From a press release:

Ride for Life IV garners big crowd and bigger fun!

The Fouth Annual Ride for Life concluded its festivities this past Saturday evening, and when the dust had cleared, there were smiles all around for the many participants in this year’s ride.

The Ride for Life is the brainchild of CCS racer and Duke RN Stan Simmerson. Now in its fourth year, the growth of the ride is garnering the attention of many of the area’s newspapers and TV stations.

The ride this year raised over $14,000 for the Duke Children’s Miracle Network, the beneficiary of the ride. Over 130 bikes participated in the ride, and Speed Channel’s Greg White, host of “Greg’s Garage” on Speed Vision’s “Two Wheel Tuesdays” programming was there as honorary Grand Marshall.

“I couldn’t be happier with this year’s results,” said organizer Stan Simmerson, “and it was so great of Greg White to take time out of his busy schedule to help us out, especially since he’s getting married in about 6 weeks or so.”

Greg White and his fiancee Stephanie were on hand to ride with the group, and the entire crowd enjoyed themselves immensely. Big thanks are extended to all that participated in the ride, and to the sponsors and vendors that contributed both monetary support and the prizes that were awarded.

Watch for next year’s Ride for Life V, sure to be the biggest yet! But wait! There’s more!

There are slightly less than 24 hours left to bid on Ride for Life racing memorabilia on ebay, with the proceeds going to Duke Children’s Hospital also. This auction is being held to coincide with this year’s ride, and features a set of Kurtis Robert’s leathers, Aaron Yate’s boots, Rich Oliver’s boots, and Eric Bostrom’s gloves, along with an Arai helmet that has been signed by a multitude of World and AMA Champion road racers. Just go to ebay.com and enter in “ride for life” in their search engine and the items will be displayed!

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

FIRST PERSON/OPINION

via e-mail:

I am a little disappointed in your lack of coverage on the AHRMA racing at Mid-Ohio this past weekend. There were several good things happening along with a tragedy.

On the good, Springer was present and racing like the Champion he is. Nixon was racing also. Mert Lawwill, Grand Marshall. Plus a lot of good, close racing by the not-so-famous.

The bad…

Road racer James Swartout (#882) of Martinsville, Indiana, suffered fatal injuries in an accident during the AHRMA practice day on Friday, July 18, at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

Visitation will be held from 4-8 p.m. Tuesday, July 22, at the G.H. Herrmann Funeral Home, 1605 S. State Rd., Greenwood, IN 46142 (317-787-7211), where services will take place at 10:00 a.m. Wednesday.

Expressions of sympathy may be sent to Jim’s wife, Barbara, at 610 Crooked Creek, Martinsville, IN 46151.

Jim was a well respected racer in AHRMA and WERA and will be missed greatly. My best wishes and the wishes of all racers go to his family.

Roger Preston
Ambridge, Pennsylvania

(Editorial Note: Swartout crashed in his own oil when his bike threw a rod, and suffered fatal injuries when he was run over by another rider who could not avoid him.)

From a press release issued by AMA Pro Racing:
HACKING SEEKING FIRST MID-OHIO VICTORY

AMA Pro Honda Oils U.S. Supersport Championship presented by Shoei

PICKERINGTON, Ohio – AMA Supersport racing star Jamie Hacking comes to Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for round nine of the 11-race Pro Honda Oils U.S. Supersport Championship presented by Shoei on Sunday, July 27, looking to accomplish something he’s never done at Mid-Ohio — earn a victory at the circuit. Hacking has been racing professionally at Mid-Ohio for six years and he’s led races there, including the Supersport race in 2001, but to this point he’s yet to taste victory at the noted Lexington, Ohio track. Despite his lack of success at Mid-Ohio, the South Carolinian is considered the pre-race favorite to win the ultra-competitive AMA Supersport race during this week’s Honda Super Cycle Weekend presented by Dunlop.

