EXCITING SHOOT OUT FOR THE BSB CROWN
BENNETTS BRITISH SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP
ROUND NINE – OULTON PARK – SUNDAY 23 JULY
The outcome of the Bennetts
British Superbike title chase is in the balance as the country’s top
motor sport championship returns to Oulton Park for a second visit in
what is proving to be a dramatic, all-action season.
Three
riders power into the Cheshire parkland circuit, as it hosts the ninth
round, separated by only 20 points: defending champion Gregorio Lavilla
hopes to avenge a disastrous trip to Knockhill where he saw his lead
over Airwaves Ducati team-mate Leon Haslam slashed to just eleven
points, and, adding to the pressure on him, Ryuichi Kiyonari, the
winner of four of the last six races is firmly in contention, just a
further nine points down.
They are all in a winner takes all
shoot-out for supremacy over the final third of the season, which
features a double points showdown in the Brands Hatch finale, making it
vital for consistency over the remaining rounds, beginning with this
Sunday’s double race round at Oulton Park.
Lavilla heads there
anxious for a repeat of his May Day winning double to re-establish his
grip on the title which he worked so hard to achieve last term but the
Spaniard knows that nothing comes easy. He is nursing a dislocated
little finger on his left hand, the aftermath of a heavy crash in the
second race at the Scottish circuit and adding to his discomfort is the
return to form and speed of former champion Shane Byrne.
The
Rizla Suzuki rider took a second place, and then a dominant victory at
Knockhill, his first success since returning from two years in World
MotoGP and his team are confident of building on this at the Cheshire
circuit, especially as earlier in the season Byrne enjoyed two podium
finishes. He faces an uphill struggle to reel in the leading trio,
currently fourth, and some 94 points adrift, but, if nothing else he
can make life difficult for them by racking up points.
Haslam,
who took a brace of thirds last time out, has been riding consistently
and is long overdue a first victory of the season, something that is
not lost on him as he bids to head off Lavilla in the scrap for the
‘number one’ plate. There are no team orders, and the Spaniard is ready
to take on all-comers. “For me the championship fight starts now!”
Kiyonari,
a double winner there in September 2005, is hoping that the mechanical
gremlins that cost him dearly in the second race last Sunday have been
solved and he can concentrate on two strong race results amid a quality
field that is turning the screw on the leaders in the title chase.
Jonathan
Rea, the 19 year old Red Bull Honda rider, having taken his first pole
of the season, and followed that with a first ever Superbike podium,
taking a super second place, is hot on the charge now for a first
victory in the top flight. He is riding well and that is not too far
distant.
That in turn piles the pressure onto the more
established riders, including the Stobart Motorsport Honda duo of
Michael Rutter and Michael Laverty, together with Virgin Mobile
Yamaha’s Tommy Hill and Scott Smart aboard the Vivaldi Suzuki. Craig
Coxhell is looking for another top six finish aboard the Hawk Kawasaki,
while Glen Richards and Gary Mason are keen for a strong points haul.
TRACK FACTS
Circuit Length: : 2.692 miles International Circuit
Lap records
Superbike Karl Harris Honda 1m 36.245s, 100.69mph, 01:05:06
Supersport Cal Crutchlow, Honda, 1m 39.357s, 97.53mph, 11:09:05
Superstock Brendan Roberts, Suzuki, 1m 40.552s, 96.38mph 01:05:06
125GP James Westmoreland, Honda, 1m 45.819s, 91.58mph, 11:09:05
Virgin Mobile Cup James Rose, Yamaha, 1m 44.748s, 92.51mph, 11:09:05
Flashback
Rd 4 - Monday 1 May 2006
Bennetts British Superbike Championship
Pole: Leon Haslam, Ducati, 1m 35.120s
Race One – 17 laps
1 G Lavilla Airwaves Ducati 27:41.446, 99.16mph
2 S Byrne Rizla Suzuki + 0.429
3 L Haslam Airwaves Ducati + 0.870
4 J Haydon Rizla Suzuki + 2.087
5 K Harris HM Plant Honda + 11.188
6 R Kiyonari HM Plant Honda + 19.467
Race Two – 17 laps
1 G Lavilla Airwaves Ducati 27:33.612,99.63mph
2 K Harris HM Plant Honda + 0.058
3 S Byrne Rizla Suzuki + 12.004
4 J Rea Red Bull Honda + 12.380
5 R Kiyonari HM Plant Honda + 12.430
6 M Rutter Stobart Honda + 14.764
British Superbike Cup
Race One
1 J Buckingham Quay Garage Honda 28:17.879
Race Two
1 J Buckingham Quay Garage Honda 28:16.351
RIDER’S VIEW: Gregorio Lavilla – Airwaves Ducati
“Oulton
Park has one of the best layouts in the championship and as a track I
like it, it’s just a shame it’s not wide enough to be a really good
racetrack.”
TELEVISION TIMES
Sunday 23 July
ITV 1: 15.00 – 16.30
Sky Sports 3: 21.00 – 00.30
|
