Ryuichi Kiyonari was crowned British champion for the third time after a final round of the MCE Insurance British Superbike series at Oulton Park of high drama and incident.
He ended his season with a winning triple to head a HM Plant Honda one-two in the championship stakes ahead of his team-mate Josh Brookes.
Kiyonari, the winner of seven races in a tough campaign, was delighted with his last round turn-around in fortune as he explained: “I’m very happy to be champion for the third time – it was a big fight all of the way to the end and we were very lucky, but this title means as much to me as the other two.
“It has been a hard season, nothing has been easy. Every race has been a hard fight but it feels good to leave here as number one. I am very happy, also very tired, but feel very good for myself and my team,” added Kiyonari as he savoured his championship success.
He had gone into the action at the Cheshire circuit in third place in the standings, but powered into contention as he won the first of the three races, on Saturday afternoon, running ahead of the leader in the title stakes Tommy Hill by almost a second.
That was the first turning point of the weekend for Kiyonari, but, he was to enjoy a slice of good fortune at the expense of Hill as the Worx Suzuki rider made an over eager move to regain the lead from James Ellison on the seventh lap of the first of Sunday’s races.
Hill had made the early running, under pressure from Relentless Suzuki rider Michael Laverty with Ellison third on the Swan Honda from Kiyonari. Ellison was soon duelling with Hill for the lead, trading places, and Ellison had just moved ahead again.
Trying to nose through, to regain the advantage on the inside line at Lodge Corner, Hill clipped Ellison’s bike – they both tumbled, but Hill managed to re-start, only to crash spectacularly again shortly afterwards, extensively damaging his bike.
Four other riders tumbled in the aftermath of that incident and the race was red-flagged. On the res-start, over seven laps, Kiyonari took charge, leading throughout to take the win comfortably from Brookes and Stuart Easton to move ahead, in the title stakes, of Hill who could only sit disconsolately and watch his title dreams fade.
Hill’s team worked wonders to repair his bike putting him on the grid for the final race of the campaign, though with a third row start, while Kiyonari was on pole and soon running out front, having overcome the early challenges of Laverty. He had a few anxious moments as the Safety Car intervened for two laps as marshals dealt with Gary Mason’s crash, but, was back on the pace as the action resumed for real.
Brookes was carving through the pack from seventh on the opening lap, and was soon duelling for fourth with Michael Rutter, whose season was to end shortly afterwards with a technical problem sidelining his RidersMotorcycles.com Ducati. Brookes went through and soon took Laverty to be running in second place and closing within 0.639secs of Kiyonari was taking his seventh victory of the campaign.
Ellison, depite running ride at Hizzy’s midway through the race took third from Laverty with Hill rewarded his team’s work to rebuild his bike.
Kiyonari celebrated the race win, and with it the British title, 649-625 over his team-mate Josh Brookes who reflected: “I gave everything to try and catch Kiyo, and went out with a bit of style. It is good to finish the season on a high, and I intend to do more next season, by winning the British Championship.”
Hill, who had led the title chase for most of the season, finished third overall on 620 points.
Next race
Round one – 2011 MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship, April 22-25, Brands Hatch.
Results:
Saturday race one – 16 laps:
1.Ryuichi Kiyonari (HM Plant Honda) 25m 43.282s
2.Tommy Hill (Worx Crescent Suzuki)+0.821s
3.James Ellison (Swan Honda) +5.707s
4.Michael Laverty (Relentless Suzuki by TAS) +8.459s
5.Josh Brookes (HM Plant Honda) +14.627s
6.Tommy Bridewell (Tyco Quay Garage Honda) +15.001s
Sunday race two – 7 laps
1. Ryuichi Kiyonari (HM Plant Honda) 11m 16.253s
2. Stuart Easton (Swan Honda) + 2.993s
3. Josh Brookes (HM Plant Honda) + 3.231s
4. Michael Rutter (Ridersmotorcycles.com Ducati) +4.048s
5. Alastair Seeley (Relentless Suzuki by TAS) +7.437s
6. John Laverty (Buildbase Kawasaki) +11.451s
Sunday race three – 16 laps
1. Ryuichi Kiyonari (HM Plant Honda) 26m 07.496s
2. Josh Brookes (HM Plant Honda) +0.639s
3. James Ellison (Swan Honda) +4.531s
4. Michael Laverty (Relentless Suzuki by TAS) +7.794s
5. Tommy Hill (Worx Crescent Suzuki) +9.355s
6. Loris Baz (Motorpoint Yamaha) +10.721s
MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship final standings:
1. Ryuichi Kiyonari (HM Plant Honda) 649
2. Josh Brookes (HM Plant Honda) 625
3. Tommy Hill (Worx Crescent Suzuki) 620
4. Michael Laverty (Relentless Suzuki by TAS) 604
5. Michael Rutter (Ridersmotorcycles.com Ducati) 559
6. Alastair Seeley (Relentless Suzuki by TAS) 550
— Worx Crescent Suzuki Report
A crash in the opening race of today’s final BSB round at Oulton Park ruined Tommy Hill’s bid to become MCE Insurance British Superbikes Champion.
