— — Laverty wins Snetterton battle; Brookes edges ahead in the war
Results
Race one:
1:Tommy Hill (Swan Yamaha)
2:Michael Laverty (Samsung Honda) +1.234s
3:Josh Brookes (Tyco Suzuki) +6.847s
4:Noriyuki Haga (Swan Yamaha) +10.304s
5:Alex Lowes (WFR Honda) +10.333s
6:Tommy Bridewell (Supersonic BMW) +16.360s
Race two:
1:Michael Laverty (Samsung Honda)
2:Shane Byrne (Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki) +1.336s
3:Josh Brookes (Tyco Suzuki) +1.792s
4:Ian Lowry (Padgetts Honda) +5.359s
5:Graeme Gowland (WFR Honda) +8.974s
6:Alex Lowes (WFR Honda) +9.223s
Championship standings:
1:Josh Brookes (Tyco Suzuki) 124
2:Tommy Hill (Swan Yamaha) 123
3:Shane Byrne (Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki) 108
4:Michael Laverty (Samsung Honda) 81
5:Ian Lowry (Padgetts Honda) 73
6:Stuart Easton (Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki) 66
Report
Michael Laverty believes that his strong fourth round points haul with a second place and a victory has kick-started his bid to fight for the MCE Insurance British Superbike crown. He became the seventh winner from eight races in a dramatic round at Snetterton as Josh Brookes took a one point lead over Tommy Hil in the overall standings.
Laverty was full of confidence at the sun-drenched circuit, building on the work his team had carried out to solve the problems he had encountered in the earlier rounds, but he was denied the winning double by a momentary flash of a warning light in the first race.
He had taken the early lead but slowed after six laps, explaining: “The red oil lights flashed on and I thought I was losing pressure and had to look down to see if I was losing oil but then I realised all was fine so I pushed on.”
Reigning champion Hill exploited that by taking the lead and powering his Swan Yamaha to his second victory of the season, with Laverty second in front of the Tyco Suzuki of Brookes.
Laverty’s first race pace gave him pole for the second race and he led throughout but behind them there was plenty of drama. Hill was in contention until he was sidelined by a machine problem and his team-mate Noriyuka Haga crashed out of fourth. Luca Scassa and then Tommy Bridewell also went down.
Shane Byrne whose first race was ended by machine problems made the most of his engine change to take second on his Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki ahead of Brookes whose pair of thirds put him ahead of Hill at the top of the overall standings.
The day though belonged to Laverty and he enthused: “Getting second place was a massive load off my shoulders and then we made some changes to the bike between races and that gave me a bit more speed next time out.
“I was able to work the tyres that little bit harder and that gave me the edge and the front-end feel of the bike to be able to push on harder, so I was really happy to take the victory,” added Laverty.
— Tyco Suzuki
A double podium in front of 40,000 sun-baked fans at Snetterton on Sunday was enough to move Josh Brookes and the Tyco Suzuki team to the top of the British Superbike Championship table after just four rounds.
The consistent Aussie has taken six podiums from the opening eight races of the year putting him on 124 points at the top of the table; one ahead of Tommy Hill with Shane Byrne third on 108. Brookes and Byrne have eight podium credits apiece with Hill currently on twelve.
Brookes battled with Michael Laverty at the head of proceedings in the early lap of race one in blistering hot conditions, but having used the best of his tyre, the Australian had to eventually settled for a solid third behind race winner Tommy Hill, with Laverty second.
A few set-up changes for race two saw Brookes settle in slowly, and although he remained in third place for the duration of the 16-lap encounter, he did come strong at the end and now leads the BSB standing by that solitary point.
Josh Brookes: “The team did a great job this weekend and even though we had a few set-up issues to work around to get the best of the rear Pirelli in the hot conditions, if third is our worst result on days like this I’ll be very happy. It’s more podium credits, which at this stage is nearly more important until we reach the cut off point, but it’s nice for our sponsors to see themselves at the top of the championship table and proves the overall package of the new GSX-R1000 is working really well.”
Alastair Seeley was forced to bounce back from a frighteningly high-speed crash in Friday’s second qualifying session, which saw extensive damage to his GSX-R1000 after it went on fire. His crew did a great job rebuilding the bike overnight, but lady luck didn’t play her part in return for the effort on race day.
