Updated: Hawk Kawasaki’s Smart Takes British Superbike Pole At Cadwell Park

Updated: Hawk Kawasaki’s Smart Takes British Superbike Pole At Cadwell Park

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From a press release issued by MonsterMob Ducati:

FRONT ROW FOR LAVERTY

MonsterMob Ducati Supersport rider Michael Laverty claimed his fifth front row start of the season when he set fourth fastest time during the second qualifying for round eleven of the British Supersport Championship at Cadwell Park today.

The 23 year old from Toomebridge, Northern Irelandleft it until late in the session before climbing on to the front row but managed to hang on in the final throes as the faster times came in. What was more pleasing for the MonsterMob team was that Michael set the time on a race tyre and as a result is confident going into tomorrow’s sixteen lap race.

“A front row start is excellent, and I got held up on my fast lap. I’m very confident on the race tyre and we’ve got a good set up so we’re hoping for a good result tomorrow” said Laverty.

Meanwhile MonsterMob Ducati Superbike rider Sean Emmett will start both of tomorrow’s races from row three of the grid after setting eleventh fastest time. The 34 year old Londoner has traditionally struggled around the Lincolnshire circuit in the past and will have to pull something out of the hat if he is to challenge for a leading position.

“The bike is good around the flowing sections and on race tyres we’re pretty close. I have to get a good start tomorrow and then we will be OK” said Emmett.

Team owner Paul Bird said the following: “That was excellent qualifying for Michael because we did it on a race tyre, not a qualifier. We’ve got a good chance of victory in the Supersport race tomorrow. Cadwell Parkhas never been one of Sean’s best circuits and it will be a damage limitation exercise tomorrow. The goal is to finish in the top six. We have had our fair share of wins at Cadwell in the past few years and it will take something special to add to that tomorrow.”

Superbike Qualifying

1, Scott Smart (Kawasaki) 1m28.131s, 2, Michael Rutter (Honda) 1m28.553s, 3, Tommy Hill (Yamaha) 1m28.757s, 4, John Reynolds (Suzuki) 1m28.789s, 5, Dean Thomas (Ducati) 1m28.840s, 6, Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki) 1m28.872s, 7, Ryuichi Kiyonari (Honda) 1m29.097s, 8, James Haydon (Yamaha) 1m29.123s, 9, John McGuinness (Kawasaki) 1m29.366s, 10, Glen Richards (Kawasaki) 1m29.452s, 11, Sean Emmett (MonsterMob Ducati) 1m29.480s.

Supersport Qualifying

1, Leon Camier (Honda) 1m30.769s, 2, Karl Harris (Honda) 1m30.867s, 3, Tom Sykes (Suzuki) 1m31.043s, 4, Michael Laverty (MonsterMob Ducati) 1m31.160s, 5, Paul Young (Honda) 1m31.235s, 6, Stuart Easton (Ducati) 1m31.330s, 7, Jay Vincent (Honda) 1m31.391s, 8, Pere Riba (Kawasaki) 1m31.451s, 9, Luke Quigley (Suzuki) 1m31.537s, 10, Adrian Coates (Suzuki) 1m31.539s.


More, from a press release issued by Rizla Suzuki:

Reynolds perfectly poised for the races

RIZLA SUZUKI’S John Reynolds will line up fourth on the front row of the grid for tomorrow’s two Superbike races at the 11th round of the Think! British Superbike Championship at Cadwell Park, an ideal place to start from as it allows him the inside line into the first corner and an early opportunity to overtake.

JR is leading the Championship by 50-points and is determined to stamp his authority on his rivals at Cadwell Park. His fourth place start comes after a tough session that found him baulked by back-markers and running off the circuit. On race tyres he is right at the front but with only one clear lap on a qualifying tyre he had to settle for fourth.

Yukio Kagayama put his Rizla Suzuki sixth on the grid and is targeting a podium finish tomorrow. He is right on the pace on race rubber and is benefiting from having his own personal physiotherapist– Mr Takashi Kamata – attending him this weekend to ensure he is in top physical condition.

Racing starts at 12:15pm on Bank Holiday Monday at the 2.18-mile long Cadwell Park venue, which is renown as one of the most popular events on the British Superbike calendar, with more than 35,000 spectators expected to attend. It will be screened live on Sky Sports and a highlights programme shown on the BBC one week later.

JR:
“Fourth place is exactly where I need to be – on the front row. If I get a good start then it’s going to be a lot of fun.

“My Rizla Suzuki GSX-R1000 is fantastic. The engine is super strong and the handling is pin sharp; I am able to lean the bike over and corner extremely fast. The plan is the same as usual tomorrow, to go out and win two races and not to give an inch. I have a title to race for!”

Yuki:
“I learn my racing lines today and I am happy with this circuit. Last year this is bad luck race venue for me, this year I want to make it good luck. I want to replace no-need bad memories with happy podium memories.

“Thank you to my fans for coming to support me. I like them wishing me so well. My Rizla Suzuki is strong and today all I try are many different tyres. We have picked good tyre and I think this is strong package.”

Niall Mackenzie, team test rider:
“Qualifying is always difficult at Cadwell because of the traffic and trying to get a clear lap. JR certainly suffered from slower riders and has the pace to mix it at the front in the race. Yuki has a good race set-up and is doing incredibly well given his crash here last year.

“Both riders have a little bit in reserve and that should make for some exciting racing tomorrow. If you are planning to visit Cadwell, my advice is to get here early because it is going to be a big crowd!”