Hacking leads the 2003 Supersport championship by 26 points over Yamaha teammate Damon Buckmaster. A victory in the series is worth 37 points. Hacking and Buckmaster have separated themselves from the rest of the talent-laden Supersport field. Erion Honda’s Alex Gobert, the youngest of the three racing Gobert brothers, is a distant third in the points chase and is leading a very tight group of riders that are in all likelihood battling for third in the series. A mere 23-points separate third-place Gobert from Jason DiSalvo, who is ranked tenth in the standings.

The fact that Hacking has never won at Mid-Ohio does not bother him. “I’ve grown as a rider and I have a great team behind me,” said Hacking, who is tied for fourth with the legendary Doug Polen on the all-time AMA Supersport wins list. “There’s been a few tracks where I’ve had a tough time in the past, but was able to do well at this year. Sears Point (Infineon Raceway) comes to mind. I look forward to racing at Mid-Ohio and I’m going to do my best to get a win there.”

Hacking is looking for his fifth victory in the AMA Supersport Championship this season. He’s coming off a victory in the last round of the series in Monterey, Calif. Hacking is one of five winners in the series this year and is the only rider who has managed to win more than one race. He’s made the podium in all but two rounds. If Hacking wins Mid-Ohio it would mark the first Supersport victory for Yamaha at the track since another Jamie, Jamie James, won the race in 1994.

Hacking’s rival and teammate Buckmaster, last year’s Mid-Ohio Formula Xtreme winner, has turned in one of his typical consistent seasons in Supersport. He’s scored a top-10 finish in every round including three podium appearances, yet he’s still trying to earn his first career victory in Supersport. “Bucky” is good at Mid-Ohio. He was runner-up in the Supersport race there last year to series champion Aaron Yates. One disadvantage for Buckmaster may be that he is splitting his energies between two classes. In addition to being in the Supersport title chase he’s also in a heated battle for No. 1 in Formula Xtreme.

A rider who can never be counted out at Mid-Ohio is Honda’s Miguel Duhamel. Duhamel has more Supersport wins at Mid-Ohio than any other rider with five victories in the race dating back to 1991. Duhamel scored a win earlier this year in Brainerd, Minn. The Canadian racing veteran is 11th in the standings coming into this race, mainly due to missing races after breaking his collarbone earlier this season.

Others to watch for Sunday include Kawasaki’s Tommy Hayden. Hayden has scored podium finishes in four of the last five years of Supersport racing at Mid-Ohio. He was involved in one of the best motorcycle races ever at Mid-Ohio when his brother Nicky made a daring last-lap pass on him in the 1999 Supersport race. Suzuki’s Ben Spies also may be a factor in the race. He won the prestigious AMA Horizon Award at Mid-Ohio as an amateur and is considered perhaps the leading up-and-coming rider in the series. Both Hayden and Spies have won Supersport races this year.

For additional information call 1-800-MID-OHIO or visit www.mid-ohio.com. The race will be shown live on Speed Channel at 12 p.m. EST.

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By Dennis Noyes

We gathered from the presentation of our Troll Honda BQR press release yesterday on Kenny Noyes’ results from the Spanish National Formula Extreme Championship (CEV), that your readers might be interested to know a bit more about the Dunlop-only regulations which apply in the Bancaja Fórmula de Campeones series which shadows the CEV regulations in every aspect except in tires and brakes. The CEV is open to all tire manufacturers and allows aftermarket competition brakes, but no carbon carbon discs.

Here are the basic facts:

In Spain the top series of racing is the CEV Fórmula Extreme which is extreme in name only. In fact Dorna, the rights holders for the national series, has adopted rules which are basically Superstock or standard production, allowing the rear shock to be changed, brakes to be changed and increased compression (but no internal headwork) and ignition mapping changes. Pistons, cams, valves, valve springs, rods–everything must be standard. Front forks must be stock externally, but internal components can be changed.

Other than adding a pipe and eliminating lights and other road legal running gear, the Spanish CEV machines are very mildly prepared 1000cc road bikes. The results of the Championship so far reflect what magazine road tests would have predicted–domination by the Suzuki GSX-R1000 with opposition from the Yamaha YZF-R1 and with the Honda CBR954RR and Ducati 999 running off the winning pace. Racing is very close. At Albacete yesterday the first 24 bikes on the 36-machine grid were all covered by 2.4 seconds in qualifying with the first eight within 0.8-second. After 19 laps and 34 minutes of racing only four of the 26 finishers were lapped (two of those had run off into the gravel and returned), but the first 16 finishers were all on “development” tires from Dunlop, Michelin and Pirelli. Winner José David de Gea (Suzuki) is a Dunlop runner as is third-place finisher José Oriól Fernández (Suzuki) while second-place finisher José Luis Cardoso (Yamaha) is on Michelin.