In race one Seeley took avoiding action of an incident on lap one, which forced him to fight back from 27th position at the end of the opening lap – eventually taking the chequered flag in sixteenth and just outside the points. In the second race he started from row six, but having fought through the pack and into the points by mid distance, he then suffered tyre problems and slipped just outside the points – again in sixteenth position.
Alastair Seeley: “I got punted off in the first race and started to pick a few off but struggled a bit with a gear selection problem in the closing laps. In the second race I found a good rhythm and again started to make up places, but was having grip issues front and rear and dropped back out of the points. It’s been a busy couple of weeks with the North West 200 and now Snetterton so I’m off on holiday to recharge the batteries for Knockhill.”
— Pr1mo Bournemouth Kawasaki Racing
The Pr1mo Bournemouth Kawasaki Racing team were back in British Superbike Championship action at the weekend and it proved to be another positive meeting for them with Chris Walker again putting in two superb rides. Winner at the previous round at Oulton Park, Chris took two well-deserved seventh place finishes and the 18-point haul has now moved him up to 7th overall in the Championship table, just two points adrift of the all-important top six Showdown places.
Due to a few issues in practice, Chris qualified in 16th place, but a solid start to the opening 16-lap race saw him move up to 14th place and with some good passes, he was up to 11th on lap 3 and on the edge of the top ten. Involved in a good battle for the bottom end of the top ten positions, Chris was briefly pushed back to 12th but by lap 6 he was up to 9th and battling hard with Swiss rider Patrick Muff for 8th. There was never more than a bikes length between the two and such was their pace, they were able to close in on early Championship leader Ian Lowry. Seventh place was anyone’s and having overtaken Muff on lap 13, Chris repeated the feat a lap later on Lowry to claim the position and the nine points.
With the tenth fastest lap of the race, Chris was able to start the second race from the more advanced third row of the grid and he immediately moved up to eighth at the completion of the first lap. Briefly relegated to ninth, Chris moved back up to seventh on lap 4 and this soon became sixth as Championship leader Tommy Hill was forced to retire. However, Chris was part of a five-rider group battling for sixth place and positions were changing all the time but he secured seventh on lap ten when he overhauled fellow Kawasaki rider Stuart Easton.
There was also joy for Metzeler National Superstock 600cc Championship rider Kyle Wilks, with the 17-year old finishing in 12th place for not only his second successive points scoring finish but also his best result of the season.
Speaking afterwards, team owner Pete Extance said; “It was definitely a case of it all coming good on the day for us and we’re delighted with all three race finishes. Chris struggled to find a good set-up in practice and qualifying but the team continued to work hard and they found a lot better set-up in the morning warm up. Chris felt a lot better coming into the race and although his race was compromised a bit when someone hit him from behind and dented the exhaust considerably, he was moving forward all the time and took a very good seventh. In the 2nd race, he again had excellent pace but had to slow when Tommy Bridewell crashed in front of him and that allowed the two WFR Honda’s to go through. They managed to open up a gap but Chris fought back well and overtook Stuart Easton for another good seventh. Fourth was a distinct possibility but we’re all really happy with the two seventh places and to be just two points off the Showdown positions at this stage of the season is superb so a big thanks to all the team and sponsors for helping us get there. A big well done to Kyle too who took his best result of the year in just his fourth race at this level. He missed practice due to sitting his exams so to end the weekend with 12th was a superb effort.”
The British Superbike Championship now heads to Knockhill in Scotland with the meeting taking place on June 22-24 but the team now turn their attention to the roads once more with James Hillier contesting the Isle of Man TT Races. Practice takes place throughout next week with the first race, the 6-lap Superbike TT, due to get underway on Saturday 2nd June.
— Ian Lowry Report
After having a dismal weekend at Oulton Park a few weeks ago Ian Lowry, riding on the Padgetts Honda got his season back on form at the Snetterton 300 circuit this weekend. In extremely hot conditions in front of a massive crowd at Snetterton the Ulsterman gained an eighth in race one and strong fourth in race two.
Ian was running well during all the practice sessions and was one of the few people able to set consistent race times through each of the sessions. Things took a turn for the worse during the Superpole session and after running well in the first part Ian crashed out of Superpole two in the early stages forcing him to qualify in 19th position for the opening race.
