James Ellison and Shane Byrne the victors after opening clashes at Donington Park
Kawasaki’s James Ellison headed off four-time MCE Insurance British Superbike Champion Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne to win the first race of the opening round at Donington Park, but in race two the PBM Kawasaki rider grabbed glory after an intense battle with Dan Linfoot.
Byrne had grabbed the early lead in the first race, but after the intervention of the Nissan GTR Safety Car as marshal’s dealt with Ralf lo Turco’s crash, Ellison forced his JG Speedfit Kawasaki into the lead.
Byrne was trying to repay the move, but there was no way ahead of the Cumbrian who took his first race win in two years by 0.131s and Kawasaki’s first in the championship at the Leicestershire circuit since 1999.
Josh Brookes had ridden hard and strong, surpassing even his own expectations, to bring the all-new Milwaukee Yamaha on to the podium in third place as he outgunned Honda Racing’s Linfoot at the Melbourne Hairpin to take the placing by 0.058s.
Ellison’s hopes of a repeat performance in race two were thwarted by a flat battery which caused him to miss the sighting lap period and because of that an enforced start at the back of the grid. He put in a determined performance to charge through the pack to salvage a twelfth place finish.
Ahead of him Byrne claimed the initial advantage, but Linfoot in second after pushing his way ahead of Stuart Easton, was reeling him in. The front running scrap was fast developing and soon they were trading places, with positions changing at nearly every opportunity.
At the end Byrne had that little bit extra, taking the victory from the young Yorkshireman as Easton finished third from RAF Reserves BMW rider Peter Hickman and Christian Iddon on the Bennetts Suzuki.
Brookes, who had lost ground after taking evasive action Kiyonari high-sided in front of him fought back to finish sixth. The Buildbase BMW rider leaving Donington Park with a single 14th place finish ahead of the next round at Brands Hatch in two weeks time.
Shane Byrne (PBM Kawasaki) – Championship leader, R1: 2nd, R2: 1st – “Honestly I didn’t know what to expect this weekend. I said after race one that I felt quietly confident that we would get stronger but I didn’t expect to go one stronger in race two to be honest! We have all been around a long time and we know you can never expect anything.
“I expected a battle with Kiyo, Josh and James and then I was racing with Stuart and Dan. The battles with Kiyo last year were so intense because of what was at stake, but this was the start of the season! To have a good old fashion bumping and racing with Dan, who is young and keen, in that race, reminded me a lot of how I raced with Alex [Lowes] in 2013.
“Dan rode really well and to be honest I just wanted someone in front of me because every time I got in front I made little mistakes as I am a little rusty, but now we can build off this and the PBM Kawasaki will only get stronger. I am only going to get stronger and fitter myself and I think we can be even stronger going into the next races and we will have a good plan for Brands Hatch.
“I was a little disappointed after qualifying as we were two tenths off, but the reality is I should have only taken the plaster off my hand on the Thursday before this race so to leave with a second and first place I really can’t grumble! We have been working really hard this weekend to get a better feeling and now it is onwards and upwards!”
James Ellison (JG Speedfit Kawasaki) – R1: 1st, R2: 12th – “It’s certainly been a mix of highs and lows, but to be walking away having taken GBmoto and JG Speedfit’s first ever BSB win is amazing. The team really deserve it too, so a big thanks to them for their support – especially Mark Smith-Halvorsen who stuck by me last year through the accident.
“It’s so frustrating to have missed the opportunity to challenge for a second win in race two though, the bike starts on a slave battery but every time we removed it the bike would die. It meant we had to replace it, but that requires us removing the fairings, seat and tank from the machine and despite the whole garage helping out, we just couldn’t do it time. Starting from the back wasn’t ideal, particularly with the size of the grid, and fighting through just takes time. We still scored points though so we can’t be too disappointed.”
