Gregorio Lavilla moved two points clear in the scrap for the Bennetts British Superbike crown as he enjoyed a pair of second placings in a dramatic tenth round at Cadwell Park.

The race victories at the Lincolnshire circuit went to Tommy Hill and Leon Haslam as the championship stakes were thrown wide open when Michael Rutter tumbled out of both the second race also the series lead.

Hill won the opener, but could hardly believe his good fortune – he was running third as ahead of him the Airwaves Ducati team-mates Lavilla and Haslam dictated terms.

Lavilla had taken the lead on the penultimate lap, but then Haslam made a daring bid to regain the advantage at Park Corner next time around. Both riders ran wide, onto the grass.

“I had nowhere to go. My bike was on the outside when Leon pushed through and across me – we both went straight on, across the grass and were very lucky not to crash,” said Lavilla. “It was a racing incident of course, I passed him cleanly, and then he came back at me, but that is racing and he is my team-mate. I have had good luck to finish second.”

Hill had a grandstand view of the incident. “I couldn’t believe what I was seeing – I sitting there in third place and then all of that happened in front of me – they always say you need luck in racing if you are going to win, but I am still shocked.

“All of the way through, the bike felt smooth and I felt good, but really, this has left me speechless,” smiled a delighted Hill as he enjoyed his first ever victory in the country’s elite series and gave the Virgin Mobile Samsung Yamaha team their first success in some 14 months.

Lavilla battled back to second, Glen Richards took third place for Hawk Kawasaki, ahead of Karl Harris, Ryuichi Kiyonari and Haslam, with Rutter, complaining of a lack of rear grip back in eighth aboard his HM Plant Honda.

Haslam and Lavilla renewed rivalries, having been told by their team-manager “to respect one another.”

The 22 year old Derbyshire rider, starting from pole, led throughout the second race, comfortably holding off first Rutter, then Lavilla who moved into second place on the sixth lap, finishing less than half a second down. “I could have tried to pass, but it would have been risky,” he reflected.

Rutter crashed out of fourth place at Chris Curve as his HM Plant Honda team-mate Ryuichi Kiyonari overcame Hill to grab third place. Harris headed off the Rizla Suzuki of James Haydon, with Dean Thomas just ahead of the reigning champion John Reynolds.

Lavilla leads 326-324 over Rutter with Kiyonari a further seven points down as the action switches to Oulton Park on Sunday 11 September.

Rizla Suzuki

James Haydon battled his way to hard-earned sixth and seventh place finishes for Rizla Suzuki in today's 10th round of the British Superbike Championship at Cadwell Park.

In front of a bumper Bank Holiday crowd at the picturesque Lincolnshire circuit, Haydon overcame poor starts from eighth on the grid to claw his way back through the field in both races. In the opening event he was 13th after the first corner and came back to seventh. In race two he dropped to 11th from the off and came back to sixth, showing tremendous courage, speed and determination on the way.

British Superbike Champion John Reynolds took 12th and eighth places starting from an uncharacteristic 12th on the grid.

Yamaha's Tommy Hill won the first race and Ducati's Leon Haslam the second.

Rizla Suzuki now travels to Assen World Superbikes next weekend with Jurgen van den Goorbergh piloting a single GSX-R1000 at his home Dutch track as a wild-card entry. Racing starts at noon (CET) on Sunday, September 4th and will be televised live on Eurosport. The next round of the British Superbike Championship is at Oulton Park in Cheshire on Sunday, September 11th.

James Haydon: "After poor starts I tried everything I could to overtake the guys in front of me in both races - but Cadwell Park is a circuit that doesn't offer a great deal of passing opportunities. That was very hard work for sixth and seventh place finishes.

"We made minor changes to my Rizla Suzuki's rear suspension settings in-between the races and I've ended the day with the best race bike set-up of the season so far. Now we will try to build on that for Oulton Park."