This left him with an awful lot of work to do from the fifth row and with a steady start and 15th after the opening lap he had to get his head down. He soon chipped away and made passes on riders and ended up locked in a battle with Chris Walker and in a dash for the line, Walker beat him by 0.02 over the finish line and Ian was pushed back to eighth.
Ian moved himself up to 12th on the grid for race two and was eager to gain a good start and a solid race result to remain in the top six for the final showdown. He was ninth after the opening lap and looking in a strong position, some good lap times and tidy passing manoeuvres saw him locked in a battle with Alex Lowes for fourth position. He got past Lowes on lap eight and was trying to hunt down third placed man Brookes, despite some strong times there were not enough laps in the race and he had to settle for fourth.
Ian – “I’m pretty pleased with the results today as it’s a massive step in the right direction after the nightmare that we had at Oulton Park. I was pretty naffed off after I crashed in second Superpole as we’d been running really good times all weekend and I knew I could have done good in the races but ended up 19th on the grid certainly didn’t help my progress! It gave me an awful lot of work to do and I had to make sure I passed people in the early stages of the race to enable me to get up into a top ten position. Being that far back during the first few laps was pretty chaotic and I didn’t want to do anything stupid and crash so I just chipped away and tried to put in a decent lap time to hoist me up the grid a bit further for race two. I moved two rows forward and it did make things easier but I was still left with a lot of people to get passed. I’m fifth in the Championship now and would really like to get myself back on the podium, I know I’m capable and the Padgetts Honda certainly is.”
— Motobreakers Yamaha
Round six of the Metzeler National Superstock 600 Championship took place at Snetterton this weekend, the sun was out and the huge crowd was treated to a fantastic 12-lap race. The Moto-Breakers riders had a mixed weekend with Jimmy Rose gaining a stunning second place in a fraught battle with overall winner Ben Burke. However youngster Jake Dixon tipped off on lap two out of the lead and James Lodge had to fight hard from the back of the grid and came through to 11th place.
Jake Dixon qualified in pole position and was eager to get a good race under his belt after his off in the second race of the weekend at Donington. He got a fantastic start and led for the first lap but was unfortunate to lose the front as he tipped into the first left hander, turn three on the circuit and crashed out of the race.
Jake – “Once again I’m really disappointed I’ve got to get things back on track now from Knockhill, I know this year is a learning curve for me but I really want to do a good job for myself on the Moto-Breakers team. I know I have the pace and the bike has worked well all weekend and I was hoping to get a good result. The tyres were not up to full heat by that point and I just lost the front as I tipped into Palmers. I’m gutted as I want to start getting the results again, I’m still lying in third in the Championship and hopefully things will start going better again at Knockhill.”
Jimmy Rose had an awesome race and despite all his efforts was unable to match the speed of race winner Ben Burke. Jimmy got a good start from fifth place on the grid and was third into the first turn. He saw his team-mate Dixon crash out and was eager to get to the front, he made a move on Burke and proceeded to lead the race for the next four laps before Burke made a move on him. Despite pushing extremely hard Jimmy had to settle for second place and now jointly leads the Championship.
Jimmy – “That was a really hard race and it wasn’t an easy one I really was riding hard and couldn’t have ridden any harder without making any daft moves or making any mistakes. It was a good race but I just could not match the top speed of the Seton bikes they are super-fast out of the corners and I couldn’t even get a slip stream down the back straight to make a move. I worked really hard for that and pleased with the result and now I’m joint leader of the Championship so it looks like it’s shaping up to be a very good season.”
James Lodge was caught out and missed the gate for the pit lane which forced him to start the race from the back of the grid. Starting from 36th position the youngster battled hard and raced an incredible race to come through to 11th position.
James – “I’m gutted to have missed the gate by the time I got my helmet on and battled through the crowds I missed the pit lane gate by a fraction of a second and had to start from the back. It was a very hard race and I left myself a lot of work to do, I just got my head down and tried to pass as many people as I possibly could over the 12-laps. It was difficult but at least I managed to get some points and I could do with a bit of luck on my side at Knockhill.”
— Gearlink Kawasaki / Motorpoint British Supersport
Ben Wilson had a steady weekend at the 2.9-mile Snetterton circuit this weekend riding for Gearlink Kawasaki on the Kawasaki Ninja-ZX-6R. After a hard fought first race battle with Jack Kennedy and Glen Richards for the win, he had to settle for third place in the opening 10-lap race. Sadly in the second race Ben was caught up in an incident, which saw him crashing out of the race from sixth place.
