Motourage

Worx Crescent Suzuki came away from the British Superbike Championship fifth round at Mallory Park with just eight points in the bag after misfortune beset both Championship leader Tommy Hill and teammate Yukio Kagayama today.

The day started well with both riders setting good times in warm-up and Kagayama was particularly pleased with his revised bike set-up that took him to the fifth-fastest time.

Worx Crescent rider Tommy Hill could only manage a weekend-best eighth-place finish at Mallory Park

But problems came thick and fast in the opening race: Hill was immediately in trouble as his bike gave all the indications of clutch slip, while Kagayama struggled to push through the pack from his fourth-row start position. However, the race was red flagged after three laps following an incident and this allowed the team to replace the clutch in Hill’s bike before the restart. Unfortunately the problem wasn’t cured and Hill was forced to retire. Kagayama then crashed out on lap two at Charlie’s chicane and was bruised and quite shaken up so the decision was taken that he stand down from race two.

Hill, as a consequence of his race one woes, had to start race two from the fourth row and had a huge fight on to regain places; finally finishing in eighth.

Tommy Hill:
“Today’s been quite a disappointment after having enjoyed very productive tests here and going so well through practice and qualifying. After dropping out of race one with technical issues I was looking forward to getting my head down and chasing a top-six result in race two. But I got shut down in the first turn and after that it was a long race trying to make up places. Obviously I’m not happy with my results, but racing always has its ups and downs. So we’re off to Knockhill next weekend and I’ll be looking for a return to podium finishes and podium points – and looking to rebuild my championship lead.”

Yukio Kagayama:
“Not a good weekend for me. I was happy after warm-up – good lap times. Then in the race I lost grip leaving the corner – it all happens very fast – and I crashed. I am okay but the crash was quite hard and so I was not able to ride the second race. So again I need to rest injuries to be ready for the next round.”

Jack Valentine – Team Manager:
“Not a good day for us. We had every reason to feel optimistic at the start of the day and were pleased to see Yuki back on the pace in warm-up. Tommy’s problem in the first race turned out to be a rear wheel speed sensor issue which confused the ECU. Tommy then had to ride in damage limitation mode in the second race to bring home the points to maintain his championship lead. Yuki suffered more bad luck, and after two crashes, the second quite a hard one, we felt it was prudent he stood down from the second race and rested his body so that he’ll be able to come out fighting fit again for Knockhill.

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Michael Laverty continued his impressive run of form in the British Superbike Championship yesterday with the Relentless by TAS Suzuki team, posting his fourth and fifth BSB podiums of the season and taking third place in both races.

Laverty also maintained third place in the Championship standing and now sits on 133 points, just 21 behind series leader and fellow Suzuki rider Tommy Hill, with Australia’s Josh Brookes wedged in between them.

Alastair Seeley scored 11 points on his Mallory Park BSB debut with 10th and 11th placed finishes and the current National Superstock champion is just eight points outside the top six.

Michael Laverty:
“I’m reasonably happy with two third-placed finishes today as it’s good for the Championship. But if I’m being honest I had expected to get a win following the pace we had shown throughout practice on the Relentless Suzuki GSX-R1000 Superbike. The other boys found something extra today and I wasn’t able to respond, but we will move on to Knockhill next weekend in a confident frame of mind. We are in good shape in the championship following a run of five consecutive podiums, and although my consistency is paying off, I want to win some races. The team has done a good job again this weekend and gave me a very capable bike, so thanks to them for the effort.”

Alastair Seeley:
“My goal was to score solid points today and from fourth and third row grid positions I think we did okay, but it was a tough day at the office. I would have been happier to be well inside the top 10, but we battled hard and stay within fighting distance of the top six leaving Mallory. I was closing down on ninth in the first race and just ran out of laps and in race two I had a few small problems that I had to work around. All in all we’ve kept in on track and scored points, so I’m now looking forward to Knockhill where I’ve had some success in the past on the Superstock GSX-R1000.”