The CEV National Series is supported by top Spanish Grand Prix teams and sponsors, and is broadcast live on Spain’s TVE-2, the country’s prime carrier of sporting events. Crowds run around 10,000 per race, not bad for a country that has three Grands Prix plus a round of World Superbike and World Endurance and the 24 Hours of Catalunya.

The noble idea of a level playing field for all is firmly supported by the Spanish Federation which frequently tears machines down after races and recently disqualified European 250cc Champion Álvaro Molino for running an aftermarket Yoshimura clutch cover on his Suzuki, even though he had been told initially by a federation official that the piece was legal. The RFME (Spanish federation) ruling was that the letter of the law as stated in the rules overrides personal judgments by federation officials. Any technical regulation infringement results in automatic disqualification with loss of points and prize monies.

Against this background of stern enforcement to guarantee equality of opportunity there is the tire factor. Michelin supplies top-of-the-line tires to the Laglisse Yamaha D’Antin team but standard “product” to the rest of the paying teams.

Dunlop offers broader support, supplying the best development tires to several top teams and occasionally giving their best new development offerings to riders on “product” who put in unusually strong qualifying performances.

Pirelli supplies development tires to Folch Endurance Yamaha and Procurve Honda and also rewards Pirelli privateers with special tires on occasion. (The Folch Endurance Yamaha R1 finished third in the Spanish round of the World Endurance Championship at Albacete on Pirellis behind the Zongshen 1 and Zongshen 2 Suzuki GSX-R 1000s on Dunlop.)

The organizer of the Bancaja Fórmula de Campeones is the Circuit Ricard Tormo of the Community of Valencia. It is a National Championship series run under RFME sanction for the purpose of developing young talent. The three major classes are 125cc Aprilia, Supersport and Fórmula Extreme. In order to eliminate the considerable advantage that riders with special-compound tires enjoy in the CEV, the organizer offered exclusivity deals to the major tire companies and came to an agreement with the Dunlop Spain importer, Zaqatín, to supply spec tires to all three classes.

Bancaja, a major Valencian bank, sponsors the series and buys TV time for highlight coverage of the three major classes. The series is directed by former 125cc GP rider Julían Miralles who also directs the MIR team in World Superbike and European Superstock.

Regulations for the premier Motociclismo Superseries class (sponsored by Motociclismo magazine of Madrid), for 1000cc production machines are identical to the CEV Formula Extreme regulations except for the exclusive use of Dunlop tires (Dunlop is exclusive supplier to the 125cc and Supersport classes as well) and the fact that standard brakes and calipers must be retained in the Bancaja series.

In 2002 the 1000cc class ran on treaded DOT Dunlops, but this year DOTs are used only in Supersport while spec production Dunlop slicks are used in the 125cc and 1000cc Superseries classes.

Dunlop brings different compounds to different races according to the surface, the time of the year and availability. At the opening two rounds this year two fronts (701 and 587) and two rears (956 and 902) were available. Development tires are not allowed, but riders may use any “product” tire offered by Dunlop in Spain. Tires are not bar-coded as in WSBK but Dunlop technicians ride herd over the field to make sure that only spec “product” tires are used.

So far two rounds have been run, both won by José Hurtado on a GSX-R Suzuki. The only rider to threaten Hurtado so far has been Spanish-born American Kenny Noyes on a CBR954RR Honda, second by a (Dunlop) tire width at Valencia, but absent from the second round due to team obligations in the 24 Hours of Catalunya where the BQR team ran as high as second in the early going before a couple of crashes by the team’s second rider left the bike too badly bent to continue.

