From a press release issued by Team Suzuki:

KAGAYAMA SETS POLE AT CROFT
Team Suzuki Press Office – August 14, 2004.

Yukio Kagayama set a blisteringly quick lap time on race rubber to take pole position for tomorrow’s 10th round of the British Superbike Championship at Croft while his team mate John Reynolds will start from the second row in sixth place.

Croft is new to the BSB calendar for 2004 and Kagayama used his experience of learning tracks quickly along with his immense riding talent to dominate the practice and qualifying sessions, finishing up with pole position on his Rizla Suzuki GSX-R1000.

Series leader Reynolds was second on the time sheets until the closing seconds of qualification when he was edged back to sixth on the grid. On the pace using race rubber, JR left the pit-garage vowing to be fighting for the podium.

He leads the Championship by 73 points from Honda’s Michael Rutter going into this round.

Yukio Kagayama:

“Thank you my team staff for helping me take pole position. This morning I ride hard and my Rizla Suzuki feels very fast – I set pole position lap time using race tyre. This afternoon I try many small changes and make same lap time and learn more about this circuit.

“I think over race distance we have a fast bike and I think maybe a good chance to get satisfactory result. I want to win races for my fans and Rizla Suzuki. This is my main aim for rest of season.”

John Reynolds:

“We have made good progress with my Rizla Suzuki GSX-R1000 and it is handling, driving and braking extremely well. On race rubber that is great, but I just couldn’t get it together on a qualifying tyre.

“Sixth on the grid is less than ideal, but my team is keeping me grounded in reality – we have the race set-up to challenge at the front and that is what is important. There are no points for qualifying and I know I will start the racing tomorrow with the most competitive bike possible.”

Stewart Johnstone – Chief Technician for Kagayama:

“Yuki has clicked well with Croft and been really strong every time he’s gone out on track. We started with a reasonable base setting on his GSX-R1000 and have spent most of the time refining it for race distance. The fact he set pole position during an endurance test on race rubber is very impressive and with a bit of luck tomorrow we could score some good results.

“JR has been closest to Yuki using race rubber and his qualifying position doesn’t reflect his competitiveness here. He is determined to extend his points advantage in the title chase and if he gets his trade-mark good start, will be right up the front in both races.”

Qualifying positions:

1: YUKIO KAGAYAMA (RIZLA SUZUKI) 1:20.904
2: Michael Rutter (Honda) +0.046
3: James Haydon (Yamaha) +0.176
4: Dean Thomas (Ducati) +0.285
5: Scott Smart (Kawasaki) +0.324
6: JOHN REYNOLDS (RIZLA SUZUKI) +0.425
7: Gary Mason (Yamaha) +0.522
8: Ryuichi Kiyonari (Honda) +0.879
9: Tommy Hill (Yamaha) +0.914
10: John McGuinness (Kawasaki) +0.936.

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Yamaha GMT94’s David Checa, Sebastien Gimbert and William Costes won round five of the six-round FIM Endurance World Championship, a 24-hour event August 14-15 at Oschersleben in Germany.

The win in the double-point race combined with the DNF of Castrol Suzuki (Vincent Philippe/Olivier Four/Matthieu Lagrive) allows Yamaha GMT94 to clinch the Endurance World Championship with one round remaining.

Yamaha GMT94 and Castrol Suzuki swapped the lead back and forth with each pit stop through the first half of the race.

Thanks to a longer range on each load of fuel, Castrol Suzuki was set up to do two less pit stops than Yamaha GMT94, but Castrol Suzuki’s GSX-R1000 blew its engine shortly after midnight forcing the team to retire.

From there, Yamaha GMT94 continued its trouble-free race and cruised home to win by a large margin.

Yamaha Austria’s Horst Saiger, Thomas Hinterreiter and Igor Jerman finished second, and Yamaha Endurance Moto 38’s Gwen Giabbani, Sebastien Scarnato and Stephane Duterne completed the Yamaha YZF-R1 sweep of the podium in third.

Defending Endurance World Champions Yamaha Phase One’s trouble year continued with a mechanical problem 15 minutes into the event and a race-ending crash within the first six hours.

America Randy Rega rode with Hannover Buell’s Dirk Scheffer and Holger Aue on a XB12R Firebolt and finished 33rd in the 43-team field.


More, from a press release issued by FGSport Group:

Yamaha GMT94 have won the Oschersleben 24 Hour round of the World Endurance Championship and taken an unbeatable lead in the championship standings to claim the 2004 World Endurance Championship with one race still to run.

Yamaha GMT94 were first away and led the opening laps, but Suzuki Castrol caught and passed them to take the lead at the end of the first hour. These two teams continued to trade places for several hours as each in turn made pit stops for fuel and tyres. Behind them a three way fight for third place developed between Yamaha Endurance Moto 38, Kawasaki Bolliger Team and Yamaha Austria.

