From press releases issued by various teams after the Silverstone World Superbike weekend, starting with one from the Fuchs Kawasaki Superbike team:

WORLD SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP
ROUND 6 – SILVERSTONE, UNITED KINGDOM
26 MAY 2002 – RACE DAY

WALKER STORMS TO BEST RESULT OF THE SEASON AT RAIN SOAKED SILVERSTONE

Chris Walker notched up his best result of the season in front of 61,000 spectators at Silverstone this afternoon. The 30-year-old Fuchs Kawasaki rider overcome treacherous conditions to score a fourth place finish in a wet second Superbike race at the famous Northamptonshire circuit.

After falling in race one, remounting and working his way back up to 14th place, Walker was keen to make amends in the second outing of the day. A good start from eleventh place on the grid saw the Fuchs Kawasaki rider ideally placed going into the first turn and he wasted no time in moving his way up the field. After passing Neil Hodgson to take fourth, Walker quickly pulled out a second and a half advantage over his countryman, which he maintained to the chequered flag.

‘I guess you could say that race one didn’t go quite according to plan,’ said Walker. ‘The track was real slippery in places and I slid off quite early on. From then on, it was just a case of head down and trying to make up as many places as possible before the chequered flag.’

‘Race two was a different story though. Once I was past Hodgson and had built up a bit of a lead I thought Xaus might do his usual thing and hand me a podium finish but, although I did see yellow flags in the final stages of the race, it wasn’t to be. It’s been a long time coming, but I’m just glad we were able to score a good result for everyone who braved the weather to come and cheer us on; they really did help me to lift my game in that second race.’

Eric Bostrom marked his first appearance in Great Britain with two strong rides under difficult conditions. The Californian held off wet weather specialist Michael Rutter to finish eleventh in race one, and then backed that up with sixteenth place in race two.

‘I didn’t get a particularly good start in either race today,’ said Bostrom. ‘The second attempt was better, but I got boxed in at the first turn and shuffled backwards through the pack. It’s been a good experience riding here and what we’ve learned about setting the bike up for fast tracks will stand us in good stead when we return to the AMA Championship and the Road America round next weekend.’

WSB SILVERSTONE – SUPERBIKE RACE ONE
1. Colin Edwards USA Castrol Honda 43:27.508

2. Noriyuki Haga JPN Playstation2-FGF Aprilia 43:34.866

3. Neil Hodgson GBR HM Plant Ducati 44:00.498

4. Pierfrancesco Chili ITA Ducati NCR Axo 44:19.106

5. Troy Bayliss AUS Ducati Infostrada 44:22.230

6. Mark Heckles GBR Castrol Honda Rumi 44:28.636

7. Ben Bostrom USA Ducati L & M 44:30.139

8. Ruben Xaus ESP Ducati Infostrada 44:40.033

9. Shane Byrne GBR Renegade Ducati 44:42.734

10. James Toseland GBR HM Plant Ducati 44:51.178

11. Eric Bostrom USA Fuchs Kawasaki 44:56.126

12. Michael Rutter GBR Renegade Ducati 44:56.352

13. Peter Goddard AUS Benelli Sport 45:02.106

14. Chris Walker GBR Fuchs Kawasaki 45:27.802

15. Mauro Sanchini ITA Kawasaki Bertocchi 43:38.250


WSB SILVERSTONE – SUPERBIKE RACE TWO
1. Troy Bayliss AUS Ducati Infostrada 41:20.474

