Kagayama Doubles In British Superbike At Rockingham

Kagayama Doubles In British Superbike At Rockingham

© 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

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From a press release issued by MonsterMob Ducati:

MONSTERMOB DUCATI BRITISH SUPERBIKE TEAM

Round 7 – 2003 British Superbike Championship powered by HALLS, Rockingham Motor Speedway

Saturday 5th and Sunday 6th July 2003

SECOND PLACES ALL ROUND AT ROCKINGHAM

MonsterMob Ducati riders Shane Byrne and Stuart Easton had to settle for a trio of runner up places in Round 7 of the British Championships at Rockingham Motor Speedway today.

26 year old Byrne had to settle for second place in both Superbike races but still managed to increase his Championship lead to 144 points after a traumatic weekend at the Northamptonshire circuit.

With practice delayed and qualifying scrapped due to surface problems, Byrne was happy to leave Rockingham with his Championship lead increased having had to settle for second best behind Japanese rider Yukio Kagayama on both occasions.

“Second place is good enough but I really hate not winning. It’s good for the Championship but I’m disappointed to leave the circuit without a victory under my belt for the first time this season.”

Defending Supersport Champion Stuart Easton also finished in second place behind Championship leader Karl Harris and the gap behind Harris now stands at 60 points with over half the races gone.

“There’s nothing worse than second place but considering the problems we have encountered this weekend it’s a reasonable result. I really need to start winning before long to bring Harris’s lead back down.”

Team owner Paul Bird was glad to get the weekend over and happy with the hat trick of rostrum places.

“After the problems we have endured this weekend, to increase the Superbike Championship lead was all we could ask. Stuart rode really well also and whilst it was disappointing not to come away with a victory of any sort I am happy with what we have achieved.”

The Championship moves on to Mondello Park in Ireland in 2 weeks’ time whereby both Byrne and Easton will be looking to return to the top step of the podium.



Superbike Results

Race One
1. Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki) 26:.05.661, 2. Shane Byrne (MonsterMob Ducati) 26:08.472, 3. Steve Plater (Honda) 26:09.514, 4. Michael Rutter (Ducati) 26:13.184, 5. John Reynolds (Suzuki) 26:13.471, 6. Glen Richards (Kawasaki) 26:23.717, 7. Sean Emmett (Ducati) 26:26.537, 8. Leon Haslam (Ducati) 26:26.633, 9. Scott Smart (Kawasaki) 26:31.231, 10. Steve Hislop (Yamaha) 26:43.880.

Race Two
1. Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki) 26:00.078, 2. Shane Byrne (MonsterMob Ducati) 26:00.777, 3. Michael Rutter (Ducati) 26:04.341, 4. Steve Plater (Honda) 26:09.794, 5. John Reynolds (Suzuki) 26:14.167, 6. Scott Smart (Kawasaki) 26:15.512, 7. Gary Mason (Yamaha) 26:15.525, 8. Sean Emmett (Ducati) 26:16.533, 9. Leon Haslam (Ducati) 26:26.626, 10. Mark Heckles (Honda) 26:34.345.

Superbike Championship Standings after Round 7
1: Shane Byrne (MonsterMob Ducati) 325pts
2: Michael Rutter (Ducati) 181pts
3: John Reynolds (Suzuki) 167pts
4: Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki) 153pts
5: Steve Plater (Honda) 146pts
6: Glen Richards (Kawasaki) 141pts
7: Gary Mason (Yamaha) 126pts
8: Steve Hislop (Yamaha) 122pts
9: Scott Smart (Kawasaki) 89pts
10: Sean Emmett (Ducati) 88pts

Supersport Results
1. Karl Harris (Honda) 24:21.280, 2. Stuart Easton (MonsterMob Ducati) 24:23.250, 3. Dean Thomas (Honda) 24:23.774, 4. John Crockford (Honda) 24:35.149, 5. Simon Andrews (Yamaha) 24:35.797, 6. Michael Laverty (Honda) 24:36.208, 7. Adrian Coates (Honda) 24:41.246, 8. Craig Jones (Triumph) 24:43.952, 9. Jamie Robinson (Yamaha) 24:45.402, 10. Shane Norval (Yamaha) 24:47.194.