“Last year was my first riding Fórmula Extreme in Spain and I was on “product” Michelin tires which are nothing like the good stuff,” explained Kenny. “But I entered a round of the Bancaja series in Cartegena and for the first time I was on the same tires as everybody else and all of a sudden I found I could run with guys who were taking a couple a seconds a lap from me in the CEV! We were on DOTs Dunlops and sliding around a lot, but I like that coming from dirt track. This year we are all on Dunlop slicks, which is better for the racing, and I was third in Cartagena and just got beaten at the line in Valencia this year. It gave me a big confidence boost to know just how much difference having the same tires meant. Recently I’ve been getting top Dunlops in the CEV, but I still run the Fórmula de Campeones whenever there is no conflict because it’s great racing where the whole matter of tires is pretty much neutralized. Now if we could just get them to slow those Suzuki GSX-Rs down a little we’d be there!”

Says team director Julian Miralles, “We like the European Superstock rules which require spec Pirelli tires and we prefer to develop riders in Spain in the spec Dunlop Bancaja races. An advantage in tires means so much and falsifies the true level of the riders so much that we think open competition between tire manufactures should only take place at Grand Prix level. Anyway if you look at MotoGP you see that except for a couple of teams everyone is running the same Michelin tires anyway.”

At Laguna Seca on July 11th Maurizio Flammini announced that the all three classes of the championships organized by FGSport, World Superbike, World Supersport and European Superstock, will run on spec tires next year. “We do not feel that a tire supplier should become the determining factor in races that are intended to match rider against rider and model against model, especially when a manufacturer like Michelin supplies only one team with its best tires.” (It seems that the manufacturer will be Pirelli but that has not yet been confirmed.)

The Bancaja Fórmula de Campeones came to that conclusion two years ago and there are some in the Spanish federation who think a spec tire rule might also be the best way to go in all National Championship production-based classes.

From a press release issued by Mid-Ohio:

THE 13TH ANNUAL DEALER RIDE RETURNS TO MID-OHIO DURING THE HONDA SUPER CYCLE WEEKEND PRESENTED BY DUNLOP TIRE

DUBLIN, Ohio – To the superstitious, 13 is an unlucky number. To those involved in the 13th annual Dealer Ride during the Honda Super Cycle Weekend presented by Dunlop Tire, July 25-27 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, year thirteen represents the largest participation in the history of the activity.

The Dealer Ride, a staple of Mid-Ohio’s American Motorcyclist Association Superbike Tour event, has become one of Mid-Ohio’s most popular fan activities, with more than 115 dealerships scheduled to participate in this year’s event. Through those participating motorcycle dealers, over 500 riders will take an on-track tour of Mid-Ohio’s 15-turn, 2.4-mile track through a parade lap Sunday at lunch. Participants will also receive VIP parking in the infield.

To sign up for the Dealer Ride, bike owners should simply visit the nearest motorcycle dealership, including all Ohio Honda dealerships, during normal business hours. Dealerships will register customers until Saturday, July 26.

Along with the 13th annual Dealer Ride, the Honda Super Cycle Weekend presented by Dunlop Tire will feature a Wiseco Superbike 100 doubleheader. Miguel Duhamel, Kurtis Roberts, Ben Bostrom, Mat Mladin, and Eric Bostrom will all go head-to-head with the field in hopes of taking the checkered flag in Saturday and Sunday afternoon’s races.

Also featured during the weekend will be fast-paced two-wheeled action from the 250 Grand Prix, Supersport, Superstock, and Formula Xtreme classes.

Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course is located approximately halfway between Columbus and Cleveland, Ohio off of Interstate 71. Commonly referred to as the “Most Competitive in the U.S.”, Mid-Ohio hosts six motorsports events throughout the summer, beginning with the Sprint Vintage Grand Prix and including the Honda Super Cycle Weekend presented by Dunlop Tire and the Valvoline Runoffs, September 15-21. For event information and tickets, call 1-800-MID-OHIO or visit www.midohio.com .

From a press release issued by series organizers:

MARTIN BACK TO FRONT

BOWMANVILLE, ON – Francis Martin came back from a crash on the opening lap to win a spectacular fifth round of the Parts Canada Superbike Championship at Mosport International Raceway Sunday.

