Hawk Kawasaki Heading Overseas Mondello Park Round 5 – 21st May 2006 Hawk Kawasaki riders Dean Thomas (33), Craig Coxhell (23) and Peter Hickman (19) are travelling the Irish Sea to get to the next venue of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship. Round five of the series is staged at the Southern Ireland based circuit of Mondello Park on the 21st May. The Team are feeling confident as they head to the 2.2-mile circuit. A successful test at Mallory Park a couple of weeks ago, saw them make some alterations to the ZX-10R in a hope to improve on their results from previous rounds in the Championship. Australian Thomas sustained injuries after a collision with Suzuki rider James Haydon at Oulton Park and is hoping to be fully fit for the Irish Round. Commenting Thomas said “My ribs are still giving me a bit of grief, I’m hoping the adrenaline will numb the pain during the weekend. I had a terrible weekend at Mondello last year and I’m looking at not repeating that this weekend. I like the circuit and not sure why I struggled so much there last season but fingers crossed I will gain two good results this year.” Coalville based rider Craig Coxhell has now fully recovered from his broken collarbone and damaged shoulder and is eager for some positive results. “It knocked my confidence a bit after crashing at Donington and I’ve been trying to ensure that I’ve not tipped off in the previous two rounds and cause further injury. I am feeling much better in myself for this weekend, I have been training hard in the gym to get back to full fitness again. We have done some testing on the bike since Oulton, and have made some slight adjustments which should help me this weekend in Ireland.” Rookie rider Peter Hickman is also looking forward to the weekend in Ireland saying “I’ve only ridden the circuit once before but keen to ride it on a Superbike. It’s extremely bumpy so I will be using the practice sessions to learn the circuit and how the Superbike handles on it. The team have been working hard to get my bikes sorted for this weekend and maybe I will be blessed with the luck of the Irish and gain my first Championship points.” Mondello Park will be shown on ITV1 on Sunday 21st May from 15:00 – 16:30 and on Sky Sports 20:30 – 00:00 2006 British Superbike Calendar: – Round 5 – 19 21 May Mondello Park, Southern Ireland Round 6 – 02 04 June Mallory Park, Leicestershire Round 7 – 16 18 June Snetterton, Norfolk 05 06 July Official BSB Test Croft Round 8 – 14 16 July Knockhill, Scotland Round 9 – 21 23 July Oulton Park, Cheshire Round 10 – 11 13 August Croft, North Yorkshire 17 August Official BSB Test Cadwell Park Round 11 – 26 28 August Cadwell Park, Lincolnshire 31 August Official BSB Test Silverstone Round 12 – 15 17 September Silverstone, Northamptonshire Round 13 – 29 Sept 01 Oct Brands Hatch, Kent