Brands Hatch Abandoned due to Snow
 The
Rizla Suzuki team was left disappointed this weekend as the
first round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship
at Brands Hatch in Kent had to be abandoned due to heavy snow.
MotorSport Vision Racing, the event organiser, has rescheduled
the meeting for May 10th-11th with grid positions from qualifying
on April 5th still standing. This means that the Rizla Suzuki
pairing of Tom Sykes and Atsushi Watanabe will start from
fifth and ninth places respectively.
Both Rizla Suzuki racers were disappointed not to race however
it has given Watanabe a chance to learn the arduous 2.3 mile
track. "I'm sorry not to race; this is big surprise for
me as I never have race cancelled before," he said. "I
had not seen snow until I came to England - now I see it a
lot. For Thruxton I hope for good weather."
Sykes spent his weekend fine tuning the front end of his
Rizla Suzuki and is confident of a strong result on his return
to the Brands Hatch GP circuit in May. He said: "It was
a very wise and safe decision to cancel the event today. I
think it is a good decision by Race Control. Even if the snow
had gone it would still have been too cold to run safely.
"It is a shame as I was very confident for my first
race with Rizla Suzuki. We wanted to put on a good show for
the fans as there has been a good turn out. I'm happy with
the information we gained this weekend, it has been useful
and I can't wait to get to Thruxton."
Team Manager Jack Valentine echoed his rider's sentiments
saying: "The weather has been unbelievable; I've never
known a start to a season like this. I'm disappointed that
it was cancelled as I think we had a good chance for a strong
result. In a way it has done us a favour as it has given Atsushi
some time on an English track, plus when we come back here
he will know the circuit. Tom has gained a lot of data too
so we will be stronger on our return. I'm pleased with how
well and how hard the team has worked this weekend."
All race day, weekend and grandstand tickets will be valid
for the revised date, May 10-11th. 10-11th. Round two of the
Bennetts British Superbike Championship will take place at
Thruxton in Hampshire on the 13th-15th April.
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