John Reynolds: "After I qualified in 12th place it was always going to be an uphill battle to get any decent results. All I want to do now is put this weekend firmly behind me and start afresh at Oulton Park in a fortnight's time; it'll be my first visit to the track - one of my favourites - this year."

Robert Wicks - Team Manager: "It has been another tough day for Rizla Suzuki and good results are proving difficult to achieve. James showed decent pace and certainly did not lack commitment in either race, which is encouraging.

"John had a bad weekend by his own very high standards. He's had a tough day at the office and I am sure that will just fire him up all the more for the next round of the Championship.

"The team now goes to WSB at Assen with more valuable data about the Rizla Suzuki GSX-R1000 under its belt. Hopefully we can apply some of that to help Jurgen put on a good performance at his home track." 

HM Plant Honda

Ryuichi Kiyonari closed the gap at the top of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship to just nine points after taking fifth and third positions on a dramatic day at Cadwell Park. Thousands of sun-drenched spectators also saw Michael Rutter lose his lead in the series to Gregorio Lavilla when he fell off the HM Plant Honda Racing CBR1000RR in the second race.

Several backmarkers crashed out at Coppice at the start of an enthralling first leg encounter. This necessitated the intervention of the safety car for three laps, with Rutter and Kiyonari in sixth and ninth positions respectively.

Rutter was immediately playing catch-up on the leading group of five riders, but he was unable to make an impression over race distance. The 32-year-old Midlander was down to seventh on lap eight and lost another place on the final run to the chequered flag.

Meanwhile, Kiyonari was a man on a mission. The 22-year-old Japanese star charged through the field from his third row starting position of 11th. He was up to eighth on lap seven and made up two further positions following another hot lap on the HM Plant Honda Racing CBR1000RR Fireblade.

A last lap incident at Park corner involving Gregorio Lavilla and Leon Haslam handed a first race win to Tommy Hill as the Ducati team-mates ran on to the grass and rejoined the track. This gave their pursuers an opportunity to take advantage of their misfortune.

Kiyonari’s charge towards the podium places had included an incredible lap of 1:28.409 – 0.7 seconds inside Yukio Kagayama’s lap record for the 2.18-mile Lincolnshire circuit. This had left him fifth and within range of Glen Richards on the final lap. However, a mistake on the Mountain section negated his challenge for a podium place and he had to settle for fifth.

The winner of the prestigious 2005 Suzuka 8-hour endurance race was even more impressive in race two. Kiyonari’s now customary Cadwell charge started from a lowly 12th position at the end of the first lap. He improved by one place on each of the next three laps, before overtaking James Haydon on lap eight. He then bettered this feat by taking a further four positions – again on consecutive laps.

The incredible rise to fourth position meant that he only had Hill standing between him and his 13th podium finish of the season. He accomplished this with distinction –with three laps remaining – to take 16 invaluable points.

Rutter was also fast off the mark – third into the first corner and second after a confident first lap. However, a hard-charging Lavilla made an aggressive move on the HM Plant Honda rider at the chicane, forcing him off line and leaving him vulnerable to a subsequent overtaking manoeuvre by Tommy Hill.

The long-time leader of the 2005 British Superbike Championship lost his advantage at the top of the table after a crash on lap 12. Under pressure from the chasing pack, Rutter parted company with the HRC-prepared CBR1000RR Fireblade at Chris Curve while running in fourth position. He now lies second in the championship chase, two points down on Lavilla and seven ahead of his HM Plant Honda Racing team-mate Kiyonari with three rounds (six races) remaining in the 2005 season.

Michael Rutter: “It hasn’t been a good day for me for the second consecutive event. If anything, Cadwell has been more disappointing because I was hoping for two solid points-scoring rides to maintain my lead in the championship.

“My plan was to concentrate on each race rather than worrying about the title, but it obviously didn’t work out for me. While it doesn’t look good if you take today’s results in isolation, I’m only two points behind Lavilla and so it’s all down to the last three rounds of the championship.”

