From a press release issued by MonsterMob Ducati:

THINK! British Superbike Championship
Rounds 7/8
Oulton Park, Cheshire
2nd/3rd May

LAVERTY MAINTAINS CHAMPIONSHIP LEAD AT OULTON PARK

MonsterMob Ducati British Supersport rider Michael Laverty maintained the lead of the championship with a superb second place finish in front of a massive bank holiday crowd at Oulton Park, Cheshire today.

The 22 year old Ulsterman qualified the 749 MonsterMob Ducati in fourth position before leading the race early on as he and Honda rider Karl Harris battled for the race win.

Laverty was poised to take his second successive victory but a backmarker prevented the pass on the final corner meaning he had to settle for second place and in doing so he maintained a one point lead from Harris going into round five of the thirteen race series.

“I’m a bit disappointed I didn’t win but I rode a sensible race and I didn’t want to throw it away. I still think I could have won it and I thought I’d leave it until the last lap and catch Karl by surprise. I’m kicking myself now for not trying two laps before as a backmarker just messed me up but I’m still leading the championship and that is what matters” said Laverty.

Meanwhile it was a weekend to forget for Superbike rider Sean Emmett who ended up retiring from the second THINK! British Superbike Championship race after posting eighth place in race one aboard the 999 F04. Emmett struggled with a number of problems throughout the entire meeting and despite a number of radical changes for the second race he was forced to retire early on leaving him to languish in fifth in the championship.

Team owner Paul Bird had some tough words to say afterwards:
“This is the worst superbike weekend we have ever had and it is just not acceptable. Things will have to change from now on and I need to see some more improvement and effort from Sean’s side. Regarding Michael, I’m absolutely chuffed to bits for him. He’s leading the championship and had a great race and I’m just over the moon with his performance. We know he is going to go from strength to strength.”

The action moves on to Mondello Park in County Kildare, Ireland in three weeks time with hopes of a return to winning ways for the defending double British Superbike Champions.

Superbike Race One Result
1, Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki) 26:14.357, 2, John Reynolds (Suzuki) +0.122s, 3, Michael Rutter (Honda) +19.521s, 4, Dean Thomas (Ducati) +21.156s, 5, Scott Smart (Kawasaki) +29.181s, 6, Glen Richards (Kawasaki) +29.658s, 7, Gary Mason (Yamaha) +30.031s, 8, Sean Emmett (MonsterMob Ducati) +34.898s, 9, Tommy Hill (Yamaha) + 1 lap, 10, James Ellison (Yamaha) + 1 lap.

Superbike Race Two Result
1, Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki) 29:27.256, 2, John Reynolds (Suzuki) +0.124s, 3, Michael Rutter (Honda) +13.571s, 4, Dean Thomas (Ducati) +14.920s, 5, Scott Smart (Kawasaki) +22.068s, 6, Leon Haslam (Ducati) +23.188s, 7, Gary Mason (Yamaha) +23.366s, 8, James Ellison (Yamaha) +25.724s, 9, Glen Richards (Kawasaki) +29.215s, 10, Noriyuki Haga (Ducati) +34.001s. DNF Sean Emmett (MonsterMob Ducati)

Supersport Race Result
1, Karl Harris (Honda) 26:59.802, 2, Michael Laverty (MonsterMob Ducati) +0.535s, 3, Jay Vincent (Honda) +9.880s, 4, Simon Andrews (Yamaha) +10.185s, 5, Cal Crutchlow (Honda) +18.312s, 6, Leon Camier (Honda) +19.815s, 7, Pere Riba (Kawasaki) +21.059s, 8, Craig Jones (Triumph) +21.478s, 9, Luke Quigley (Suzuki) +21.634s, 10, Adrian Coates (Suzuki) +24.856s.


THINK! British Superbike Championship Standings (after Round 8)
1, John Reynolds (Suzuki) 167 pts
2, Michael Rutter (Honda) 149 pts
3, Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki) 128 pts
4, Scott Smart (Kawasaki) 90 pts
5, Sean Emmett (MonsterMob Ducati) 86 pts
6, Ryuichi Kiyonari (Honda) 76 pts
7, Dean Thomas (Ducati) 74 pts
8, Tommy Hill (Yamaha) 51 pts
8, Glen Richards (Kawasaki) 51 pts
10, Gary Mason (Yamaha) 49 pts


Supersport Championship Standings (after Round 4)
1, Michael Laverty (MonsterMob Ducati) 71 pts
2, Karl Harris (Honda) 70 pts
3, Jay Vincent (Honda) 59 pts
4, Pere Riba (Kawasaki) 51 pts
5, Luke Quigley (Suzuki) 45 pts
6, Simon Andrews (Yamaha) 40 pts
7, Craig Jones (Triumph) 35 pts
8, Kieran Murphy (Honda) 23 pts
9, Adrian Coates (Suzuki) 21 pts
9, Leon Camier (Honda) 21 pts



More, from a press release issued by MSS Discovery Kawasaki Team:

British Supersport/National Superstock Championships
Round four
Oulton Park
Monday, May 3 2004

MSS DISCOVERY’S RIBA FOURTH IN TITLE CHASE AFTER OULTON PARK BATTLE

MSS Discovery’s Pere Riba took a solid seventh place finish on his Oulton Park debut in round four of the British Supersport championship at the Cheshire circuit on Monday.

Kawasaki ZX-6RR-mounted Riba was involved in battles throughout the 16-lap race as he tackled the 2.69-mile circuit for the first time.

“I had two different parts to the race,” explained Riba. “I was held up with riders diving in front of me then going sideways into the corners so I was never going to make that much progress from the battle I was having for sixth place.

