Silverstone Circuit. Scott Smart suffered a mechanical fault in race one and was forced to pull in but gained a creditable 14th place in the second race. Youngster Peter Hickman was suffering this weekend, after crashing in Le Mans last weekend and then having two crashes in practice at Silverstone the 20-year-old from Willoughby, although not seriously injured was certainly feeling the effects of the two high speed crashes he suffered on Friday and Saturday. Battling on his still finished both races in 18th and 19th position respectively. Despite this Hawk have made huge progress this weekend and have found a number of items that they have managed to rectify and they are hoping that this will show more positively in the forthcoming races. Speaking with Smart he said “Despite the results we have made big steps forward this weekend and found some things that we now know we can modify which should help us a lot. The bike is extremely fast and once we get everything working right it should help us move forward in the results tables. I’m looking forward to getting to Oulton and testing some of these changes out.” Hicky commented “It’s been a difficult two weeks, as most people know I’m not a big crasher but I’ve had four in a week so I’m starting to feel a little second hand. Both crashes I had at Silverstone were pretty big, the first one red flagged the session. Come race day I was really feeling the aches and pains, thankfully I’ve broken nothing but the two races were difficult to say the least! I’m hoping by Oulton I’ll be feeling a bit better and hopefully be back in the points there.” In the Hawk Junior Team 18-year-old Jak Wright had a successful weekend in the British Supersport Cup qualifying in 32nd place, eighth in the Cup Race and finished in a healthy 29th position overall and held onto eighth in the Cup, a strong result for only his second ever British Supersport Cup race. David Hallett, running in the Superstock Cup Championship suffered a set back after qualifying in good 24th place from 43 riders the youngster from Folkestone gained a great start and was 16th after the first lap. However he got caught up with another rider into the chicane and ended up in the gravel, having to bump start the ZX10, Hallett brought the bike home in 30th position. He managed to set his fastest lap of the weekend trying to close down on the pack in front of him. Hawk were joined this weekend by some guests from the MOD DMRC Headley Court Military rehab centre, the team were honoured to have their company and look forward to working with them in the near future.