Supersport Championship Standings After Round 7
1: Karl Harris 160pts
2: Stuart Easton 100pts
3: Simon Andrews 72pts
4: Dean Thomas 68pts
5: Adrian Coates 62pts
6: Leon Haslam 60pts
7: John Crockford 58pts
8: Michael Laverty 57pts
9: Rob Frost 48pts
10: Craig Jones 47pts


More, from a press release issued by Hawk Kawasaki:

BSB Round 7, Rockingham

Sunday July 6
Track length: 1.736 miles
Weather: dry, bright, 19°C
Track: dry, 20°C

SCOTT SMART ROCKS AT ROCKINGHAM

Hawk Kawasaki rider Scott Smart equalled his season’s best finish at Rockingham today, with a superb and richly deserved sixth place in the second 22 lap British Superbike race.

The York-based rider found himself locked in a thrilling race-long battle with Sean Emmett and Gary Mason, both aboard 1000cc machines, which came to a head in the final two laps when Smart passed Emmett before exchanging paint with Mason’s Yamaha and outgunning him in a nail-biting drag to the line.

‘I was with Gary and Sean the whole race and at the beginning I was a little bit worried whether I’d be able to keep up because I set the bike up with a lot of weight on the front end,’ explained Scott, who finished ninth in the first race. ‘But as soon as the fuel load came down I was right with them. In the last couple of laps I was like, “Right, I’m still here, so you’re going to have to eat this!”. Gary managed to get past Sean and I knew I had to get by as well because Gary’s really good at pulling it out of the bag on the last lap, so I stuffed Sean into the chicane, then I was off after Gary. We were side by side and I knew I had to get the drive up to the final chicane so I could have him there. He was slow into there trying to block me, so by the line I think we were probably three or four inches apart.’

Glen Richards finished sixth in the first race, after a breathtaking battle with current BSB points leader Shane Byrne, Michael Rutter, Steve Plater and the Suzuki pairing of John Reynolds and Yukio Kagayama. The Aussie looked in line for a podium, after passing Reynolds for third at mid-race distance, until his tyres went off and dropped him down the field. ‘The tyres were starting to go away and I was having trouble with it on the way into turns,’ said Glen. ‘I can run with them when the tyres are new, but when they start to wear it’s very hard work for me.’ Another chance at a podium looked possible for Richards in the second race, until a collision with a backmarker on lap 16 brought the Hawk Kawasaki rider down. ‘It wasn’t entirely my own fault because I think the backmarker saw me and didn’t react,’ said Glen, who was uninjured in the spill. ‘He knew there were people coming because he’d already been passed but he didn’t react. But it’s just one of those things I guess.’

Lee Jackson turned his weekend around in impressive style, after two uncharacteristic spills in yesterday’s practice sessions dented his confidence. The Lincoln rider gave two spirited performances, battling against the 1000cc Yamahas of Paul Young and Jon Kirkham in both races, which were eventually rewarded with points-scoring finishes in twelfth and thirteenth.

‘To be honest, Youngy was holding me up a bit. He’s good on the brakes and his bike is quick off the corners, but I had a lot more corner speed than him,’ said Lee. ‘I went faster in the second race than I have all weekend though – we found maybe two seconds from yesterday, so I’m pleased with the way I rode today.’

Despite the weekend’s reduced practice time and Richards’ spill, Hawk Kawasaki Team Principal Stuart Hicken was encouraged by his riders’ performances: ‘Scott rode really hard and put a brilliant move on Emmett to pass him in the final stages of the second race. I know we go on about it, but I don’t think people appreciate just how difficult it is to get a 750 up there with these guys. It was a brilliant display of riding. I’m gutted for Glen though, because if people can’t see blue flags it’s about time they learned to – I really think he could have got a result had it not been for his spill. Lee’s performed brilliantly too. He was a bit down yesterday, but he got his head down and had two cracking races.’




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