After a few initial set up problems on a circuit that has never been a strong one for the Gearlink Kawasaki team, Ben managed to qualify in fifth place. He gained an awesome start and was leading by the second corner. He was soon locked in a tight battle with Kennedy and Richards and the trio were exchanging places for the first few laps. They soon settled down into a rhythm and Ben had a few rear grip issues and had to bring the Gearlink Kawasaki home in third.
The second race was just as action packed, Ben once again gained the hole-shot from fourth place on the grid. He had the lead but touched the gravel on the exit to the back straight and he lost at least half a second allowing Richards to sneak through. The race became a 12 bike battle and Ben was sat in sixth place when a rider in front of him slowed drastically and Ben and Luke Jones had no-where to go forcing the pair of them to crash out of the race.
Ben Wilson – “I’m hugely disappointed with my results this weekend, it was good to get a podium yesterday as we’ve been struggling all weekend to get the Gearlink Kawasaki set up properly. We made a fair amount of changes over the weekend to try and get things more settled with the bike. We did struggle here last year and we knew we might be on the back foot coming here this season. I couldn’t possibly do anything to avoid the crash in race two I became a sandwich and I just had nowhere to go, I’m gutted. I just hope things will change for the better at Knockhill.”
Scott Hudson qualified in 17th place on the grid for the 12-lap race at Snetterton and had been improving on his times all weekend. Despite a low qualifying position he gained a great start and was sitting in 11th after the opening lap by lap four he was up to ninth but had a small crash at Palmer and was unable to re-join and continue in the race due to the new BSB rules.
Scott Hudson – “I’m really gutted to have crashed out as I was running well in the race and felt really comfortable on the Gearlink Kawasaki and was eager to get some more good results after Donington. I was enjoying it and riding well and after a good start I was keen to run within the top ten again, the back just came round on me and that was me out. Gutted, I’d like to thank all the Gearlink Kawasaki team for all their hard work this weekend and sorry I couldn’t get them a result. I need to get myself sorted during qualifying and try put in a good time to get me a higher place up on the grid.”
Team Manager/Owner Michael de Bidaph – “Snetterton has always been a track we’ve struggled to get a good set up on the Gearlink Kawasaki, we struggled last year also so after many changes this weekend that maybe it was too much to change.
Ben as always has ridden extremely hard all weekend but was suffering with brake problems in the second race today, he just couldn’t get the bike stopped and sadly was unable to get a result. I would like to thank all our team sponsors and sorry we couldn’t get them a good result. It’s been a difficult weekend and we hope to move things forward at the next round.
Scott was riding well during the race but we really need to try and get good times with him during qualifying so it puts him higher up on the grid so he does not have to fight his way through from mid pack to get some good results for the team.”
KENNEDY SECURES DOUBLE AFTER EPIC MOTORPOINT BRITISH SUPERSPORT SCRAP
Motorpoint British Supersport Championship protected by Datatag – Sprint race result:
1. Jack Kennedy (Mar-Train Yamaha)
2. Glen Richards (Smiths (Gloucester) Racing Triumph + 0.454s
3. Ben Wilson (Gearlink Kawasaki) +3.132s
4. Luke Mossey (Smiths (Gloucester) Racing Triumph) +4.639s
5. Billy McConnell (Smiths (Gloucester) Racing Triumph) +6.332
Motorpoint British Supersport Championship protected by Datatag – Feature race result:
1. Jack Kennedy (Mar-Train Yamaha)
2. Billy McConnell (Smiths (Gloucester) Racing Triumph) +0.021s
3. Glen Richards (Smiths (Gloucester) Racing Triumph) +0.039s
4. Sam Warren (Seton Tuning Yamaha) +0.096s
5. Christian Iddon (Oxford TAG Triumph) +0.575s
Motorpoint British Supersport Championship protected by Datatag standings after Snetterton:
1. Jack Kennedy (Mar-Train Yamaha) 146.5
2. Glen Richards (Smiths (Gloucester) Racing Triumph) 119
3. Sam Warren (Seton Tuning Yamaha) 107
4. Ben Wilson (Gearlink Kawasaki) 103
5. Billy McConnell (Smiths (Gloucester) Racing Triumph) 91
Report
Mar-Train Yamaha’s Jack Kennedy sensationally scored his first double win of the Motorpoint British Supersport Championship season following an intense four-way scrap on the final lap of the feature race at Snetterton to beat off the Smiths (Gloucester) Racing Triumphs of Billy McConnell and Glen Richards.