The Rock Forest, QC rider took his Coors Light Racing/Blackfoot Suzuki GSX-R1000 to a 0.327-sec. victory over the Diablo Suzuki GSX-R1000 of Maple Ridge, BC’s Steve Crevier in the second half of the Miller Genuine Draft presents the Chevy Trucks Mosport Double Header.

Calgary’s Clint McBain completed the podium on another Coors Light Racing/Blackfoot Suzuki GSX-R1000.

Martin’s race appeared to be over when he fell in turn 8 on the first lap of the race, which was started on a wet track. But action was stopped moments later for a separate incident and Martin was able to take the restart on his back-up bike.

After a second race stoppage and with the track drying rapidly Martin charged up from 10th on lap 1 to claim the lead three laps from the end of the final 10-lap sprint. With the win Martin became the fifth different winner of the Parts Canada Superbike season and took over the points lead.

“When I hit the haybales I thought I was done,” Martin said. “I was just happy we had another bike there ready to go.”

Martin now has 190 points with three races left to go in the Parts Canada Superbike season. Pascal Picotte, who placed fifth Sunday is now second with 179 points and Crevier is third with 178.

After winning the first half of the doubleheader on Saturday, Picotte looked set to repeat in Sunday’s race. Riding the Picotte Racing Yamaha YZF-R1 the St-Cecile de Milton, QC rider opened a huge lead in the first three laps before a crash brought out the red flag for the second time on lap 4.

On the restart Picotte battled furiously with Martin, Crevier, McBain and the Orion Motorsport Honda CBR954RR of Michael Taylor.

But on lap 7 Picotte and Taylor collided in turn 9 and both riders went down. Picotte recovered to salvage fifth while Taylor settled for 12th.

In other action at Mosport, Frank Trombino scored his second straight Hindle Exhaust Pro 600 Sport Bike win on his Brooklin Yamaha YZF-R6. The Kleinburg, ON rider edged the Picotte Racing Yamaha YZF-R6 of points leader Picotte by just 0.029 secs. after taking the lead in the last turn.

Chardon, OH’s Tom Kipp finished third on his Canadian Kawasaki Motors Kawasaki ZX-6RR.

Riding a Yamaha YZF-R6 Derek Bowker of Nepean, ON used a last lap pass of Jeremy Leduc to claim his first win in a very wet International Motorcycle SUPERSHOW Amateur 600 Sport Bike feature. Points leader Leduc, from Keremeos, BC settled for second on another Yamaha.

The Parts Canada Superbike Championship continues at Atlantic Motorsport Park in Shubenacadie, NS Aug. 8-10.

This weekend’s event will be televised on TSN in two parts. The first show will air on Saturday, Aug. 9 at 12:30 p.m. EDT with the second on Sunday, Aug. 10, also at 12:30 p.m. Mosport action will also be shown later this year on Quebec’s RDS and across Canada on the Outdoor Life Network.

