Points at last for McGuinness

Morecambe’s John McGuinness finally got his first points of the season on Sunday when he finished 14th in round 8 of the British Supersport Championship at Knockhill. It’s been a torrid season for the Padgett’s Honda rider but the 2 points will at least give him some confidence going into the final third of the season. 

 Conditions at the Scottish venue were mixed throughout the weekend but qualifying was held in wet weather with heavy rain falling in both sessions. 11th in first qualifying, almost the entire field went quicker in the afternoon session and although John improved his time to 55.653seconds, he slipped back to 14th for a place on the 4th row of the grid although times were again close, one second separating the top 20 riders. 

The sun was shining when the race got underway but a poor start saw John slip back to 17th at the completion of the opening lap. The tight nature of the 1.2713-mile circuit meant there was little between the riders and John was embroiled in an excellent dice with Andy Weymouth and James Hillier. He got the better of both of them to move into 14th but any hopes of climbing higher were dashed when, on the 23rd lap, the red flag came out due to rain falling and the result declared. 

Speaking afterwards, John commented: ‘At last! It may only be 14th and 2 points but it’s great to finally get some points on the board and the least we deserve after all of our efforts. Conditions were mixed throughout the weekend, one minute it was raining, the next it was sunny, but it was the same for everyone so I just dug deep and after getting quite a bad start I got my head down and managed to get inside the points…14th is obviously not where I want to be finishing but it’s a boost for all of us and I’m now really looking forward to next week’s Ulster GP. I’m looking forward to getting back out on the roads and on my TT-winning Superbike so I’ll be going all out to get my first big bike win at Dundrod.’ Practice for the Ulster Grand Prix gets underway on Wednesday, with John out in races on both Thursday and Saturday.

More, from a press release issued by British Superbike Championship organizers:

Sykes and Haslam win, Byrne takes a tumble

BENNETTS BRITISH SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP

Round Eight 10 August Knockhill

Tom Sykes and Leon Haslam took the victories in a dramatic, incident packed eighth round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Knockhill in which series leader Shane Byrne, despite a heavy tumble in the second race, still increased his lead in the title stakes.

Sykes had continued in the rich vein of form that had taken him to double victories in the previous round at Oulton Park as he reeled in the early first race leader Michael Rutter to move his Rizla Suzuki ahead on the ninth lap.

Rutter was taken by Byrne but the Airwaves Ducati rider was not able to make any impression on the confident Sykes who took the victory by some three seconds: “I’m a bit shell shocked to be honest three on the bounce is something special,” said the 22 year old Huddersfield rider.”I’m absolutely over the moon I was confident after the morning warm-up and knew that we had found the perfect set-up for this circuit.

“I had a good dice with Michael Rutter early on, getting ahead, but he came back aggressively, then I took him again. I got my head down and thought to myself, let’s see what you can do now. It went smoothly although there were a couple of nervous moments going through back-markers when I dropped a bit of time,” added Sykes.

Byrne, having seen his nearest rival Cal Crutchlow tip off, was happy enough to take a strong second place, and solid points in his efforts to regain the title he won five years earlier. James Ellison took third place for Hydrex Bike Animal Honda with Rutter bringing his North West 200 Ducati home in fourth place ahead of Leon Camier and Michael Rutter.

A rain shower just as the riders were leaving on their sighting lap for the second race brought a delayed start, and Haslam, who had experienced double troubles in the opening race, first an electrical problem, and then a tumble, made the running from his first pole start of the season.

Haslam was ahead of Byrne when the race was red-flagged as they went into their tenth lap after three riders had tumbled and the safety barrier at Seat Curves had been damaged.

Byrne was away rapidly on the re-start but soon coming under increasing pressure from Haslam and then with five laps remaining, the leader’s Airwaves Ducati swerved off line going through the first turn and Byrne was heavily down.

The race was halted immediately, though fortunately Byrne had escaped serious injury. Haslam was credited with the victory, ending a 17 race run since his previous success: “It’s good to take the win at last I’ve been confident all weekend and was so disappointed by the problems we had in the first race,” said Haslam, adding “Shane went down pretty hard I’m glad he’s OK.” Rutter took second place ahead of Rob Mac Racing Yamaha rider Karl Harris, Sykes, Ellison and Simon Andrews.

Despite his second race demise, Byrne extended his lead 332-222 over Crutchlow who managed only seventh place in the second race.

Gary Mason, riding the Quay Garage Honda, and Chris Burns, aboard the STP MV Agusta, took the victories in the Daily Star Cup, though a pair of seconds for Martin Jessopp moved him closer to series leader John Laverty who missed these races after crashing in Friday free practice.