2. Colin Edwards USA Castrol Honda 41:25.383

3. Ruben Xaus ESP Ducati Infostrada 41:37.130

4. Chris Walker GBR Fuchs Kawasaki 42:18.909

5. Shane Byrne GBR Renegade Ducati 42:21.540

6. Neil Hodgson GBR HM Plant Ducati 42:32.455

7. Juan Borja ESP Spaziotel Racing 42:35.886

8. Ben Bostrom USA Ducati L & M 42:37.796

9. James Toseland GBR HM Plant Ducati 42:45.360

10. Noriyuki Haga JPN Playstation2-FGF Aprilia 43:01.781

11. Pierfrancesco Chili ITA Ducati NCR Axo 43:15.792

12. Broc Parkes AUS Ducati NCR Parmalat 43:18.242

13. Alessandro Antonello ITA DFX Racing Ducati Pirelli 43:20.834

14. Gregorio Lavilla ESP Alstare Suzuki Corona 41:27.499

15. Peter Goddard AUS Benelli Sport 41:29.601

16. Eric Bostrom USA Fuchs Kawasaki 41:34.591


More, from Troy Bayliss’ publicist:

TROY BAYLISS Racing – Media Information

Round 6, 2002 Superbike World Championship
Silverstone Circuit, England
Race Report

TWO CRASHES AND A RACE WIN FOR BAYLISS AT SILVERSTONE

Northamptonshire, England – The Silverstone round of the Superbike World Championship provided defending World Champion, Australian Troy Bayliss with a day of mixed fortune finishing fifth in race one, before returning to the circuit later in the afternoon to take victory in race two.

The race two win was Bayliss’ ninth of the season, but his ride through the field to finish fifth in the opening race will become one of the season’s highlights. Bayliss fell from his Infostrada Ducati 998F-02 while leading lap three in the wet conditions. Rejoining the race in 23rd position, he rode one of the most spirited rides to move up to eighth place, lapping three seconds a lap faster than anyone else before he again slid from the circuit on lap seven. He was able to keep his bike running and rejoined the race once more in pursuit of the leaders. With laps running out, he was able to finish fifth, while main championship rival Colin Edwards (Castrol Honda) took the race win by 7.3 seconds from Aprilia’s Noriyuki Haga at the completion of the 20-lap race.

“I had a pretty good ride,…I just fell off twice,” said Bayliss on his race one result. “But seriously, because Silverstone is such as strange place with the weather conditions, we decided to run for a setting on the chassis that ended up being too hard for the conditions. We were hoping that it may clear, but it got worse and we needed the bike to be slightly softer. After the first crash I was feeling good, maybe too good for the conditions and was just rushing things too much and as a result fell again. It was a freakish sort of race and in the end it was just nice to get across the finish line.”

Determined to make amends for his first race indiscretions, Bayliss quickly took the race lead ahead of Edwards, who amazingly had crashed on the warm up lap, but was able to take his place on the starting grid. Edwards took the race lead away from Bayliss for three laps of the 5.094km Northamptonshire circuit, before Bayliss again grab the lead position on lap twelve. Edwards mounted another challenge and closed to within 0.5 of a second before Bayliss responded with the fastest lap of the race and a new lap record on lap 18 with a 2-min 02.145-secs. Edwards was unable to maintain the pace on the final laps, with Bayliss taking the win by 4.909 seconds from Edwards, with Bayliss’ teammate, Spaniard Ruben Xaus third.

“We changed the settings on the bike to suit the full wet conditions and it was much better than the first race,” added Bayliss. “The only mistake I made was that I allowed Colin to get by so that I could see his lines for a couple of laps, but once I did I wasn’t able to see because of the spray from his bike, so I quickly got back past him again. Towards the end of the race I put some pretty good laps together and I managed to use the backmarkers well to break Colin from me. As a whole I’m a bit disappointed on the day. I made some mistakes in race one that cost me a lot of points, but I guess the win in race two was good after the way the weekend has been for everyone. I would also like to take this opportunity to say sorry for the hand gesture I made at the end of the race. Unfortunately it was misunderstood, as I did it to release tension within myself at the end of the race and it wasn’t meant to offend anyone.”

Having arrived in England with a 38-pont championship lead, Bayliss heads to round seven with a reduced points lead of 29, over Edwards (260 – 231) after today’s results.

