From a press release issued by MonsterMob Ducati:

MONSTERMOB DUCATI BRITISH SUPERBIKE TEAM

Round 10 – 2003 British Superbike Championship powered by HALLS, Cadwell Park

Sunday 24th and Monday 25th August 2003

ANOTHER ROSTRUM FOR BYRNE AS EASTON MISSES OUT

The new British Superbike Champion Shane Byrne celebrated his title with another rostrum performance in race two in front of a record 36,250 crowd at Cadwell Park today.

Byrne followed home Suzuki’s John Reynolds and the Honda of winner Steve Plater to celebrate his seventeenth rostrum placing of the season but ironically his first third place of the year.

Shakey got a poor start but gradually clawed back the gap to take third position at the end of the eighteen lap race.

“The race was a bit tactical really. I got a bad start and got a bit bashed up on the first lap but got it together again and made up some time. Once I got past Gary Mason and Leon Haslam I managed to catch the top three quite easily. I felt quite relaxed and sat behind John Reynolds and watched him for a bit, I thought I could pass him but I just left it a bit too late to be honest,” said Byrne.

Meanwhile defending Supersport Champion Stuart Easton relinquished his British title when main rival Karl Harris won the race and the young Scot could do no better than fourth place.

Nevertheless it has been a gallant effort by the Hawick rider especially due to the fact that he has been campaigning an elderly machine against much more modern bikes this year.

“I struggled with the package to be honest. I couldn’t get the bike to do what I wanted it to do. I’m very disappointed. I gave 100% but it wasn’t good enough on the day,” said Easton.

Team owner Paul Bird was disappointed to relinquish the Supersport title. “Stuart rode good for the first half of the race but lost heart in the second part. I hope to see some improvement in his performance next time.”

The series moves on to Brands Hatch in three weeks’ time (13th and 14th September) for the penultimate round.



Superbike Result

Race One
1, Shane Byrne (MonsterMob Ducati) 27:26.156, 2, John Reynolds (Suzuki) -0.573 seconds, 3, Michael Rutter (Ducati) -4.557s, 4, Gary Mason (Yamaha) -4.762s, 5, Glen Richards (Kawasaki) -5.039s, 6, Scott Smart (Kawasaki) -6.744s, 7, Sean Emmett (Ducati) -13.962s, 8, Dennis Hobbs (Suzuki) -15.523s, 9, Lee Jackson (Kawasaki) -15.882s, 10, Nick Medd (Ducati) -16.110s

Race Two
1, Steve Plater (Honda) 25:52.771, 2, John Reynolds (Suzuki) -0.227s, 3, Shane Byrne (MonsterMob Ducati) -2.242s, 4, Leon Haslam (Ducati) -8.246s, 5, Gary Mason (Yamaha) -9.798s, 6, Glen Richards (Kawasaki) -12.146s, 7, Sean Emmett (Ducati) -18.400s, 8, Chris Burns (Yamaha) -21.092s, 9, Lee Jackson (Kawasaki) -40.312s, 10, Dean Ellison (Ducati) -40.591


Superbike Standings after Round 10

1, Shane Byrne (MonsterMob Ducati) 406pts
2, John Reynolds (SuzukI) 277pts
3, Michael Rutter (Ducati) 243pts
4, Steve Plater (Honda) 227pts
5, Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki) 214pts
6, Glen Richards (Kawaski) 210pts
7, Gary Mason (Yamaha) 172pts
8, Sean Emmett (Ducati) 166pts
9, Scott Smart (Kawasaki) 128pts
10, Steve Hislop (Yamaha) 122pts

Supersport Result
1, Karl Harris (Honda) 23:36.486, 2, Michael Laverty (Honda) -1.060s, 3, Simon Andrews (Yamaha) -3.310s, 4, Stuart Easton (MonsterMob Ducati) -3.455s, 5, Tom Sykes (Yamaha) -4.787s, 6, Adrian Coates (Honda) -16.538s, 7, Rob Frost (Kawasaki) -16.863s, 8, Dean Thomas (Honda) -18.343s, 9, Kim Ashkenazi (Yamaha) -21.509s, 10, Tom Tunstall (Yamaha) -28.728s

