More From The British Superbike Season Finale At Donington Park

More From The British Superbike Season Finale At Donington Park

© 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

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From a press release issued by Hawk Kawasaki:

SMART TAKES FOURTH IN BSB CHAMPIONSHIP & HICKMAN WINS SUPERSTOCK CUP TITLE

Hawk Kawasaki’s Scott Smart finished fourth overall in the 2004 THINK! British Superbike Championship today after taking two fine fourth places in the final round of the series at Donington Park. Smarty stormed through the pack in the first race, from ninth on the grid to third in just one corner. His charge was halted a lap later, however, when the safety car slowed the action after Yamaha’s Kieran Clarke crashed heavily at Craner Curves.

When the race resumed two laps later Smart continued his fierce battle with Sean Emmett, John Reynolds and team-mate Glen Richards, eventually getting the better of both Emmett and his fellow Hawk rider to cross the line three seconds behind third placed John Reynolds.

“Thirteenth to third by the first corner – yeah, that worked for me,” joked Smart. “Unfortunately I was in the wrong gear behind the pace car though. I was in third when I should have been in second, so I didn’t get good drive when we started racing again. Still, it wasn’t a bad result considering where we were on the grid.”

Smart’s second race charge was even more impressive, even though a mistake on lap eight, where he ran wide at McLeans and dropped nine places, cost him a possible podium place. The number 88 Hawk rider got another lightening start from the flag, slotting into third place by the end of lap two, but his charge through the field from lap twelfth to fourth was even more impressive.

“I think I was far and away the quickest Dunlop runner in that race and all in all I don’t think it was a bad race to end the season on,” he said. “Obviously it would have been even better had I not made a mistake and run wide at McLeans, but that’s racing. I went into McLeans at the same speed as every other lap, but the front tucked. I picked it up with my knee, but unfortunately I didn’t make enough downshifts. Because I didn’t have the engine braking I ran in there way to fast and onto the dirty part of the track and that dropped me down to thirteenth place. But even before the end of that lap I’d picked my way back up a couple of places. Obviously I’d have liked to have finished third in the championship, but it wasn’t to be.”

Glen Richards looked to be on for a strong finish to an injury-hit season after crossing the line in sixth in the first race and flying through to second place in the opening lap of the second 20 lap race. Unfortunately the popular Aussie asked too much of his front tyre through Hollywood on the second lap and crashed out of the race.

“I guess the tyre was still a bit on the cold side,” explained Richards, who was uninjured in the fall. “I was chasing Kiyonari down going into the right hander and the front just tucked. At that speed there’s no chance of getting it back, but luckily I just slid over the grass and was able to get up. The first race was good though. I was able to run with the front guys for a bit before the arm gave up and sixth wasn’t a bad result really. I know what I want to do, I just need the body to do it. I’ll just have to work hard on it over the winter months so I’m fit and ready to go next year.”

John McGuinness’ chances of a strong first race finish were dashed by Kieran Clarke’s Craner Curves crash. The TT winner was forced to take avoiding action and take to the grass, relegating him to second to last in the process.

“I pushed hard once the pace car went back in and got back up to eleventh, but my arms started to pump up again and my rear tyre was about shot so I pulled in rather than risk binning the bike,” he said.

In the second outing McGuinness got away with the leaders and held a strong sixth position up until half race distance but painful arm pump again played its part, dropping the Lancastrian to eleventh by the flag.

“I really wanted to make that second race result stick because I got run really wide in the first race when Kieran Clarke crashed out,” said McGuinness. “I had to take to the grass and that was the end of that race. I got a really good start in the second and I was running with JR and Yuki for about eight or nine laps, but after that I started to get arm pump again and I had to back the pace off. I’ve felt really tense all weekend because to be honest I took a bit more of a pounding at Oulton Park than I originally thought. At least we had the speed for a while and ran with front runners.”

Hawk Kawasaki had reason to celebrate, however, after Peter Hickman wrapped up the National Superstock Cup title with his fourth victory of the season. Hickman took the holeshot in the 12 lap race, but was relegated to second by his championship rival Simon Wright on the second lap. The 17 year-old showed his mettle three laps later, however, by regaining the lead and stretching a four second lead over Wright by the end of the race.

“The wind was affecting me quite a lot to start with and it was blowing me about all over the place,” commented Hickman, who took the Kawasaki ZX-10R’s first National championship win. “I was passed by Simon (Wright) and Dan Stewart, but as the wind died down I was able to drop my lap times, take the lead and stretch out a gap. To be honest I was a bit annoyed by the way I rode yesterday, handing the championship lead to Simon, so I knew I just had to get the hammer down and beat him. Winning the title hasn’t sunk in yet because we started the year with no expectations, but now here we are! It’s been fantastic and a real team effort.”

