TWO HARD EARNED 4th’s FOR HASLAM
The Airwaves Ducati team experienced a difficult day at Oulton
Park; Leon Haslam achieved two 4th places whilst Gregorio
Lavilla failed to finish race one and secured 10th position
in the second.
In race one Greg had a bad start which left him in the middle
of the pack going into the first corner when he crashed heavily;
a safety car was needed whilst Greg and his Airwaves Ducati
was removed from the track. Leon held his 3rd place grid position
from the start and he was just behind Rea and Kiyonari when
the race re-commenced. Rea crashed on lap 7 pushing Leon up
into 2nd place, where he battled hard with Chris Walker and
Shane Byrne for the remaining podium spots. Going into the
final lap Leon was holding 2nd place but was unable to respond
when Walker and Byrne passed him, resulting in 4th place.
Both Greg and Leon were confident for race two although conditions
were still wet. At the end of the first lap Leon was in 4th
and looked set to challenge for podium places again. A gearbox
problem then caused him to lose a few places but he worked
round the problem and fought back to finish 4th.
Following his tough day Greg commented; “It has been
a disappointing day for me. In the first race I did not get
a good start and I crashed in the middle of the pack. The
other riders could not avoid me, it was not their fault but
they ran into me hurting my ribs. It made the second race
hard as I was short of breath but I wanted to finish safely
and I am glad that I was able to do that. I am disappointed
to have lost points again and dropped back from the leaders,
it is not what you want when you are fighting for a championship.
We will go to Mallory and work hard there and hopefully perform
well.”
Leon was pleased with his day although he admitted the conditions
were difficult. “I’m happy enough with today’s
performance. It could have been two easy 2nd places but I
am pleased that I scored more points that Kiyonari and Rea
and closed the gap on the championship leaders. In the first
race I just couldn’t respond to Chris and Shakey when
they passed me, I was disappointed with 4th as it could have
been much better. Then in race two I had a technical problem
with the bike which meant I was limited to using first and
second gear. That put immense pressure on the engine and I
was really not sure if I would finish; I have to say a big
thanks to Ducati and the Airwaves Ducati team engine builder
Desmo Dave for doing such a great job with our engines.”
Race 1 Result
1) Ryuichi Kiyonari – HM Plant Honda
2) Shane Byrne – Stobart Vent Axia
3) Chris Walker – Rizla Suzuki
4) Leon Haslam – Airwaves Ducati
Race 2 Result
1) Jonathan Rea – HM Plant Honda
2) Karl Harris – Hydrex Honda
3) Shane Byrne – Rizla Suzuki
4) Leon Haslam – Airwaves Ducati
10) Gregorio Lavilla – Airwaves Ducati
Championship Points
1) Ryucihi Kiyonari - 273
2) Jonathan Rea - 262
3) Leon Haslam - 231
4) Gregorio Lavilla - 226
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