Worx Crescent Suzuki favourite Hill had led the Championship into the two final races: Riding in second position in the early stages of race one, he was challenging James Ellison for the lead into Lodge corner when his bike kicked off a bump, causing him to come into the corner faster than planned, which led to a collision with Ellison and both riders crashed. Hill remounted in 19th position and was attempting to regain positions when the damaged master cylinder to his front brake failed completely – again at Lodge – and he was forced to the lay the bike down at high speed and the damage to the bike was extensive. With oil on the track, the race was red-flagged.
Because of the ‘One Bike’ rule in force this season, the team was not able to repair the crash and fire-damage to the GSX-R1000 in time for the restart and Hill was forced to sit out the re-run- a race won by his key Championship rival Ryuichi Kiyonari.
The Worx Crescent Suzuki team did however regroup to rebuild what was a written-off machine in time for the second race today. In the circumstances, the bike lacked the precision set-up and feel of the original; and after starting from the third row, Hill overcame set-up issues to finish a fighting fifth, but with rivals Kiyonari and Josh Brookes finishing 1-2, Hill was placed third in the Championship standings.
Team-mate Yukio Kagayama took 13-11 to secure 15th place in the Championship.
Tommy Hill: “I’m devastated. The team has put so much effort into this Championship and we wanted this championship so bad – and it’s not happened.
“It’s been an incredible year, though. We started fantastic, we were fastest in testing; and we started the season so well. The pressure then came on but we responded and stayed at the front – so for it to go away in one race? Well, we’re all disappointed. I just have to thank everyone in the Worx Crescent Suzuki team; they’ve been incredible; they’ve given me the Championship of my life.”
Yukio Kagayama: “Today was not the best. I started the season well with fastest in Spain in testing; and at Thruxton I was on the podium. But after I hurt my back in the crash here earlier this year it’s been a season of many crashes and many injuries.
“The team has been fantastic throughout. I thank them for this year and I wish I could have repaid them with better results.”
Jack Valentine – Team Manager: “Tommy knew he had to finish in front of Kiyo today. He was looking to do that in the first race when he had his coming together with Ellison. We then fell-foul of the ‘One Bike’ rule and after a season of staying on top, answering to every test, this one crash has cost us the Championship.
“As a team we couldn’t do any more. On the podium this evening, it was clear that Tommy was the People’s Champion, but today we wanted to give them a British Champion. It was one small mistake, severely punished.”
Crescent Director- Martyn James: “I’d like to express my gratitude to the team for a job well done this season. They’ve had a brilliant season and deserved the ultimate reward for all the effort they put in. They did all they could do to capture the title and for one misfortune to rob them of the Championship barely seems just. I am proud though of all that they have achieved.”
— HM Plant Honda Report
TBC
— Rob Mac Racing Report
TBC
— Relentless Suzuki by TAS Report
TBC
— SMT Honda
Walker and SMT claim top 10 Championship position
Chris Walker and the sorrymate.com/SMT Honda team overcame a number of electrical problems at Oulton Park at the weekend to finally clinch a top ten position in the 2010 British Superbike Championship. After running inside the top ten for much of the weekend, problems in both qualifying and the first two races left the team pointless but a fighting 9th place in Sunday’s final race was enough for them to finish in 10th place overall, their highest ever finish.