Weather conditions at Silverstone were less than ideal all weekend, with both of today’s SWC races being declared wet. The streams of water that crossed the circuit at some points did catch out a number of riders, including Bayliss and Edwards. Light showers fell during the second race before the sun broke through and began to slowly dry the track surface, but not sufficiently to adversely affect the wet weather tyres that the riders were using.



More, from Honda:

HONDA RACING NEWS

WORLD SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND SIX / WORLD SUPERSPORT CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND SIX
SUNDAY MAY 26 2002 SILVERSTONE, GB

Weather: Wet, raining
Temperature: 15 degrees
Attendance: 61,000

SILVERSTONE WINS FOR EDWARDS AND BAYLISS AS WORLD SUPERBIKES MAKE WET DEBUT

Title arch-rivals Colin Edwards and Troy Bayliss shared the spoils at the Silverstone sixth round of the World Superbike championship in Great Britain on Sunday.

Edwards won the incident-packed opening race in treacherous conditions over 20 laps of the 3.16-mile circuit. Championship leader Bayliss made the early running but crashed on lap three. That left Edwards in control on the SP-2 as the Texan eased away and controlled the race for the 22nd World Superbike win of his career.

“I was quite happy to sit behind Troy in the early stages and see if he would make a mistake,” admitted Edwards. “I knew the two of us were pulling away from the rest so it was pointless me trying to get away on lap three of a 20-lap race in those conditions. I was very pleased with the SP-2 machine and the Michelin tyres. I went for a softer compound rear tyre hoping it wouldn’t rain again so when it did start raining again I had to take it easy for a few laps.”

Aprilia’s Noriyuki Haga finished a lonely second with Neil Hodgson third to give the damp home fans something to cheer about. Behind Pier-Francesco Chili in fourth place came Bayliss, the Australian rider rejoined the race after his third lap crash then crashed out of eighth place on lap seven, rejoining once more to climb to fifth.

Mark Heckles revelled in the conditions on his Castrol Honda Rumi SP-2 to take sixth place with the factory Ducatis of Ben Bostrom and Ruben Xaus seventh and eighth respectively.

Heckles said: “I was enjoying myself in the wet. It was good fun and brilliant to get a top six finish in my home round. It’s credit to the team that we’ve got the HRC kit machine working well and very well in wet conditions.”

Drama struck Edwards at the start of the second race as he pulled into his pit garage at the end of the sighting lap, complaining of a misfire. Edwards jumped on his spare machine. He then crashed on his warm-up lap but the machine escaped damage and Edwards was able to start the race and lead it into the first corner.

Within three laps Edwards and Bayliss were easing away at the head of the race and the pair then changed places as the battle for victory in the 20-lap race ensued. Bayliss ran out winner as Edwards struck visibility problems in the final quarter of the race and finished second. A win for each rider leaves Bayliss with a 29-point lead in the championship, reduced by nine points, from 38, on the day by challenger Edwards.

Edwards said: “I had a bit of everything happen before the race and with all of that I thought it was better just to get to the finish and second place and 20 points had to do this afternoon. My biggest problem out there was visibility – I couldn’t see a thing, which is why I made the move on Troy and led the race, to get out of the spray, but even then I was struggling to see. It’s not been a bad day overall though and I’ve closed the gap to the lead of the championship.”

Ruben Xaus improved from his first race eighth place to complete an all-Michelin rostrum after the Spaniard took third his fifth top three finish of the year. Chris Walker had the 61,00 fans going wild as he won an all-British battle for fourth place, edging wild card Ducati rider Shane Byrne into fifth and Neil Hodgson into sixth. Heckles was forced out of the race after crashing, without injury, on lap six.

James Whitham won an action-packed sixth round of the World Supersport championship, despite crashing before the race had finished!

Whitham was leading the 19-lap race when a heavy rainstorm forced organisers to stop the race on lap 14. Before the race was stopped both Whitham and his Yamaha team-mate Paolo Casoli crashed out, leaving Honda’s Karl Muggeridge in the lead.

