FIM Supersport World Championship Brands Hatch, England August 3, 2008 Race Results (on aggregate time, all on Pirelli tires): 1. Jonathan REA (Honda CBR600RR), 15 laps, 22:29.935 2. Craig JONES (Honda CBR600RR), -0.209 second 3. Andrew PITT (Honda CBR600RR), -0.664 4. Broc PARKES (Yamaha YZF-R6), -2.816 seconds 5. Josh BROOKES (Honda CBR600RR), -6.789 6. Barry VENEMAN (Suzuki GSX-R600), -9.094 7. Gianluca NANNELLI (Honda CBR600RR), -15.048 8. Massimo ROCCOLI (Yamaha YZF-R6), -15.623 9. Rob FROST (Triumph Daytona 675), -18.393 10. Hudson KENNAUGH (Yamaha YZF-R6), -19.528 World Championship Point Standings (After 9 of 13 rounds): 1. Pitt, 149 points 2. Rea, 117 3. Parkes, 113 4. Brookes, 112 5. Jones, 100 6. Fabien Foret, 97 7. Joan Lascorz, 83 8. Robbin Harms, 50 9. TIE, Veneman/Roccoli, 48 More, from a press release issued by Triumph-SC: DRAMATIC RACE AT BRANDS HATCH (Brands Hatch United Kingdom August 3rd, 2008) Pawel Szkopek got a good performance at Brands Hatch in a dramatic race, stopped twice with red flag and with the final result recorded after 15 out of 23 scheduled laps. Without that stops surely Szkopek could score some point for the championship after a race all fight to close the starting gap. Ruggero Scambia too finished the race recovering some position as his starting grid. Pawel Szkopek related his race: “Has been a difficult race. At the start the track was cold and a bit wet because the morning rain. I had a wrong start because the new engine, installed for the race, was more powerful as yesterday engine I used for the practices, so I started with a wheelie. At the end of the first lap I was in 31st position, but I had an early recover and I was faster as the riders who were leading me. When the red flag stopped the race, after 8 laps, I was upgraded in 23rd position. On the grid for the second start we had a trouble with the front tyre and I must start from the back of the grid, but this time I got an excellent start quickly recovering. After seven laps of the second heat I was already 18th and I had still eight laps to catch the riders in front of me, which were running slower as me. Unfortunately the red flag for the bad accident of Craig Jones, stopped once more my action and the points, that I was sure to grab, remained a dream for me.” Also Ruggero Scambia finished the race, ending in 26th position: “After the bad practice day this result let me quite serene. I earned some position during the race, lapping faster as in qualifying. On such demanding track I couldn’t ask more.” Also in the 600 Superstock race, contested at the end of the race day with the dry track, Robbie Stewart fight in the group, ending in 24th position: “I got a good start and just in the first lap I earned five places, then during the third lap someone touched me, sending me out of the line and I lost positions, but slowly I recover the group until the 24st final place.” More, from a press release issued by Yamaha Racing: Broc Parkes (Yamaha World Supersport Team) finished in fourth position in what was an aggregated race at Brands Hatch – started late because of an earlier race delay, stopped at one stage due to rain, with the second leg finally also halted early after a red flag due to a high-speed crash. In the aggregate results Parkes was just off the podium, in a race won by Jonathan Rea. Andrew Pitt was third and now Rea is ahead of Parkes in the standings, with Pitt on 149 points, Rea on 117 and Broc on 113. Parkes was closing in on the front group before Craig Jones fell during the second leg of the race and the race was red-flagged, with the result declared after a combined 15 laps. Harris fell in the restarted second leg of the race, and was not classified with a finish, despite running strongly in the first few places in each sector. Massimo Roccoli (Yamaha Team Italia Lorenzini by Leoni) scored eighth place and now has 48 points, which gives him a share of ninth in the series standings. David Salom (Yamaha Spain World Supersport Team) went 21st today. Broc Parkes (4th – Yamaha World Supersport Team) “It was a bit of a mixed bag today, even if near the end of the first race we were riding around in the rain. It wasn’t really a good race, but that second one was a lot better. I didn’t really have the pace to match the front guys and I had a little problem with my front brake. I adjusted it and started to catch them back up and then I saw Craig crash right in front of me going into the straight. It was not a good day at the office really.” Karl Harris (DNF – Yamaha