From a press release issued by Rizla Suzuki:

JR wraps up second place in the Championship with a win

RIZLA SUZUKI rider John Reynolds wrapped up an amazing second place in the British Superbike Championship with a win and a second place finish at today’s 11th round at the Brands Hatch Indy circuit, while his team mate Tom Sykes scored his first ever Superbike points.

Reynolds annihilated the opposition in the first race, winning comfortably on his Rizla Suzuki GSX-R1000 to take the team’s seventh win of the season. In the second race a poor start left him in sixth at the end of the first lap and with a lot of passing to get to the front. He got up to second place but it was too late to catch up with the eventual winner Sean Emmett on a Ducati. JR cannot be caught for 2nd place in the Championship – a fantastic achievement considering he broke his collarbone at the very first qualifying session of the year and wasn’t able to ride competitively until the fifth round.

Huddersfield’s Sykes, standing in for the injured Yukio Kagayama who broke his pelvis at the Cadwell Park round of BSB last month, fell out of the first race before composing himself to finish 14th in the second event. The 18-year-old rider who normally competes in the 600cc Supersport series has impressed the team with his raw talent and ability.

John Reynolds:
“To take second place in the Championship is good, but it is the first loser in my books and that grates with me. I really wanted to win the Championship this year and the Rizla Suzuki GSX-R1000 has been more than capable of doing just that, but I made a mistake at the first round and broke my collarbone.

“That forced us to reassess our priorities and second in the series was our goal and we have achieved it. Another goal of ours has been to win races and I’ve now won four. By the end of the season I would like that to be six, especially as the last round at Donington is my home circuit!

“I’d like to dedicate today’s win to Yuki, my team mate who is in hospital. We now know he needs a second operation on his pelvis and he’ll be going to Japan soon. Power to you Yuki, I’m looking forward to racing against you for the Championship next season, so hurry up and make a full recovery mate.

“Finally, Yuki’s stand in rider for this round Tom Sykes has been outstanding. He has shown he has the pace to ride in Superbikes and I’ve no doubt he is a Champion of the future. Now I’m looking forward to racing with my old sparring partner Niall Mackenzie as my team mate at Donington Park in two weeks time – I think he could be tough to beat!”

Tom Sykes:
“This weekend has been like a dream come true for me and I’d like to thank Rizla Suzuki for giving me the chance to race on what is the best bike in the series.

“I’ve learnt lots this weekend and although I crashed in the first race, I am delighted to have scored my first ever Superbike points, that’s special. It’s been a great experience and I know for sure I want to ride for this team again.

“The first race was good fun until I fell. We changed the tyres and set-up on the bike for the second race and it was a bit easier for me to ride. Getting points is good, it has certainly given me a taste for Superbike racing. Thanks to the whole team for helping me this weekend!”

Paul Denning, Team Manager:
“Rizla Suzuki is back to its winning ways and JR was magnificent today, putting himself a clear second in the Championship and uncatchable no matter what happens at the last round at Donington. He utterly dominated the first race and there was always going to be only one winner. In the second race he was denied the win by his poor start, pushing him back to sixth. By the time he had got past the traffic to chase Sean, he had used the best of his tyres and it was impossible to win, but it made for a very exciting end to the race.

“What can I say about Tom Sykes, he’s a star of the future, there can be no doubt. It was difficult for him in the second race after falling off in the first, but he kept his cool and was lapping as quickly as the guys in front of him and brought the bike home in the points in 14th. I have been really impressed by his whole attitude to racing and his raw ability. Looking at his throttle control on the graphs, it is amazing. We are looking forward to working with Tom in the future and helping him to realise his full potential.

“Now it is on to Donington under no pressure for the Championship position but with a real desire to win the final two races. It is JR’s home track and we hope he’ll get a bit of competition from his team mate for the round Niall Mackenzie, who is also local to the circuit. We’ll be turning up in new colours for the Donington round to support our sponsor Rizla, which is launching a new coloured packet and ultra thin rolling paper. I’ve seen the new bodywork and it looks ace, I’m looking forward to seeing the bike on track wearing it!”

Race One Result: 1: John Reynolds (RIZLA SUZUKI) 24:28.732, 2: Sean Emmett (Ducati) +1.861, 3: Shane Byrne (Ducati) +2.108, 4: Michael Rutter (Ducati) +4.867, 5: Glen Richards (Kawasaki) +5.115, 6: Gary Mason (Yamaha) +9.407, 7: Steve Plater (Honda) +11.223, 8: Scott Smart (Kawasaki) +11.404, 9: Leon Haslam (Ducati) +16.158, 10: Chris Burns (Yamaha) +18.658.

Race Two Result: 1: Emmett 23:26.076, 2: John Reynolds (RIZLA SUZUKI) +1.677, 3: Byrne +3.308, 4: Richards +4.753, 5: Haslam +9.168, 6: Plater +12.977, 7: Mason +12.983, 8: Smart +13.479, 9: Rutter +15.737, 10: Mark Heckles (Honda) +20.734.