But, within a lap, the red flag appeared and when the race result was taken from the previous, fully completed, lap it was Whitham who was celebrating the fourth World Supersport win of his career.

Casoli picked himself out of the gravel to be awarded second place with Muggeridge taking his first podium of the year with third. Muggeridge said: “It was very difficult to hang on out there. By the time the heavy rain started to fall we were racing through huge puddles. I know that I could have been declared the winner but I think it was a sensible decision to stop the race.”

Former world champion Jorg Teuchert won a three-way battle for fourth, leaving early race leader Iain MacPherson fifth and Katsuaki Fujiwara sixth. Seventh place for Fabien Foret on the Ten Kate Honda meant he closed the gap to series leader Stephane Chambon by one point as the Suzuki-riding Frenchman finished eighth.

Kawasaki’s Andrew Pitt, the defending world champion, sat five points off the lead of the series prior to Silverstone but a crash and consequent retirement from the race has opened a 10-point gap from second-placed Foret to Pitt. Chambon sits three points ahead of Foret as the Supersport series reached halfway.




More, from Team Yamaha Belgarda:

WHITHAM AND CASOLI SCORE PERFECT 1-2 IN THE WET
Team Yamaha Belgarda riders Jamie Whitham and Paolo Casoli scored a perfect 1-2 result at rain-sodden Silverstone today ­ but not without drama. Whitham made a superb start from the fifth row of the grid and was an amazing third at the end of the first lap, just behind his team mate Casoli, who had qualified on the second row. Casoli took the lead on lap two, but Whitham – urged on by the partisan crowd – passed his team mate three laps later. The two of them splashed their way round the soaking 5.094 kilometre circuit and pulled out a comfortable advantage over their nearest rival Muggeridge. After eleven laps the rain increased its intensity and soon standing water caused aquaplaning and riders began to fall in the appalling conditions. Both Casoli and Whitham themselves crashed on lap 14, but fortunately the race was rightly red-flagged and the standings taken one lap previously ­ which meant the Yamaha duo were able to take first and second places.

JAMIE WHITHAM ­ 1st
The conditions were absolutely terrible and in some ways we probably shouldn’t have raced. I made a really good start and was third at the end of the first lap ­ I couldn’t believe it! Before the race I knew my best chance of a good result would probably be a wet race. After about 10-11 laps the rain fell so heavily that it caused great big puddles of water and it was impossible to see how deep the water was on the track. I just hit a big puddle and that was that, but I got the bike upright again and carried on, thinking that I’d probably still get a top six finish. But then the red flag came out and I found out I had won! I know it isn’t an ideal way to win a race, but I’ll take it anyway I can.

PAOLO CASOLI 2nd
It was pretty horrible out there today and very difficult. Jamie and I had a good battle and then we both crashed. I got back onboard and carried on as soon as I could, but then I saw the red flag, so I knew I had a chance of a good result. Of course, the standings go back one lap, so Jamie got the win and I was second. Considering the conditions, I am very happy with the result. It was hard to know where the standing water was, especially when you were behind somebody because you couldn’t see where you going!



More, from Suzuki:

Team Suzuki News Service

CHAMBON STILL LEADS WORLD SUPERSPORTS CHAMPIONSHIP

World Supersport Championship – Round 6, Silverstone, England, May 26, 2002

Team Suzuki Alstare rider Stephane Chambon gained more vital points in his bid for the 2002 World Supersports Championship following the sixth round at Silverstone today.

The Frenchman rode a solid race in terrible conditions at the English track to finish in eighth place, putting him three points clear at the top of the points table.

Team-mate Katsuaki Fujiwara gained the holeshot from his fourth place start but was unable to maintain the lead for long later in the race, torrential rain began to fall and three laps later the race was red-flagged.. The Japanese rider ended the race in sixth positon taking him to fifth place in the Championship.

Today’s race was won by James Whitham (Yamaha).