The Oschersleben circuit is notoriously tough on man and machine, and this year’s race proved to be tougher than most; every hour saw mechanical failure or rider error bring yet another team into the pits for repairs. Yamaha Phase One’s run of bad luck continued with first an electrical problem and then a crash which forced them to retire, WRT Honda Austria were stopped by engine problems, as were Bolliger Kawasaki and X-One Benelli.

After eight hours of racing the leading pair of Suzuki Castrol and Yamaha GMT94 were still swapping first and second places with each pit stop, while Yamaha Austria held third place and Yamaha Endurance Moto 38 worked their way back up through the field.

Suzuki Castrol’s race was over soon after one third distance had been covered. A terminal engine failure forced them to retire, with the resulting oil spill bringing down several other bikes. As dawn broke over the Oschersleben circuit, Yamaha GMT94 held a comfortable lead over Yamaha Austria, with Yamaha Endurance Moto 38 having regained third place. With GMT94 more than ten laps ahead of the Austrian team, and Endurance Moto 38 a similar distance behind them in third, the leading positions settled down despite the best efforts of Moto 38 to close the gap.

The war of attrition continued lower down the order however, with Kawasaki Deutschland, Kawasaki Diablo Bolliger, Suzuki Fagersjo-el.se and Shell Endurance Academy all being forced to pit in the closing hours. Yamaha Austria had a scare during the mid morning period when their bike seemed to be overheating, but by managing the gap between them and Moto 38 and making good use of pace-car periods to make unscheduled stops they were able to hold onto second place despite a failing gear box.

Fourth place went to Swiss long-distance experts Suzuki Jet Endurance, fifth to German team Suzuki Bridgestone Bikers Profi, and sixth to another German squad, Hepelmann Racing Team. The story of this race, though, is the toll taken on some of the most experienced endurance teams in the world. Suzuki Castrol, Kawasaki Bolliger, Yamaha Phase One Endurance and Honda Austria are all capable of running with the best, but the Oschersleben 24 Hours got the better of them.

The Oschersleben race has left GMT94 with an unassailable fifty eight point lead in the championship – the title is theirs. Yamaha Austria have moved up to second place and Yamaha Endurance Moto 38 to third, just three points ahead of Suzuki Castrol.



Press Conference Quotes:

Christophe Guyot, team manager, Yamaha GMT94: “For sure I am very happy, but the reason I am very happy is because five years ago I said it was possible to be a world champion, and it in endurance it is so difficult – not because we must be better than the others, but because endurance always involves a little but of chance. I have always said everything is possible if you want it, but now I understand how difficult it is. Now, I can do anything.”

David Checa, Yamaha GMT94: “It’s hard to explain how I feel. I just tried to do my best here for Christophe and my team mates. We didn’t expect to win here, and not to win the championship.”

William Costes, Yamaha GMT94: “This is my first world championship, I’m very happy for my team manager because he has been working for this for many, many years. We are champions today because Pirelli, Yamaha France, Yamaha Europe and everyone in the team worked very hard for us.”

Igor Jerman, Yamaha Austria Racing Team: “The race was good; we tried to do some fast laps but we had some problems with the gear shift and then the radiator. In the last hour the gearbox broke so we have finished the race with just one gear – it’s very good to be on the podium.”

Gwen Giabbani, Yamaha Endurance Moto 38: “The start was not so bad but then we had a problem with the throttle cable – we broke it twice, so it was impossible to get back in touch with Yamaha Austria.”

Provisional Top Ten (All Classes)

1st 94 – Yamaha GMT94 – FRA – Yamaha YZF-R1 – Checa, Costes, Gimbert 883 laps

2nd 7 – Yamaha Austria – AUT – Yamaha YZF-R1 – Saiger, Hinterreiter, Jerman 865

3rd 38 – Yamaha Endurance Moto 38 – FRA – Yamaha YZF-R1 – Giabbani, Scarnato, Duterne 859

4th 4 – Suzuki Jet Team – SUI – Suzuki GSX-R1000 – Jaggi, Monot, Waldmeier 851

5th 47 – Suzuki Bridgestone Bikers Profi – GER – Suzuki GSX-R1000 – Strauch, Roethig, Czyborra 841

6th 92 – Yamaha Racing Team Hepelmann – GER – Yamaha YZF-R1 – Hepelmann, Kraechter, Wrede 833

7th 52 – Suzuki Engel Racing Team – GER – Suzuki GSX-R1000 – Kraft, Koenig, Steinbach 833

8th 57 – Suzuki Ingenys Racing – GER – Suzuki GSX-R750 – Apel, Moeckel, Raub 830

9th 76 – Yamaha Team Motorrad Klein – Yamaha YZF-R1 – Klein, Malec 829

10th 21 – Kawasaki Endurance Deutschland – Kawasaki ZX10R – Roth, Daehler, Wehran 827


More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki:

SERT LOSES RACE TO WORLD TITLE
Team Suzuki Press Office – August 15, 2004.