Philip Neill – Team Manager:
“I’m pleased enough with the weekend and it really is nice to be back in the BSB paddock. In saying that, it seems like we are stuck on third placed finishes, with two at the TT followed by two here at Mallory. I’m pretty satisfied though with another couple of podiums – Michael’s fourth and fifth in a row – and it’s also good for the Championship, but I know we can win races. We know as a team where we can improve and Michael knows where he can improve as a rider, but I was impressed with his fitness today. Alastair did what we expected and battled hard and he scored points when others didn’t, so that will set him up well for Knockhill next week.” Read more…

The MSS Colchester Kawasaki Team prepare for the Mallory Park round of the British Superbike Championship as Simon Andrews returns from a prolonged heel injury to join Gary Mason with track temperatures set to soar.

Last year’s event saw Simon lead the race, only to be taken out in the closing stages in a mass pile-up, leaving rider and squad wondering what might have been. The accident left Simon with a broken wrist and put him out of the running for the Brands Hatch triple-header a few weeks later.

Simon will be looking to continue his return to fitness and form after two strong rides in last week’s Superstock support race at the Silverstone MotoGP, where he stood in for an injured Conor Cummins in the Blackhorse Kawasaki squad.

Gary Mason is another rider with points to prove after a Cadwell Park BSB round to forget. Gary showed his strongest qualifying performance yet, running as high as second in the phased knockout system before disaster struck with a big crash, leaving him concussed and unable to race.

The tight and tricky Mallory Park circuit suits the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R, as shown by last year’s front running pace of Simon, while the team will also be buoyed by early previews of next season’s race-focused Ninja machine. Howie Mainwaring gets a deserved week off as Superstock skip a round after the Superstock double header, where Howie led much of the first race action, chalking up a podium and the circuit’s first lap record.

“I feel like I’ve been away forever,” said Simon Andrews. “It was ideal to get out on the superstocker at Silverstone, and this showed me where I was fitness wise and got me up to speed with riding fast. I got a good look at Brookes riding whilst I was there and he’s very much the man to beat at BSB at this moment. I have bitter-sweet memories of Mallory as I know me and the bike worked well there last year before that horrendous incident.”

Mason added, “Cadwell was a shocker for me; one moment on top of it and qualifying great; the next sparko and having to miss the races. I saw how well Gary and the ZX-10R went last year at Mallory so I can see no reason why we shouldn’t have a good outing.”

MSS Colchester Kawasaki team boss Nick Morgan added, “It’s great to have both the lads back and fully fit, we’ve had good stand in rides by Howie and Chris Walker who’ve both played a part for us but Simon and Gary were our chosen riders at year start. With no Superstock we can focus on the BSB riders and we know from last year that we can run at the front here. As England expects on Sunday so does Kawasaki.”

The Swan Honda team return to full strength this weekend as Stuart Easton is joined by the returning James Ellison at round five of the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship at Mallory Park.

James Ellison hopes he can pick up where he left off before his crash at Thruxton

Ellison has been out of action since sustaining a broken femur during practice at Thruxton and since then has been determined to return to fitness with extensive physiotherapy and sessions in a hyperbaric chamber. He is now able to be completely focused on the weekend ahead after being declared fit during last weekend’s British MotoGP round by BSB Chief Medical Officer Dr. Romer whilst she was officiating as the Chief Medical Officer at the event.
Easton meanwhile is looking to make amends for a disappointing round last time out at Cadwell Park and replicate his Oulton Park victory as he targets a points haul to close the gap to championship leader Tommy Hill in the title chase.

“I am happy that this weekend I will back in the Swan Honda garage and ready to race after what feels like eternity since Thruxton, and I need to thank everyone who has supported me over the past weeks,” said Ellison. “I was fortunate that I could take my fitness test at the MotoGP round so now I can go to Mallory Park with my mind fully on racing. I have completely put my injury behind me now and although I am not completely back to full fitness I am approaching this weekend as I have any other earlier this season. I am not going out on circuit just to try and salvage points, I need to go out there and be pushing for wins or at least the podium. I am going to be giving it one hundred percent this weekend and I still believe that the top six is completely achievable with five rounds and eleven races before the cut off point for the Showdown.”

