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-- BSB Round Two – Oulton Park Hill leads charge as BSB heads to Oulton Park The 2011 MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship season kicked off less than a week ago in sensational style less than a week ago at Brands Hatch, and this May Bank Holiday weekend (Saturday 30 April - Monday 2 May) the title fight reaches Cheshire as Oulton Park prepares for a clash of the BSB titans led by Swan Yamaha title leader Tommy Hill. Hill suffered heartbreak at the circuit last October when his 2010 title hopes ended in the gravel, but with a narrow four point advantage following last Monday’s dramatic opening round in Kent he is ready to banish his demons and celebrate victory again. Impressively Hill scored a second and first place finish last weekend at Brands Hatch despite riding with a fractured elbow sustained just a week before during testing. Hill said: "Before the opening round I was concerned about my elbow and I had a lot of treatment throughout the week to be ready to race which paid off. It is fantastic to be leading the championship but it is only round one and it is early days still. We are looking forward to Oulton Park and getting the bike to work around what is a completely different track. Hopefully we can come away with a very similar result." Hill will face tough opposition from riders including reigning champion Ryuichi Kiyonari, who took a hat trick of victories to lift a third BSB title the last time the championship raced at Oulton Park. The HM Plant Honda rider is determined to equal that success this Bank Holiday weekend. Kiyonari said: “I won three times at Oulton Park last time we raced there but I know winning is going to be hard. Everybody has shown already that they are faster and so I know I need to find more from me, I have a mixture of memories from Oulton Park and some are very good, some not so much. I need wins and podiums for the championship so I will do everything I can.” Shane 'Shakey' Byrne marked his return to BSB from the World Superbike Championship with a victory at Brands Hatch and the former double champion is feeling confident that he can stamp his authority again this weekend at a track that he has been victorious on in the past. Byrne said: “I can’t wait for Oulton Park; if anything I could have left Brands Hatch Monday evening after the race and gone straight there! We have a good base setting on the HM Plant Honda and the team also have knowledge from previous rounds so we expect to be in a position to fight for wins and podiums at Oulton Park like we did at Brands Hatch. The whole of the team did a great job at the last round and we want more of the same on Monday.” There are several riders also aiming to make amends after a difficult weekend at Brands Hatch including Relentless Suzuki’s Josh Brookes and Samsung Crescent Racing’s John Hopkins, the former MotoGP rider. Both failed to score podiums despite high hopes for the opening round. The Oulton Park round will also mark the debut of Jenny Tinmouth in the championship as BSB’s first female racer prepares make history at her home circuit with the Splitlath Aprilia team. Tinmouth said: “I have been feeling the nerves starting to kick in, but once I have that first race under my belt I know I will just want to get back out there! I always get nerves before the race, so it won’t be any different to previous seasons; Superbike is the next step up from Supersport so I know that this is natural progression for me. Oulton Park though is sure to be a big round for me, as I know there will be people from home that will come and watch as it is just down the road. It is one of my favourite tracks and it has every type of corner in an amazing park setting.” The event gets underway on Saturday with practice ahead of qualifying on Sunday and Monday’s all important race day. The two BSB races take place on Bank Holiday Monday with a further nine support class races including the Fuchs-Silkolene British Supersport Championship. Fans can also meet their heroes during a free of charge pitwalk on both Sunday and Monday. Results - Round One Race one – 30 laps – top six 1: Shane Byrne (HM Plant Honda) 2: Tommy Hill (Swan Yamaha) +1.154s 3: Tommy Bridewell (Tyco Honda) +2.667s 4: Stuart Easton (MSS Colchester Kawasaki) +2.764s 5: Jon Kirkham (Samsung Crescent Racing) +3.408s 6: Michael Rutter (Rapid Solicitors-Bathams Ducati) +4.310s Race two – 30 laps – top six 1: Tommy Hill (Swan Yamaha) 2: Ryuichi Kiyonari (HM Plant Honda) +0.142s 3: Shane Byrne (HM Plant Honda) +0.598s 4: Michael Laverty (Swan Yamaha) +4.463s 5: John Hopkins (Samsung Crescent Racing) +10.089s 6: Stuart Easton (MSS Colchester Kawasaki) +11.984s Championship standings after round one 1: Tommy Hill (Swan Yamaha) 45 2: Shane Byrne (HM Plant Honda) 41 3: Stuart Easton (MSS Colchester Kawasaki) 23 4: Ryuichi Kiyonari (HM Plant Honda) 20 5: Michael Rutter (Rapid Solicitors-Bathams Ducati) 19 6: Tommy Bridewell (Tyco Honda) 16 - Rnd 1 Reports - Rnd 1 Pictorials - Gallery A - Gallery B |
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