Suzuki Castrol has lost hopes of clinching the 2004 World Endurance Championship after mechanical problems forced them out of the Oschersleben 24 Hour race in Germany today when they were in the lead.

The SERT Team’s GSX-R1000, ridden by Frenchmen Vincent Philippe, Olivier Four, Matthieu Lagrive and Christophe Cogan, threw out oil and stopped just over 10 hours into the event that they had dominated from the front with arch rivals Yamaha GMT 94.

It was a cruel blow for the former World Champions who had a strategic advantage on the Yamaha team on the number of laps they could complete on a single tank of petrol; Team Manager Dominic Meliand reckoned on two less stops, although Yamaha’s actual pit stops were slightly quicker. This, he calculated, could have given them up to a minute advantage over 24 hours of racing.

But just after midnight, the Suzuki ran into mechanical problems and the split engine oil brought down several riders, forcing a pace car onto the circuit for 22 laps.

Said Meliand: “We don’t know what actually happened to the engine, but for us now, we will concentrate on winning the Bol d’Or and Vallelunga. We will have two bikes at the Bol but I don’t know who will ride. After this weekend, we have some big meetings in Paris.”

Suzuki rider Philippe took the lead on lap ten ahead of Yamaha GMT – who clinched the World title with victory as they now have an unassailable 58 point lead in the series – then after two hours, Yamaha had moved ahead thanks to some blistering laps and the fastest circuit of the event by team rider David Checa.

Four hours in, Suzuki had moved ahead again and after six hours, the gap between the leading teams was just 22 seconds. Suzuki’s advantage continued and after eight hours, the leading pair had pulled out a six lap lead on third-placed Yamaha Austria.

But their race ended very soon after.

The war of attrition continued lower down the order with Kawasaki Deutschland, Kawasaki Diablo Bolliger, Suzuki Fagersjo-el.se and Shell Endurance Academy all being forced to pit in the closing hours.

Yamaha Austria had a scare during the mid morning period when their bike seemed to be overheating but by managing the gap between them and Moto 38, and making good use of pace-car periods to make unscheduled stops, they were able to hold onto second place despite a failing gearbox.

Fourth place overall went to Swiss long-distance experts Suzuki Jet Endurance, fifth to Suzuki Bridgestone Bikers Profi and sixth to Hepelmann Racing Team. Suzuki Engel Racing Team claimed seventh and Suzuki Ingenys Racing Team steered their GSX-R750 to eighth position.

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Provisional USGPRU 125cc GP Qualifying Results:

1. Brian Kcraget (Hon), 1:35.786
2. Will Gruy (Hon), 1:35.919
3. Garrett Carter (Hon), 1:37.127
4. Scott Moxey (Hon), 1:37.529
5. J.D. Schendel, 1:37.576
6. Ryan Clay (Apr), 1:38.054
7. John Hjelm (Hon), 1:38.538
8. Scott McNew (Hon), 1:38.594
9. Todd Puckett, 1:38.787
10. G. Halenda, 1:38.915
11. Josh Herrin, 1:39.135
12. S. Wenner, 1:39.154
13. A. Brown, 1:39.255
14. Stewart Aitken-Cade (Hon), 1:40.084
15. M. Santella, 1:40.930
16. J. Boudreau, 1:41.113
17. C. Cosentino, 1:41.153
18. Ryan Ferris, 1:41.382
19. Tyler McDonald (Hon), 1:42.128
20. Dale Greenwood, Jr. (Hon), 1:42.181
21. Tyler Reiswig, 1:42.210
22. D. Woods, 1:42.262
23. S. Smallwood, 1:42.322
24. T. Swager, 1:42.948
25. J. Klaras, 1:43.230
26. J. Giddens, 1:43.563
27. D. Celetino, 1:43.962
28. J. Lovejoy, 1:44.489
29. T. Illgen, 1:44.667
30. Finbar Gilsenan (Hon), 1:44.973
31. C. Doktor, 1:45.742
32. M. Johnson, 1:45.889
33. R. Henn, 1:46.461
34. M. Chirino, 1:47.157
35. J. Sawyer, 1:47.499
36. M. Dennis, 1:48.907
37. A. Arwood, 1:49.430
38. F. Pate, 1:49.839
39. L. Hollimen, 1:51.526
40. P. Bangle, 1:53.812
41. H. St. John, 1:59.346

From a press release issued by Mat Mladin Imports:

ADAM FERGUSSON TAKES AUSTRALIAN SUPERBIKE & SUPERSPORT TITLES FOR JOE ROCKET

It was a red letter day for Joe Rocket’s Adam ‘Krusty’ Fergusson at the penultimate round of the Australian Superbike Championship with the Victorian piloting his Castrol Hondas to a string of consistent results that earned him sufficient points to claim the two most prestigious titles, the Australian Superbike and Supersport Championships.