World Supersport Team) “I felt really good out there but I had a vague feeling from the front end. It was the same in the first half of the race and I actually preferred that setting. We went with an SC1 front tyre but it didn’t feel that good at all. I’m gutted to have fallen but I was running up the front in my first WSS racing for a few years.” Wilco Zeelenberg (Team Manager, Yamaha World Supersport Team) “Technically we didn’t have a lot of problems in the race. Karl tried to do his best and he was doing a lot under braking to keep up with the guys, but finally he went out. In the first race they should have flagged it three laps before, and Broc had more rain on his visor than he would have liked to see, so he lost two seconds to the guy who won the first heat. He was there with the group but he had some difficulties. Everybody was sliding about a bit to be honest. The final result is very disappointing.” Massimo Roccoli (8th – Yamaha Team Italia Lorenzini by Leoni) “I took some time to get started in both the first and second legs of the race but when I did get up to speed the bike and everything was OK. But by that time the leading group was gone, so I could not catch them up.” More, from a press release issued by Honda: Rea Wins In Front of Home Fans In an aggregate WSS race Jonathan Rea (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR) took his second victory in a row while Andrew Pitt (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR) scored a podium finish in third, to take a 32- point championship lead into the summer break. Rea had been on the front row after qualifying, behind Honda privateer Matthieu Lagrive, but Pitt had to work his way up to his podium place in the early laps, having only qualified 9th in a session interrupted by rain. The race was run in two parts today, with rain stopping the first race after eight laps, but the restart was also halted early when Honda rider Craig Jones (Parkalgar Honda CBR600RR) fell from his machine at the fast Cark Curve, while in second place, appearing to be struck by a closely following rider. With Jones prostrate on the track the red flags came out to stop the race. The result was therefore called after 15 aggregated laps, with Rea taking first place, Jones credited with second due to the results being taken from one lap before the red flag’s appearance, and Pitt finished third. Jones’s condition was described by his team in the following official statement from Simon Buckmaster, Parkalgar Honda Team Manager: “Craig was treated trackside by the medical staff before being transferred by air-ambulance to the Royal London Hospital. He has a serious head injury and the doctors have placed him in a pharmacological coma to stabilise his condition. We will not know any more for at least 24 or 48-hours all our thoughts are with him and his family. I would like to thank the medical staff for their attention and also the well-wishers for their thoughts. We shall update the news on Craig’s condition as and when we can.” Behind the three-way fight for the win, Josh Brookes (Hannspree Stiggy Motorsports Honda CBR600RR) was credited with fifth, while Gianluca Nannelli (Hannspree Althea Honda CBR600RR) went 12th. Robbin Harms (Hannspree Stiggy Motorsports Honda CBR600RR) fell when the rain that stopped leg one came on, while in the lead, and he was closely followed by Russell Holland (Hannspree Althea Honda CBR600RR). Harms was not allowed to restart in the second leg, and neither was Holland. In the championship standings, Pitt has 149 points, Rea 117, Parkes 113, Brookes 112 and Jones 100. Rea said: “It’s a bad way to win a race through my good friend Craig Jones getting hurt. But the team and I have worked hard all weekend to get a good package together with the CBR600RR and we’ve been on it the whole time. It’s great to race in front of a British crowd again and I hope they enjoyed it. But, for sure, it was a real-anticlimax.” Pitt said: “I had some real problems during qualifying, but the bike was great for the race and I got a good start. I felt really strong and confident enough to go for the win but, with Craig’s crash, it ended before I got the chance.” Brookes said: “It has been a difficult race day today. In the first race it was all feeling pretty good. I got a good start, but it took some time getting comfortable and I was up to fifth place when the race was red-flagged. In the second race, I had a hard time getting into a good rhythm. Then the race was stopped for the second time and I had to