Snow Halts NW200 Ducati
 The
NW200 Ducati team was unable to race this weekend at the opening
round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Brands
Hatch, due to extreme snow falls throughout the day (Sunday
6th April) which put a stop to all proceedings. The decision
was made by the Championship organisers MSVR that the race
would be cancelled and re-run on May 10th and 11th using the
qualifying positions from April 5th, putting North West 200
rider Michael Rutter in eighth on the grid and his team-mate
John Laverty on the Buildbase NW200 Ducati in 17th position.
The weather conditions at Brands Hatch were cold but dry
throughout Friday practice and up until the last five minutes
of Saturday qualifying, when they were hit with heavy rain.
The two NW200 riders were riding consistently well throughout
the weekend and were eager to get the races underway. Rutter
competing in the British Superbike series commented "Once
again we've been hit by the British weather but the organisers
have definitely made the safest decision for all the teams
and riders. We made some big progress this weekend with the
bike and I was happy with the way things were going. We are
back here in May for the race and we will be leaving straight
from Brands Hatch to go to the North West 200, which starts
on Tuesday 13th May. It's a bit tight for time but it will
be ok."
British Superbike Cup contender John Laverty said "I'm
really gutted not to have been able to race today but all
in all I'm really happy with the way things have gone this
weekend. I was consistently one of front runners in the Superbike
Cup so I'm hoping for a good season on the Ducati 1098R. My
team got so many things sorted and ironed out this weekend
and made the 1098 feel really good for me and much easier
to ride, I'm grateful to them for all their help. I just hope
that the weather brightens up for Thruxton in a couple of
weeks so that we can get some racing done and I can give my
team two good results!"
Team Manager Ken Foley commented "The entire NW200 team
has worked exceedingly hard this weekend and throughout the
winter period to get ready for the start of the season. The
weather conditions certainly weren't ideal racing conditions
but it was in the safety and best interest of the riders that
the meeting had to be cancelled. It's disappointing for everyone
involved and for all the hundreds of loyal fans that showed
up to give their support, hopefully the weather will be kind
to us at Thruxton and we can get the race season underway.
We've now found a good race set up on both the Ducati's and
are looking forward to getting back on the track in a couple
of weeks time."
Qualifying Positions to be carried forward to May 11th at
Brands Hatch: -
Qualifying
Shane Byrne - Ducati
Cal Crutchlow - Honda
Karl Harris - Yamaha
Leon Haslam - Honda
Tom Sykes - Suzuki
Leon Camier - Ducati
Simon Andrews Yamaha
Michael Rutter North West 200 Ducati
17th John Laverty Buildbase NW200 Ducati
2008 Races
Round 1 - 18th - 20th April - Thruxton
Round 2 - 3rd - 5th May - Oulton Park
Round 3 - 10th - 11th May - Brands Hatch (Re-Run)
Round 4 - 24th - 26th May - Donington Park, Leics
Round 5 - 13th - 15th June - Snetterton, Norfolk
Round 6 - 27th - 29th June - Mallory Park
Round 7 - 18th - 20th July - Oulton Park, Cheshire
Round 8 - 8th - 10th August - Knockhill, Fife
Round 9 - 23rd - 25th August - Cadwell Park, Lincs
Round 10 - 12th - 14th September - Croft, North Yorkshire
Round 11 - 26th - 28th September, Silverstone, Northants
Round 12 - 10th - 12th October - Brands Hatch Indy, Kent
|