Final Qualification: 1: Scott Smart (Kawasaki) 1:28.131, 2: Michael Rutter (Honda) +0.422, 3: Tommy Hill (Yamaha) +0.626, 4: JOHN REYNOLDS (RIZLA SUZUKI) +0.658, 5: Dean Thomas (Ducati) +0.709, 6: YUKIO KAGAYAMA (RIZLA SUZUKI) +0.741, 7: Ryuichi Kiyonari (Honda) +0.966, 8: James Haydon (Yamaha) +0.992, 9: John McGuinness (Kawasaki) +1.235, 10: Glen Richards (Kawasaki) +1.321.



More, from a press release issued by Hawk Kawasaki:

HAWK KAWASAKI
THINK! BSB Championship, Round 11, Aug 29
National Superstock Cup, Round 9

Cadwell Park, Lincolnshire
Track length: 2.18 miles
Weather: cloudy, slight breeze, 22°C
Track: dry, 34°C

BSB QUALIFYING & SUPERSTOCK CUP RACE

SMART ON POLE & HICKMAN TAKES DOMINANT WIN AND CHAMPIONSHIP LEAD

Hawk Kawasaki’s Scott Smart today took the second BSB pole position of his career during qualifying for the eleventh round of the THINK! British Superbike Championship, at Cadwell Park. Smarty, who topped the time sheets in the morning’s session, rammed home his advantage by posting a blistering 1:28.131 lap of the revised 2.18 mile long track – outpacing his nearest rival, Michael Rutter, by four tenths of a second.

“I’m feeling good,” beamed Smart afterwards. “We were quick this morning and we’ve been consistently quick on race tyres too. In fact we didn’t even bother going out for the first 10 minutes of the second session because we didn’t feel there was much to be gained. When we did we were instantly on the pace anyway. Tomorrow’s a different day though, so we’ll just have to see what happens.”

John McGuinness looked to be on for a second row start until he was knocked back to ninth position in the dying moments of the day’s final qualifying session. But with less than 1.5 seconds splitting the first 10 riders and McGuinness posting consistently quick times on race rubber the Cumbrian is confident he can run with the front runners in the races.

“The times I’ve been doing on race tyres are as competitive as anyone else so I just need to get a good start and hang on in there,” he said. “The pace is so hot. I was eighth and on the second row until the dying minutes and that’s when I got shunted back onto the third row. That’s a disappointment but I’m fairly happy with the way I’ve been riding because it’s so close out there.”

His team-mate Glen Richards put on a gritty performance and showed that it won’t be long until he rediscovers the form that made him such a sensation in last year’s series. His best time, which was just one tenth of a second behind McGuinness’ best, was the tenth quickest of the day.

“We’re going quicker every time we go out, which is good,” said Richards. “There are a couple of places where I’m still struggling and that’s letting me down. It’s mainly into the mountain section – because I can’t get online for the left I’m not getting through the right properly. There’s nothing I can do about it at the moment because I’m not strong enough yet, but I’ll be giving it my all tomorrow.”

After BSB qualifying Hawk Kawasaki’s 17 year-old star, Peter Hickman, annihilated the field in round nine of the National Superstock Cup, taking the win over 13 seconds clear of his closest rival. Hickman, who started from pole position, also set the fastest lap and now leads the series by three points.

“It feels absolutely amazing,” said Hicky. “I’m glad I got a clean win this time because at Croft it was a race of attrition, so I’m well chuffed. At three quarter distance it said plus 10 on the board so I eased off a little, but I still won by over 13 seconds so they must have slowed behind me as well. Hopefully we can do exactly the same tomorrow.”

Hicky has the chance to stretch his championship lead still further in round 10 of the series which takes place at Cadwell tomorrow (Aug 30).

BSB COMBINED QUALIFYING
1) Scott Smart, Hawk Kawasaki, 1:28.131. 2) Michael Rutter, Honda, 1:28.553. 3) Tommy Hill, Yamaha, 1:28.757. 4) John Reynolds, Suzuki, 1:28.789. 5) Dean Thomas, Ducati, 1:28.840. 6) Yukio Kagayama, Suzuki, 1:28.872. 7) Ryuichi Kiyonari, Honda, 1:29.097. 8) James Haydon, Yamaha, 1:29.123. 9) John McGuinness, Hawk Kawasaki, 1:29.366. 10) Glen Richards, Hawk Kawasaki, 1:29.452. 11) Sean Emmett, Ducati, 1:29.480. 12) Gary Mason, Yamaha, 1:29.963. 13) Kieran Clarke, Yamaha, 1:30.023. 14) Jon Kirkham, Suzuki (P), 1:30.067. 15) James Buckingham, Suzuki (P), 1:30.127
(P) = Privateer

NATIONAL SUPERSTOCK CUP RACE
1) Peter Hickman, Hawk Kawasaki. 2) Simon Wright, Yamaha. 3) Paul Shoesmith, Yamaha. 4) Graham Seward, Suzuki. 5) John Fisher, Suzuki. 6) Dan Stewart, Suzuki. 7) James McBride, Suzuki. 8) Rory Rock, Yamaha. 9) Dan Rack, Suzuki. 10) James Hurrell, Suzuki. 11) Charles Reynolds, Kawasaki. 12) Mark Turner, Kawasaki. 13) Stu Wilson, Suzuki. 14) Alan Moreton, Yamaha. 15) Simon Pomeroy, Suzuki
Fastest lap: Peter Hickman, Hawk Kawasaki, 1:33.531, 83.90mph

NATIONAL SUPERSTOCK CUP AFTER 9 ROUNDS
1) Peter Hickman, Hawk Kawasaki, 94. 2) Simon Wright, 91. 3) Paul Shoesmith, 83. 4) John Fisher, 77. 5) Graham Seward, 69. 6) Rory Rock, 59. 7) Dan Stewart, 58. 8) James McBride, 50. 9) Alan Moreton, 46. 10) Simon Pomeroy, 42


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