MONDELLO PARK RACES ABANDONED
The fifth round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship
at Mondello Park was abandoned today after torrential rain
flooded the 2.176-mile long circuit in the Republic of Ireland.
Rizla Suzuki racers Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne and
James Haydon took to the track for the 15-minute long morning
warm-up session and along with a number of other leading riders
suffered low speed crashes in the treacherously wet conditions.
Both riders were unhurt.
The rain continued relentlessly through the morning and early
afternoon with several inches of standing water gathering
at various points on the circuit along with streaming water
across elevation changes. After a series of track inspections
and consultation with the teams and riders, Championship organisers
were left with no real alternative but to abandon the meeting
due to flooding on the track.
The Superbike races will not be rescheduled and the Championship
will now be decided over points scored in 12, not 13 rounds
as originally planned. The sixth round of the series takes
place at Mallory Park in Leicestershire on Sunday, June 4th.
Shakey Byrne:
“On the grounds of safety it was the right decision
to cancel the racing as the track was seriously flooded. For
the fans that made the trip to watch us racing it is a real
shame and my heart goes out to them. I’m gutted for
them more than anything else.”
James Haydon:
“It feels a little bit strange that the races have
been abandoned. As a rider I think it was the right decision
to make because the conditions were dangerous and I applaud
the organisation for having the courage to put safety first.
I do feel really sorry for the Irish fans that were looking
forward to the racing.”
Stuart Higgs - BSB Race Director:
“The meeting has been abandoned due to the amount of
water on the track. The circuit was unable to prepare the
track suitably for racing in these conditions. Everyone did
the best job they could to get the riders out for the warm
up but the weather deteriorated thereafter and we made the
decision to cancel the race meeting.”
John Morris - Managing Director, Mondello Park:
“I am bitterly disappointed for the fans, riders, teams
and circuit staff. They put in a super human effort to put
on a show as good as anything else in the British Superbike
Championship and I am genuinely very upset. We could have
gone on sucking up water and hoping for conditions to improve
but the rain was getting heavier and we made the fair decision
early to let people know the racing was cancelled.”
Robert Wicks - Rizla Suzuki Team Manager:
“I am really disappointed for the fans that the race
meeting has been abandoned, however it was absolutely the
correct decision on safety grounds. There was so much water
on the track the tyres could not get up to temperature to
work properly and that was a recipe for disaster. Rizla Suzuki
worked with the race organisation to try and rescue the racing
but the weather deteriorated so much there was nothing anyone
could do. I’d like to thank the Irish fans for their
support and we hope to see them here next year.
“We will go to Mallory Park in confident mood, taking
the positives from this weekend. Shakey recorded his best
qualifying position of the season so far with a second place
and was looking every inch a contender for the race wins.
James has further developed the latest generation Rizla Suzuki
race bike and found a strong setting.”
Championship Positions (after five of 13 rounds):
1: Lavilla 182, 2: Haslam 121, 3: Kiyonari 108, 4: Harris
88, 5: Shane Byrne (Rizla Suzuki) 81, 6: Rea 75, 7: Rutter
61, 8=: Laverty 52, 8=: Hill 52, 10: Scott Smart (Suzuki)
50, 14: James Haydon (Rizla Suzuki) 28.
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