Byrne’s teammate Stuart Easton made it on the podium in race two – Stuart Easton: “I’m really happy to end the weekend with a podium as the first race was a bit of a disaster. I started to suffer with a little arm pump and I simply couldn’t pull the clutch in. It meant I hit a false neutral going into the Old Hairpin and it cost me the chance of a good result but third in the second race was a good way to finish. I was still struggling a bit and whilst I could run the pace of Shakey and Dan, I couldn’t really challenge them but I’m more than pleased to start the season with a podium.”
TT star Ian Hutchinson is the third member of the PBM Kawasaki squad and reflected on the weekend as being good preparation for the TT, although with 18th and 20th place finishes he didn’t figure strongly in the BSB results – “I’m really pleased with how the weekend’s gone and to get so much mileage under my belt is great preparation for the Isle of Man TT. I’ve gone quicker than I’ve gone before here and was running in the company of some established BSB front runners so it’s been very positive.”
In the Milwaukee Yamaha garage it was a good start to the season for Josh Brookes but a weekend to forget for Broc Parkes.
In the opening race of the weekend Brookes fought with Dan Linfoot (Honda) on the closing laps to snatch the position to the line after carving his way through the pack. For Broc Parkes it was a tough opening race with the Australian finishing the opening race in 16th position.
In race two Brookes was again fighting with the leading pack, however as Ryuichi Kiyonari (BMW) crashed out in front of him he was forced to take evasive action. Brookes held the Milwaukee Yamaha across the grass and rejoined, but dropped drastically down the order. A strong run of consistent fast laps but Brookes back up into sixth position and holding fourth in the overall standings. Parkes was determined to make improvements for the second race, but he crashed out at Goddards.
Josh Brookes – R1: 3rd, R2: 6th, Championship position: 4th – “We’ve been in and out of the pits all weekend and all through testing trying to fast track the learning of the bike – for me as a rider to learn the bike. I purposely didn’t ride the first few laps too hard in race one, because there was a lot of testosterone going on! I was all the way back, and it wasn’t an ideal situation – but I wanted to make sure I put a strong race together and not fade off at the end.
“I maintained my focus, kept looking at my own lap times and just keeping them steady. I picked away at a few other riders, and made it up through to third. We’re obviously expecting the bike to improve as the year goes on, but to put it on the podium at the first round is testament to what Yamaha have done with a brand new model.
“After race one we considered making changes, but we decided to stick with the set-up – we had a bike that was working and I went about trying to ride smoothly. It felt better and I was able to go with the front guys, but then Kiyo crashed right in front of me. I had to brake hard and stand the bike up to avoid him. Once I was back on the track, among the other guys who were racing on, with dirty tyres, I took it easy into the chicane and then had a battle to come back.
“I was pleased because when I rejoined I was nine seconds down, but by the end of the race I was four and a half seconds down so I did a good job. I’m pleased with what we did, it was just the circumstances – Kiyo came and apologised to me as he does, and I am just glad that I didn’t hit him. Now we go onto Brands Hatch and will take it from there.”
Broc Parkes – R1: 16th, R2: DNF, Championship position: – “I didn’t have the best of starts to the season. I had a problem in race one when I only had half the handle bar grip so I just had to ride and couldn’t do anything about it. I had better pace in the second race, but lost the front into Goddards. I ran a bit shallow into the last corner and just lost the front. It is just so disappointing not to get any points today. I have to try and make up for it next time out at Brands Hatch which in the past had been a good circuit for me. I hope to be strong there as things just didn’t work out here today.”
Billy McConnell was enjoying his first outing in the Superbike class since 2008, the South Australian heading up the Smiths Racing Teams first venture in the premier Superbike category. The 28 year old took a strong tenth place in qualifying for the first 20-lap race and from the start, the Australian rode the BMW S1000RR up to eighth place in the early stages before crashing out on the sixth lap when he crashed on the exit of Coppice. Despite suffering damage to his hands, wrist and foot, McConnell bravely took to the grid for race two and again showed his capabilities running strongly inside the top ten. Up to seventh at one point, he eventually crossed the line in ninth to take valuable points as well as experience away from the opening round.
