Former champions John Reynolds and Steve Hislop provided two power-thrillers for an 18,200 Easter Monday crowd as they each claimed a hard fought victory in the double- race, second round of the British Superbike Championship at Silverstone.

Hislop, riding the MonsterMob Ducati, had set the pace for much of the weekend, heading qualifying to take the Dunlop Superpole, having twice bettered his own lap record, but the 39-year-old Scot was beaten off the line in the opening 20-lapper by Steve Plater.

The Kawasaki rider however crashed-out on the opening lap, causing the race to be stopped, and after trackside treatment was transferred to Northampton hospital where he was detained overnight for observation after suffering concussion.

On the re-start, Sean Emmett made the early running, but Hislop was ahead with the determined Reynolds never more than a third of a second down - then, at two thirds distance, Hislop was inches off line at the Hairpin and Reynolds took advantage, taking his third consecutive victory by 0.658 seconds. John Crawford took third place on the Clarion Suzuki, just ahead of James Haydon, riding bravely after taking a battering in a heavy crash in qualifying.

The second 20-lapper was an action replay. Hislop ahead, but with the Red Bull Ducati of Reynolds close behind, before moving ahead on the eleventh lap. Into the final half mile and Hislop moved ahead, Reynolds bit back but as they reached Woodcote, at around 150mph, Hislop nosed his way, winning by 0.047seconds.

It was Hislop's first victory in the series since winning at Brands Hatch in 1998, and it keeps him within 17 points of Reynolds in the title chase. Crawford, fifth in that race, is third in the rankings on 59 points, two ahead of Virgin Mobile Aiwa Yamaha rider Haydon who held off Emmett to take third place in the second close encounter.

Shane Byrne hit double top for the second time as he dominated the Privateers Cup - in the first race he held off Gordon Blackley and Lee Jackson, while in the second Dean Ellison beat off Jackson in the dice for second place.

RACE 1
POS NAME (P - privateer) TEAM   TIME    GAP   
1  3  John REYNOLDS   Ducati - Reve Red Bull Ducati 27:50.294    
2  7  Steve HISLOP   Ducati - MonstorMob Ducati   27:50.952 0.658 
3  8  John CRAWFORD   Suzuki - Crescent Suzuki Racing 28:01.637 11.343 
4  4  James HAYDON   Yamaha - Virgin Mobile Aiwa   28:01.658 11.364 
5  5  Sean EMMETT   Ducati - Reve Red Bull Ducati 28:02.184 11.890 
6  9  Michael RUTTER   Kawasaki - Team Kawasaki   28:08.198 17.904 
7  34  Paul BROWN   Ducati - DiEnza Ducati Perf. 28:28.208 37.914 
8  6  Jamie ROBINSON   Yamaha - Virgin Mobile Aiwa   28:34.034 43.740 
9  11  Shane BYRNE (P) Suzuki - Performance House   28:41.051 50.757 
10  14  Gordon BLACKLEY (P) Kawasaki - Hawk Racing   28:57.319 1:07.025 
11  19  Lee JACKSON (P)   Yamaha - macsport   28:58.580  1:08.286 
12  18  Nigel NOTTINGHAM (P) Yamaha - www.mandvc.com/racing 28:58.910  1:08.616 
13  26  Dave WOOD (P)   Kawasaki - Myco Motorsport   29:12.093  1:21.799 
14  69  Steve MARKS (P)   Yamaha -Clifford James Footwear 27:51.372  1 LAP 
15  68  Paul JONES (P)   Honda - PR Racing Liverpool   27:51.704 1 LAP 
16  16  Peter BERWICK (P)   Honda - Team DBK Racing   27:51.931  1 LAP 
17  35  Dave REDGATE (P)   Kawasaki - Team Buff   27:52.155  1 LAP 
18  15  Mark BURR (P)   Kawasaki - Hawk Racing   28:02.557  1 LAP 
19  12  Paul JONES (P)   Kawasaki - Travel City Direct 28:03.112  1 LAP 
20  20  Dean ELLISON (P)   Honda - D&B Racing   28:42.588  1 LAP 
21  17  Jason DAVIS (P)   Honda - Team DBK Racing   28:59.884  1 LAP

55 Francis WILLIAMSON (P) Yamaha - T3 Racing D.N.F.  
Fastest Lap: John REYNOLDS / 1m:22.489sec - lap 5 - 98.28mph / 158.16kph      