Kennedy had been victorious in the Sprint race at Snetterton following a battle with pole-sitter Glen Richards and Gearlink Kawasaki’s Ben Wilson. Richards had taken the early advantage but Kennedy and Wilson fought for the podium positions during the early stages of the race before Kennedy regained the lead and held on to claim the win from rival Richards with Wilson dropping to third. Luke Mossey was closing in on the second Smiths (Gloucester) Racing Triumph but had to settle for fourth with Billy McConnell completing the top five.
The Feature race was an intense battle for supremacy as Wilson took the lead on the first lap from the Smiths (Gloucester) Racing Triumphs of Richards and Mossey. Richards then stormed into the lead to push Wilson to second with Mossey running third at his home round before waiting until the lap later to move ahead of his Gearlink Kawasaki rival at Brundle. Kennedy then edged ahead into Riches before Richards repaid the move before the Nissan GTR safety car was deployed when Wilson, Jimmy Hill and Luke Jones crashed out at Nelson.
When the race resumed Richards continued to hold the lead, however Seton Tuning Yamaha’s Sam Warren was storming through the order to move up to fourth. Warren then moved third and the top three changed again as Warren moved second on the penultimate lap as a hard-charging McConnell moved third to relegate Kennedy to fourth. Mossey then crashed out of the leading pack at Nelson, ending his hopes of a strong result at his home race.
On the final lap the positions changed throughout the 2.99-miles; Richards had held the lead across the line but Warren hit the front into Riches for the final time. The Smiths (Gloucester) Racing Triumph rider wasn’t giving up without a fight to take the position back into the next corner of Montreal as team-mate McConnell moved to second around the outside of Warren.
The leading four then battled on the infield section as McConnell snatched the lead into Oggies before Richards regained the advantage into Coram as his team-mate ran wide. McConnell made a final attack into Murrays to take the lead from Richards, Warren and Kennedy, but the Mar-Train Yamaha got the drive out of the final corner to win the drag to the line. McConnell claimed second from Richards as Warren just missed out in fourth.
— Sidecars
Controversy reigns at Snetterton as Steinhausen gets disqualified
Controversy reigned at round 3 of the Eastern Airways British F1 Sidecar Championship at Snetterton at the weekend, when race 2 winners Jorg Steinhausen/Gregory Cluze were disqualified. The German-French pairing took the lead on the fifth lap and promptly pulled away to ‘win’ the race but they were punished for an overtaking maneouvre on the opening lap which saw them collide with Barry James/Calum Lawson and put the latter in the trackside barrier, fortunately without injury.
It was Championship leaders Roger Lovelock/Rick Lawrence that grabbed the holeshot and led from Ben Holland/Lee Watson, Scott Lawrie/James Neave, James/Lawson and Steinhausen/Cluze but halfway round the lap, James drifted wide and as Steinhausen dived up the inside he clattered into the side of him, forcing him onto the grass and head first into the barrier. As news came through that the incident was under investigation, the race continued with Lawrie hitting the front on the second lap only for Lovelock to re-take the lead a lap later. All the time though, Steinhausen was closing and he took second on the fourth lap.
A lap later, it was Lovelock’s turn to run wide and onto the grass and Steinhausen needed no second invitation, taking the lead along the Bentley Straight. Lovelock tried to respond immediately only to run into the back of Steinhausen through the Esses and go grass tracking, dropping back to fourth. That gave Steinhausen a 1.1s lead over Lawrie with Holland in third but now under pressure from Lovelock. However, the latter then spun the outfit on lap 8 and dropped even further back so the podium positions were now decided with Steinhausen, Lawrie and Holland filling the top three. That was how the race finished but with Steinhausen’s subsequent disqualification, Lawrie was awarded the win, his first of the season, with Holland in second and Ben Bygrave/Paul Knapton promoted to third thus giving the Buildbase BMW team their debut podium.
