LAVERTY INCREASES SERIES LEAD
Michael Laverty increased his series lead at the eighth round
of the British Supersport Championship at Oulton Park when
survival was the order of the day in horrendous conditions
at the Cheshire venue.
The Relentless Suzuki rider now leads team-mate Ian Lowry
by 27 points and Honda rival Dennis Hobbs by 33 points.
Having qualified on the front row in fourth position in dry
conditions on Saturday, Laverty was happy with his race pace,
but like everyone else in the paddock, the Toomebridge rider
was well aware of the inclement conditions that he would face
on Sunday.
Peripheral vision and awareness kept Michael upright for the
14 lap race, and while his main rivals were either struggling
with the conditions, or finding their way into the many gravel
traps, the Pirelli shod Relentless Suzuki pilot rode like
a champion elect.
Ian Lowry, although finishing in 11th rode a superb race coming
from 26th on lap one, scoring enough points to maintain his
second place in the series.
Michael Laverty:
"I spun off the line but when I got settled I did have
ideas of going after McGuinness and Hutchinson. A few hairy
moments put paid to that; I just rode for solid points as
I knew Ian and Dennis were behind me and possibly struggling
a little in the conditions. I was comfortable in third but
Jamie Robinson came past with a couple of laps to go and I
didn't want to take any unnecessary risks. I had a little
problem with my clutch but nothing serious, and as always,
the Pirelli / Suzuki combination was strong enough today to
help me increase my lead in the series. I'm happy enough with
the result."
Ian Lowry:
"It was surely a tough day out there in terrible conditions.
When I got away I just kept spinning up, and the more riders
that came past I tried even harder and just spun my bike up
again and again! When I did get going my lap times in the
wet were pretty good, so had I got away, I could have run
top five. To come from so far back, I suppose I have to be
happy enough and Dennis has only gained a couple of points
on me in the series."
Philip Neill - Team Principal:
"If I am completely honest, today was obviously not
the result that we had set out to achieve; it was a shame
to lose our 100% podium success rate from this season so far.
However, when a motorcycle race is affected by continuous
rainfall normal protocol goes out of the window and it becomes
a lottery situation, where you can lose or gain a lot of points.
Considering the fact that no one has more to lose than the
championship leader, Michael did a sterling job this weekend
and we leave Oulton Park quite happy. After consistently setting
the fastest race tyre times in dry conditions throughout the
weekend Michael was quite confident of another top spot. However
a bad start and a small problem with his clutch adjuster late
in the race ended what looked to be a certain podium finish.
"I feel a little bit sorry for Ian as he is obviously
not fully enjoying the current spell of wet weather. However
his expertise in these conditions will improve with experience;
after all, it is only the fourth time that he has competed
in a wet race on Supersport tyres. That said, 11th does not
reflect the quality of his ride at Oulton. After suffering
from wheel-spin off the start line and dropping to 26th position
at one stage on the opening lap, he showed how much he has
learnt over this past few weeks by working his way through
to 11th on the Relentless Suzuki GSX-R 600 in difficult conditions.
On a positive note, our main championship rival Dennis Hobbs
finished in ninth position and was being caught rapidly by
Ian on the last few laps. If you had told me before the season
started that Ian Lowry would be in second position in the
British Supersport Championship after 8 rounds I would have
been extremely happy.
"Thanks to Suzuki, Relentless, Pirelli, WP, Putoline
Lubricants, Beacon Security and all our other partners for
what has so far been a successful season. We now look forward
to a continued test programme that will include Cadwell Park
on Wednesday prior to the next round at Mallory Park this
coming weekend."
Race Results - Maxxis British Supersport Championship:
1 Ian Hutchinson [Honda] 26:03.600; 2 John McGuinness
[Honda] +6.233; 3 Jamie Robinson [Honda] +7.205; 4 Michael
Laverty [Relentless Suzuki] +8.378; 5 Billy McConnell [Yamaha]
+10.765; 6 Aaron Walker [Honda] +17.298.
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