LOWRY SHOWS WORLD CLASS FORM
 Ian
Lowry put his GSX-R600 Relentless Suzuki on the top step of
the podium at Donington Park after a titanic battle with World
Supersport riders Jonathan Rea and Andrew Pitt.
It was a welcome return to the front of the pack for Lowry
who spent the entire race mixing it with the Ten Kate duo,
crossing the line in third place.
Due to an infringement with the rules, both Ten Kate riders
were subsequently disqualified, giving Lowry the win - nothing
more than he deserved after a masterful performance.
In the Superbike class, Michael Laverty was unlucky to stall
his machine on the line at the start of the sighting lap in
race one. And having been forced to start the race from pit
lane, the Toomebridge rider came from last place in turn one,
to take a fine ninth place at the chequered flag.
In race two Laverty was as high as third place before a fuel
starvation problem forced him back into the midfield runners.
He eventually retired to the team garage with a faulty fuel
pump.
Ian Lowry:
"I'm over the moon with that and to be mixing it with
top World Supersport riders is great. When I was in the lead
I felt pretty comfortable but got a false neutral into the
chicane and lost a bit of ground. I used the best of my tyre
to get back onto Pitt and Rea. I was able to dice with Pitt
but Johnny gave himself a bit of tyre for the end of the race
and made a break for it. I shut it off with three laps to
go as I wasn't going to fall off trying to be a hero just
because it was Andrew Pitt I was chasing. All the boys are
over the moon and I want to thank them for the big effort
this weekend. I think we showed that the GSX-R600 Suzuki is
a capable package, even in top company. In the end we got
the win, so it worked well all round."
Michael Laverty:
"I was a bit stupid to stall the bike in the first race,
but ninth was ok and the result gave me confidence for race
two. After qualifying well in the wet, I was hoping we might
get a bit of rain for the second race. We had changed a few
things on the bike and I was really comfy. I definitely had
the pace to lead the race but after about six laps I started
to struggle with grip and by lap ten I'd dropped back a bit.
That's down to me: I just need to work my set up to get the
best out of the tyres for a full race distance. I ended up
pulling out with a faulty fuel pump, and at first I thought
we had a traction control problem, so I flicked a few switches
but obviously nothing happened. It was a frustrating weekend,
although it was awesome to see Ian up there mixing it with
the Ten Kate boys."
Philip Neill - Team Principal:
"Ian's ride was phenomenal today. He just proved how
competitive the GSX-R600 Suzuki really is, and also how strong
the British Supersport class can be, by running alongside
two of World Supersport's top riders. Rea and Pitt brought
a bit of prestige to the series this weekend but all credit
to Ian for mixing it with them. It'll be a real confidence
booster for him and he also proved all is not lost in the
championship chase.
"Michael was a bit unlucky today with fuel starvation
problems in race two and being held back to start in pit lane
in the race one after stalling his bike. On the first few
laps of race two, he was superb and showed that we are nearly
there with this bike - a podium can't be too far away. He
also showed grit and determination in race one coming from
dead last and his lap times were good enough for top five.
Again we can take a lot of positives from this weekend."
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