Results Sunday from the fifth round of the Parts Canada Superbike Championship at Mosport International Raceway, showing finishing position, rider name, hometown and type of motorcycle:
1.Francis Martin, Rock Forest, QC, Suzuki GSX-R1000; 2. Steve Crevier, Maple Ridge, BC, Suzuki GSX-R1000; 3. Clint McBain, Calgary, AB, Suzuki GSX-R1000; 4. Jeff Williams, Harrowsmith, ON, Suzuki GSX-R1000; 5.Pascal Picotte, St-Cecile de Milton, QC, Yamaha YZF-R1; 6. Tom Kipp, Chardon, OH, Kawasaki ZX-7RR; 7. Joel McDonald, North York, ON, Yamaha YZF-R6; 8. Andrew Nelson, Kars, ON, Honda CBR954RR*; 9. Frank Trombino, Kleinburg, ON, Yamaha YZF-R1; 10. Benoit Pilon, St-Jerome, QC, Yamaha YZF-R1; 11. Michael Leon, Beaconsfield, QC, Suzuki GSX-R1000; 12. Michael Taylor, Toronto, ON, Honda CBR954RR DNF. Barry French, Brampton, ON, Yamaha YZF-R6; DNF. John Brundl, Toronto, ON, Honda CBR954RR DNS. Jean-Francois Cyr, Joliette, QC, Yamaha YZF-R1; DNS. Bruce McDonald, Mt. Albert, ON, Yamaha YZF-R6; DNS. Matthew McBride, Toronto, ON, Kawasaki ZX-6R; DNS. Darryn Wilbur, Maple, ON, Yamaha YZF-R1; DNS. Larry Orde, Peterborough, ON, Yamaha YZF-R1; DNS. Chris Murray-Audain, Scarborough, ON, Yamaha YZF-R1; DNS. Darren Womack, Windsor, ON, Kawasaki ZX-6RR; DNS. Kevin Lacombe, Granby, QC, Honda RC51; DNS. Chris Peris, Calgary, AB, Honda CBR600RR; DNS. Brian Nielsen, Edmonton, AB, Suzuki GSX-R600; DNS. Owen Weichel, Toronto, ON, Yamaha YZF-R1; DNS. Guy Tomlinson, Calgary, AB, Kawasaki ZX-6RR; DNS. Dan Durkovic, Ottawa, ON, Yamaha YZF-R1
* — Penalized four positions for jump start

Fastest Lap: 1:29.840 by Steve Crevier on lap 10
Margin of Victory: 0.327 secs.

Point standings for the Parts Canada Superbike Championship following Sunday’s fifth round at Mosport International Raceway, showing position, rider name and point total:
1.Francis Martin, 190; 2. Pascal Picotte, 179; 3. Steve Crevier, 178; 4. Clint McBain, 156; 5. Jean-Francois Cyr, 138; 6. Michael Taylor, 134; 7. Frank Trombino, 131; 8. Jeff Williams, 111; 9. Tom Kipp, 109; 10. Benoit Pilon, 101; 11. Andrew Nelson, 71; 12. Michael Leon, 67; 13. Robbie Baird, 62; 14. Darryn Wilbur, 48; 15. Kevin Lacombe, 45; 16. Bruce McDonald, 44; 17. Matthew McBride, 36; 18. Chris Peris, 29; 19. Joel McDonald, 29; 20. Brian Nielsen, 23; 21. Larry Orde, 16; 22. John Brundl, 8; 23. Dale Yamada, 8; 24. Steve Dufresne 8; 25. Brent Strong, 6; 26. Guy Tomlinson, 6; 27. Chris Murray-Audain, 4; 28. Barry French, 2; 29. Jim Proulx, 2; 30. Alan Schmidt, 2; 31. Shane LeGros, 1; 32. Brad Gavey, 1; 33. Darren Womack, 1

From a press release issued by Team Suzuki News Service:

SIX HOURS – THREE SUZUKIS ON THE PODIUM

The A1-Ring 6 Hour round of the FIM World Endurance Championship has been won by the Zongshen No.1 Suzuki GSX-R1000 ridden by Warwick Nowland and Stephane Mertens. Second place went to the No.2 Zongshen GSX-R1000, and third to Suzuki GB Phase One GSX-R1000 of Jason Pridmore and James Ellison. As well as filling the podium, Suzuki dominated the rest of the field with more than half of the bikes recording a result being GSX-R1000s.

The six hour race was run in two three-hour stints, with Suzuki GB Phase One just missing out on victory in the first session after they ran low on fuel and pushed in for fourth place. Both halves of the race were run at lap-record pace but despite this Phase One managed to make up time in the second session and salvage some vital championship points. They remain in second place in the championship, 32 points behind Zongshen No.1.

Suzuki GB Phase One team manager Russell Benney remains optimistic after a difficult weekend: “Five good results in a row is great for any world championship, and particularly for an endurance one. The Suzukis we are using have proved to be 100% reliable for the job we want them to do. We’re still an amateur team with limited backing, so we’re doing our best with the help we get from all our sponsors. We’re off to Japan next week – we hope to come away with some points that will make a real difference in the championship.”

The next round of the FIM World Endurance Championship is the Suzuka 8 Hours on the 3rd of August.

