Monstermob Ducati

Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne made unique history at Brands Hatch today when he became the first ever British wild card rider to score a double victory when he added a thrilling race two win to his first ever World Superbike Championship triumph in front of another massive crowd.

The leader of the British Superbike Championship followed up an easy win in the opening leg with a harder fought victory in race two to outline his class and more importantly, show the series regulars he means business when he makes the jump to a full time berth in the world championship next season.

The Minster, Isle of Sheppey rider took the lead on lap eleven and had to fend off a concerted late challenge from fellow wild card John Reynolds on his Suzuki to claim another fantastic win, this time by a mere half a second but understandably, he was ecstatic with the performance of his career to date: "This has to be one of the best days I can remember. I knew it would be hard but it was tougher than I expected, especially in race two but I’m absolutely made up. It was vitally important to do well and I’m glad the weather held out but this is going to stay with me for a long, long time" said Byrne who led home yet another all British rostrum.

Team boss Paul Bird was overjoyed at his rider’s performances which he said ranked alongside the highlights of his own illustrious career, "Days don’t come any better than this. This has got to be up there with the best and I’m so pleased for Shakey and the team as well. They all did a fantastic job under a lot of pressure and it just goes to show how good our team is at this level" said the Penrith poultry magnate.

HM Plant

James Toseland rode hard to take third place in an ultra-competitive second Superbike World Championship race at Brands Hatch. His bravery and determination capped a great weekend for HM Plant Ducati by giving the team its second podium of the day, at the biggest event in Superbike racing.

Chris Walker continued his impressive return to form, but after running at the front in the early stages of the race and looking likely to at least match his previous result, he was unfortunate enough to crash out on lap 14.

As in race one, wild card entrant Shane Byrne showed the World Superbike regulars the way around his local circuit on his way to a popular double win. Unlike in the first race however, he was pushed all the way by fellow British Superbike Championship rider John Reynolds. He also came under the close scrutiny of the HM Plant Ducati duo.

Early in the race it was Walker who made the running, fighting valiantly to maintain the lightening quick pace demonstrated by the leading pack. A good start combined with some brave and committed moves put him in contention for another podium finish. Unfortunately, the Nottinghamshire-born rider pushed just a little too hard in the later stages and his race ended in the gravel trap.

“It’s been an important weekend for me,” said Walker. “I’ve really found my form. I was desperate to improve on my third place in the first race, but it seems that I paid the price for trying too hard. I’ve got to say that the fans who turned out today were incredible. They gave me a real boost and I gave them 100 per cent effort in return.”

James Toseland was very pleased to have improved on his race one performance in front of the expectant British crowd. There was no doubting how hard the 22-year-old rising star was riding and the fact that plumes of blue smoke often issued from his spinning back tyre as he lit it up on the way out of numerous corners, confirmed this in no uncertain terms.

“I really enjoyed it but that was actually a pretty tricky race for me,” said Toseland. “We made a slight change to the rear beforehand and it worked well, but the action was pretty intense. I got a much better start than in the last race and tagged along with Shane Byrne and John Reynolds, but in the end I just couldn’t overhaul them – although I did give it a go. Fair play to those two though, they were both on great form and rode a faultless race, which is what you have to do to win at this level.

“It’s been a great weekend and the crowd here was simply amazing. To have three Brits on the podium is fantastic for them and it really lifted us to hear everyone cheering us on like that. Basically, I just wanted to do well because I know that the HM Plant Ducati team is capable of winning and so am I. At the start of the season I said that my aim was to finish in the top three of the championship – now I’m gunning for second.”

Ducati Fila

Neil Hodgson edged closer to the 2003 World Superbike title with a second and a fifth place in the two races at Brands Hatch, as Shane Byrne picked up both race wins for Monstermob Ducati. Team-mate Ruben Xaus retired from race 1 with an oil leak then finished fourth in race 2. It was a triumphant day for Ducati however as they won the World Superbike Manufacturers' title for the twelfth time.

"I was a bit nervous before the start of race 1 because I was feeling the pressure here at Brands" declared Neil. "When you've had such a bad weekend in qualifying you still have to go out and do it in the race and pass everyone when you are eleventh on the grid. With six laps to go when I was behind Chris, and Shakey had gone, I thought this is what the crowd had come to see, Hodgson versus Walker so I couldn't let my fans down!. Race 2 was also really difficult because the pace was hotter and the other riders didn't break down. I was catching up on the leaders but then I hit a false neutral two times into the corner off the back straight and had to back down. We were at a bit of a disadvantage on this circuit, not having tested here and with very little dry weather track time and the wild-cards were always going to be a threat because they know the circuit so well. Now I'm looking forward to Assen to take that title".

