Mixed Weekend for NW200 Ducati
It was a mixed weekend for the NW200 Ducati team at round
seven of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at the
picturesque Oulton Park circuit. Michael Rutter on the North
West 200 F08 Ducati scored a seventh and 11th place respectively
in the two 18-lap races. Team-mate John Laverty on the Buildbase
NW200 1098R Ducati gained two extremely positive wins in the
Daily Star Cup races, which also resulted in a stunning 10th
and 13th place in the overall Championship results.
In the mixed weather conditions at the Cheshire circuit throughout
the weekend the two riders rode well through a difficult qualifying
session, where the weather proved temperamental. Rutter secured
seventh place and John Laverty gained 15th place on the grid.
In the blustery, wet and sunny conditions it was difficult
to get a consistent set of laps on the Ducati's and find the
ideal set up for the two races around the technical 2.7-mile
track.
Rutter got boxed into the first corner during the first race
and was lying in tenth place after the first lap. Dicing in
the early stages with Billy McConnell, Rutter was soon sitting
in a lonely eighth place at half distance, Karl Harris crashed
out at Shell corner and Cal Crutchlow crashed at Britten's
but re-joined. Sitting in sixth position Rutter began to suffer
electrical problems with his Ducati and had to fight hard
to bring the NW200 Ducati home in seventh place. Rutter gained
a much better start in race two and held his qualifying place
after the opening lap but once again suffered mid-way through
the race with technical problems and fell back to 11th.
A disappointed Rutter commented "It's a shame to have
got the results I did today as I was on a real high after
my win at Mallory the other week. Once again we struggled
with the traction control, which we turned off for the second
race, this made the bike a little quicker and also feel better
in some parts around the track but on the flip side it also
effected me in other places. We are going to look again at
the problems and hopefully find a solution for Knockhill in
a couple of week's time. I was pretty happy with my result
in the first race but not the second and I want to be back
near the front of the pack for the remainder of the season.
I'm confident we'll get it sorted and look forward to be back
dicing with the leaders at Knockhill."
In contrast John Laverty on the Buildbase NW200 Ducati had
a fantastic weekend and equalled his best overall position
of tenth place in the first race and two extremely solid wins
in the Daily Star Cup races. He now leads the Cup Championship
by a massive 135 points from his nearest rival Martin Jessopp.
Laverty was locked in a tight fast battle in race one with
elder brother Michael, Scott Smart and James Haydon for ninth
position, only being beaten to the line by his brother. John
Laverty rode an extremely consistent race and was locked in
a fraught dice on his Superstock machine against some of factory
built machinery. Race two proved just as tough for the young
Irishman and he finished fractionally ahead of Gary Mason
to take another cup win, making his win tally to eight wins
from 14 starts.
A content Laverty commented "I'm really pleased with
the results today, the Buildbase NW200 boys have worked really
hard and it's nice to take the double win again in the Cup
plus two good overall results. I felt happy all weekend with
everything and the results just made it all worthwhile. It's
sometimes tricky still being on a stock bike as the factory
bikes obviously have the slight edge with speed and handling
but the old girl did me proud today and I hope I'll be able
to carry on with this form at Knockhill."
Race 1 Result
1 Tom Sykes Suzuki
2 James Ellison Honda
3 Shane Byrne Ducati
7th Michael Rutter North West 200 Ducati
10th John Laverty Buildbase NW200 Ducati
Race 1 Cup Result
1 John Laverty Buildbase NW200 Ducati
2 Martin Jessopp Honda
3 Tom Tunstall Honda
Race 2 Result
1 Tom Sykes Suzuki
2 Cal Crutchlow Honda
3 Shane Byrne Ducati
11th Michael Rutter North West 200 Ducati
13th John Laverty Buildbase NW200 Ducati
Race 2 Cup Results
1 John Laverty Buildbase NW200 Ducati
2 Gary Mason Honda
3 Martin Jessopp Honda
Championship Standings
Shane Byrne 312
Cal Crutchlow 213
Tom Sykes 176
7th Michael Rutter 141
Championship Standings - Daily Star Cup
John Laverty 306
Martin Jessopp 171
Tom Tunstall 166
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