Further back Andy Peach/Tony Belsey took fourth ahead of Gary Smith/Jon Allum, Gary Horspole/Rob Briggs and Lovelock who grouped for an eventual sixth place.
Earlier in the weekend, Lovelock had taken his fourth race win of the season with a hard fought victory over Holland. The duo fought throughout the race and after a race to the line, Lovelock got the verdict by just 0.08s. Steinhausen and James were only three seconds further back in third and fourth with Lawrie in fifth but he was later penalised ten seconds for overtaking under the safety car, relegating him to seventh, Bygrave and Smith moved up to fifth and sixth. Meanwhile, Thruxton podium finishers Johan Reuterholt/Aki Aalto crashed out on the fourth lap.
After two hectic races, Lovelock continues to lead the Championship table with 120 points with Holland in second on 90. They’re followed by Lawrie (71), James (59) and Steinhausen (42). The series now heads north of the border with round 4 taking place at the Knockhill circuit on the weekend of June 22-24.
— Medcalf Scorches To Snetterton Podium
The AP Kawasaki team enjoyed one of their finest day’s racing at a searing Snetterton today when Patrick Medcalf gave them their first ever podium finish in the Metzeler National Superstock 1000cc Championship.
Continuing his fine form of recent weeks, the Australian rider qualified in a solid eighth place on his debut at the Norfolk track although a sluggish start to the race saw him drop back to 12th at the end of the first lap. However, he soon found his rhythm and within a lap he was up to eighth and looking good for his best finish of the season. Sure enough, with conditions more akin to his homeland, he got quicker as the race wore on and when Keith Farmer slowed, he took full advantage to take over third place and claim his, and the team’s first rostrum finish in the class.
For team-mate Freddie Russo, it was a lot tougher weekend though and having scored points in every previous race, the Brentwood rider was unable to find a good set-up with his Kawasaki throughout the weekend and ended the race in a disappointing 19th place.
Meanwhile, third team member Josh Wainwright made his return to racing after breaking his collarbone at the Oulton Park meeting earlier in the month and it proved to be a successful return for the Thamesmead rider as he scored a solid ninth place to move up to 11th in the championship table.
Patrick Medcalf: “I got such a bad start so I just put my head down and tried to maintain position for the first couple of laps and then started picking them off. I knew I was strong in a couple of places so I just waited for those moments and made my moves when I could. I saw P4 on the board and I could see the podium position not too far ahead so I just got my head down. I still can’t believe I got a podium today, I just want to say a big thanks to AP Kawasaki. The bike’s really starting to feel like mine now so I really hope we can carry this form forward for the rest of the season.”
Freddie Russo: “From start to finish it’s been pretty bad this weekend. We’ve had technical problems throughout the whole weekend and I ended up racing without the Power Commander as it was causing the bike to run on three cylinders. We only really went out to get some data for next year. I tried my best but had to over-ride the bike to make up for the lack of power and that just made me run wide and go slower. I’m really happy for Patrick though, at least one of us has had a good weekend and that’s great for the team.”
Josh Wainwright: “Well that was a bit hot! I knew I had to get away at the beginning because it would be tough on me with my injuries but we stuck it out with them and just tried to maintain the pace so I’m really pleased to come away with a top ten. The team did a great job, the bike worked brilliantly and even when the tyre started to go away towards the end, it felt perfect.”
Alan Greig: “I’m really pleased for Josh Wainwright that he’s made it back from the injuries he sustained at Oulton Park, he’s been really tough to grit his teeth and score such a good result and a great confidence booster. We’ve been plagued by technical problems with Fred’s bike all weekend so he struggled with qualifying and then had to ride an underpowered bike so he did really well considering. As for Patrick I’m still pretty speechless. We all knew that he’s a capable rider and now he’s proved himself. He qualified and raced really well and to get a podium this early in the season is a huge boost for Patrick and the whole team, all of whom have been fantastic.”
