Michael Laverty and Shane Byrne share the Thruxton BSB wins
Jason O’Halloran scores 6-2 results – Josh Hook in the points – David Johnson 8th in STK1000
Ben Currie 6-7 in Supersport – Levi Day 16-16 in SS – Tom Bramich 20-15 in Motostar
Championship leader Byrne emerged victorious in race one after a dynamic battle between the leading contenders for the positions in the closing stages of the restarted race. In the opening part of the race Byrne got a flier off the line to lead Dan Linfoot and Tommy Bridewell at the start, but Billy McConnell was carving his way through the order and was soon up to third onboard the FS-3 Racing Kawasaki.
Laverty was surging forward too and the Tyco BMW rider passed both Linfoot and McConnell to move into second place, but it was a fierce battle for the chance to be on the podium. The freight train of riders took advantage of the nature of the high-speed Hampshire circuit and the positions changed constantly as Laverty, McConnell and Linfoot pushed for the leading positions until the race was red flagged when Stuart Easton crashed the ePayMe Yamaha.
On the restart Laverty had moved up to the front row and got a lightening start to lead Byrne, McConnell and Jackson. However a determined O’Halloran was on a charge and with a double move at the chicane he was into third place for Honda Racing.
Laverty was pushing to defend the lead, but two laps into the 12-lap restart Be Wiser Ducati’s Byrne made his move, diving down the inside into the chicane to take the lead. The battle for third was intense as O’Halloran was falling back into the clutches of Mossey, Bridewell and James Ellison who pulled off a comeback after a challenging weekend. Ellison was hunting Bennetts Suzuki’s Bridewell, and took advantage when he made a small mistake to move into fifth place.
Mossey had closed in O’Halloran and he made a move on the Australian to push himself into a podium finishing position. The Honda Racing rider was struggling with grip on the final lap and that gave Bridewell and Ellison the chance they needed to take the position with the pair moving into fourth and fifth respectively.
Pole-sitter Byrne had led off the line after some early jostling for positions with Laverty and O’Halloran after the opening corners but on the second lap Byrne dropped behind Laverty and then O’Halloran and had dramatically encountered a broken gear linkage and was forced to retire.
At the front of the field it became an incredible four-way scrap between Laverty, O’Halloran, Haslam and McConnell. Haslam appeared to have found something with the JG Speedfit Kawasaki as he carved his way into third position behind O’Halloran and then moved ahead with a decisive move.
The second Honda Racing Fireblade of Dan Linfoot had been swarming through the field after his tenth row start and he was soon closing down the leading group, moving into sixth place by the ninth lap. However his early pace cost him in the closing stages and he later dropped back to ninth after running as high as fourth.
O’Halloran wasn’t prepared to settle for third though and the Australian lunged ahead of Haslam at the complex, but the JG Speedfit Kawasaki was equally determined and made a move back on the run down to the chicane on the same lap. The pair continued their intense dice for second place with O’Halloran able to regain the position and his JG Speedfit Kawasaki rival had little grip left to make a full final counter attack, dropping back to fifth at the finish.
Rookie Irwin though was setting a strong pace on the lone Be Wiser Ducati and he moved into third and was then closing in on O’Halloran on the final lap, but the Australian had the marginal edge with Irwin celebrating his career first MCE BSB podium.
Peter Hickman and James Ellison ended their weekend with a sixth and seventh place finish respectively, with Ellison now moving back inside the top six in the overall standings ahead of Brands Hatch.
Tommy Bridewell scored another top ten finish for Bennetts Suzuki in eighth place ahead of Dan Linfoot and Lee Jackson on the Buildbase BMW, just edging out Ryuichi Kiyonari.
After qualifying well Billy McConnell struggled in the races to a best finish of 19th place.
Josh Hook scored 16th and 14th place results on the WD-40 Kawasaki, the Taree youngster making steps forwards with both himself and the machine to score BSB points at Thruxton after starting both races from the back of the grid due to some problems encountered during qualifying. Hook will complete the remainder of the BSB season with Team WD-40 Kawasaki and is very happy with the team, and likewise the team are happy with Josh. In the second race Hook was in a close battle for 12th position but was pipped on the line by Iddon and Smrz.
MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship, Thruxton, Datatag Qualifying Superpole result
- Shane Byrne (Be Wiser Ducati) 1m:14.315s
- Tommy Bridewell (Bennetts Suzuki) +0.275s
- Dan Linfoot (Honda Racing) +0.279s
- Luke Mossey (Quattro Plant Teccare Kawasaki) +0.328s
- Michael Laverty (Tyco BMW) +0.706s
- Lee Jackson (Buildbase BMW) +0.715s
- Billy McConnell (FS-3 Racing Kawasaki) +0.732s
- Alastair Seeley (RAF Reserves BMW) +1.006s
- Jake Dixon (Briggs Equipment BMW) +1.071s
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MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship, Thruxton, race one result
- Shane Byrne (Be Wiser Ducati)
- Michael Laverty (Tyco BMW) +3.066s
- Luke Mossey (Quattro Plant Teccare Kawasaki) +7.068s
- Tommy Bridewell (Bennetts Suzuki) +13.012s
- James Ellison (JG Speedfit Kawasaki) +14.103s
- Jason O’Halloran (Honda Racing) +14.135s
- Ryuichi Kiyonari (Bennetts Suzuki) +14.294s
- Richard Cooper (Buildbase BMW) +16.516s
- Jakub Smrz (Smiths Racing BMW) +18.584s
- Martin Jessopp (RidersMotorcycles.com BMW) +19.261s
MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship, Thruxton, race two result:
- Michael Laverty (Tyco BMW)
- Jason O’Halloran (Honda Racing) +3.265
- Glenn Irwin (Be Wiser Ducati) +3.810s
- Luke Mossey (Quattro Plant Teccare Kawasaki) +6.765s
- Leon Haslam (JG Speedfit Kawasaki) +6.851s
- Peter Hickman (JG Speedfit Kawasaki) +7.383s
- James Ellison (JG Speedfit Kawasaki) +7.551s
- Tommy Bridewell (Bennetts Suzuki) +9.767s
- Dan Linfoot (Honda Racing) +12.266s
- Lee Jackson (Buildbase BMW) +12.357s
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MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship standings after Thruxton
- Shane Byrne (Be Wiser Ducati) 181
- Leon Haslam (JG Speedfit Kawasaki) 166
- Jason O’Halloran (Honda Racing) 146
- Michael Laverty (Tyco BMW) 135
- Dan Linfoot (Honda Racing) 118
- James Ellison (JG Speedfit Kawasaki) 109
Shane Byrne (Be Wiser Ducati)
“The stoppage in the first race didn’t really do me any favours as I’d got out front and was managing the tyres so the red flag came at the wrong time although safety’s obviously paramount. When Michael took the lead in the re-start I wasn’t too concerned but I knew I couldn’t stay behind him for too long otherwise it would be a freight train. I got by him but possibly punished my tyres trying to break away from him and the last few laps were a bit sketchy but we got the job done. The second race started well but the gear linkage breaking is just one of those things. I know how meticulous my team are, they’re almost obsessive and prepare in the same way that I do, always giving 100%. That’s why we work so well together. It was no-one’s fault although it was difficult to sit in the pit box knowing I could have been faster than what the leaders were lapping at! I really wanted to reward the whole team with a double this weekend but the positives, and there are a lot of them, far outweigh the negatives.”
Michael Laverty (Tyco BMW)
“We were lucky today in race two and Shakey’s misfortune was our gain but I have had my fair share of that too this year so when Lady Luck shines on you, you have to take it! I still had to work really hard for that win and we had focused on the long game this weekend and it paid off as I saved the tyre and that was what we needed. To leave Thruxton with a first and second place finish was just what we needed for our Showdown campaign and it is a phenomenal result so I need to thank the Tyco BMW team. We can now look forward to Brands Hatch and carrying the momentum into the next round.”
Luke Mossey
“I am so happy with the results this weekend and it is our best weekend of the year so far. From the start my bike felt awesome and we literally put the settings in from last year and worked from there. The heat over at Thruxton was pretty intense and certainly affected tyre wear and we know it would be a gamble come race day on what to use but all weekend I felt more comfortable on the harder SC1 tyre and despite not many people using this in race one it was the best one for us. I knew at the start it would be a bit tough until the tyre got up to scratch, I was enjoying the first part of the first race. I had just made a mistake when the red flag came out and we had a re-start. I was still feeling confident and knew I was capable of getting on the podium. I could see people in front of me having issues with their tyres and knew that was my opportunity to try and push harder. I worked my way through and was up to third, the tyre was struggling and on the last lap I had a huge moment, I hit my leg on the tank when I landed back in the seat but secured a good third. I had some physio between races and had an ice pack on but I think getting out of bed tomorrow might be an issue. I had to work through the pain and we didn’t change much between races, when the rain started coming down I didn’t know what to think but it soon passed by. I had a steady start in the second race and again I went with the harder compound tyre so I knew it would take a couple of laps to get up to speed. I got a really good pace and knew I could get near the front, again I could see people struggling and I knew had to start making a move. I’m so pleased with the weekend and I can’t thank my team and personal sponsors enough for their continued support throughout the season and glad I’ve been able to repay them with some good results finally. I can’t wait for Brands now.”