Billy McConnell: “It’s been a pretty draining weekend and whilst we came into it not knowing what to expect, we felt that if we could finish inside the top ten we’d be happy and that’s what we’ve done. I could have done without the crash as it’s not the thing you want to be doing and I was pretty beat up but I think we more than showed what we can do in the two races. We’ve learnt a lot and have run consistently inside the top ten throughout the weekend so there’s a lot to take on board and a lot to build on. There are certainly a lot of positives to take away with us.”
Josh Waters struggled with set-up over the weekend with grip issues costing him a better qualifying position. In race one the Australian was in the hunt for the final point-scoring positions, but slipped-back in the closing stages of the race to finish 18th. The team made some changes to the bike for race two which saw him finish inside the points in 15th place; but with more work to be done in preparation for Brands Hatch. Waters’ teammate brought home the Bennetts GSX-R in 7th and 5th place finishes.
Waters said: “Not the best weekend. We’ve had some issues with set-up and chatter which we’re working to improve. We haven’t made the progress I’d have liked and the bike’s not quite how I need it to be to be comfortable on it. But we have a plan and we’ll keep working hard for the next round.”
Suzuki Team Manager Jack Valentine said: “It was a bit of a shaky start and unfortunately on Christian’s side of the garage we had a really sick rider. He was doubled-up with stomach cramps and all sorts. At one point I didn’t think he was going to make it out on track on the first day. He had a good showing with a seventh place in the first race and moved up the grid as well so that set us up well for the second. The team made some changes before the second race, which obviously worked, and his lap-times were really consistent. There’s no question that if he was on the back of the leaders he could have run with them, because the lap-times were there. It was a very good fifth place with a really sick rider.
“We’re struggling a little bit still on Josh’s set-up. He’s had some chatter all weekend and I we’re going to have a big sit down and work to address it. We work as a team so we’ll work together to find a solution and give him the bike he needs so he can get the results everyone knows he’s capable of. We just need to keep working. But overall it’s been a good weekend and it’s been good to show how competitive the Bennetts Suzuki is.”
Peter Hickman and the RAF Reserves BMW team got their 2015 British Superbike Championship season up and running in fine style over the Easter weekend with the Lincolnshire-based rider scoring a brace of top five finishes at Donington Park. Easter Monday saw bright blue skies and pleasant sunshine at the Leicestershire venue and a good start to the first 20-lap race saw ‘Hicky’ move into the top six at the completion of the first lap and here he remained throughout. Locked in battle with four other riders for the final podium position, Peter had moved up to fourth at three quarters race distance and although Josh Brookes pushed him back to fifth, it was a brilliant start to the year.
Starting from the advanced position of fifth for the second race later in the day, Peter performed even better particularly as he had to fight his way up from the bottom end of the top ten. Pushed wide at the first corner, he dropped back to ninth but regrouped quickly and was up to fourth by mid-race distance. The front three riders had made a break but for the remainder of the race, Peter consistently closed the gap and although he finished fourth, he only missed out on a podium position by 0.8s.
Peter Hickman: “To be honest, I’m not quite sure how we’ve finished in the top five this weekend as Saturday was the first full day I’d had on the bike with the whole team here and I never expected to be in the top ten never mind the top six! We’ve been trying so much in terms of set-up and the opening race was the 40th electronic map we’d put in whilst we were continually playing with the suspension and the like.”
“Aside from the gearbox, the bike’s completely stock so we know there’s plenty more to come and I’m confident we can make further strides forward next time out. The bike’s absolutely brilliant and I can’t thank the team enough. It was a shame I got bullied a bit at the beginning of the second race whilst I also ran out of fuel on the final lap otherwise I think I could’ve run with the top three for the entire race. We’ve probably surprised ourselves to be so high up on the results sheets this weekend but it’s been a mega first round and I’m so, so pleased.”