The weekend started well for Chris and the team as they placed 9th fastest in both of Friday’s free practice sessions but a change in settings on Saturday morning saw them go in the wrong direction and Chris slipped back to 15th. Reverting back to Friday’s set-up, the team were hopeful of being back inside the top ten in qualifying but on just the third lap of the opening 20-minute session, an electrical problem saw Chris stranded out on the circuit and although he manfully pushed the bike back to the pits, by the time he got back the session had ended. Subsequently, he ended up in a lowly 27th on the grid.
Starting from the seventh row for the first race was always going to be a tall order for Chris but he was determined to climb up the leaderboard as high as he could and, sure enough, a good start saw him up to 23rd at the end of lap 1 and this became 20th on lap 4 as he got on to the back of a five-man dice for 16th. After another two laps, he’d advanced to the front of the pack although, by this time, 15th place was a good few seconds further down the road. However, aided by the 14th fastest lap of the race (which placed him 14th on the grid for race 2), he was able to reel in Alastair Seeley although he agonisingly missed out on a Championship point by 0.073s at the chequered flag.
Sunday’s opening race saw Chris line up on the fourth row of the grid and a great start saw him up to 11th on lap 1 and here he remained until lap 7 when he was promoted up to 9th after a crash involving leader James Ellison and Tommy Hill. A lap later though, the red flag was out and the race stopped due to debris on the track. Restarted over 7 laps, Chris was up to fifth on lap 1 after another excellent start and he was looking strong in this position as the race went into it’s third lap. However, that would prove to be as far as Chris got as he was forced to retire when the quickshifter broke.
With three races over the course of the weekend, there was one last chance for Chris and the team and, after lying in 13th place in the early stages, Chris was able to inch his way forward. Up to 11th by lap 7, this became 10th a lap later when Stuart Easton was forced to retire and when Chris overtook Simon Andrews on lap 12, 9th place became his. Locked once more in a battle with John Laverty, Chris tried everything he could to overhaul his Kawasaki rival but had to settle for 9th at the chequered flag, just 0.111s adrift.
Talking afterwards, team owner Robin Croft said: “It’s been a long old season and I’m glad it’s all over now – I’m shattered! The aim for the weekend was always to keep our 10th place in the Championship and now that’s been achieved, we’re all delighted. The weekend was plagued by electrical problems but we kept plugging away and fought until the end so to finish 10th overall and claim our best ever position is very, very pleasing. We’ve had a successful second half to the season and I’ve got to thank all the team for all their hard work – they’ve experienced a few ups and downs this year but have never stopped giving 110% so I’m delighted for them too. It’s been great working with Chris so a big thank you to him too and he’s acted like a professional and ridden like a professional even when the going’s been tough. All being well, we’ll be back to do it all again in 2011.”
— CAME Yamaha
TBC
— John McGuinness Report
McGuinness claims six hard-earned points at season finale
Morecambe’s John McGuinness completed his Metzeler National 1000cc Superstock Championship season with a brace of 13th place finishes at the final round at Oulton Park at the weekend. The Padgetts Honda rider fought his way through the pack on each occasion to claim six hard-earned points and maintain his top ten place in the Championship table, eventually finishing in 10th overall.
With the previous round at Silverstone having been cancelled, Oulton hosted two rounds with the first 12-lap race being held on Saturday afternoon, a race that saw John line up in 20th on the grid. After a good getaway, John got ‘boxed in’ somewhat at the first corner but he completed the opening lap in 19th place and by lap 4 he’d moved up to 17th. A lap later, he was up into the points in 15th place and involved in a good four-man battle for 12th place. Fighting strongly until the end, John posted his best lap of the race on lap 13 and it allowed him to move up to 13th and claim three hard-earned points.
Race 2 on Sunday saw John line up in 14th place on the grid but, despite getting a good start when the lights turned green, when two riders in front of him collided, he had little option other than to take avoiding action. That dropped him all the way down the order to 19th once more and meant he had another battle on his hands just to get inside the points. Slowly, but surely, though he began to pick off the riders in front of him and by lap 7 he was up into the points. Overhauling Dan Stewart put John up to 13th and he immediately closed the gap to former Champion Lee Jackson in 12th. John tried to overtake on both the outside and the inside but just missed out on the run in to the line on the final lap and finished in 13th, only 0.202s behind Jackson.