After a mid-season string of victories, Fergusson was in a strong position when he arrived at Queensland Raceway and consistency was all that was needed and that’s exactly what he achieved.

Krusty qualified second fastest in Superbike and then produced a pair of thirds and a seventh, to give him a 76-point margin over Yamaha’s Shannon Johnson at the top of the table, with one round remaining. Even if Johnson was to scoop the pool at the final round, Fergusson would take the title on a count back of wins, having amassed seven this season.

By contrast, an unassailable advantage of 106 points gives the likable Victorian his first Supersport title. Qualifying third, he was in the thick of a hard days racing, finishing with a second, fourth and fifth.

“It’s been a great day, that’s for sure,” said Fergusson. “I hadn’t won an Australian title before and today I picked up two. It was twelve years in the making, but it’s fantastic.

“It was a bit of an up and down weekend for us. I jumped off the Supersport bike a couple of times during qualifying and had some other problems that never quite got fixed, primarily with the front end, but I brought that home where I had to in each of the races and did what was needed to wrap up the title.

“The Superbike was going really well, but I’ve never quite nailed this circuit. I’ve never gelled with the track, but did what I had to in the end.

“It’s good to have wrapped both titles up before the final round at Phillip Island, so I can go there with no stress and get back to doing what we’ve done for most of the year.”

While there was elation for Fergusson, his fellow Rocket Racers also had a very strong day at the office, scoring an impressive string of results and for some, it was a welcomed return to form.

Damian Cudlin rode strongly in the Superbike class all weekend, putting his Team Suzuki entry on the front row with the fourth fastest time. A sixth in the opening race was followed by a crash in the second when he was battling for the race lead and rounded his day off with a sixth in the third.

Nikon Yamaha’s Brendan Clarke showed signs that he his nearing his best again in the highly competitive Supersport class. Qualifying ninth, he improved on race day, taking a pair of fourths and a seventh.

Honda Financial Services teenager Jason O’Halloran had his strongest weekend since being injured at the second round of the championship. He continues to have problems with the ankle he broke and will be undergoing corrective surgery later this week to remove some floating bone fragments. His weekend was highlighted with two top ten finishes, a ninth in race one and tenth in the third.

The Australian Superbike Championship heads to Victoria’s Phillip Island on September 11 & 12, for the seventh and final round of this years series. The competitors will then return a month later to take part in the support class program of the Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix on the weekend of October 15 – 17.

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Provisional Sunday Morning Formula USA Group Five Practice Times:

1. Dave Estok (Buell), 1:36.155
2. David Yaakov (Suzuki), 1:37.033
3. Jeff Johnson (Buell), 1:37.634
4. Dan Bilansky (Buell), 1:38.396
5. Josh Guyer (Buell), 1:39.365
6. Joseph Rozynski (Buell), 1:39.432
7. Walt Sipp (Buell), 1:40.402
8. Sam Rozynski (Buell), 1:40.435
9. Kurt Miller (Buell), 1:40.863
10. B. Stark, 1:41.837
11. Brian Lacy (Suzuki), 1:43.095
12. J. Hillis, 1:42.427
13. Paul James (Buell), 1:42.493
14. A. Surber, 1:42.648
15. D. McEnery, 1:43.254
16. David White (Suzuki), 1:43.333
17. J. Thomas, 1:43.524
18. Jeff Harding (Buell), 1:43.891
19. A. Quinn, 1:44.196
20. J.P. Bartlett, 1:44.213

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Provisional Sunday Morning Formula USA Group 6-7 Practice Times:

1. Vincent Haskovec (Suz), 1:29.829
2. Robert Jensen (Yam), 1:31.360
3. Brian Stokes (Suz), 1:31.970
4. Matt Wait (Yam), 1:32.598
5. Scott Greenwood (Yam), 1:32.815
6. Jeff Wood (Suz), 1:33.188
7. Ben Attard (Suz), 1:33.899
8. Logan Young (Suz), 1:34.492
9. B. Johnson, 1:34.973
10. Des Conboy (Yam), 1:35.125
11. Trey Yonce (Yam), 1:35.298
12. Joseph Arico (Yam), 1:35.596
13. G. Melke, 1:35.684
14. Justin Filice (Hon), 1:35.845
15. William Meyers, III (Yam), 1:35.975
16. Carlo Gagliardo (Yam), 1:36.131
17. Chris Ulrich (Suz), 1:36.253
18. Jason Smith (Yam), 1:36.279
19. Shane Kuehler (Yam), 1:36.665
20. Barrett Long (Yam), 1:36.759