KATSUAKI FUJIWARA – 6th
“The conditions were terrible and it was so easy to aquaplane, so I’m happy to finish the race. I think that the red flag was a good decision, but I had already begun to take it a bit more steady when I saw all the crashes. I’m a bit surprised that Whitham and Casoli were first and second – because they crashed before the end, but for me it was important to finish this race and keep up in the championship.”

STEPHANE CHAMBON – 8th
“I’m happy to get a finish, because I had big problems with my visor. Water got inside and I couldn’t see where I was going a lot of the time. One time I even went on the wrong part of the circuit! This afternoon was a difficult race and it was so easy to aquaplane, so I was happy when it was red-flagged and I could stop nearly crashing.”


More, from the Fuchs Kawasaki Supersport team:

WORLD SUPERSPORT CHAMPIONSHIP
ROUND 6 – SILVERSTONE, UNITED KINGDOM
26 MAY 2002 – RACE DAY

PITT RETAINS CHAMPIONSHIP POSITION DESPITE CRASHING OUT AT SILVERSTONE

Andrew Pitt saw any chance of regaining his lead in the championship standings dashed, when he crashed out of today’s wet Supersport race. Despite scoring no points, the Fuchs Kawasaki rider retains his third position in the championship.

‘I got a really bad start, so I was having to push real hard to move my way up through the field,’ said Pitt. ‘I guess I got a little bit carried away when I saw Foret and Chambon, the two riders leading me in the championship, in the group ahead. Instead of picking them off over two or three laps, I tried to do them both at once – and paid the price. Failing to score at Silverstone means I’ll just have to work even harder at Lausitz if I’m to regain the championship lead.’

For Pitt’s Fuchs Kawasaki team-mate, James Ellison, this afternoon’s Supersport race was even shorter. The reigning European Superstock Champion was caught out by the treacherous conditions and crashed out on the second lap.

‘I got a good start, and I was pushing hard to catch the group in front of me when I lost the front end’ said Ellison. ‘Obviously it’s not the way I’d wanted my home round to end, but I need to put it behind me and start looking towards the next round in two weeks time.’

WSS SILVERSTONE – RACE RESULT
1. James Whitham GBR Yamaha Belgarda 28:15.649

2. Paolo Casoli ITA Yamaha Belgarda 28:15.918

3. Karl Muggeridge AUS Honda UK Race 28:32.644

4. Jorg Teuchert GER Yamaha Motor Germany 28:37.303

5. Iain MacPherson GBR Ten Kate Honda 28:37.537

6. Katsuaki Fujiwara JPN Alstare Suzuki Corona 28:39.809

7. Fabien Foret FRA Ten Kate Honda 28:47.338

8. Stephane Chambon FRA Alstare Suzuki Corona 28:55.220

9. Diego Giugovaz ITA GIMotorsport 28:58.780

10. Matthieu Lagrive FRA Saveko Racing 29:04.373

11. Christian Kellner GER Yamaha Motor Germany 29:14.091

12. Stefano Cruciani ITA T. Italia Lorenzini by Leoni 29:16.760

13. Gianluca Nannelli ITA Rox Racing 29:24.021

14. Chris Vermeulen AUS Van-zon-Honda-T.K.R. 29:27.268

15. John McGuinness GBR Honda UK Race 29:29.686

From HM Plant Ducati:

Race One: Hodgson battles through torrents for podium finish

HM Plant Ducati/GSE Racing star Neil Hodgson rode an incredible race in terrible conditions to earn himself a superb third-placed finish in the first Superbike race at Silverstone. His team-mate James Toseland also performed extremely well despite the driving rain, to collect tenth place for the team.

Hodgson, who had started from eighth on the grid, refused to allow the weather to dictate terms and immediately set about picking up places. With the track surface largely covered by pools of standing water, it was Troy Bayliss who took the early lead. However, the lead was quickly handed to eventual race winner Colin Edwards when Bayliss skidded off the track in the first of two crashes for the Australian.