“And I was losing about half a second a lap just through not knowing my way around the circuit. I’m not happy with seventh place but realistically we knew I would struggle to challenge for victory on my first visit here.”

Riba concluded: “Now we have a three-week break before the next round and I’m sure we will improve the ZX-6RR even more ­ people forget this is a completely new machine we’re dealing with a to be fourth in the championship is acceptable.”

Riba’s fellow MSS Discovery rider Rob Frost retired from the race at the halfway stage, all after making a stunning start from his 20th place on the grid.

Frost said: “I was up to about 12th place on the first lap before I was shunted onto the grass. I rejoined in 28th place and made it up to 16th before the machine went off song. I¹m not sure yet what the problem was, the team are looking into it.”

MSS Discovery’s Steve Allan finished sixth after a determined ride from ninth place on the grid in the 15-lap National Superstock championship race.

Allan powered the ZX-10R into a comfortable sixth place with three laps to go and the Scotsman now believes regular podium finishes in the series are not too far away.

Allan explained: “The ZX-10R worked really well in the race here at Oulton and it just gets better and better. As the machine gets better I’m feeling stronger and stronger in races. We¹ve now reached a consistent level with the machine’s set-up.

“I’m happy enough with sixth place. I got held up for a while and once I was into sixth place I realised that I could have lived with the two riders in front and maybe got fourth but I ran out of laps.”


More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki:

SUZUKI DOMINATES BRITISH SUPERBIKES!

Team Suzuki Press Office – May 3, 2004.
Yukio Kagayama and John Reynolds dominated today’s British Superbike fourth round at Oulton Park with one-two victories in both races.

Rizla Suzuki’s Kagayama won both races ahead of team mate Reynolds with less than a tenth-of-a-second separating them at the flag.

Yuki followed JR for most of the first race before passing and taking the win. Then in the second race, he made a break for the line with four laps to go; barely holding off JR at the chequered flag.

Reynolds extended his Championship lead over Honda’s Michael Rutter to 18-points while Yuki is looking ominous in third place and chasing hard.

Rizla Suzuki has now won six of the first eight races of the 2004 season, with each rider sharing three wins.

Yukio Kagayama:

“Today is good result, I am so happy. First race I follow John-san and study his riding. On the last lap I know where to overtake and win the race.

“In the second race I pass John-san with some laps to go. I try to break away and make many mistakes. I give too much gas and my body is tired, but I try my all and am so happy to win. After the race I am maximum tired, so much that I cannot stand up by myself. But good news is that now I return to Japan for small holiday with my family and will come home to Britain stronger. I can win – I have number one team. I have learnt new English words – piece of cake!”

John Reynolds:

“From a team perspective, it has been a fantastic day. On a personal level, I have been out-ridden and it isn’t often that happens.

“In the first race, Yuki snatched the win from me at the end, but in the second race he beat me fair and square. Yuki is proving he is going to be a big rival for me in 2004. He is a world-class rider and it is a privilege to be racing against him. It’s great that Rizla Suzuki is dominating but maybe I’m respecting Yuki a bit too much; next time, I plan to be the one with the double win.”

Paul Denning, team manager:

“As team owner, I am finding new levels of stress I didn’t think possible. Watching your two riders dicing for the victory at lap-record pace raises the heartbeat I can tell you…

“This is Crescent and Rizla Suzuki’s first ever double 1-2. Congratulations to both riders and the whole team; from mechanics to data acquisition; Dunlop tyre technicians to hospitality staff. They are the ones who have made this fantastic result possible.

“Rizla Suzuki has the GSX-R1000 and the overall package to win. Yuki leaves for Japan and a two-week break with the best possible results and we are off to Mondello Park next, a happy hunting ground for the team and in particular JR.

“Thanks to all our fans for their support. Today is dedicated to you all. We won’t be resting on our laurels, but this is a new peak for us all, and this evening, I will be sharing a few beers with the boys before getting back to work in the morning.”

Race One Result: 1: YUKIO KAGAYAMA (RIZLA SUZUKI) 26:14.357, 2: JOHN REYNOLDS (RIZLA SUZUKI) +0.122, 3: Michael Rutter (Honda) +19.521, 4: Dean Thomas (Ducati) +21.156, 5: Scott Smart (Kawasaki) +29.181, 6: Glen Richards (Kawasaki) +29.658, 7: Gary Mason (Yamaha) +30.031, 8: Sean Emmett (Ducati) +34.898, 9: Tommy Hill (Yamaha) +1lap, 10: James Ellison (Yamaha) +1lap.

Race Two Result: 1: YUKIO KAGAYAMA (RIZLA SUZUKI) 29:27.256, 2: JOHN REYNOLDS (RIZLA SUZUKI) +0.124, 3: Rutter +13.571, 4: Thomas +14.920, 5: Smart +22.068, 6: Leon Haslam (Ducati) +23.188, 7: Mason +23.366, 8: Ellison +25.724, 9: Richards +29.215, 10: Noriyuki Haga (Ducati) +34.001.

Championship Positions: 1: JOHN REYNOLDS (RIZLA SUZUKI) 167, 2: Rutter 149, 3: YUKIO KAGAYAMA (RIZLA SUZUKI) 128, 4: Smart 90, 5: Emmett 86, 6: Ryuichi Kiyonari (Honda) 76, 7: Thomas 74, 8: Hill 51, 9: Richards 51, 10: Mason 49.

Suzuki racing round-up:

Andy Tinsley won the National Superstock race for Suzuki on a GSX-R1000 and is leading the Championship.

Race Result:

Andy Tinsley (Suzuki) 25:34.257, 2: Mark Heckles (Yamaha) +0.624, 3: Tristan Palmer (Suzuki).