Speaking later, John said: “They were two tough races this weekend and, once again, the first lap was my undoing and coming from so far back is always tough. I gave it my all in both races and I was able to secure enough points in the two races to secure 10th overall in the title table, which is a solid position given the strength of the Championship. It’s been a really competitive year on both the circuits and the roads but the team have worked tirelessly at each and every meeting and I can’t thank them enough for their efforts. My plans for next year have yet to be finalised but I’ll be back racing again and am determined to get back to winning ways – there’s plenty of racing left in John McGuinness and I aim to firmly get back to the front of the pack.”
John has one more meeting left this year with the annual Macau Grand Prix taking place in the Far East colony from November 18th-21st.
— Jason O’Halloran Report
Jason O Halloran did not have the end to the 2010 season that he was hoping on the East Coast Racing Yamaha. The luckless Australian was touched into Shell Hairpin on lap three forcing him to crash out. After remounting the talented young rider had to work hard to try and salvage something at Oulton Park and the final round of the Fuchs British Supersport Championship. Fighting back from 31st place he managed to fight his way back through the field and finished in 16th place overall.
O Halloran had his second best qualifying of the season and managed to put the Yamaha on the second row in sixth place and was eager for a good race result to end his great form in the previous few races. His lap times after his crashed matched that of the leaders and his sector times would have put him third fastest, he was taking off seconds a lap off the riders in front and passing at least three a lap.
It was the end that Jason was hoping on and he said “I’m really gutted because I was well up for the race and was so hoping that I would follow on from my first podium at Silverstone the other week. I was a bit of a melee in the first few laps whilst everyone was trying to fight for position and sort themselves out. I tipped into Shell and someone caught my brake lever and it just tucked the front. I got back on as fast as possible but the majority of the pack had passed in that time. I tried to get my head down and peel off some riders and was hoping I might be able to gain one point but I missed out by one position. Not the way I was hoping to end the season on a high note but I guess that’s racing. Since I joined East Coast Racing mid season they have been brilliant and the results have showed that. I’d like to thank all my personal sponsors Lucas Machinery and AKP, plus Spider and GP James and Phil Reed at East Coast Racing for taking me on mid season. I’m really pleased with my results since I switched to Yamaha and just gutted I couldn’t finish the season on a higher note.”
On the other hand it was a great end to a rocky season for his East Coast Racing’s team-mate Pat McDougall who won the British Supersport Cup Championship. Pat who has battled through injury and crashes at the last few rounds finally secured himself the overall Championship with a strong fourth place finish in the Cup at Oulton.
A delighted Pat said “It’s been a funny old year especially the last few races, I crashed on oil at Silverstone and hit a stray bike at Silverstone in the wet and re injured myself so I’m over the moon to have won the Championship after all that. It was close in the final stages and I’m just really grateful to the entire East Coast Racing team for everything this year it’s been great and I’m so pleased.”
— GNS Racing Report
GNS Racing Honda rounded out their 2010 Fuchs-Silkolene British Supersport Championship season at Oulton Park today with points scoring finishes for both newly crowned champion Sam Lowes from Lincoln and Derbyshire rider Christian Iddon despite both riders encountering problems.
The duo recorded 8th and 13th place respectively at the Cheshire venue and it was a weekend of celebration for the team with Sam picking up the Champion’s trophy and the team picking up the coveted Team Merit Award presented by ENI, the official fuel partner, for their efforts during the season.
For Lowes, the weekend didn’t end in the fashion he would have hoped as 8th place was the only time he’d been off the podium in the 11 races he’d finished this year but a practice crash left him back in 9th on the grid and his race was then further compromised when a first-corner collision left him with damaged handlebars. He gamely battled on and clawed his way up into the top six before slipping back slightly in the closing stages with clutch problems to eventually claim 8th place and finish the season with a winning margin of 33 points.
For Iddon, it was also a tough weekend with a few minor technical issues affecting him in practice whilst he also had to start the 12-lap race from pitlane after the electronic dashboard stopped working on the warm-up lap. The problem was soon rectified and despite starting dead last, he worked his way excellently through the field to be rewarded with a hard-earned 13th place.