While Edwards was stretching his lead, Hodgson was scything through the field and it wasn’t long before he had established himself as the third-placed rider. A series of courageous overtaking moves that produced more than enough tense moments, soon had Hodgson ahead of Noriyuki Haga and running in second until Haga responded in kind and reclaimed the position that he would maintain until the chequered flag.

“Admittedly, I wasn’t too unhappy when it started to rain because I knew that had a good wet set-up,” said Hodgson. “As far as tactics were concerned, I just went out there determined to ride as hard as I could through what were some really tricky conditions. I had utter confidence in my Dunlop wets, but it was almost impossible not to get out of the seat on a few occasions – there was just too much water on the track for any tyre to clear completely. When a bike starts aquaplaning like that, you become a passenger rather than a rider!

“I definitely could have done with a different cut as the conditions got worse. When Haga got past me I knew that I was safe in third and decided it wasn’t worth risking a crash for just four points. I’m really happy to have made it onto the podium in front of my home crowd and I hope that I can give them more to cheer about in race two.”

James Toseland was pleased with his performance in what was his first wet race on a Superbike. He dealt with the rain admirably and was controlled yet aggressive as he powered the #52 HM Plant Ducati to a peak position of fifth place.

“That was certainly an experience,” said Toseland, “but experience is what makes you a good racer. I’m glad to have got my first wet Superbike race under my belt and I think it’s done a lot for my confidence. Although it may have looked pretty hairy out there, the HM Plant Ducati behaved better than I could ever have hoped for. I can’t say that I’m looking forward to getting soaked again, but the thought of another race like that certainly holds no fear for me.”


Race Two: Hodgson takes hard won sixth

In a competition that was to some degree decided before it had begun thanks to the unpredictable weather, HM Plant Ducati/GSE Racing rider Neil Hodgson did well to pick up sixth place after a race-long battle for traction. The wet track meant that tyre choice became critical and unfortunately the carefully considered gamble of Hodgson and his team-mate James Toseland failed to pay off. Despite having the same struggle for grip on his hands, Toseland was still able to salvage an impressive ninth-placed finish.

With a re-run of the first rain-sodden race looking likely, both riders opted for the same Dunlop wet tyre that had worked so well for Noriyuki Haga in the earlier competition. However, unlike race one, the dark clouds that had gathered on the build-up to the race failed to deliver their expected cargo of rain. By the time it became clear that the race was not to be as wet as the first, tyre changes were no longer a possibility and for Hodgson and Toseland it was a case of making the best of a bad situation.

“We were simply unlucky with the weather, and that’s all there is to it,” reflected Hodgson. “I did the absolute best that I could out there, but I was fighting a losing battle. The tyre I used seemed to be the best choice at the time because it looked like the torrential rain that had fallen all day was never going to stop. It did, and that left me out on a tyre that would’ve been superb for shifting standing water and preventing the sort of surfing that caused me problems in race one. Trouble was that there was no standing water this time, just a regular wet track. I can’t complain though – it was just one of those things – I chose the tyre in the first place.”

James Toseland was pleased with his day’s work despite having to put in even more effort than usual in order to finish the second race in such a strong position.

“I think that particular race wins the award for the most times I’ve come close to crashing in a single day,” said Toseland. “I was pushing the HM Plant Ducati as far as I could on those tyres and in those conditions. If I’d gone for the less heavily cut Dunlops, I’d have been fine, but like Neil, I thought I’d made the right choice. As it turns out I had all-on to keep the bike upright and once or twice I was sure that I was off. So you can see why I’m pretty happy to have come home in ninth place and was satisfying to beat Haga who was having the same problems as me.”

More from Benelli:

Benelli rack up more championship points

Benelli Sport continued to make progress in the World Superbike championship despite appalling conditions at Silverstone this weekend.