“It has been a long break but I am ready to get back out there and am keen to make amends for a disappointing round at Cadwell Park,” said Stuart Easton. :We had been strong in practice and qualifying and I seemed to just not have any luck on race day. I think now though luck should be back on my side and its time to get myself back up the standings after not scoring that many points at the last round. Mallory Park has in the past always been a bit of a lottery and you really have to keep out of trouble, as we have seen before. The points are so important now, so I need to get back on the podium this weekend; I am yet to finish a BSB race at this track so I want this to be the turning point.”

Swan Honda team manager Shaun Muir concluded, “It seems such a long time ago since we were last out at Cadwell Park. We need to get both our riders back to the form they promised early in the season, and with everything to fight for we are looking forward to some hard racing at Mallory Park. We are hoping that both the boys come away with a big points haul to boost their championship hopes.”

The big news around the AMA is the indefinite suspension of Al Ludington for the use of his language while tearing Johnny Rock Page a new one, while the talk in MotoGP circles is Jorge Lorenzo’s delusion that he’s worth as much money as Valentino Rossi.  In British Superbikes, though, the crash during the 23^rd lap of race 1 at Mallory Park and the subsequent suspension of HM Plant Honda rider Josh Brooks are still on people’s minds.  Today’s Motourage Video of the Day is that BSB crash from this past weekend.  Following an investigation by the BSB judiciary panel it has been concluded that “he [Brooks] had been guilty of reckless riding and riding in a manner not compatible with general safety.”  As punishment for his actions, Josh Brooks has been issued a suspension that will last through the Silverstone round.  Earlier this year, Brooks was issued a suspension for taking out former MotoGP and current Worx Suzuki rider Sylvain Guintoli on the sighting lap of race 1 at Donington.  The crash left Guintoli with a fractured tibia and fibula and has kept him out for the season.  Guintoli, who rode for Tech 3 Yamaha in 2007 and Alice Ducati in 08, was expected to make a serious run for the BSB title in his first year.

It was an Airwaves Yamaha sweep today at Mallory Park as former AMA, WSBK and MotoGP rider James Ellison split a pair of 1-2 finishes with his teammate, Shafter Leon Camier, current BSB points leader. The split of finishes ensures that Ellison will keep his second-place position, 75 points behind Camier in the BSB championship race.
Both races ended under red flags as continuous rain and several pileups on the track led to controversial finishes and a crash and third place finish for Stalker Chris Walker and gave Julien da Costa two top-10 finishes.

British Superbike Race 1 Results:
1 James Ellison (Airwaves Yamaha)
2 Leon Camier (Airwaves Yamaha)
3 Graeme Gowland (Motorpoint/Henderson Yamaha)
4 Michael Rutter (SMT Honda)
5 Julien da Costa (MSS/Colchester Kawasaki)
6 Gary Mason (Quay Garage Honda)
7 Steve Brogan (HM Plant Honda)
8 Ian Lowry (Relentless by TAS Suzuki)
9 David Johnson (Maxxis Yamaha)
10 Tristan Palmer (Buildbase Kawasaki)

British Superbike Race 2 Results:
1 Leon Camier (Airwaves Yamaha)
2 James Ellison (Airwaves Yamaha)
3 Chris Walker (Motorpoint/Henderson Yamaha)
4 John Laverty (Buildbase Kawasaki)
5 Richard Cooper (Co-ordit Yamaha)
6 Michael Rutter (SMT Honda)
7 Karl Harris (Hydrex Honda)
8 Tommy Hill (Worx Crescent Suzuki)
9 Steve Brogan (HM Plant Honda)
10 Julien da Costa (MSS Colchester Kawasaki)