Jason O’Halloran finished in 19th place just behind Josh Waters in the opening Superbike bout but made huge strides forward in race two to finish round one on a high note with11th place but will be looking to make up some speed as his teammate Dan Linfoot managed to score a second place finish.
David Johnson finished last in both Superbike races as the South Australian struggles with a lack of pre-season testing. However with 18 DNF results across the two Superbike races he did well to survive the carnage and get the full 20-lap race distance in from both races which will prove valuable testing time. However, his teammate Robbin Harms took 12th and 16th place finishes and Johnson will be wanting to close that gap and overhaul his Danish teammate.
The next round takes place on April 17-19th on the Brands Hatch Indy circuit in Kent.
MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship standings
1: Shane Byrne (PBM Kawasaki) 45
2: Dan Linfoot (Honda Racing) 33
3: James Ellison (JG Speedfit Kawasaki) 29
4: Josh Brookes (Milwaukee Yamaha) 26
5: Peter Hickman (RAF Reserves BMW) 24
6: Stuart Easton (PBM Kawasaki) 219
British Supersport
Jake Dixon powered in a stunning maiden victory in the Motorpoint British Supersport Championship feature race as dictated terms from the front, three times improving on his own fastest race lap as he comfortably headed off the challenge of Sunday’s Sprint race winner Luke Stapleford.
Stapleford had made the early break on the Profile Triumph ahead of Gearlink Kawasaki’s Ben Wilson with Dixon running his Smiths Triumph in third place, though he was quickly on the attack and taking the Lincolnshire rider on the second lap.
Now the scrap for the lead was on for real, Dixon was increasing the pace and closing in to attack which he did on the sixth lap, swooping ahead and once there, he consolidated his position, still quickening the pace and improving on his times to pull almost two seconds clear.
Dixon said: “That was absolutely fabulous, fantastic – I made a bad start and I though just sit behind Luke and Ben then try and go for it. I was did that, went ahead and then pulled a one second gap and stayed there. I knew then I would be hard to catch if I didn’t make any mistakes.”
Stapleford had no answers to the pace, but was not complaining about second place: “We can take a lot of positives from the weekend, a pole start, a win and a second, and if anyone had said we would have got that before the start I would have taken it. Well done to Jake – he didn’t make a mistake.”
Third place and a first podium in the series went to Kyle Ryde PacedayZ Trackdays Yamaha who described it as: “the best race of my life – I couldn’t ask for a better start to the season, I really enjoyed the race and learned so much in that race.”
Guy Martin deputised in the two Motorpoint Supersport Championship races for the injured Graeme Gowland. Eager to get some track time prior to the Isle of Man TT Races, the Lincolnshire rider responded with two finishes just outside the points in 16th and 17th.
Guy Martin: “The Triumph is a different bike to what I’ve been used to riding these last few years so it’s been good to come here this weekend and get some more time on it. I wasn’t chasing results and just wanted to get a bit more used to the bike and it’s a mega package so it’s very much been a case of job done.”
Glenn Irwin ran fourth ahead of Andy Reid and Ben Wilson while local rider Joe Collier completed a weekend double win in the Supersport EVO class sub-category.
South Australian Levi Day made it on the EVO podium in the second race. – “We made it on to the podium! Started 11th Supersport Evo today and came away from a race long battle with 3rd. I can’t thank my team enough for all their hard work! We only took the bike for its first run out last Tuesday and most people don’t know how much trouble we went through with visa issues for the last few months to be able to be back in England this season. I’m stoked to start the season off strong and to be able to give my team and supporters the results we are all working hard for! Thank you to everyone at CPE Motosport, my fiancé, parents and all my sponsors and supporters for believing in me! Thanks to everyone whose riding along with me.”