Championship Positions: 1: Byrne 438, 2: John Reynolds (RIZLA SUZUKI) 322, 3: Rutter 262, 4: Plater 246, 5: Richards 234, 6: Yukio Kagayama (RIZLA SUZUKI) 214, 7: Emmett 211, 8: Mason 191, 9: Smart 142, 10: Hislop 122.



More, from a press release issued by MonsterMob Ducati:

Round 11 – 2003 British Superbike Championship powered by HALLS, Brands Hatch

Saturday 13th and Sunday 14th September 2003

MORE ROSTRUMS FOR SHAKEY AS EASTON CLAIMS VICTORY

MonsterMob Ducati superbike rider Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne added another pair of rostrum finishes to his impressive set of 2003 results when he finished in third place in both of today’s British Superbike races at Brands Hatch.

The new British Champion made it 19 rostrum finishes out of 22 races at the penultimate round of the series but was disappointed not to add to his 10 victories so far this season.

“I tried my best but had to settle for a pair of rostrums which under the circumstances wasn’t too bad. I’m a little bit disappointed as it means my aim of winning the most number of races in a season is now not possible. But the hard work has been done and I will settle for the results. My team have been fantastic this season and I’d like to think we can round off the year with a couple of victories at Donington Park.”

Meanwhile Supersport rider Stuart Easton emerged victorious in the Supersport race with his third win of the year.

In an incident packed race around the Kent Indy circuit Easton was racing in the leading trio and inherited the lead when Honda mounted rivals Karl Harris and Michael Laverty crashed out. But still the young Scot had to work hard for the victory as he fended off a late challenge from Simon Andrews at the flag.

“I’ll admit I got lucky but I’d like to think I had the situation under control. We’ve had some bad luck this season so I’ll take a slice of good luck now its come my way,” said Easton who claimed runner up in the Championship as a result.

Team owner Paul Bird was pleased with his riders’ efforts in front of a 24,400 crowd.

“Stuart did well and proved that when he puts the effort in he is capable of anything. I’m really pleased for him and also for Shakey who added to the silverware haul for this season. It would be great to round off the season in style at Donington and we’ll be gunning for that with another hat trick there” said the Penrith businessman.

Superbike Results

Race One
1, John Reynolds (Suzuki) 24:28.732, 2, Sean Emmett (Ducati) +1.861s, 3, Shane Byrne (MonsterMob Ducati) +2.108s, 4, Michael Rutter (Ducati) +4.867s, 5, Glen Richards (Kawasaki) +5.115s, 6, Gary Mason (Yamaha) +9.407s, 7, Steve Plater (Honda) +11.223s, 8, Scott Smart (Kawasaki) +11.404s, 9, Leon Haslam (Ducati) +12.481s, 10, Chris Burns (Yamaha) +16.158s

Race Two
1, Sean Emmett (Ducati) 23:26.076, 2, John Reynolds (Suzuki) +1.677s, 3, Shane Byrne (MonsterMob Ducati) +3.308s, 4, Glen Richards (Kawasaki) +4.753s, 5, Leon Haslam (Ducati) +9.168s, 6,Steve Plater (Honda) +12.977s, 7, Gary Mason (Yamaha) +12.983s, 8, Scott Smart (Kawasaki) +13.479s, 9, Michael Rutter (Ducati) +15.737s, 10, Mark Heckles (Honda) +20.734s

Superbike Standings after Round 11

1, Shane Byrne (MonsterMob Ducati) 438pts

2, John Reynolds (SuzukI) 322pts

3, Michael Rutter (Ducati) 263pts

4, Steve Plater (Honda) 246pts

5, Glen Richards (Kawaski) 238pts

6, Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki) 210pts

7, Sean Emmett (Ducati) 207pts

8, Gary Mason (Yamaha) 195pts

9, Scott Smart (Kawasaki) 144pts

10, Steve Hislop (Yamaha) 122pts

Supersport Results
1, Stuart Easton (MonsterMob Ducati) 22:30.781, 2, Simon Andrews (Yamaha) +0.064s, 3, Dean Thomas (Honda) +6.271s, 4, John Crockford (Honda) +6.299s, 5, Kim Ashkenazi (Yamaha) +14.923s, 6, Tom Tunstall (Yamaha) +18.206s, 7, Shane Norval (Yamaha) +18.856s, 8, Craig Jones (Triumph) +24.136s, 9, John Crawford (Honda) +36.824s, 10, Danny Beaumont (Kawasaki) +43.851s

Supersport Championship Standings after Round 11

1, Karl Harris 215pts

2, Stuart Easton (MonsterMob Ducati) 183pts

3, Simon Andrews 135pts

4, Dean Thomas 103pts

5, Michael Laverty 102pts

6, John Crockford 95pts

7, Tom Sykes 80pts

8, Adrian Coates 79pts

9, Rob Frost 78pts

10, Craig Jones 75pts