Gregorio Lavilla tightened his grip on the Bennetts British Superbike Championship with a winning fourth round double at Oulton Park but the Spaniard admitted these were the toughest races he has experienced so far in the defence of his crown.

The two races provided brilliant, fiercely competitive action for the massive Holiday Monday crowd at the Cheshire circuit as Lavilla held off first Shane Byrne and then Karl Harris to move into a 182-121 lead over his team-mate Leon Haslam who had to be content with third and seventh places.

The opening race saw Haslam, starting from pole, dictate the early terms, but Lavilla was on the charge, moving smoothly through from fourth place to be ahead at half distance, with Byrne in hot pursuit.

The former champion was riding in severe discomfort, having compounded the debilitating effects of gastro-enteritis with a bruising in a heavy tumble during qualifying, but he was riding his Rizla Suzuki to the full, and moved ahead for a couple of laps.

Lavilla hit back, taking charge over the final four laps, though his winning margin was less than half a second. “I stuck to my plan, though it was hard getting the power down – it was hard to pass Shane and this was the hardest race so far, but good fun.”

Next time out, Lavilla accounted for the early leaders Michael Rutter and Karl Harris to be out-front on the third lap, but he was not allowed to pull clear. Harris, still smarting from being edged wide in the opening race, was determined to show what might have been.

The HM Plant Honda rider was giving nothing away, running the Ducati closely, and several times moving ahead, briefly, including a dramatic last corner challenge, but Lavilla took the victory by 0.058seconds.

“I played my cards right,” smiled Lavilla. “Last year I was beaten by Ryuichi Kiyonari by the smallest possible margin in a similar move, but I learned from that experience, and was able to get the line and the victory.

“All of the teams are getting very close to us now and that means I have to work very hard – I am not talking or thinking about the title. Last year, Michael Rutter was 65 points clear at one stage and he did not take the championship. I am concentrating on each race, and scoring good points.”

Harris was disappointed to finish second: “I’m gutted – I planned to top him here but that will have to wait now for the next round at Mondello Park.”

Byrne was credited with third place after race officials studied an incident at the chicane on the final lap, ruling that Jonathan Rea had gained an advantage as he took to the grass, and relegating him to fourth, just ahead of Kiyonari and Rutter.

James Buckingham, with a winning double aboard the Quay Garage Honda, moved top of the British Superbike Cup standings, four points clear of Chris Martin who took third and second places on a day that saw Marty Nutt lose ground – the young Ulsterman had taken second place first time out, but then was sidelined by a machine problem.

Suzuki Report

RIZLA SUZUKI’S Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne scored brilliant second and third place podium finishes in today’s Bank Holiday fourth round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Oulton Park while racing with a stomach bug that left him feeling barely strong enough to stand.

Shakey was given a saline drip by doctors before climbing aboard his Rizla Suzuki GSX-R1000 for the first race. Despite feeling weak he showed his determination to lead the race and finish in second place to score Rizla Suzuki’s first podium of the season.

In the second event an exhausted Shakey battled for third place for the entire race. On the last lap he clashed with Honda’s Jonathan Rea and both riders went off track. Rea missed the Knickerbrook chicane and crossed the line in third while Shakey came back on track and finished fourth. He was later awarded third place after an investigation into the incident and both riders sportingly shook hands. Shakey is now up to fifth in the Championship standings.

Rizla Suzuki’s James Haydon was in contention for the win in the opening race and finished fourth just two seconds behind the winner. In the next race he was knocked off track by Kawasaki’s Dean Thomas at Shell Oils corner and despite rejoining the race, finished out of the points in 17th. Ducati’s Gregorio Lavilla won both races.

Rizla Suzuki will test at Croft in North Yorkshire on Tuesday, May 9th before making the trip to Mondello Park in the Republic of Ireland for the fifth round of the Championship on Sunday, May 21st.

Shakey:
“A massive thank you to the medical staff who kept me hydrated and fit enough to race this weekend. I have had a serious stomach bug which meant I couldn’t eat or sleep and felt absolutely terrible in the races.

“Before the first race Niall Mackenzie told me to do the warm up lap and if I felt bad then come in to the pits and go straight to bed. But when you receive the amount of support I do from Rizla Suzuki it wasn’t an option and I had to give it a go. I’m glad I did…

“In both races I wasn’t riding as well as I could have, I just wasn’t strong enough to muscle the bike around. Thanks to the team for giving me a great bike this weekend and also to Jonathan Rea for being such a good sport over our last lap clash and conceding third place. I’m sure we’ll both be fighting for more podiums again very soon.”

James:
“In the opening race there were four of us battling at the front. I was disappointed to end up fourth and made a minor change to the rear suspension to improve the bike for the next race.

“I didn’t get as good a start in the second race and going into Shell Oils a Kawasaki collided with me and forced me off the track on to the wet grass where I dropped the bike. I got back on and fought my way through to 17th from dead last by the end. That’s a shame because I think I had the pace to compete for the podium and never got the opportunity.”