Peter Goddard rode the Benelli Tornado to thirteenth in the first race in conditions that many riders agreed were dangerous. “It was a really tough race,” said Goddard, “it rained so hard the engine was sucking water into the airbox. That cut the power down on the bike and made it even harder for me. In the circumstances thirteenth was a good result.”

In race two the track was still wet at the start of the race, and the skies looked foreboding and dark. Based on the performance of the weather for most of the weekend, which was basically rain, rain and more rain, the team decided to go for a ‘very wet’ set up. It turned out to be a mistake. “It stopped raining and the track dried out, not completely but enough to mean my tyres weren’t working properly,” said Goddard, who finished race two in fifteenth place. The two results added another four championship points to the team’s tally.

During the weekend, the FIM announced new rules to commence from the start of the 2003 season. These allow 1000cc four-cylinder bikes into the championship but with restrictors placed in their inlet tracts. Initially it was thought that this may mean a change in the rules for three-cylinder machines, but this seems not to be the case as no concessions have been made for triples. “I am a little disappointed,” said Benelli Sport owner Andrea Merloni, “I was hoping that they might give us a little something to even things up some more.”

The team now head home for more work on the Benelli Tornado, before returning to the competition in Lausitzring on 9 June.

More from Steve Martin’s press officer:

Difficult conditions for Steve Martin at Silverstone

Torrential rain marred the entire weekend’s racing at Silverstone in England for round 6 of the World Superbike Championship. It rained so hard that parts of the track were under inches of standing water, just an hour before the first race. Staff at Silverstone worked hard sweeping the water from the track to ensure the days racing could go on.

“It was like Phillip Island 2001 all over again”, commented Steve. “After qualifying for Superpole, I was feeling really confident for the race. In race one I got a good start and was pushing really hard, when it started to rain even harder, but the Pirelli tyres were giving fantastic grip and the feeling form the bike was really good despite the conditions. I was battling for a top-ten position at the time, so I kept the pressure on hard. Unfortunately, I pushed just that little bit to
much and highsided coming out of Club on lap four.

With the weather remaining extremely poor, and thick, dark clouds hanging in the sky, the team decided to go for ‘a very wet’ set-up. This proved to be the wrong choice as in fact the rain stopped and the track started to dry slightly. “There was little I could do, as I simply hadn’t chosen the right tyres for the job. But I’m generally happy with the weekend because we found a really good set-up in qualifying and I felt good on the bike. Now all we can do is look forward to the next round at Lausitzring and hope we don’t get a repeat of this kind of weather there.”

Round seven of World Superbike Championship is at the EuroSpeedway, in Lausitz, Germany on 9 June.

More from World Supersport Team Van Zon Honda TZR:

Tyre warmer problem cost Van Zon glory

Chris Vermeulen’s second-placed start didn’t to deliver its promise at Silverstone when a tyre warmer failed to work on the grid.

“I almost crashed at the first turn,” said a disappointed Vermeulen after the race, which was run in appalling conditions. “The tyre warmer had failed to work and so my rear tyre was stone cold. The problem is that in such poor conditions once the tyre is cold, you can’t get any heat in it. This meant I was forced to ride the entire race on a cold tyre. The rain was terrible, the worst conditions I’ve ever raced in and I the organisers were right to stop the race.”

Chris finished 14th despite the conditions and picked up two valuable championship points.

For Werner Daemen the race was simply one of survival. Still in pain from his shoulder injury sustained at the last round Werner, was very brave to even race this weekend.

“What can you do? Everyone has worked so hard on the bikes, and both Pirelli and WP Suspension have once again done a great job,” said Werner, “So as a rider I owe it to them to ride. When you are on the bike, you just get on with the job and do the best you can in the circumstances but when you get off, that’s when the pain really hits you!”

Werner finished in seventeenth, an incredible result given the extent of his injuries and the severe weather.

The team now pack up and return to Belgium, before heading to Lausitzring in Germany for the next round on 9 June. Werner now has a valuable two weeks to heal his shoulder before racing again on the fast Van Zon Honda TKR CBR600FS.