Glenn Irwin
“We made a few changes in morning warm up which worked not just for one lap but for a good deal longer and that put me in a good position for the first race. We sacrificed the result in the first race to make sure we got a good starting position for the second and it definitely worked although it was certainly a strange first race with the lack of grip. The team did a really good job this weekend and I’m delighted to have got my first podium. I perhaps could have gone quicker earlier than what I did but to be standing here now in third, after being way off the pace at the beginning of the season is brilliant. The Ducati’s not just an iconic motorcycle, it’s a very fast one too!”
British Supersport
James Westmoreland took pole position but it was Tarran Mackenzie who took the early lead with his Stauff Connect Academy Kawasaki ZX-6R. The super-fast, wide Thruxton track allowed these finely matched Supersport machines to play a high speed slipstreaming game.
Young racing hope Bradley Ray led for a while but Mackenzie forced back to the front and steadily pulled out a lead on the chasing pack. However Northern Irishman Andy ‘Speedy Reidy’ Reid overhauled the pair to take the lead on lap ten for a great victory! Joe Francis crashed out on lap seven.
Benjamin Currie
“It was a character building weekend. No matter what was thrown at us we worked brilliantly as a team and came away with a big haul of points and a 7th and a 5th in the two races. We are now closing in on the top four overall and are gathering momentum again. Big thanks to the whole team once again. Brands can’t come quick enough.”
Benjamin Currie carded 7-6 results while Levi Day brought the CPE Kawsaki home in 16th place in both races.
Levi Day
“Happy with the race 2 today at Thruxton, 14th in British Supersport. For the season we have had so far and the difficulties we have been working through, I’m really happy to come away with this result. A big thank you needs to go to my team, CPE Motosport, for giving me everything they can and working hard to get the best out of what we have available. Thank you to my sponsors and supporters whose help makes this all possible, my wife and family who know the hard work that’s always going in to keep the results improving.”
Dickies British Supersport Championship standings
- James Westmoreland (CAME BPT Yamaha) – 140
- Tarran Mackenzie (Stauff Connect Academy) – 138
- Andy Reid (Quattro Plant Cool Kawasaki) – 128
- Luke Jones (Acumen Industrial Services) – 104
- Benjamin Currie (Pacedayz Trackdays)- 80
British Superstock 1000
Taylor Mackenzie bounced back from his crash at Snetterton last time out to win the Pirelli National Superstock 1000 race at Thruxton, extending his lead in the Championship standings. Grabbing the holeshot on the opening lap, Mackenzie entered a race long battle with Keith Farmer, Josh Elliott and Ian Hutchinson, eventually taking the win by 0.092s from Farmer and Elliott. Presenting the trophies to the podium men was former British Champion Terry Rymer.
David Johnson
“Had a fun race today! Even thou I was shunted of track TWICE during the race! Ended up finishing 8th.. Still enjoyable. Not bad for my first BSB of the year. Forgot how ruthless these young guns are! Huge thanks to Des Fleetwood for being my Team Boss/Only mechanic for the weekend! We stuck it up the big teams! Next stop Ulster GP.”
British Motostar
E3 motorsport/Redline KTM rider Charlie Nesbitt extended his lead in the Hel Performance British Motostar Championship after taking another win in the second race at Thruxton. The early stages saw Nesbitt, Dani Saez, Ed Rendell and Mike Brouwers involved in an enthralling battle for the lead. Disaster struck Brouwers on lap seven when he crashed from the lead, allowing Nesbitt to break away to take the win ahead of Josh Owens and Dani Saez.
Young Victorian Tom Bramich joined Team Repli-Cast UK and carded 20-15 results in the Motostar category.
Tom Bramich
“Overall I’ve had a great weekend with Team Repli-Cast UK finishing race two in 15th position. After never seeing the bike before Thursday, I felt right at home with the team, managing to score a championship point which was really satisfying. A big thanks to Gary for inviting me to ride for the team. Thanks also to Simon and Trick for preparing my bike, Andy from Kais- Ohlins for making my bike handle so well and Shar for the great pics. Gary, Shar and the team couldn’t have been more professional and they were so welcoming to me and my family. If an opportunity arose in the future, I’d love to see what I could do with more time on the bike, but for now it’s time to focus on the Yamaha R1 project back home in Australia.”
British Superstock 600
South African rider Jordan Weaving has claimed his first ever Pirelli National Superstock 600 victory after an enthralling 14 lap race. After claiming pole position in qualifying yesterday Weaving was able to convert it into a race win, dicing with Keenan Armstrong and Tom Ward throughout the race. It was a tough race for Championship leader Carl Phillips, who crossed the line in eleventh.