Metzeler National Superstock 1000 Results
1, Jason O’Halloran (Honda)
2, Danny Buchan (Kawasaki)
3, Patrick Medcalf (AP Kawasaki)
4, Steve Brogan (BMW)
5, Keith Farmer (Kawasaki)
6, Daniel Johnson (Kawasaki)
7, Adam Jenkinson (Honda)
8, Josh Elliott (BMW)
9, Ashley Beech (Kawasaki)
10, Josh Day (Honda)
Metzeler National Superstock 1000 Championship Positions (after round 6)
1, Jason O’Halloran 92pts
2, Danny Buchan 85
3, Jimmy Storrar 71
4, Keith Farmer 70
5, Steve Brogan 69
6, Victor Cox 53
11, Patrick Medcalf 32
Metzeler National Superstock 600 Results
1, Ben Burke (Yamaha)
2, James Rose (Yamaha)
3, Lee Jackson (Kawasaki)
4, Tom Fisher (Kawasaki)
5, Tim Hastings (Kawasaki)
6, Johnny Blackshaw (Triumph)
7, Bjorn Estment (Yamaha)
8, Grant Whitaker (Yamaha)
9, Josh Wainwright (AP Kawasaki)
10, Jordan Simpkin (Yamaha)
Metzler National Superstock 600 Championship Positions (after round 6)
1, James Rose 91pts
=, Ben Burke 91
3, Jake Dixon 70
4, Grant Whitaker 63
5, Lee Jackson 62
Seton Tuning Yamaha’s Ben Burke dominated the Metzeler National Superstock 600 race at a sun-drenched Snetterton 300 to claim back-to-back victories and the lead in the Championship (25-27 May).
The 23-year old Australian from Orange, NSW started the 12-lap race from second on the grid and was tipped by circuit commentator Fred Clarke as a pre-race favourite. Ben made a strong start, tucking in behind pole man Dixon as the field negotiated the tricky infield section for the first time.
Dixon crashed out at the start of lap 2, leaving Rose, Burke and Jackson to fight for the lead. Having shown Rose his front wheel in a dress rehearsal, Ben made the decisive move for the lead on lap 6, powering his Seton Tuning Yamaha YZF-R6 past his fellow Yamaha compatriot. As he looked to make a break at the front, Ben posted the fastest lap of the race on lap 9 with a blistering time of 1:56.807 as he eked out a half-second lead.
Rose was not finished and over the closing stages pushed Ben all the way to the finish, unable to match the Australian’s outright pace on the drag to the line. With his second win in as many races, Ben now stands joint first in the championship with Rose.
Bjorn Estment and Mark Wilkinson produced two of their best rides of the season to date at the Norfolk circuit. Qualifying in 14th and 21st respectively, both riders benefitted from strong starts and the jostle for position through the opening corners to round out the opening lap in points-scoring positions.
Bjorn had fought his way through to eighth, and would better this by one more place on lap two as he muscled his way past Oulton Park race winner Grant Whitaker before making the position his own with a solid performance over the remaining laps.
Mark Wilkinson made a fantastic start to the opening race of the day, crossing the white stripe in 13th at the close of the first lap. Embroiled in a healthy battle with more seasoned racers, Mark elevated his Seton Tuning Yamaha into ninth and could almost feel the heat from teammate Bjorn Estment’s Yamaha two places up the road. Looking to post his best result of the season, Mark unfortunately overshot Murrays, managing to keep control as he grass-tracked at speed, before rejoining just outside of the top ten. A further off-track experience would see Mark relegated to 15th at the flag, but another solid point-scoring finish.
Sam Warren triumphed in the battle of the former Supermoto champions in Saturday’s 10 lap Motorpoint British Supersport Protected by Datatag Sprint around the 2.97-mile circuit. Despite finishing outside of the podium positions, the 30-year old Derbyshire rider mixed it with a gaggle of Triumphs at the sharp end, passing Iddon on the final lap to claim sixth.
Sunday’s main Supersport event would prove to be one of the highlights of the season to date. From the lights, the racing was fast, furious, and full of incident as Sam looked to re-establish the Seton Tuning Yamaha onslaught on the 2012 crown.
Starting from the head of row 2, Sam lost a few places as the packed field headed into the tight Montreal hairpin for the first time, but intelligently bided his time before making a series of excellent passes to see him running fifth mid-way through lap 5.
As the field headed through Nelson’s, Sam was hit from behind by another motorcycle, sending him momentarily off-track, and head-butting his screen. Keeping it rubber side down, Sam rejoined back in eighth as the Safety Car was called out.