Ryuichi Kiyonari: “We made a bit of a breakthrough after this morning’s warm-up and that gave me extra confidence for the races. My third row starting position meant that it was impossible for me to catch the leaders, but I was determined to fight hard in front of HM Plant Honda Racing’s home fans.

“The CBR1000RR Fireblade was very fast in a straight line. The drive out of the corners enabled me to make good progress past many riders. It has been a difficult weekend for the team, but thankfully I managed to get on the podium. Now I must continue to work hard and hopefully close the gap further on Lavilla and Michael.”

Karl Harris

Karl Harris scored his best results since round four of the 2005 Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Cadwell Park today. The Honda-Racing.co.uk rider put in two strong performances at the 2.18-mile Lincolnshire track and re-established himself as a frontrunner in the ultra-competitive series.

Harris passed the chequered flag in fourth and fifth positions respectively aboard the Dunlop/BLD-backed CBR1000RR Fireblade to consolidate his top six position in the championship overall. An exciting day’s racing at the Louth-based team’s local circuit saw the Sheffield rider dicing for a leading position from the early stages of both races.

Race one saw Harris get away from the front row of the grid into fifth position. He retained his place until lap 13, but was unable to make any progress, as he struggled to find a way past Glen Richards. The Yorkshireman decided to make a move on his rival on lap 13, but a mistake saw him run onto the grass before rejoining the race in sixth.

However, a dramatic last lap incident between team-mates Leon Haslam and Gregorio Lavilla enabled Harris to pick up two further places before crossing the line in fourth position.

Harris made another good start to race two and moved into sixth position on the track from fourth on the grid. Once again, the Dunlop/BLD-backed Honda-Racing.co.uk machine was behind Richards for the majority of the race. However, on lap 11, the 25-year-old lost further ground to HM Plant Honda Racing’s Ryuichi Kiyonari, who was on a charge through the field.

Undeterred, the Honda-Racing.co.uk rider soon regained his place on the following circuit and by lap 16 he felt ready to make a pass on Richards. Though unable to make it stick the first time round, Harris persevered and made another, more successful attempt on the penultimate lap. He remained in fifth position for a crowd-pleasing final result.

Karl Harris: “It feels good to be racing again and in the mix with the frontrunners. I felt that I should have won race one – or at least have been on the podium – but I was held up for too long. I changed bikes for race two in an attempt to gain some extra power, but I now think that may have been a mistake.

“I felt that the Honda-Racing.co.uk machine that I rode in race one still had the edge, which made race two a bit more of a struggle. I’m happy with the progress that we have made this weekend though and I hope to build on that at the next round at Oulton Park where I have already finished two races on the podium earlier this year.”

Red Bull Honda

Jonathan Rea failed to finish both races at the tenth round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Cadwell Park. The young Ulsterman crashed out of both 18-lap races on his Red Bull Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade after qualifying in an impressive sixth position.

The safety car appeared for three laps at the start of the first race after a number of riders crashed out at Coppice. A slow start from the second row left Rea holding an early 12th position until the race resumed.

He made an immediate move up to 11th place before resuming battle with fellow Honda rider Steve Plater – who he had diced with at Silverstone the previous weekend. However, an incident on the entry to the Mountain section on lap 12 left Rea as the unfortunate victim of a mistake by his more experienced adversary.

Plater’s attempt to make a clean pass on the 18-year-old Red Bull Honda protégé didn’t go according to plan as he parted company with his CBR1000RR Fireblade. As his machine flew across the track, it took out Rea as he was negotiating the next corner at the bottom of the hill.

Luckless Rea was also unable to make the chequered flag in race two. He was caught unawares by an overtaking manoeuvre from HM Plant Honda Racing’s Ryuichi Kiyonari on lap two, which forced the Ulster teenager to run onto the grass before tumbling off the Red Bull Honda.

Jonathan Rea: “I hurt my back after falling off in the morning warm-up. This restricted my movement in the tighter sections of the track in both races. I’d like to forget Cadwell Park and put it down to experience. I’ll have to put this behind me and hope that the next round at Oulton Park will bring me better luck in two weeks.”