RACE 2 
POS NAME  (P - privateer) TEAM   TIME    GAP   
1  7  Steve HISLOP   Ducati - MonstorMob Ducati   27:43.935     
 2  3  John REYNOLDS   Ducati - Reve Red Bull Ducati 27:43.982   0.047  
 3  4  James HAYDON   Yamaha - Virgin Mobile Aiwa   27:50.043   6.108  
 4  5  Sean EMMETT   Ducati - Reve Red Bull Ducati 27:54.572   10.637  
 5  8  John CRAWFORD   Suzuki - Crescent Suzuki Racing 28:07.126   23.191  
 6  9  Michael RUTTER   Kawasaki - Team Kawasaki   28:17.111   33.176  
 7  6  Jamie ROBINSON   Yamaha - Virgin Mobile Aiwa   28:23.878   39.943  
 8  34  Paul BROWN   Ducati - DiEnza Ducati Perf. 28:24.269   40.334  
 9  11  Shane BYRNE (P)   Suzuki - Performance House   28:28.081   44.146  
 10  20  Dean ELLISON (P) Honda - D&B Racing   28:29.300   45.365  
 11  19  Lee JACKSON (P)  Yamaha - macsport   28:35.817   51.882  
 12  15  Mark BURR (P)   Kawasaki - Hawk Racing   28:47.781   1:03.846  
 13  18  Nigel NOTTINGHAM (P) Yamaha - www.mandvc.com/racing 28:48.196   1:04.261  
 14  26  Dave WOOD (P)   Kawasaki - Myco Motorsport   28:48.577   1:04.642  
 15  69  Steve MARKS (P)   Yamaha -Clifford James Footwear 29:00.635   1:16.700  
 16  35  Dave REDGATE (P)   Kawasaki - Team Buff   29:04.963   1:21.028  
 17  55  Francis WILLIAMSON (P) Yamaha - T3 Racing   29:06.298   1:22.363  
 18  68  Paul JONES (P)   Honda - PR Racing Liverpool 29:08.376   1:24.441  
 19  17  Jason DAVIS (P)   Honda - Team DBK Racing 27:52.072   1 LAP  
 20  12  Paul JONES (P)   Kawasaki - Travel City Direct 28:02.803   1 LAP  
 21  14  Gordon BLACKLEY (P)  Kawasaki - Hawk Racing   28:25.517   1 LAP  
             
Fastest Lap: John REYNOLDS - 1m:22.246secs - lap 2 - 98.57mph / 158.63kph

CHAMPIONSHIP POSITIONS, ROUND 2/13: REYNOLDS 95, HISLOP 78, CRAWFORD 59, HAYDON 57, RUTTER 42, BROWN 36, EMMETT 34, BYRNE 31, ROBINSON 24, JACKSON 17, PLATER 13, ELLISON 13, WILLIAMSON 12, BLACKLEY 12, NOTTINGHAM 11, DAVIS 9, MARKS 5, WOOD 5, BURR 4, Paul A JONES 2, JONES 1.

SuperSport

Kirk McCarthy won today’s second round British Supersport encounter at Silverstone while his Castrol Honda team-mate, John McGuinness, celebrated his 27th birthday by finishing second. Suzuki rider, Karl Harris, was third.

Starting from pole position, it was McGuinness who took the holeshot followed by McCarthy into Copse corner on the first of 18 laps of the 2.252-mile Northamptonshire circuit. The Lancastrian rider led the field for the following eight laps before the Pace Car emerged after a clash between Ross McCulloch and Paul Young on Silverstone’s fast back straight.

With the British Supersport riders bunched behind McGuinness and McCarthy, the Pace Car remained on the circuit for four laps while debris was cleared. When the race resumed, McCarthy held station behind McGuinness before taking the lead at Copse on lap 16 and crossed the line just 0.3s ahead of his team-mate.

"I passed John on the lap the Pace Car came out," said McCarthy, 31, first round winner at Donington two weeks ago. "When I saw the flag, which is a red cross on a white background, I thought it was an English flag supporting him! The back wasn’t hooking up so well today but it was a bit colder than yesterday. I’m just really happy with the result."

McGuinness, too, was elated by his best Supersport finish after limited rides last season. "I’ve never led a 600 race before," said the former British 250 champion, "so I was a bit lost up front. I got a good start and just tried to relax a lot more than I did at Donington. It’s a great birthday present."

Castrol Honda team manager, Roger Harvey, commented: "We’ve done quite a bit of testing since Donington and it’s paid off. The team is settling down well this season, the riders are on it and the new Honda CBR600F Sport is still the bike to beat."

SuperSport Results : 1. Kirk McCarthy (Honda); 2. John McGuinness (Honda); 3. Karl Harris (Suzuki); 4. Matt Llewellyn (V&M Yamaha); 5. Scott Smart (Suzuki); 6. Rob Frost (Yamaha); 7. Glen Richards (Honda); 8. Luke Quigley (Suzuki); 9. Gary Mason (Honda); 10. Danny Beaumont (Yamaha).
SuperSport Standings : 1. Kirk McCarthy 50; 2. Matt Llewellyn 33; 3. John McGuinness; 4. Scott Smart 22; 5. Glen Richards 19; 6. Woolsey Coulter 16; 7. Karl Harris 16; 8. Luke Quigley 14; 9. Chris Sherring 13; 10. Simon Andrews 10.

SuperStock

Australian Paul Young took a second successive victory in the British Superstock Championship, heading off the challenge of Glen Richards, to open up a healthy 20 points advantage over Gary Mason, sixth in the race. 
SuperStock Results : 1. Paul Young (Suzuki); 2. Glen Richards (Honda); 3. Jamie Morley (Suzuki); 4. Chris Burns (Suzuki); 5. Kim Ashkenazi (Suzuki); 6. Gary Mason (Honda); 7. David Jefferies (V&M Yamaha); 8. Kieran Murphy (Suzuki); 9. Tristan Palmer (Yamaha); 10. Iain Duffus (V&M Yamaha).
SuperStock Standings : 1. Paul Young 50; 2. Gary Mason 30; 3. Jamie Morley 26; 4. David Jefferies 22; Chris Burns 22; 6. Glen Richards 20; 7. Kim Ashkenazi 18; 8. Woolsey Coulter 16; 9. Iain Duffus 12; 10. John Crockford 12.

250

Ulsterman Adrian Coates turned the tables on South African rival Shane Norval, winning the second round of the British 250cc Championship - the two riders are level pegging on 45 points. 

125

15-year-old Australian Casey Stoner took a second successive victory in the British 125cc Championship.

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