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Provisional British Superbike Race Two Results From Croft Circuit:

1. Michael RUTTER, Honda, 22 laps, 30:08.942
2. Scott SMART, Kawasaki, -1.991 seconds
3. John REYNOLDS, Suzuki, -2.912 seconds
4. Ryuichi KIYONARI, Honda, -11.722 seconds
5. James HAYDON, Yamaha, -16.491 seconds
6. Gary MASON, Yamaha, -24.979 seconds
7. John McGUINNESS, Kawasaki, -26.204 seconds
8. Craig COXHELL, Honda, -27.568 seconds
9. James ELLISON, Yamaha, -37.061 seconds
10. Steve PLATER, Yamaha, -37.183 seconds
11. Sean EMMETT, Ducati, -44.022 seconds
12. Paul BROWN, Ducati, -44.902 seconds
13. Jon KIRKHAM, Suzuki, -50.009 seconds
14. Dennis HOBBS, Suzuki, -54.975 seconds
15. James BUCKINGHAM, Suzuki, -63.670 seconds

22. Yukio KAGAYAMA, Suzuki, -20 laps, DNF


British Superbike Championship Point Standings:

1. REYNOLDS, 362 points
2. RUTTER, 312 points
3. SMART, 276 points
4. KAGAYAMA, 249 points
5. EMMETT, 240 points
6. KIYONARI, 150 points
7. TIE, HAYDON/Dean THOMAS (Ducati), 132 points
9. Tommy HILL (Yamaha), 105 points
10. MASON, 95 points
11. ELLISON, 87 points
12. COXHELL, 84 points
13. Glen RICHARDS (Kawasaki), 78 points
14. Jon KIRKHAM (Suzuki), 65 points
15. McGUINNESS, 64 points


More, from a press release issued by Hawk Kawasaki:

THINK! BSB Championship, Round 10, Aug 15

National Superstock Cup, Round 8

Croft, N. Yorks

Track length: 2.1270 miles

Weather: dry and bright, 25°C

Track: dry, 38°C

RACE

DOUBLE PODIUM FOR SMART AT CROFT

Hawk Kawasaki star Scott Smart consolidated his third place in the THINK! British Superbike Championship today by taking a double podium in two hard-fought races at Croft. His third and second place finishes gave the Hawk rider his sixth and seventh podium visits of the year.

In the first 22 lap outing Smarty mounted a strong challenge to Yukio Kagayama and Michael Rutter but he was unable to best the pair when his ZX-10R sprang an oil leak at mid-race distance. Despite being unable to hang onto the leaders Smart brought his bike home for 16 valuable championship points.

“I caught Kagayama up, and then I made a mistake and nearly ran into him so I dropped back,” he said. “I caught him again, then dropped back but never got back to him after that. My foot slipped off the peg a few times as well because we had an oil leak, although the bike was essentially good.”

Smart made up for his disappointment by snatching the lead from Kagayama on the first lap of the second 22 lapper. The Hawk star immediately put the hammer down and pulled out a 1.7 second lead by the fourth lap. Smarty controlled the race from the front until lap 19, despite several strong moves from Rutter at Tower Bend, treating the huge crowd to some of the hardest racing of this year’s series. Scott’s eventual second place, behind Rutter, boosts his championship by a further 20 points.

“It was great fun out there,” beamed Smart on the podium. “I really got my head down at the start and pulled out a 1.5 second lead. I’d given my tyre hell to pull away so I knew I’d have to ease off a bit and that’s when Rutter and Reynolds caught up. I thought, ‘we’ll sort this out in the last few laps,’ but we ended up doing that for the last six laps. The boys worked really hard between the races to fix the bike so I have to thank them for giving me a bike to do the business on in the second.”

John McGuinness impressed yet again by bringing his Hawk ZX-10R home in two strong top 10 finishes – tenth and seventh.

“That was a better race,” he said of his second outing. “Kiyonari came by and I diced with him for a while before I caught Mason up, but I didn’t quite have enough to pass him. I was in a nice rhythm so I just concentrated on bringing the bike home and was seventh in the end, which is encouraging. This weekend is the first time that bike has been run because at the others I was riding Glen’s bikes. The new one felt a bit alien to start with but now we’ve got it feeling more like my bike. It was tough out there though. Two races, 44 laps, but we’ve got solid points and come home safely in both races.”

After suspecting Croft may not suit the ZX-10R, Hawk Kawasaki Team Principal Stuart Hicken was delighted with the results. “This weekend has been great for the team,” he said. “Starting with young Peter Hickman taking his first win, Scott getting two podiums and setting super lap times and John’s two solid rides, especially because I didn’t think our bike would suit this circuit. I’m over the moon with how the bike responded to the track and we’re not far away from the others in terms of top speed now either.”