From a press release issued by MonsterMob Ducati:

MONSTERMOB DUCATI BRITISH SUPERBIKE TEAM

Round 8 – 2003 British Superbike Championship powered by HALLS
Mondello Park, Ireland

Saturday 19th and Sunday 20th July 2003

HEARTBREAK FOR SHAKEY

MonsterMob Ducati rider Shane Byrne relinquished his near-perfect record in the British Superbike Championship with a ninth-place finish in race one before getting back to business with another rostrum finish in race two in front of a record crowd at Mondello Park, Co Kildare today.

A first-corner collision bent the 26 year old Kent rider’s brake lever and ended the challenge to maintain his 100% rostrum record in the opening leg, meaning he had to settle for 9th at the flag.

However, ‘Shakey’ bounced back to take 2nd place in an incident packed race two to keep his Championship challenge back on course.

“I couldn’t believe it when I clipped the back of Scott Smart and bent the brake lever. I thought I’d be lucky to finish and I ended up cooking the rear tyre as I tried to make up time. However, I’m more than happy with second in race two and hope to get winning again at Oulton,” said Byrne who still leads the Championship by 135 points after double winner John Reynolds closed the gap.

But the team did taste the victor’s champagne in the form of defending Supersport Champion Stuart Easton who put in a late charge to seal his second win of the season.

The 19 year old from Hawick made his move with five laps to go to clinch victory and with main rival Karl Harris scoring lowly, he reduced the gap to 40 points.

“It’s the little bit of luck I needed and hopefully I can capitalise from here. The bike and tyres worked well and I’m very happy with the result,” said the Scot.

Team owner Paul Bird remained optimistic despite losing a few points in the Superbike Championship chase but was delighted with Easton’s win.

“We were due some bad luck and if that’s it then I’ll settle for it. It’s been a tough weekend but I’m happy with the outcome and look forward to the next round.”

Superbike Results

Race One
1. John Reynolds (Suzuki) 29:04.650
2. Sean Emmett (Ducati) +1.059-seconds
3. Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki) +2.084
4. Glen Richards (Kawasaki) +4.336
5. Michael Rutter (Ducati) +5.786
6. Steve Plater (Honda) +6.083
7. Gary Mason (Yamaha) +11.266s
8. Scott Smart (Kawasaki) +14.481
9. Shane Byrne (MonsterMob Ducati) +19.716
10. Leon Haslam (Ducati) +23.567

Race Two
1. John Reynolds (Suzuki) 30:43.350
2. Shane Byrne (MonsterMob Ducati) +7.300 seconds
3. Glen Richards (Kawasaki) +7.877
4. Gary Mason (Yamaha) + 8.041
5. Michael Rutter (Ducati) +8.888
6. Steve Plater (Honda) +8.894
7. Leon Haslam (Ducati) +15.495
8. Sean Emmett (Ducati) +31.519
9. Mark Heckles (Honda) +35.494
10. Paul Young (Yamaha) +41.584


Superbike Standings after Round 8
1: Shane Byrne (MonsterMob Ducati) 352pts

2: John Reynolds (Suzuki) 217pts

3: Michael Rutter (Ducati) 203pts

4: Glen Richards (Kawasaki) 170pts

5: Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki) 169pts

6: Steve Plater (Honda) 166pts

7: Gary Mason (Yamaha) 148pts

8: Steve Hislop (Yamaha) 122pts

9: Sean Emmett (Ducati) 116pts

10: Scott Smart (Kawasaki) 100pts

Supersport Results
1. Stuart Easton (MonsterMob Ducati) 28:01.740
2. Tom Sykes (Yamaha) +5.134
3. Michael Laverty (Honda) +5.979
4. John Crockford (Honda) +17.409
5. Simon Andrews (Yamaha) +18.353s
6. Craig Jones (Triumph) +27.309
7. Kieran Murphy (Kawasaki) +30.868
8. Rob Frost (Kawasaki) +33.569
9. Adrian Coates (Honda) +33.754
10. Jamie Robinson (Yamaha) +34.394

Supersport Championship Standings after Round 8
1: Karl Harris 165pts

2: Stuart Easton 125pts

3: Simon Andrews 83pts

4: Michael Laverty 73pts

5: Dean Thomas 71pts

5: John Crockford 71pts

7: Adrian Coates 69pts

8: Leon Haslam 60pts

9: Tom Sykes 59pts

10:Craig Jones 57pts



More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki Racing Information:

REYNOLDS BSB DOUBLE

Team Suzuki Press Office – July 20th.