Results round eight Bennetts British Superbike Championship

Race one 30 laps

1 Tom Sykes (Rizla Suzuki) 25m 09.296secs 2 Shane Byrne (Airwaves Ducati) +3.093 3 James Ellison (Hydrex Bike Animal Honda) +3.479 4 Michael Rutter (North West 200 Ducati) +5.752 5 Leon Camier (Airwaves Ducati) + 9.345

Race two 14 laps

1 Leon Haslam (HM Plant Honda) 11m 58.300secs 2. Michael Rutter (North West 200 Ducati) +3.214s 3. Karl Harris (Rob Mac Racing Yamaha) +3.541s 4. Tom Sykes (Rizla Suzuki) +3.680s 5. James Ellison (Hydrex Bike Animal Honda) +6.591s

Latest championship standings

1Shane Byrne (Airwaves Ducati) 332 2. Cal Crutchlow (HM Plant Honda) 222 3. Tom Sykes (Rizla Suzuki) 214 4. Leon Haslam (HM Plant Honda) 199 5. Leon Camier (Airwaves Ducati) 179

More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki News Service:

Ian Lowry produced a near faultless performance at Knockhill in Fife, putting his K8 GSX-R600 Relentless by TAS Suzuki on the top step of the British Supersport podium.

Lowry moved to the front of the field as early as lap five and was never troubled throughout the race, which was red flagged after 22 of the scheduled 27 laps. Lowry also set the fastest lap of the race on lap 11. He remains third in the championship table on 120 points behind Glen Richards [157] and Hudson Kennaugh [127] with four rounds remaining. Michael Laverty had a frustrating day in the Superbike class with only one points scoring finish to show for his front row qualifying position. Sixth place in race one was followed by an early retirement in race two after a wrong tyre choice prematurely ended his weekend in Scotland. Laverty’s consolation was the Flying Haggis trophy for setting the fastest Superbike lap of the day. He occupies eighth place in the BSB Championship on 110 points.

Australian Cameron Donald made his Knockhill debut in the Superstock class, finishing today’s race in eighth place. Donald now moves on to Dundrod for next week’s Ulster Grand Prix in Northern Ireland.

Ian Lowry:

“That was a pretty good day… or a pretty good weekend! I knew we had the perfect dry set-up on the K8 Suzuki so I got a bit of a gap early on and just held on to it until the red flags stopped the race. I rode the K8 bike all weekend and I was very happy with it. The guys have done a great job with the new bike and I’m told there’s even more to come from it, so that will set me up well for the next round at Cadwell Park.”

Michael Laverty:

“That was a bit like a repeat of Mallory today: we promised so much and delivered very little! I suppose sixth wasn’t too bad in race one but I got stuck behind Camier for a long time and that ruined any chance of fighting back for a podium. In the second race I made a bad start but was working my way through them when it was stopped; then in the re-start I made the wrong tyre choice. It was my own fault, and I knew when we did the sighting lap that I’d picked the wrong tyres, as did a few others. It’s very disappointing as I was quicker than Rutter, Ellison and Harris all weekend and they all picked up podiums. Knockhill is all about getting a good start, especially in the wet with only one line on the circuit making it difficult to pass.” Cameron Donald:

“It was a good enough weekend but I’m not here to finish eighth. It was a wet race on a drying track so it was hard to read and I think I was a bit too cautious. I think I maybe had next week’s Ulster Grand Prix on my mind, where I’ll be looking to get back on the top step of the podium.” Philip Neill – Team Principal:

“Ian’s performance today was superb and I just knew he was winning that race when the lights went green – his body language was so positive. The last time we seen Ian riding that like was at Donington where he showed the same determination and aggression. The team has worked tirelessly to make Ian feel comfortable on the K8 GSX-R600, so my biggest thanks must go to them, although it was certainly a faultless performance from a tremendously talented rider. Cameron has now got another new circuit under his belt and although he’s disappointed with the result, his lap times were pretty consistent all weekend. Eighth is satisfactory, although his mind was probably on next week’s international road race – the Ulster Grand Prix, which to be honest, is his priority this season. Unfortunately the potential that Michael showed throughout practice and qualifying didn’t translate into positive race results today, which is a little disappointing. Michael’s talent has never been in question – the fastest BSB lap of the day demonstrated that – however he’s struggling to find consistency. After a reasonable race one, Michael made the wrong tyre choice in race two opting for full wets, which forced him to retire on a drying track.”

More, from a press release issued by Steve Plater’s publicist:

SECOND PLACE FOR PLATER IN GERMANY

Along with team-mates Igor Jerman and Steve Martin, Steve Plater rode to a fine second place for Yamaha Austria in the Eight Hour World Endurance round that took place at Oschersleben in Germany on Saturday to claim the first podium finish of the current campaign and move into second place in the championship.

Starting from third place, Plater started the race for YART and entered into a good battle with Suzuki, Kawasaki and Yamaha Germany during the opening laps.