settle for fifth place overall.” Harms said: “This is the second race in a row that I managed to put in a great race performance but finished without a result. It is very frustrating and disappointing. The race, up until my crash, was just amazing. The bike was working really well and I knew I had so much more to give. When I was in the lead, I was even able to get a bit of a gap between myself and Rea behind me.” Nannelli said: “It was a really chaotic race today. I had a good start in the first race and I was able to recover quite a few positions. I reached tenth position when the race was red flagged because of the rain. My second start was not so good as the first one but overall I reached a good seventh position.” Holland said: “I’m really disappointed to have crashed in the first race. I could not start the second race because my bike had some problems after the fall and I could not re-enter the box within the five minutes requested. Today has been a really unlucky day for me.” The Supersport series has its next round at Donington Park, on September 7th. More, from a press release issued by HANNspree Ten Kate Honda: Jonathan Rea took his second World Supersport victory at Brands Hatch today, following up on his maiden win at Brno two weeks ago. His HANNspree Ten Kate team-mate, Andrew Pitt, was third, maintaining his championship lead to 32 points over Rea. The incident-packed race was run over two parts after rain caused the exit of early race leader, Robbin Harms. Rea assumed the lead on the grid for the 15-lap restart and battled with fellow Brit, Craig Jones, and Pitt. It was in the second part of the race, on lap 14, that Andrew Pitt broke the Brands Hatch Supersport lap record, but Rea maintained control until Jones crashed heavily on lap sixteen, causing the race to be stopped again. Jonathan Rea 1st: It’s a bad way to win a race through my good friend Craig Jones getting hurt. But the team and I have worked hard all weekend to get a good package together with the CBR600RR and we’ve been on it the whole time. It’s great to race in front of a British crowd again and I hope they enjoyed it. But, for sure, it was a real-anticlimax. Andrew Pitt 3rd: I had some real problems during qualifying, but the bike was great for the race and I got a good start. I felt really strong and confident enough to go for the win but, with Craig’s crash, it ended before I got the chance. Ronald ten Kate team manager: What could have been a sensational World Supersport round, in which we were looking set to have two riders on the podium, unfortunately ended badly. Right now, we’re experiencing mixed emotions. World Supersport championship, round nine results: 1 J Rea (HANNspree ten Kate Honda) 2 C Jones (Honda) 3 A Pitt (HANNspree Ten Kate Honda) Championship points after nine of 13 rounds: 1 A Pitt 149 2 J Rea 117 3 B Parkes 113 More, from a press release issued by Triumph Italia Be1 Racing: Steve Plater gives the 11th place to Triumph Italia Be1 Racing at the end of a double stopped SuperSport race. The British rider kept the position in the first part of the race and then started to battle inside the pack fighting for the top-ten. After eight laps the race was stopped for the first time due to the rain. Shortly after the riders took back to the track without any tyres change, since the rain fell just for a while. Plater got the eleventh place in the aggregate final ranking, recording a best time just six tenths lower than quickest one. The race was definitely stopped at the 15th lap when a dramatic crash occurred to Craig Jones. On the other hand Mark Aitchison slid off while he was fighting in a three-man battle. The crash has not worsen his already precarious physical conditions. In Stock600 the young Davide Fanelli confirmed the good performances of the qualifying days, passing the chequered flag in 15th position. STEVE PLATER | Triumph 675 | 11th Classified: “I’ve been very glad to make my debut on a Triumph in front of British followers here at Brands Hatch. It has been wonderful emotion. I cannot say to have reached an excellent feeling with the bike yet but I have had the opportunity to appreciate the good set-up and the great engine of Daytona 675. Without the two breaks, maybe, I would have had the chance to finish some position forward”. MARK AITCHISON | Triumph 675 | Retired: “Unfortunately I crashed after only three laps due to a contact with Fujiwara. My physical conditions doesn’t get worst but I need some holiday to recover and get back to Donington in better form”.