With the lights going out on the safety car two laps later, Richards fired over the line for the start of lap 8, and Sam made what would become his signature move – a draft pass on the inside into the fast right-hander of Riches. By lap 10, Sam was in contention, as he made it a five-way battle for the lead.
Out-braking Luke Mossey into Riches at the start of lap 13, Sam found himself deservedly in a podium position, moving up to second behind Richards on the penultimate lap with a similar move on Kennedy.
As the front runners headed into the final lap, Sam made the move for the lead once again at Riches but was forced back into fourth the following corner. The action was relentless on the run in to the flag, Sam desperately trying to find a way past Kennedy through the long right hander at Coram. The riders fanned out four abreast on the long uphill drag to the line, with Kennedy taking the win and Sam claiming fourth – all four riders covered by just a tenth of a second in the most dramatic climax to a Supersport race this season.
After losing a position on Saturday, Sam moved back up to third in the title chase, as the season moves north of the border to Knockhill for round 5 (22-24 June).
Ben Burke: “I’m glad I got the win in the end. I was on the back of Jimmy Rose for the first half and when I passed him I felt I could make a break. I didn’t quite get out in front as far as I thought but made a defensive last lap and it sort of worked for me. A big thanks to the whole team again this weekend, we’ve now got the joint lead in the Championship. Also, well done to my good mate Pat Medcalf, who scored his first podium today in the Superstock 1000 race.”
Sam Warren: “Well another eventful weekend for us! Having popped it on the front row for qualifying, I was hopeful I’d have a race at the front, but getting one of the worst starts I’ve ever had meant we were way down the pack. Clawing my way up to 6th was OK, despite some problems we were having with set-up. So onto the feature race and with a new engine and revised settings, I managed to get off the line and only lose about 4 places this time! As the race progressed I felt strong, but shortly after passing Wilson, he hit me from behind nearly highsiding me. Luckily I stayed on – minus a screen.
Back in 8th, I charged through, and thought I’d positioned myself perfectly by passing Richards into Riches on the last lap. But he barged through into the hairpin, which let McConnell and Kennedy through. I got good drive onto the start/finish but it wasn’t enough. It’s not often you finish under 1 tenth behind the leader and end up 4th! Anyway, back into 3rd in championship, and I know the team are gonna work night and day to fix some of the issues we’ve got. A big thank you as always to the team and all sponsors.
I’d just like to say a massive thank you to Mick Spencer for everything that he did for me at the start of my racing career. He guided me through my early years in Supermoto and really made me believe I could be somebody in racing. My thoughts are with you and your family.”
Bjorn Estment: “To be totally honest, I have got the best out of a bad weekend! After the really unfortunate technical problem in the first lap of Free Practice 1, I was left stranded and out for the whole session and the rest of the day including Q1! Massive thanks to my crew chief Scott McLennan, Sam Palmer and Chris Beedon for all their hard work to rebuild the engine and get it back for me to get out for Q2 and get on the grid! 14th was where the Seton Tuning machine was to be and after a blistering start I managed 7th in the race just missing the couple of tenths to stick with the front bunch. Good points and a couple of places up in the championship, which I will look to carry on for the rest of the season. Massive shout out to NFB Financial Services Group for their continued support.”
Mark Wilkinson: “A very successful day for me. We ran inside the top 10 for the majority of the race. Unfortunately for us I lost the front going into Murrays and had to run off track. I got back on and pushed hard to try to gain the positions back but by doing that I got bad arm-pump, which I suffered with for the remainder of the race. Our times were good and we are showing that were moving forwards. We head to Knockhill full of confidence. Thanks to the Seton Tuning Yamaha Team and my family and sponsors in Australia, Plaza Autos, the Oil Warehouse, DH Engineering, ROMPDesign and Cumagutsa!”
Phil Seton, Team Owner: “Ben did a fantastic job with an amazing, brilliant, level-headed ride especially under constant pressure from Jimmy Rose. I’m a little disappointed for Sam in both races as he deserved more than he got, especially in the main event where he came back through the field after being hit to take the lead on the last lap.
It was another great result for Bjorn. An engine failure on the first lap on Friday morning meant the team had to return to the workshop to build him a new engine. He made good headway with his set-up and it paid dividends in the race. It was a real shame for Mark as he was running so well before his off-track excursion, but shows that he is gelling well with the bike and the team. All in all, a good day with points all round for the riders.”