An obviously delighted Hawk Kawasaki Team Principal, Stuart Hicken, said: “We couldn’t have asked for anymore from young Peter. He dropped back to third, thought about it, got his head down and banged in some real quick laps to win the championship in the best possible way. I’m really over the moon because Peter’s learnt an awful lot this year and put it into practice. Glen could have done without that tumble when he was in second spot, but at least he’s ok, Scotty rode an unbelievable race to come back to fourth from thirteenth and John also rode well again. I can’t ask for more from all the lads in the team. Everybody has worked really hard and it’s been a really exciting year for Hawk. We’ve made huge leaps forward and I’m really, really pleased with the way it’s all gone.”

BSB RACE 1

1) Ryuichi Kiyonari, Honda. 2) Michael Rutter, Honda. 3) John Reynolds, Suzuki. 4) Scott Smart, Hawk Kawasaki. 5) Sean Emmett, Ducati. 6) Glen Richards, Hawk Kawasaki. 7) Dean Thomas, Ducati. 8) James Haydon, Yamaha. 9) Gary Mason, Yamaha. 10) Tommy Hill, Yamaha. 11) James Ellison, Yamaha (P). 12) Jon Kirkham, Suzuki (P). 13) Chris Martin, Suzuki (P). 14) Yukio Kagayama, Suzuki. 15) James Buckingham, Suzuki (P)

(P)= Privateer

Fastest lap: Ryuichi Kiyonari, Honda, 1:32.386, 97.41mph

BSB RACE 2

1) Ryuichi Kiyonari, Honda. 2) Michael Rutter, Honda. 3) Sean Emmett, Ducati. 4) Scott Smart, Hawk Kawasaki. 5) Yukio Kagayama, Suzuki. 6) John Reynolds, Suzuki. 7) Dean Thomas, Ducati. 8) James Haydon, Yamaha. 9) James Ellison, Yamaha (P). 10) Steve Plater, Yamaha. 11) John McGuinness, Hawk Kawasaki. 12) Gary Mason, Yamaha. 13) Paul Brown, Ducati. 14) Tommy Hill, Yamaha. 15) Craig Coxhell, Honda

Fastest lap: Michael Rutter, Honda, 1:32.033, 97.79mph

BSB CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL STANDINGS

1) John Reynolds, Suzuki, 446. 2) Michael Rutter, Honda, 417. 3) Yukio Kagayama, Suzuki, 335. 4) Scott Smart, Hawk Kawasaki, 330. 5) Sean Emmett, Ducati, 315. 6) Ryuichi Kiyonari, Honda, 234. 7) Dean Thomas, Ducati, 193. 8) James Haydon, Yamaha, 181. 9) Tommy Hill, Yamaha, 137. 10) Glen Richards, Hawk Kawasaki, 125. 11) Gary Mason, Yamaha, 116. 12) James Ellison, Yamaha, 111. 13) Craig Coxhell, Honda, 92. 14) John McGuinness, Hawk Kawasaki, 86. 15) Jon Kirkham, Suzuki, 77

MANUFACTURERS CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL STANDINGS

1) Suzuki, 530. 2) Honda, 466. 3) Kawasaki, 364. 4) Ducati, 354. 5) Yamaha, 279

NATIONAL SUPERSTOCK CUP RACE

1) Peter Hickman, Hawk Kawasaki. 2) Simon Wright, Yamaha. 3) James McBride, Suzuki. 4) John Fisher, Suzuki. 5) Rory Rock, Yamaha. 6) Paul Shoesmith, Yamaha. 7) Dan Stewart, Suzuki. 8) Mike Walker, Suzuki. 9) Graham Seward, Suzuki. 10) Alan Moreton, Yamaha

NATIONAL SUPERSTOCK CUP FINAL STANDINGS

1) Peter Hickman, Hawk Kawasaki, 170. 2) Simon Wright, Yamaha, 160. 3) Paul Shoesmith, Yamaha, 144. 4) James McBride, Suzuki, 120. 5) John Fisher, Suzuki, 116. 6) Rory Rock, Yamaha, 95. 7) Graham Seward, Suzuki, 91. 8) Dan Stewart, Suzuki, 89. 9) Alan Moreton, Yamaha, 67. 10) Simon Pomeroy, Suzuki, 62

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