Round 11 of the BSB Championship and rounds 9 and 10 of the National Supertsock Cup will be held at Cadwell Park on August 30.

BSB RACE 1

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

(P)= Privateer

Fastest lap: Michael Rutter, Honda, 1:21.487, 93.96mph

BSB RACE 2

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

Fastest lap: John Reynolds, Suzuki, 1:21.245, 94.24mph

BSB CHAMPIONSHIP AFTER 10 ROUNDS

1) John Reynolds, Suzuki, 362. 2) Michael Rutter, 312. 3) Scott Smart, Hawk Kawasaki, 276. 4) Yukio Kagayama, Suzuki, 249. 5) Sean Emmett, Ducati, 240. 6) Ryuichi Kiyonari, Honda, 150. 7) Dean Thomas, Ducati, 132. 8) James Haydon, Yamaha, 132. 9) Tommy Hill, Yamaha, 105. 10) Gary Mason, Yamaha, 95. 11) James Ellison, Yamaha, 87. 12) Craig Coxhell, Honda, 84. 13) Glen Richards, Hawk Kawasaki, 78. 14) John Kirkham, Suzuki, 65. 15) John McGuinness, Hawk Kawasaki, 64

MANUFACTURERS CHAMPIONSHIP AFTER 10 ROUNDS

1) Suzuki, 412. 2) Honda, 348. 3) Kawasaki, 292. 4) Ducati, 275. 5) Yamaha, 220


More, from a press release issued by MSS Discovery Kawasaki:

MSS DISCOVERY’S DA COSTA POWERS ZX-10R TO DEBUT VICTORY AT CROFT

MSS Discovery team new recruit Julien da Costa put on a sensational display to win his first race in the National Superstock championship at Croft, North Yorkshire on Sunday.

Da Costa – making his debut in Britain, for the MSS Discovery Kawasaki team and on Pirelli tyres ­grabbed the lead on the opening lap and put in a dominant performance to win round nine of the series.

The 22-year-old Frenchman eventually won by 2.6 seconds in the 18-lap, sun-kissed encounter.

“The race seemed to last forever,” reported Da Costa. “Everything was fine, no problems at all. I was a little bit nervous about my first race on a new tyre brand but my mechanics made the tyre choice for me and the Pirellis worked well.”

Da Costa added: “It didn’t take too long for me to get used to the Croft circuit and I’m really pleased to be given this opportunity by the MSS Discovery Kawasaki team.”

Da Costa will also contest round 11 at Cadwell Park and round 13 at Donington Park but misses Oulton Park’s 12th round to race in the Bol d’Or 24-hour race.

Da Costa’s team-mate Steve Allan crashed out on the opening lap while holding seventh place after powering off the startline in determined fashion aboard his ZX-10R.

Allan explained: “I was making ground and just about to pass Tristan Palmer, I out-braked him into the slow right-hander but I was in his blind spot, he couldn’t see me and he just cut across.

“It wasn’t his fault. It was just one of those racing accidents. It’s such a shame because I’d really got dialled in for the race ­despite the pain from the collarbone I broke at Mallory Park last month.”

MSS Discovery’s luckless Pere Riba crashed out of third place in round 10 of the British Supersport championship, on lap five of 20.

Riba powered his ZX-6R into fifth place on the opening lap after qualifying in seventh. He was quickly up to third and the Spaniard looked like he would challenge the leading duo before he slid off, escaping injury.

“That was about the best I’ve felt all year and I was really confident of challenging for a win this afternoon,” said Riba. “We knew the race set-up was good enough to win but I knew I had to get to the front.”

Riba explained his first crash of the year: “I was pushing too hard around the right-hand Sunny corner and the front tyre let go. It was a really silly crash and I should not have made a mistake like that.”

British Supersport Championship, round 10 result (20 laps ­ 42.60 miles):

1 Jay Vincent, Honda, 28:17.303 ­ 90.22mph
2 Leon Camier, Honda, 28:18.543
3 Karl Harris, Honda, 28:24.419
4 Tom Sykes, Suzuki, 28:26.029
5 Luke Quigley, Suzuki, 28:30.962
6 Adrian Coates, Suzuki, 28:32.773
7 Matt Llewellyn, Ducati, 28:33.046
8 Stuart Easton, Ducati, 28:38.705
9 Cal Crutchlow, Honda, 28:38.962
10 Jamie Robinson, Yamaha, 28:43.604

Championship points after 10 of 13 rounds: 1 Harris 197, 2 Michael Laverty (Ducati) 145, 3 Vincent 142, 4 Pere Riba (MSS Discovery Kawasaki) 101, 5 Camier 85, 6 Quigley 81, 7 Simon Andrews (Yamaha) 76, 8 Sykes 67, 9 Crutchlow 57, 10 Craig Jones (Triumph) and Paul Young (Honda) 49.