Ruben Xaus retired from race 1 with an oil leak but then battled for a hard-fought fourth place in the second race. "I was going to be second for sure" he commented after race 1 "because Walker was slower than me in some parts of the circuit. It's a real pity because I was feeling good and the bike was going really well. Race 2 was not bad even though I didn't get as good a start. The only problem was that the tyres started losing grip six laps before the end when I was close to the lead and after that I was sideways all the time."

TWELFTH MANUFACTURERS' TITLE FOR DUCATI: With a double-win by Byrne today at Brands Hatch, Ducati have clinched a record twelfth World Superbike Manufacturers' title. The full-house of 450 points that took Ducati to its twelfth world title in 16 years of World Superbike racing have been scored by the Ducati Fila duo of Neil Hodgson (11 wins) and Ruben Xaus (3 wins), together with Byrne (2 wins), Toseland (HM Plant Ducati) and Chili (PSG-1 Ducati), who took one win apiece. Ducati have dominated this year's championship, winning all 18 races so far, with the victories being shared by three different models:

- Ducati 999 Factory '03 exclusively ridden by Hodgson and Xaus
- Ducati 998 Factory '02 ridden by Toseland and Byrne
- Ducati 998RS ridden by Chili

In creating the new-for-2003 Ducati 999, which was mated to the successful Testastretta engine, Ducati engineers have continued the Italian firm's winning tradition that started with the 888, the first Ducati to clinch both Manufacturers' and Riders' titles (with Doug Polen) back in 1991.

Regis Laconi

It has been a black and white day today for Regis Laconi at Brands Hatch. After a good performance in Race-1, ended in fourth position, in the second Race the decision to change the rear setting of the 998RS Ducati Caracchi NCR Nortel Networks revealed to be a disaster, because the bike was sliding in every part of the circuit and Regis has been forced to back down, leaving the success challenge to the British riders that, on the friendly track, dominated the racing day.

"After Race-1 I was satisfied, the bike performed well; I was catching up on the leaders, but on the hill climbing the engine of factory bikes allowed me only to remain in the slipstream, and this track hasn't hard braking points to try overtaking. We got also a good set up, after not having tested here on good weather conditions. The front tyre was absolutely perfect, it has been a pleasure to ride in that conditions." - told a frustrated Regis Laconi at the end of the day - "Trying to improve the rear end we changed the rear setting for Race-2. What a mistake! The tyre wasn't working correctly and after a couple of laps the bike started to slide and jump in every point and I wasn't able to keep the pace. It has been a pity, we have lost a good occasion to improve points for the championship, also if I'm still in fourth position."

Giancarlo De Matteis ended in a respectable 18th position Race-1, but the satisfaction for the good result finished at Race-2 start against Paddock Bend barriers; Luckily only a few damages, both to the rider as the bike.

"What a pity!" - said a disappointed De Matteis back at the pit - "I found myself during the confusion of the start with my front wheel on the white line and the bike flied away. After Race-1 I was very satisfied: it has been very impressive to see how the fastest rider were riding on this track! However it hasn't been a completely bad day, also because the crash caused not too much damages."

FG Sport

The sun kissed hordes of British fans at Brands Hatch were treated to a double delight when wild card rider Shane Byrne (Monstermob Ducati) scored both race wins as a wild card.

In race one Superpole winner and early leader John Reynolds (Rizla Suzuki) was in contention for second place when his bike developed a fault, forcing his retirement.

After Byrne had hit the leading spot, however, there was no stopping the Monstermob rider, enjoying a margin of victory of over five seconds.

In front of a weekend crowd of 120,000 – a great turnout considering the frequently wet conditions in practice - Byrne’s wins were hailed by all, especially as the race one podium also featured Brits Neil Hodgson (Ducati Fila) and Chris Walker (HM Plant Ducati).

In race two Byrne was pressurised by Reynolds all the way, winning by 0.5 seconds after 25-laps of hard action in warm conditions. Swapping results with his team-mate Walker, James Toseland scored third place in the second outing.

Just off the podium Frenchman Regis Laconi was fourth in race one, escaping a suspected jump start unscathed, and Sean Emmett, who had worked himself into contention for a podium, was ultimately just ahead of James Toseland (HM Plant Ducati); Emmett fifth and Toseland sixth.

Gregorio Lavilla (Alstare Suzuki) was the first four-cylinder rider on display, ahead of Michael Rutter’s wild card Renegade Ducati. Laguna race winner Pierfrancesco Chili could only manage to finish ninth at one of his best tracks, while the scent of competition was enough to take Yukio Kagayama (Rizla Suzuki) to tenth.