Robert Wicks, Team Manager:
“What a heroic ride by Shakey to score two podium finishes while being seriously ill. Most riders wouldn’t have got on their bikes but Shakey wasn’t going to let anything stop him. I am sure if he had been fully fit he would’ve been difficult to beat but he can leave here content in the knowledge he has the speed and potential to win races.

“James rode a brilliant opening race to take fourth and was looking to match that or better in the second before bad luck and a Kawasaki took him off track and out of contention. Like Shakey, he can leave here knowing he has the bike and ability to challenge for race wins.

“We have shown the real potential of the team and it feels great to be back in the thick of the racing. Rizla Suzuki has had a tough start to the season but today’s performances by the riders and the entire team have been a real inspiration. Our test at Croft should hopefully yield further improvements and we look forward to the next race at Mondello Park.”  

Stobart Honda

Following the disappointment of only finishing ninth in the opening race, Stobart Motorsport rider Michael Rutter bounced back with a battling sixth place in race two when round four of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship took place at a cool and blustery Oulton Park today.

Having struggled with machine set up throughout the weekend, Rutter could only manage a ninth place finish in race one as he faded back following a promising start but in the second leg in front of the live ITV cameras, he led for the opening four laps as he battled with the Championship front runners.

Eventually Championship leader Gregorio Lavilla (Airwaves Ducati) and HM Plant Honda rider Karl Harris pulled away leaving Rutter to battle for the last rostrum place but gradually he dropped back into the clutches of the pursuing pack to end up in sixth position at the end of the second 17 lap race.

“The second race was a bit better. I got a good start and tried to hang in there with them but just lost a bit on each corner and couldn’t stay with them in the end. We can now go to the next round a bit stronger and a lot more positive” said Rutter.

Meanwhile team mate Michael Laverty recorded two eleventh place finishes following a difficult weekend for the young Ulsterman. Laverty circulated with the leading bunch in the opening laps but decided to settle for two points scoring rides rather than risk a crash and score no points in the process.

“It’s been an absolutely horrible weekend for me and I just couldn’t get a comfortable setting on the bike. I was riding hard just to get where I did but I couldn’t get the bike to do what I wanted. Hopefully when we move on to the tighter circuits the bike should be better. The next round is my home round so hopefully I can do better and get some decent results like I should be getting” said Laverty.

Meanwhile team owner Paul Bird commented: “I was quite happy with the second race, it was a lot better but we’re still a long way off where we need to be. The riders upped their game in race two and they needed to as I’d hoped to be challenging for race wins by now. I’m looking forward to competing in the Manx Rally next weekend to let off some of my pent-up frustration!”

The next round of the Championship takes place at Mondello Park in three weeks’ time whereby the Stobart Motorsport riders are hoping to challenge for rostrum places at the County Kildare circuit south of Dublin.

John McGuinness

John McGuinness powered his way to a second successive fifth place in Round 4 of the National Superstock Championship, held at Oulton Park on Bank Holiday Monday. The HM Plant Honda rider was impressive throughout qualifying around the 2.692-mile Cheshire circuit and battled his way to fifth at the end of the 15-lap race to add another 11 points to his championship tally, moving him up to third overall in the title chase.

Having qualified his CBR1000RR Honda Fireblade in third place on the grid, with a time of 1m40.504s, the Morecambe rider was feeling confident going into the race and was gunning for his first podium finish of the year. He made a good start but, as he later admitted, was 'a little bit lazy' going into the first corner and the result was that he found himself down in 8th at the conclusion of the first lap. As soon as the race settled down after the pace car had been out for a couple of laps John began to move forward and was enjoying a good dice with Steve Allan and Adrian Coates. On the penultimate lap race leader John Laverty crashed out and after Coates tried to overtake McGuinness at Island Bend he overdid it and also ended up in the gravel trap, losing John a bit of time and meaning that he couldn't mount a challenge on Allan. Fifth place was another solid result though and moved him onto 40 points overall, elevating him from sixth to third in the championship table.

Speaking after another hard fought race John commented: "Having qualified in third place I'm a little disappointed not to have made it on to the podium today as the Honda was working well all weekend. I'm still getting my head around the short 25-minute practice sessions but we're getting the best out of the bike, the chassis and the tyres and we've managed to go fourth row, third row, second row and first row in the four meetings, which shows how much progress we've made. There's a lot of fairing bashing and crazy riding going on out there and although I got a good start when the lights changed I was just too cautious in the first corner and that's why I was back in 8th at the end of the first lap.

"I've got a lot of important meetings coming up in the shape of the North West 200 and Isle of Man TT and I'm putting a bit of pressure on myself but the bike's getting better and I'm getting better and it's another solid haul of points. There were a lot of crashes again today but we brought the bike home in one piece and moving up to third in the championship has been a boost so we're definitely in the right ball park. I'm really looking forward to the North West 200 now which starts next week - the Superbike was flying in testing at Castle Combe and I'm confident of being in the hunt for the victories in all of my races."

The result sets him up nicely for his first pure road race of the year, the International North West 200, which takes place next week around the streets of Portstewart, Coleraine and Portrush. Practice for the event gets underway on Tuesday 9th May.