Next round: Cadwell Park, Lincs ­ August 30.


National Superstock Championship, round nine result (18 laps ­ 38.34 miles).

1 Julien da Costa, MSS Discovery Kawasaki, 25:45.549 ­ 89.17mph
2 Andy Tinsley, Suzuki, 25:48.156
3 Les Shand, Yamaha, 25:48.523
4 Lee Jackson, Yamaha, 25:48.804
5 Danny Beaumont, Yamaha, 25:55.236
6 Tristan Palmer, Suzuki, 25:57.455
7 Ben Wilson, Suzuki, 26:01.461
8 John Ingram, Suzuki, 26:14.903
9 Ian Hutchinson, Suzuki, 26:15.796
10 Andy Wallace, Suzuki, 26:17.289

Championship points after nine of 13 rounds: 1 Palmer 157, 2 Tinsley 143, 3 Wilson and Beaumont 128, 5 Shand 100, 6 Steve Allan (MSS Discovery Kawasaki) 59, 7 Howie Mainwaring (Yamaha) 44, 8 Kelvin Reilly (Ducati) 41, 9 John Laverty (Yamaha) 39, 10 Marshall Neill (Suzuki) 37.

Next round: Cadwell Park, Lincs ­ August 30.


More, from a press release issued by MonsterMob Ducati:

CROFT DISASTER FOR TEAM MONSTERMOB

It was a day to forget for MonsterMob Ducati in round ten of the THINK! British Superbike Championship after neither Superbike rider Sean Emmett nor Supersport rider Michael Laverty made it onto the rostrum at Croft Circuit, North Yorkshiretoday.

The Cumbrian-based team arrived at their local circuit with great expectations after Emmett had recorded fastest time in last week’s test aboard the 999F04 and Laverty had planted the 749 on the front row of the grid but it wasn’t to be for the Paul Bird team in front of a massive crowd.

34 year old Londoner Emmett managed seventh place in race one from a disappointing qualifying start of twelfth on the grid but any hopes of redeeming himself in race two went as he was adjudged to have jumped the start and endured a ride through penalty which had him down in 20th place at one point. However, Emmett managed to battle his way up to 11th at the flag but admitted it was a disappointing weekend.

“It’s been a very frustrating weekend, although I have ridden really hard. I was doing the same lap times as the top guys but because of qualifying down the grid there wasn’t much I could do about it as I had riders in front of me, its just one of those things. I made a gamble in race two and just thought I would anticipate the lights because if I could have got into the top five anything could have happened, but it just wasn’t meant to be”

Meanwhile team mate Michael Laverty was leading the British Supersport race when he crashed out on lap two.

“I’m so disappointed. I don’t know what happened there but I put the power on and I think there was a bump on the corner or something, and it just spun and there was nothing I could do about it. I felt very comfortable leading the race and I thought I could have had that one”

Paul Bird was unhappy with the day’s proceedings and had the following to say:

“That was a disappointing day especially with it being our local circuit. We came here with high expectations and are leaving disappointed. I am definitely not very happy”


More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki:

SUZUKI EARNS 20TH PODIUM OF YEAR
Team Suzuki Press Office – August 15, 2004.

Rizla Suzuki riders John Reynolds and Yukio Kagayama gave Suzuki its 20th consecutive podium of the year and set a new lap record at today’s 10th round of the Think! British Superbike Championship at Croft in North Yorkshire.

In the first event, Kagayama led from pole position until the last lap and then missed a gear – his only mistake in the 30-minute long race – letting Honda’s Michael Rutter through and steal the win, while Reynolds, who was battling the bumpy surface on his GSX-R1000, gritted his teeth to finish fifth.

The second race saw Kagayama dicing for the lead only to highside out of contention on the third lap, fortunately without serious injury. Reynolds switched to a different set-up on his machine and was able to run with the leaders, setting a new lap record in the process at 1:21.245, and eventually finished third just behind winner Rutter.

JR’s podium was Rizla Suzuki’s 20th consecutive rostrum in 2004, cementing Suzuki’s position as the leading manufacturer by 64 points from Honda. And his Championship lead is now 50 points over Rutter with a maximum of 150 points still up for grabs in the final three rounds.

A huge crowd of more than 25,000 fans flocked to Croft, now back in the BSB calendar after a long absence.

John Reynolds:

“We struggled with set-up right from the start of the weekend and it took us until the second race for me to be comfortable on my Rizla Suzuki. In truth I am relieved to be leaving here with two solid results and points in the bag.

“In race two I might have been able to challenge a bit harder for the win as my GSX-R1000 was handling perfectly. I raced hard with Scott Smart and Michael Rutter but could easily have crashed out and I didn’t want that to happen. It’s been hard work this weekend and I am now looking forward to Cadwell Park in a fortnight’s time and a circuit which we know well and have good set-up data for the bike. I will be doing my best to get back to winning ways there!”