The tenth round of the Metabo British Supersport Championship at Cadwell Park delivered an impressive sixth position for Eugene Laverty. The Red Bull Honda rider rode superbly throughout the shortened 12-lap race on his CBR600RR to further consolidate his top ten position in the ultra-competitive 13-round series.

Tenth at the end of a hectic first lap around the 2.18-mile Lincolnshire track, Laverty made up one position after overtaking Jay Vincent on the third lap. The Toomebridge teenager was up to eighth three laps later with his former Red Bull Rookies Honda team-mate Steven Neate within striking distance.

Stuart Easton’s retirement on lap eight elevated Laverty to seventh. He was able to negotiate the Red Bull Honda CBR600RR past Neate on the following circuit and pull away for a safe sixth position. The ten points secured for his fourth top six finish of the season at Cadwell enabled Laverty to move up to ninth position in the championship overall.

The race was won by Cal Crutchlow on the all-conquering Honda CBR600RR. After breaking the lap record on lap four, he maintained his advantage over the battling quartet of Simon Andrews, Leon Camier, Craig Jones and Pere Riba. Camier still leads the championship on the Padgetts Honda CBR600RR by 19 points from the similarly mounted Jones with the next round at Oulton Park in two weeks.

Eugene Laverty: “I’m happy with my finishing position under the circumstances. My arms have been sore all weekend after a series of recent crashes. That obviously restricted my capability to handle the Red Bull Honda CBR600RR around the tighter sections of the track. It was a relief to get to the chequered flag and to know that it had been worth all the effort.”

Dean Thomas

"I ended up with a 9th and 7th today in the two races which I'm not overly happy with but I'm still the only rider this year who has finished every race and hopefully I will continue with this form and better for the remaining three rounds of the season.

"Things certainly weren't helped by me qualifying 9th on the grid and two fairly poor starts didn't see me in good stead for either of the races. I got stuck behind Michael Rutter in the first race who was like a Honda handbrake in front of me for the course of the race. I'd catch him in the corners but couldn't get passed but couldn't stay with him on the straights as his bike is so fast.

"It's been a tough day in general and took a fair bit of effort to get the results that I did, I thought I had jumped the start in the second race and dumped the clutch which certainly didn't help with any drive that I might have gained.

"Generally though I do feel happy with the progress we have made within the team and on the bike set up. I certainly feel comfortable on the bike now and have altered my riding style to suit the Kawasaki and it seems to be providing the results that I'm aiming for. I'm definitely looking forward to Oulton as it's one of my favourite circuits and again it's similar to Cadwell in that it's a chassis suited track as opposed to a horsepower suited circuit."

Paul Young

Australian Paul Young still leads the Metzeler Racetec National Superstock Championship by three points, despite another disappointing result at Cadwell Park on Bank Holiday Monday.

The Hinckley-based rider now has less than two weeks to trace and cure the puzzling machine problems that have seen the previously dominant Young score only five points in the last two rounds. "We’ve pretty much continued where we left off at Silverstone, in a bit of trouble with the bike," admits Youngy. "We’re not in the position to have a spare bike so we have to find the root of the problem."

Youngy was disappointed that despite a good start which saw him in sixth place going into the Cadwell’s notorious Coppice corner, his Chase Accident Repairs Yamaha YZF-R1 was frustratingly being passed and left behind by his Superstock rivals lap after lap.

He said: "I’ve a feeling it could be a clutch problem as the problem only really manifests itself at the top-end of the rev-range. I found that I was getting murdered down the straights and had nothing to fight back with when the other guys came past. I know I can’t have lost my edge in two races! There’s got to be something wrong with the bike." Youngy eventually finished in 13th place and now has put a replacement engine into his Yamaha R1 in time for the next round. "We won at Oulton Park and we return there for the next round," explained Young. "So, we’re going to perform a bit of an autopsy on the bike and put the Oulton Park settings on it and see if we can regain our competitiveness for the next round."