In the second race the action behind the leading trio was tight, with Xaus racing against tyre woes and brakes which had not quite bedded in properly. He still held off his team-mate Hodgson, to keep his title dreams alive. Lavilla scored sixth place in an ultimately lonely race, with Chili seventh,  16 seconds behind Byrne. Laconi, Yukio Kagayama and Leon Haslam scored the last places in the top ten.

In the World Championship standings, Hodgson leads by 386 points to Xaus’ 246. That equates to a gap of 140 points with a possible 150 up for grabs in the remaining three rounds/six races. Toseland is third with 227, Laconi fourth on 208 and Lavilla – upholding four-cylinder honour – in fifth with 185.

Troy Corser

Troy had a miserable raceday at Brands Hatch in the ninth round of the 2003 Superbike World Championship today ending with a pair of no-scores. A spark plug problem out him out of the first race with just three laps to go. In the second, his Petronas FP1 suffered an oil leak and he took to the gravel trap rather then risk crashing on the exit of the turn. The weekend's difficult and varying weather conditions didn't help Troy and the team either ­ and they were well short of good dry set-up time in the four sessions. But in the end, the weather played no part in Troy's misfortunes today and for the second time this season he was unable to score any points. Both races today were won by local rider Shane Byrne (Ducati), with Britons completing all the other podium positions in the two 25-lappers.

Series leader Neil Hodgson (Ducati) took second in the first race, with Chris Walker (Ducati) third. The second race featured a superb dogfight between Byrne and fellow 'wild card" John Reynolds (Suzuki), with Reynolds taking runner-up spot. Third went to James Toseland (Ducati) to complete a tremendous day for the 120,000 home crowd.

Troy - Race 1: DNF, Race 2 ­ DNF - "Today (and the whole weekend) was very frustrating and I'm not very happy. The weather didn't do us any favours in qualifying, but little did I know that worse was to come. In the first race I was twelfth with three laps to go and on course to get a few points at least, when the spark plug went and that was that. In race two, I felt that something wasn't quite right in the double right-hander but initially I thought that the tyres weren't warm enough, but when the back end came round again I knew it was an oil leak. At least I was T Druids, so I knew I could just run the bike off then the track rather then risk going round a corner and crashing. It's been a very frustrating weekend especially considering all the hard work the team has put in."

Suzuki

Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra rider Gregorio Lavilla fought his way up superbly from the fourth row of the grid to take sixth and seventh places in today's ninth round of the Superbike World Championship. Despite being somewhat less than 100%, due to his injuries sustained in the last round at Laguna Seca, Gregorio rode with tremendous determination in both the 25-lappers today. A poor start hampered his progress in race one and he lost touch with the leaders, but he managed to take seventh place, setting the third quickest lap of the race in the process. The race was won by 'wild card' Shane Byrne (Ducati), with fellow Britons Neil Hodgson (Ducati) and Chris Walker (Ducati) second and third.

Gregorio made a much better start in race two and was at the rear end of the six-rider battle for the lead for all but three or four laps from the end. Then a backmarker got in his way, causing him to lose touch with Hodgson, and he couldn't recover. He finished sixth, with Hodgson in sight, and had been waiting to make his move until the slow rider upset plans. Shane Byrne once again won, but this time fellow 'wild card' John Reynolds (Suzuki) took second, with James Toseland (Ducati) third. Both Byrne and Reynolds have already raced at the revised Brands Hatch circuit and their extra knowledge and dry track time during the British Superbike Championship round proved crucial to their success.

Gregorio Lavilla - 7th, Race 2: 6th - "The start of the first race was not good for me, but my lap times were quite good. It was very difficult top pass James (Toseland) because we both had a very good rhythm and he didn't make any mistakes. I think if we had been able to get more set-up time in the dry, we would've been in a much better position for today's races. In the second race, I got a better start and I was catching the leading group. I spent a long time with Walker, but when he crashed in front of me I lost some time. Then I managed to catch Hodgson and I thought I could get past him. But with about four laps to go, I got held up by a backmarker and by the time I passed him Neil had pulled out a small advantage. After that there wasn't enough time to catch him again, so I had to settle for sixth place. I'm happy that John (Reynolds) got second place today in one of the races. He and the other 'wild cards' have had a lot more dry track time here then the rest of us and it certainly helped them. But, with John finishing second, I still have a chance to be the first Suzuki GSX-R1000 rider to win a World Superbike race."