Supersport Championship Standings after Round 10
1, Karl Harris 215pts
2, Stuart Easton (MonsterMob Ducati) 158pts
3, Simon Andrews 115pts
4, Michael Laverty 102pts
5, Dean Thomas 87pts
6, John Crockford 82pts
7, Tom Sykes 80pts
8, Adrian Coates 79pts
9, Rob Frost 78pts
10, Craig Jones 67pts




More, from a press release issued by Hawk Kawasaki:

BSB Round 10, Cadwell Park

Monday August 25
Track length: 2.173 miles
Weather: cloudy, overcast, 22°C
Track: dry, 28°C

Triple Top Ten Treat for Hawk!

Hawk Kawasaki yet again proved its strength within the British Superbike Championship, with superb performances from all three of its riders in both races at Cadwell Park today.

Glen Richards and Scott Smart used their strong starting positions, of fifth and tenth, to great effect in race one. Both Hawk riders gained positions in the opening laps, with Richards moving up to fourth and Smart to ninth.

The 18-lap dash soon turned into a race of attrition, with Honda’s Steve Plater retiring due to a flicked-off chain and Ducati’s Leon Haslam crashing out – elevated Smart to seventh. A lap later the number 88 Hawk rider passed Sean Emmett to take sixth, before he set about catching Ducati-mounted Michael Rutter. But as he did so, and Glen Richards moved in on Yamaha’s Gary Mason, the safety car was sent out to allow marshals to move Haslam’s stricken machine.

‘The course car obviously broke things up a little bit,’ said Smart. ‘Then when we got going again I nearly hit Glen going into the top of the Gooseneck because he got it really sideways and that broke my rhythm badly, dropping me off the back of him.’

When racing resumed, on lap 14, Richards lost out to Rutter who snuck under the Aussie at Chris Curve to take fourth. The ZX-7RR-mounted star tried to fight back, but a cold tyre caught him out and forced him to settle for fifth. ‘I’m not happy that I got passed by Rutter after the pace car went back in,’ mused Glen. ‘I nearly crashed because the left hand side of the tyre went cold, but that’s life I suppose. I feel like I can run at the front but I can’t get there because the 1000s come past me on the straights and then get in my way.’

Smart finished just behind his team mate in a strong sixth while Lee Jackson, whose determined riding gained him five places in the first lap, came home a brilliant ninth. ‘I was really aggressive going into Coppice and I had nothing to lose really,’ explained Lee of his opening lap move. ‘Unfortunately when the pace car came out it affected the tyre a little bit and I got a bit of cramp in my right hand. Then Dennis Hobbs came by me at the end – I had a go on the last lap but I just couldn’t make a pass and I figured that a race finish is better than a crash.’

The Hawk team looked to be on for another triple top 10 finish in race two, until Smart’s chain flicked off its sprockets as he crested The Mountain on lap 12. The former Supersport race winner had been holding a excellent eighth place ahead of Sean Emmett before the incident, but his quick thinking and gritty determination saw him push his machine from Hall Bends back to the pits and eventually rejoin the race.

‘I thought I’d back the pace off by a second and save some energy for the end, but when the chain came off I had to push the thing from Hall bends all the way back to the pits so my mechanics could put it back on again,’ said Scott of his heroic effort. ‘I managed to get straight back out again without even getting lapped and still finish fourteenth in the BSB race, so I’ve still scored points in every race so far.’

Glen Richards produced another characteristically strong showing in race two, to finish sixth. ‘It was another tough race for sure,’ he said afterwards. ‘But it’s frustrating we can’t make more ground on the front guys. I feel I can run with them, but it’s real hard riding a 750 around here. A fifth and a sixth is not a bad result though.’

Lee Jackson backed-up his first race performance by getting the better of race-long rivals Jon Kirkham, Dennis Hobbs and Dean Ellison, scything under the Ducati rider on the last lap to take a well deserved ninth. ‘When Dean passed me before the last lap I thought there was no way he was going to finish ahead of me,’ he said. ‘I did him on the last lap at the Gooseneck, which was a bit off-putting for him because I think he thought it wasn’t possible for me to get past him there, but I did and I’m more than pleased with that. If I’d have got a better start I think I could have run a better pace, but I used my tyre life up early on. I’m now being more aggressive in the race and that’s what you need to be in this championship.’

