Gregorio Lavilla, the reigning Bennetts British Superbike Champion, heads for the Holiday Monday, 1 May, fourth round at Oulton Park intent on another winning double to further extend his lead in the title stakes ahead of his Airwaves Ducati team-mate Leon Haslam.

The Spaniard made it four wins out of six starts as he dominated the Easter action, at record breaking pace, at Thruxton, firing a double ‘hands-off’ salvo to the pretenders to his crown and opened up a useful 36 points lead in the overall rankings.

Haslam, who will be back to fitness, having recovered from the dislocated right ankle sustained in a crash in the seasonal opener, starts these races in no mood to be beaten again – last time out, he admitted: “it is frustrating to make a good start, and then have him come past me, but in fairness, he is riding well at the moment.”

The Derbyshire rider does not like settling for second best and is determined to take an action replay in his victory in the corresponding round of last year, and, for Michael Rutter, the other winner on that day, a repeat would be the confidence booster that he and the Stobart Motorsport Honda team need after a difficult day at the races last time out.

The Ducatis are threatening to take charge, and that is not lost on the HM Plant Honda riders Ryuichi Kiyonari and Karl Harris. The pressure is on them. The HRC factory backed effort is bidding for a third time to take the British title, and given the heavy investment and thousands of miles of close season testing, expectations are high.

Kiyonari has tasted the victor’s champagne only once so far, slipping back to third place in the table, a couple of points down on Haslam, while Harris is fifth, adrift of the young Red Bull Honda rider Jonathan Rea.

They know what is expected of them, and Kiyonari had good memories of the parkland circuit having taken a winning double there towards the end of last season in a determined rear-guard action to deny Lavilla the title.

The Rizla Suzuki team are also in need of positive results – they had a disastrous time in the rain-lashed Donington Park round, and then had another bad day at the office at Thruxton. The ill-fortunes that have befallen James Haydon and former champion Shane Byrne have proved costly, and they are keen to make amends.

Dean Thomas has shown the potential of the Hawk Kawasaki and is looking to build on that, while his fellow Australian Craig Coxhell, who missed the last round with a shoulder injury, returns to the action. Another Aussie Billy McConnell will be hoping for better things also, as he lines up alongside his Virgin Mobile Yamaha team-mates Tommy Hill and Kieran Clarke.

Gary Mason and Glen Richards will be chasing positive results with their Hydrex Hondas, and keep an eye on Steve Plater who first tasted Superbike glory at this circuit, and is keen for more now on the JJL UK Diggers Honda.

Chris Martin heads the chase for the British Superbike Cup, but the York rider faces a tough test to maintain his superiority, under pressure from both the defending champion James Buckingham and the determined Marty Nutt.

Around the two Superbike races there is an action packed programme, featuring the fourth round of the British Supersport Championship, plus British 125GP, Virgin Mobile Cup – a one-make series for Yamaha R6 bikes and featuring young, upcoming riders, together the packed starting grids for both the Metzeler Racetec National Superstock Championship and Cup races.

Practice and qualifying is on Saturday/Sunday 29/30 April with all racing on Monday 1 May.

TRACK FACTS
Oulton Park
Circuit Length: 2.692 miles, International Circuit
Lap records
Superbike Gregorio Lavilla, Ducati, 1m 36.314s, 100.62mph, 11:09:05
Supersport Cal Crutchlow, Honda, 1m 39.357s, 97.53mph, 11:09:05
Superstock Les Shand, Yamaha, 1m 40.763s, 96.17mph, 11:09:05
125GP James Westmoreland, Honda, 1m 45.819s, 91.58mph, 11:09:05
Virgin Mobile Cup James Rose, Yamaha, 1m 44.748s, 92.51mph, 11:09:05

RIDER’S VIEW: Gregorio Lavilla – Airwaves Ducati

“Oulton Park has one of the best layouts in the championship and as a track I like it, it’s just a shame it’s not wide enough to be a really good racetrack.”

Shane Byrne blasted a warning to the early season pacemakers in the chase for the Bennetts British Superbike title that he is back in business.

The former champion, back on the domestic scene after two tough seasons in World MotoGP, scorched ahead of the rest during official testing at Oulton Park as he prepared for the Holiday Monday 1 May third round to be held at the Cheshire circuit.

The Rizla Suzuki was the dominant force using both race and qualifying tyres, ending the session in convincing style with a 1m 36.53secs lap of the 2.692 mile circuit, some three quarters of a second ahead of Jonathan Rea.

Byrne is currently sixth in the title stakes and is playing catch-up, but recent development works on the Suzuki have increased both power and speed, and that was also illustrated last time out at Thruxton, earlier in the week.

Rea, riding the Red Bull Honda out in a best lap of 1m 37.255secs, ahead of James Haydon aboard the second Rizla Suzuki – the Berkhamsted rider put in a series of highly consistent laps as he shrugged aside memories of crashes during the Thruxton round, clocking a best time of 1m 37.977secs

Fourth fastest overall was Michael Rutter, aboard the Stobart Motorsport Honda, in a time of 1m 38.183secs, a third of a second ahead of Karl Harris, who crashed during the second session, suffering ankle injuries.

The HM Plant Honda rider, who lapped in 1m 38.437secs, faces a race against time to be fully fit for the races in which he could face challenges from Virgin Mobile Yamaha’s Tommy Hill, seventh on the leaderboard with a time of 1m 38.697secs.

Australians Glen Richards, Hydrex Honda, and Dean Thomas, Hawk Kawasaki, were marginally slower, but ahead of Ryuichi Kiyonari aboard the second HM Plant Honda whose best lap came in a time of 1m 39.443secs, just half a second ahead of Vivaldi Suzuki rider Ben Wilson.