Sam Lowes: “The bent handlebars compromised my race as I couldn’t ride as I wanted to but I concentrated hard on staying out of trouble after that and keeping everything clean and I was able to move up a few places. It’s slightly disappointing to end the season with an 8th but this weekend was all about getting the trophy and to finally get my hands on it is mega. I couldn’t cap the year off with a win but it’s been a great season and I’ve got to say a massive thanks to the team for making it all happen. I think we’ve done each other proud and I’ve been able to repay them for all their hard work with the title and I want to wish them all the best for 2011. I’ve got the World Championship to look forward to now and I’m going to be doing everything I can over the winter to make sure I come out fighting for the title and the race wins.”
Christian Iddon: “The dash went out on me on the warm-up lap so I thought it best to come in and get the guys to check it out but once we’d turned the bike off and on again, it cleared itself although starting from pit lane was obviously a bit of a disadvantage. I had a good first lap though and after that I just picked people off one by one. It’s been an up and down year for me but I’ve been delighted to end the season with GNS Racing and with the British Championship-winning team. They’re very professional and it’s been an absolute pleasure working with them.”
Gary Stubbington, Team Owner: “To end the year with both the Riders’ Championship and the Team Merit Award is absolutely brilliant and I’m over the moon with how the season has gone. The last round has been slightly disappointing, but we’ve enjoyed ourselves massively and I’m very, very happy. The trophies we’ve picked up are for all the team members who have been simply awesome all year long and it’s because of all their work and effort that we’ve achieved what we have. The bikes have been brilliant all year long and it’s been an unbelievable season for everyone concerned so roll on 2011!”
Fuchs-Silkolene British Supersport Championship result (12 laps)
1 Ben Wilson (Kawasaki) 19m57.002s
2 James Westmoreland (Yamaha) +0.873s
3 Jack Kennedy (Yamaha) +3.492s
4 Glen Richards (Honda) +5.983s
5 Billy McConnell (Yamaha) +6.044s
6 Paul Young (Triumph) +11.652s
7 Marshall Neill (Honda) +12.405s
8 Sam Lowes (GNS Racing Honda) +13.256s
9 Lee Johnston (Triumph) +15.531s
10 Luke Mossey (Triumph) +20.332s
13 Christian Iddon (GNS Racing Honda) +24.500s
Final Championship standings (after 12 rounds)
1 Sam Lowes (GNS Racing Honda) 229
2 James Westmoreland 196
3 Ben Wilson 135
4 Jack Kennedy 121
5 Billy McConnell 115
6 Graeme Gowland 105
— Conor Cummins Report
TBC
— Tyco Racing Report
Tyco Racing’s Tommy Bridewell put in one of his best performances of the season with a superb ride into sixth place in the opening race of the final round of the 2010 MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship at Oulton Park.
Having qualified on row two of the grid for Saturday’s race, the 22-year-old from Etchilhampton near Devizes in Wiltshire battled his way up into the top ten early in the race before closing in on the leading bunch as the race progressed. Going into the final lap, Bridewell was well placed on the Quay Garage-prepared Honda and closing in on championship contender Josh Brookes but couldn’t quite pass the Australian and brought the machine home inside the top six for the third time this season.
However, any hopes of continuing his great form disappeared when the machine suffered a mechanical problem in the warm up session just before the race which meant he had to sit out the remainder of the day’s action much to his disappointment, but consolation came in the smallest of forms as he managed to hang onto 11th place in the championship which was an impressive performance on his first full season in British Superbikes.
Following the announcement at Silverstone two weeks ago, Bridewell and the rest of the team can look forward to making preparations for the 2011 MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship which will see him contest the series on the machine that Ryuichi Kiyonari claimed this year’s title on in fine style in front of 40,000 fans at the sun-baked Cheshire circuit today.
Tommy Bridewell: “I felt really good during Saturday’s race and the bike felt really strong so I was delighted to finish inside the top six and thought we could do even better today but after the problem in the warm up, it was game over. Naturally I’m disappointed as we have put a lot of effort in during these final few races but it wasn’t to be and I’d like to thank the Quay Garage Team and our sponsors Tyco and everyone else who has helped us this season. We’ll be back next year where the plan is to challenge for the British Superbike Championship title.”
Ian Woollacott, Team Owner: “We used up all our spares following the problem we encountered at Silverstone and we were hoping to get through this weekend without any problems but the old girl cried enough. Tommy rode really well on Saturday and we felt a podium was on for today but we’ll now start to concentrate our efforts on next season. Thanks to all of the team and our sponsors for their help this season and also to Tommy who has ridden brilliantly. Roll on 2011!”