Hawk Kawasaki Report

Hawk Kawasaki riders Dean Thomas (33), Craig Coxhell (23) and Peter Hickman (19) suffered mixed fortunes at the fourth round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Oulton Park on Monday (1st May).

Qualifying in eighth position on the grid Dean Thomas got a flying start in the first race and settled nicely into fifth position. Leading a trio of factory riders including Honda's Ryuichi Kiyonari and Karl Harris, Thomas was fighting a strong battle and fending off the chasing pack. As half distance approached the Chesterfield based rider began to struggle with grip and chatter problems and began to drop places, finishing in 12th position overall. He was only to see half a lap in the second race after another good start he got tangled up with Suzuki rider James Haydon at Shell Oils corner forcing Thomas to crash out.

An injured Thomas said "Things definitely progressed this weekend and we made a number of alterations on the ZX10-R and we are now moving in the right direction and know where we want to be. I have broken a rib after the crash with James (Haydon) so I'm feeling a little second hand at the moment, which I could have done without. If I'm well enough, we have a test at Mallory Park this Friday, which I'd like to attend and continue making improvements with the bike."

Returning from injury his fellow Australian team-mate Craig Coxhell rode two impressive races to finish a creditable 17th and 15th places respectively. Coxhell who broke his left collar bone and tore the muscles in his right shoulder three weeks ago fought through the pain this weekend and battled around the demanding circuit.

Coxhell said "Oulton is certainly a very difficult circuit to ride when you are fully fit so I was struggling a lot this weekend with my injuries. All I wanted to do was finishes both races and learn more about bike and the track for the next time we visit there in July. The bike was moving around a fair bit towards the end of the races so I was having to ride it harder than normal. I did struggle with bike fitness but this is just a time thing and hopefully I will be fully fit by Mondello in three weeks."

Youngest rider in the British Superbike Series, Peter Hickman gained a 20th and 19th position in the two races at the Cheshire circuit. Hickman who is contending his first year on a Superbike is learning the trade well, the Lincolnshire based rider was locked in a battle with experienced Superbike rider Kieran Clarke in race one and Clarke's team-mate Billy McConnell in the second race.

Commenting "It's been a tough weekend but I managed two race finishes which I'm pleased about. I'm learning so much and realise what a tough class the Superbike series is. I've had a couple of crashes at the last few meetings and so my main aim at Oulton was to stay on, which I did. I still have a long way to go and still focusing on scoring some Championship points."

The Hawk Kawasaki Team will be testing at Mallory Park on Friday 5th May.

Paul Young Racing Report

Young gets Triumph on the pace at Oulton Park: Leicestershire based racer/team owner Paul Young and his PYR Triumph Daytona 675 continued their steady progress towards the top of the British Supersport Championship at round four of the Series at Oulton Park, Cheshire. For the fourth race in succession, Young posted a season's best finish and moved up the championship table.

Qualifying: The potential of this bike/rider combination was clear throughout qualifying for Monday's race. Young was never out of the top ten and spent most of the first session sitting on top of the leader board in P1. After finishing the first qualifying session in sixth, Young was bumped back to 10th place on the grid after final qualifying. Young said, "It was a big buzz to see PYR Triumph at the top of the time sheet during first qualifying. It was a shame I made a couple of mistakes on my qualifying tyre in the second session, otherwise I think we'd have stayed on the second row".

The Race: Young made full use of the Triumph's torquey 675cc three-cylinder engine, launching off the line and moving up to seventh position by lap 11. After pulling a gap between himself and eighth place Steve Plater, Young started to pay for his fast start and struggled with grip towards the end of the race, eventually finishing in 11th position. Young comments; "I was leading the group from seventh back to 13th place and doing it pretty easy, when they started trying to get past I decided I'd better make a break. I managed to pull away from the pack but killed my back tyre in the process. I'm quite annoyed with myself for choosing too soft a tyre, I'd tested it in practice but obviously not pushed it as hard as I did in the race"

Exposure: The successes of the fledgling Triumph team's season have recently attracted the attention of major print media. Articles in the June edition of SuperBike Magazine and May’s edition of Motorcycle Racer magazine have illustrated the early development stages of the Paul Young Racing Triumph 675 and the motivation of the man behind the project. Paul is still in need of a major sponsor, but hopes the constantly improving results and media attention will attract a substantial backer to help take the team to the next level. Young says, "I want there to be a Triumph team competing at the sharp-end of Supersport racing. I know I can build a team to do the job, and even on the limited resources I've got to work with at the moment, I'm showing that it can be done".

Coming events: The British Supersport Championship resumes in three weeks time when the series heads to Mondello Park in Ireland. The tight and bumpy track 30 miles west of Dublin is renowned to be one of the most technically demanding layouts in the championship calendar. Competing in the Superstock class there last year, Young finished the race second on his way to finishing second in the British Championship, and is a big fan of the circuit. "Mondello is a great circuit that throws up a lot of unusual problems, so it's quite hard to set a bike up for. I always enjoy the challenge of the place and hopefully the Triumph's power characteristics will be a benefit at a track with so many slow corners.