Team Rizla Suzuki’s John Reynolds took his GSX-R1000 to two outstanding wins in today’s British Superbike round at Mondello Park In Ireland.

Rizla Suzuki teammate Yukio Kagayama took third place in the first race and lead the second right up until the penultimate lap, when Reynolds squeezed by. Yukio looked certain to make it a repeat double Suzuki rostrum, but high-sided on the last lap without injury.

Reynolds now moves up to second place in the championship standings.


More, from a press release issued by Hawk Kawasaki:

BSB Round 8, Mondello Park, Eire

Sunday July 20
Track length: 2.1766 miles
Weather: dry, bright, 27°C
Track: dry, 36°C

GREEN MEANIE MAKES PODIUM IN MONDELLO

Glen Richards made the most of his front-row start at Mondello Park today, by taking his Hawk Kawasaki ZX-7RR to a hard-fought fourth and third in the two British Superbike races.

The Aussie was in determined mood from the start of the first race, grabbing the lead on the opening lap and stretching an advantage over the following pack. A podium finish looked well within Richards’ grasp until his rear tyre passed its best, forcing him to settle for a strong fourth.

His brilliant third in race two – his fourth podium of the season – elevates him back to fourth in the riders’ championship and confirms his status as the star of this year’s British Superbike series. ‘It was a good hard race and to get on the podium again was great,’ beamed Glen after the race. ‘I had a go at getting past Shakey, who finished second, but my bike was moving around too much. It was hard because I wanted to pass him, but I also wanted to defend my position. I’m well pleased though.’

Scott Smart looked on course to join his team mate with a top five finish in race two, after recovering brilliantly from a hectic start that saw him pushed wide and dropped down the order in the first corner, until he lost the front end of his ZX-7RR trying to pass Steve Plater three laps from the end of the 18 lap race.

‘There was no doubt that I could have finished up with Glen and maybe got on the podium,’ said Scott, who remounted to finish a brave 13th. ‘There was a place where I could pass Plater every lap, but he closed the door and I had to roll off and I just lost the front.’

His hopes of a podium in the first race were dashed by a badly worn rear tyre, but the 2002 National Supersport runner-up wasn’t afraid to mix it with the front runners in the early laps. ‘The start I got in the first race was alright, although I touched Shakey off the line and then Kagayama stuffed it up the inside, so it was an interesting first lap,’ explained Smart. ‘Then unfortunately Emmett decided to stuff it up the inside and collected me on about the third lap going into the first corner, then Plater passed me because I lost so much time – it was really stupid. It was just a case of trying to catch up, which I started to do, but the rear tyre shredded itself.’

Lee Jackson turned a frustrating weekend around by improving upon his qualifying position in both races, with 14th and 12th, as well as continuing to score points in every race so far this season. ‘We ended up 14th in the first, which isn’t the best result we could have had, but the way the weekend’s been going I’m quite pleased because it’s all about lap times and I found a second over qualifying,’ said Lee. ‘In the second race Emmett ran off the track and rode straight across in front of me, which cost me time, and that was the only lap that I dropped into the 45s – the rest were 42s and 43s. In the end I was 44 seconds behind the winner and that’s not too bad after the weekend I’ve had.’

Hawk Kawasaki team boss Stuart Hicken had plenty to smile about after seeing two of his riders qualify on the front row and one make the podium at a track new to BSB: ‘After having two bikes on the front row and everyone riding real well, it’s been a good weekend for the team,’ he said. ‘You need a little bit of luck and Glen had that with his third position, which was really hard fought for. Unfortunately Scotty had the bad luck – he still got back on to score good points though. I’m happy, because we got a podium – it could have been a double podium, which is hopefully something that will happen before the end of the year.’