After excellent and determined performances from all three of his riders, Hawk Kawasaki team boss Stuart Hicken was obviously delighted. ‘It’s always exciting at Cadwell Park and I have to say that I’m pleased all three riders come home in one piece because they all rode their balls off. All in all, a great day’s racing.’

BSB Race 1 result
1) Shane Byrne, Ducati. 2) John Reynolds, Suzuki. 3) Michael Rutter, Ducati. 4) Gary Mason, Yamaha. 5) Glen Richards, Hawk Kawasaki. 6) Scott Smart, Hawk Kawasaki. 7) Sean Emmett, Ducati. 8) Dennis Hobbs, Suzuki (P). 9) Lee Jackson, Hawk Kawasaki. 10) Nick Medd, Ducati. 11) Jeremy Goodall, Yamaha (P). 12) Phil Giles, Suzuki (P). 13) James Buckingham, Suzuki (P). 14) Sam Corke, Suzuki (P). 15) Gordon Blackley, Honda (P). 16) Dave Wood, Suzuki (P). 17) Mike Walker, Yamaha (P). 18) Malcolm Ashley, Ducati. (P). 19) Paul Jones, Suzuki. 20) Francis Williamson, Yamaha (P)

P=Privateer

Fastest Lap: John Reynolds, Suzuki: 1:25.181, 91.83mph

BSB Race 2 result
1) Steve Plater, Honda. 2) John Reynolds, Suzuki. 3) Shane Byrne, Ducati. 4) Leon Haslam, Ducati. 5) Gary Mason, Yamaha. 6) Glen Richards, Hawk Kawasaki. 7) Sean Emmett, Ducati. 8) Chris Burns, Yamaha. 9) Lee Jackson, Hawk Kawasaki. 10) Dean Ellison, Ducati. 11) John Kirkham, Yamaha. 12) Dennis Hobbs, Suzuki (P). 13) Jeremy Goodall, Yamaha (P). 14) Dave Wood, Suzuki (P). 15) Nick Medd, Ducati. 16) Phil Giles, Suzuki (P). 17) Mark Burr, Suzuki (P). 18) Francis Williamson, Yamaha (P). 19) James Buckingham, Suzuki (P). 20) Sam Corke, Suzuki (P)

25/14) Scott Smart, Hawk Kawasaki

Fastest Lap: Shane Byrne, Ducati: 1:25.307, 91.70mph

BSB Riders’ Championship, after 10 rounds
1) Shane Byrne, Ducati: 406 (Champion). 2) John Reynolds, Suzuki: 277. 3) Michael Rutter, Ducati: 243. 4) Steve Plater, Honda: 227. 5) Yukio Kagayama, Suzuki: 214. 6) Glen Richards, Hawk Kawasaki: 210. 7) Gary Mason, Yamaha: 172. 8) Sean Emmett, Ducati: 166. 9) Scott Smart, Hawk Kawasaki: 128. 10) Steve Hislop, Yamaha: 122. 11) Lee Jackson, Hawk Kawasaki: 91. 12) Mark Heckles, Honda: 75. 13) John Crawford, Ducati: 74. 13=) Paul Young, Yamaha: 74. 15) Leon Haslam, Ducati: 60. 16) Dean Ellison, Ducati: 43. 17) Jon Kirkham, Yamaha: 39. 18) Nick Medd, Ducati: 33. 19) John McGuinness, Ducati: 26. 20) Dean Thomas, Yamaha: 13

BSB Premier Team Championship, after 10 rounds
1) Monstermob/ETI Ducati: 1605. 2) Renegade Ducati: 1493. 3) Rizla Suzuki: 1472. 4) Hawk Kawasaki: 1456. 5) Virgin Yamaha: 1387. 6) Honda Racing: 1161. 7) Hawk Kawasaki/TDC Suzuki: 1141. 8) TDB Recruit Yamaha: 1089. 9) D&B/Renegade Ducati: 899