He and Jorg Teuchart (Yamaha Germany) pulled away from the pursuing pack but the latter pitted early to refuel leaving Plater to take up the lead during the first hour.

At the changeover YART had dropped down to second but continued to chase the leader and again took the lead only to lose it again at the next pit stop.

Current champions SERT took the lead but then went on to crash and handed the lead to Kawasaki France.

Steve rode the last 70 minutes, holding a good advantage over the SERT team who had managed to remount and continue on their way to the chequered flag.

With one hour left to go it was still anyone’s race with positions changing as teams pitted for the last time.

Steve pushed as hard as possible but, after one of the most closely fought contests in recent years, eventually had to settle for the runner up spot.

The points accrued at Oschersleben were sufficient to move the YART team up into second place in the World Endurance Championship with two rounds left to race.

The next round will take place in France at the Magny-Cours circuit for the Bol d’Or 24-hour race on September 13/14.

More, from a press release issued by Fasttrax:

NELSONS LEDGES, Ohio The lightweight 30-minute mini-endurance provided a ton of excitement Saturday and mechanical gremlins shook up the point standing in the three hour endurance in the fifth round of the Fasttrax series.

Sammy Snellenberger of Kent, Ohio on a Suzuki SV650 and Chad Eiring of Delaware, Ohio riding a Yamaha FZR500 battled back and forth for first place in the 30-minute endurance with Snellenberger managing to finally stay out front to take the checker.

The race was just as tight for third place with Shawn Strawser of Lewis Center, Ohio on a Buell XB9R taking the last place on the podium finishing one lap down closely followed by Tim Batten in fourth and Jeff Manley in fifth.

The endurance mechanical gremlins struck Team Empty Pockets and Iron Butt solo riders Dorjan Scott and Igor Gaca in the three-hour. Empty Pockets’ engine failed in the 45th lap, giving Team DAYAM a secure hold on the season points standing with its first place finish Saturday.

Fasttrax is a family-oriented club racing organization with its home track at Nelsons Ledges, Ohio. For information on all of Fasttrax’s events and programs visit www.Fasttraxlive.com

RESULTS

30-minute Solo Mini-Endurance Heavyweight: 1. Tony Ruggerio (Sux GSX-R750) 24 laps; 2. Wayne Schoene (Sux GSX-R750) 23 laps; 3. Aaron Borello (Duc 1098) 22 laps; 4. Daniel Shetler III (Hon RC51) 22 laps.

Middleweight: 1. Ross Lubrani (Yam YZF-R6) 24 laps; 2. Kenneth Fischer (Yam YZF-R6) 23 laps; 3. Kurt Russman (Hon CBRF4I) 23 laps; 4. Lee Barbicas (Suz GSX-R600) 22 laps; 5. Mark Gainer (Buel XB9R) 22 laps; 6. Corey Bannister (Tri 675 Daytona) 21 laps; 7. Jim Vaughn (Hon CBR600RR).

Lightweight: 1. Sammy Snellenberger (Suz SV650) 24 laps; 2. Chad Eiring (Yam FZR500) 24 laps; 3. Shawn Strawser (Buell XB9R) 23 laps: 4. Tim Batten (Suz SV650) 23 laps; 5. Jeff Manley (Suz SV650) 23 laps; 6. Todd Narduzzi (Suz SV650) 22 laps; 7. Justin Barker (Suz SV650) 22 laps; 8. Elwood Smith (Suz SV650) 22 laps); 9. Bill Smith (Buell XB9R) 22 laps; 10. Michael Gillian (Suz SV650) 22 laps; 11 Bill Billock (Suz GS500) 20 laps.

3-hour Endurance Heavyweight: 1. Team Bones (Suz GSX-R750) 145 laps); 2. Rush Hour Racing (Suz GSX-R750); 3. Team R & D (Kaw ZX-10R) 137 laps.

Middleweight: 1. Madhouse Racing (Yam YZF-R6) 144 laps; 2. Rush Hour Racing (Yam YZF-R6) 144 laps; 3. Team Localriders.com (Tri Daytona 675) 132 laps; 4. Team Quik Chix & Dad (Kaw ZX-6) 131 laps; Team Bumble Bee (Suz SV650) 121 laps.

Lightweight: 1. Team DAYAM (Suz SV650) 137 laps; 2. Team Racer RX (Suz SV650) 129 laps; 3. Birdmen Racing (Suz SV650) 126 laps) 4. Team ICR )Suz GS500) 95 laps: 5. Empty Pockets Racing ((Duc PS1000LE)) 54 laps.

Iron Butt Solo: 1. Wayne Shaye of Rush Hour Racing (Suz SV650) 116 laps; 2. Dorjan Scott of PBP Racing (Suz SV650) 28 laps) 3. Igor Gaca