Yukio Kagayama:

“In race two I have no idea why I crashed. The throttle was closed and I was riding easily but the tyre broke away and next it was a big highside. I land heavily and now I am very sore but nothing is broken and this is good news.

“Today maybe we did not reach our full potentials. I think all weekend we have fast setting and maybe it is possible to win. In race one, I lead for all laps apart from the last when I missed a gear and presented Michael Rutter with an easy win. Thank you to my Rizla Suzuki team staff for supplying such a fast bike this weekend. I try 100 per cent as always but luck left us today. It was possible for a double win but this is racing!”

Paul Denning – Team Manager:

“Yuki was fastest all weekend and we had hoped for better results. In race one, a tiny mistake gifted Michael the win and in race two he suffered a highside while going for the lead early on. He had the pace and deserved better results than those but some days the luck just doesn’t run with you.

“JR’s day was different. He struggled to find a competitive set-up all weekend and to be fair only really had the bike handling the way he wanted for the second race. He was a day behind everybody else in terms of set-up and that cost him in the races. Still, he dug very deep to score more points and while he retains his lead in the Championship we are very aware that to win the title we need to win more races – and that’s what we plan to do starting at Cadwell Park.”


More, from a press release issued by JR Motosport:

ROBINSON BACK IN BUSINESS AT CROFT

JR Motosport riders Jamie Robinson and Paul Veazey put on a brilliant show in front of their local fans and sponsors with a pair of great rides in round ten of the British Supersport Championship held at Croft Circuit yesterday.

Yorkshireman Robinson planted his Yamaha R6 on row three to secure this best qualifying position of the year whilst team mate Veazey, from nearby Middlesbrough, started from row six for the second successive meeting.

With glorious sunny conditions gracing the North Yorkshire track and in front of a massive North East crowd, Robinson got a decent start and was running in the leading bunch as half a dozen riders battled it out around the fast 2.2 mile circuit.

At the end of twenty fast and furious laps, Robinson had done enough to secure tenth place at the chequered flag which as a result, was his best result since Brands Hatch in round two over the Easter weekend.

“What a fantastic weekend for us at the team’s local circuit and I’m delighted that all the hard work is starting to pay off. What makes it special is that I was the top Yamaha home and Paul was the second one in what is a truly competitive class. We need to build on this and try to improve at Cadwell where I’ve not had the best of luck in the past” said the 28 year old from Holmfirth.

17 year old Veazey, for his part, coped well in the hot and humid conditions to bring the bike home in 18h place after a tough race which saw him nearly taken out on the first corner. Having made his best start of the season, Veazey was in the middle of the pack when another rider cannoned into him and forced him wide meaning he dropped way down the order. The teenager battled back to claim 18that the flag despite his misfortune:

“I found a gap on the run into the first corner and I was well in the mix when all of a sudden, Tom Tunstall side-swiped me and pushed me onto the dirt. I was lucky to stay on but by the time I’d got things under control, I was third last. It was an uphill struggle after that but I’m sure I could have scored my first points if it hadn’t been for that” said Veazey who will be hoping to do that next time out at CadwellPark over the August Bank Holiday weekend.


More, from a press release issued by Hobbs Racing:

DOUBLE PODIUM FOR HEROIC HOBBS

Despite being injured in a 150mph smash just over a week ago, Hobbs Racing rider Dennis Hobbs rewarded his local fans with a heroic performance in front of a massive crowd at Croft in round ten of the THINK! British Superbike Cup yesterday.

Riding the Scott Leathers backed 1000cc Suzuki, the 22 year old from Guisborough was hospitalised after suffering neck and back injuries when he crashed at the official test day last week and after undergoing intensive physiotherapy for a week, was pronounced fit enough to ride just in time for his local meeting.

Unable to rotate his neck properly or to crouch down behind the screen, Hobbs qualified on row four of the grid before charging to a superb 14th place overall in race one and amazingly, bringing the machine home in second place in the Privateer’s class whereby he holds second in the standings.

Another physiotherapy and massage session between races enabled Dennis to take his place on the grid for another gruelling 22 lap race in the hot and humid conditions and once again he responded by scoring yet another podium finish, this time in third place in class despite his 14th overall.

“I’d like to apologise to the crowd for not winning as I’d promised to be up there and challenging but after the happenings of last week, I should count myself lucky that I was able to race at all. I can’t move my neck and I was getting buffeted by the wind as I couldn’t get behind the screen and it was just a case of hanging on. Another couple of weeks and I should be in a lot better shape at Cadwell” said Dennis who saw the gap between himself and championship leader James Ellison extend to 53 points courtesy of the Cumbrian rider’s double win.