Motorpoint British Supersport Championship Race One – 6 laps
1 Luke Stapleford (Triumph)
2 Jake Dixon (Triumph)
3 Glenn Irwin (Kawasaki)
4 Kyle Ryde (Yamaha)
5 Andy Reid (Yamaha)
6 Ben Wilson (Kawasaki)
Motorpoint British Supersport Championship Race Two – 18 laps
1 Jake Dixon (Triumph)
2 Luke Stapleford (Triumph)
3 Kyle Ryde (Yamaha)
4 Glenn Irwin (Kawasaki)
5 Andy Reid (Yamaha)
6 Ben Wilson (Kawasaki)
Pirelli National Superstock 1000 Championship
Hudson Kennaugh enjoyed the winner’s champagne for the first time since Snetterton last year as he held off the determined Josh Elliott in a hard fought encounter in which Alastair Seeley took third place as the Tyco BMW made its racing debut. Kennaugh, riding the TrikMoto BMW, had been in the hunt throughout but made the decisive move on the last lap to head off Morello Racing’s Elliott by a second as Seeley had a couple of minor issues that dropped him back to third.
Pirelli National Superstock 600 Championship race
Mason Law led throughout on the NMT No Limits Kawasaki to take his first victory in the series, three seconds up on Benjamin Currie on the PacedayZ Trackdays Yamaha who was enjoying his first podium finish having got the better of Joe Francis aboard the Team Traction Control Yamaha with Brad Jones fourth.
Starting 2nd on the grid, Currie was a front runner from the start, dropping to 4th early on before regrouping to grab a maiden podium finish on his debut with the Pacedayz European Trackdays squad at the end of 14 laps that saw the pace car deployed in the opening stages because of a fallen rider. For Currie, the result has given the Aussie a boost of self confidence for the season ahead, where he now gearing up for a title challenge.
Ben Currie – 2nd: “It’s been a great start to the season for myself and the team. We have taken solid points away from the first round, which was the plan, and secured my first ever podium which is fantastic. I have lots to work on in myself to be ready to fight even harder at the next round but all in all it’s been a great effort from the entire Pacedayz Trackdays team, so a huge thanks to them and to all my sponsors for making this result possible.”
250 Moriwaki Junior Cup Monday race
Kevin Orgis took the victory by a couple of seconds from Meikon Kawakami who inherited second place after Sunday’s race winner Peetu Paavilainen and Quentin Koers who had been running in second and third places crashed out in separate incidents on the last lap.
HEL Performance British Motostar Championship race
Scott Deroue headed off the close attentions of his Redine KTM Moto3 team-mate and Sunday race winner Bradley Ray by half a second to take the victory after Taz Taylor had overshot at the Esses, losing the lead and finishing third. Ed Rendell ran a strong fourth while in the 125GP class Josh Owens took the honours ahead of Andrew Sawford.
Santander Consumer Finance KTM British Junior Cup race
Dennis Stelzer rounded odd an impressive weekend by completing a winning double, heading off the threat of James Nagy by 0.839secs while Chris Taylor came through in third place ahead of James Hobson and Cameron Fraser.
Hyundai Heavy Industries British Sidecar Championship race
The Birchall brothers Ben and Tom beat off their long standing rivals, World Champions Tim Reeves and Gregory Cluze by some 4.480secs to complete a first winning double as Ricky Stevens/Ryan Charlwood finished third.
BSB 2015 Round One Championship Standings
2015 BSB Calendar
- 17th – 19th – April Brands Hatch Indy
- 2nd – 4th May Oulton Park
- 19th – 21st June Snetterton 300
- 3rd – 5th July Knockhill
- 17th – 19th July Brands Hatch GP
- 31st July – 2nd August Thruxton
- 21st – 23rd August Cadwell Park
- 4th – 6th September Oulton Park
- 18th – 20th September TT Circuit Assen
- 2nd – 4th October Silverstone GP
- 16th – 18th October Brands Hatch GP
