michael rutter

Michael Rutter continued his assault on the British Superbike Championship in the fifth round at Mallory Park, consolidating his position with two fourth place finishes.

But Mallory Park was not so kind to Riders.com team mate Martin Jessopp who was involved in a crash with Dan Linfoot in race one at Charlies Chicane on lap two, forcing the race to be red flagged and re-started.

Jessopp has since confirmed that he broke his tibia and fibula in the incident and also broke his left foot, and now faces a frustrating lay off from the Championship.

The accident took a bit of the shine off Rutter’s performance for the team, he had qualified fourth and despite problems with gearing on the Ducati maintained that same position for both races.

The first race was re-started over 25 laps and Rutter said;

“I rode the hardest I could but was losing out in the second gear corners. We’re limited to how we can gear the Ducati, which isn’t usually an issue, but causes us a lot of problems circuit. We can run the more suitable gearing but then we compromise the ideal wheelbase length of the bike and once you do that it upsets the entire set-up of the machine.”

In the second race it was much of the same;

“We weren’t a million miles off the first three either. We struggled with low down grunt because of the gearing we were forced to run. In first gear corners, I was having to use second so we weren’t getting off the turns like the others. But we’ll keep plugging away to finish in the top six after the ninth round which will put us into the top six run-off for the title in the final three rounds.”

The final outcome was soured somewhat by the incident involving Jessopp and Rutter said;

“It’s a such a shame what’s happened to Martin. It brings the whole team down.  Of course it’s a good result this weekend for me and the team to have two fourth place finishes but I want Martin to be up there too.”

Rutter is now fifth in the championship on 114 points, only 40 adrift of series leader Tommy Hill.

Ryuichi Kiyonari - HM Plant Honda 2010

Ryuichi Kiyonari took the victory in both races this weekend at the Mallory Park round of the British Superbike Championship.

Race One

The HM Plant Honda rider Ryuichi Kiyonari qualified in pole position for the first race of the day but dropped back to third as the pack headed into the first corner.

Michael Laverty took to the lead from the start followed by Michael Rutter, Kiyonari and Chris Walker in fourth, however, the following lap saw the red flag waved following an accident between Martin Jessopp and Dan Linfoot.  Jessopp appeared to make contact with Yamaha of Linfoot and managed to get his leg caught up in the Motorpoint machine.  After being taken to the track-side medical centre, Jessopp is believed to have suffered a suspected fracture to his leg.

As the race restarted, Laverty once again took to the front of the pack followed by Josh Brookes, Rutter and Kiyonari. The Japanese rider soon passed Rutter while Brookes made his move stick on the race leader, with Kiyonari following two laps later.

Kiyonari finally got past his team-mate on lap 12 where he remained until the chequered flag was waved followed by Brookes for a Honda 1-2.  Laverty claimed third place ahead of Rutter in fourth, Stuart Easton in fifth, Chris Walker in sixth, Simon Andrews seventh, John Laverty eighth, Andrew Pitt ninth and Alastair Seeley in tenth.

Both Worx Crescent Suzuki riders failed to finish the race after Tommy Hill suffered technical issues on his machine and Yukio Kagayama had a huge high-side.  Karl Harris was another non-finisher after failing to complete a single lap on his East Coast Yamaha.

Here are the results;

1.  Ryuichi Kiyonari  JPN HM Plant Honda  23mins 42.274s
2. Josh Brookes AUS HM Plant Honda +1.820
3. Michael Laverty GBR Relentless by TAS Suzuki +3.573s
4. Michael Rutter GBR Ridersmotorcycles.com Ducati +3.753s
5. Stuart Easton GBR Swan Honda +13.883s
6. Chris Walker GBR CW Suzuki +14.155s
7. Simon Andrews GBR MSS Colchester Kawasaki +16.175s
8. John Laverty GBR Buildbase Kawasaki +16.343s
9. Andrew Pitt AUS Motorpoint Yamaha +19.469s
10. Alastair Seeley GBR Relentless by TAS Suzuki +19.912s
11. Tommy Bridewell GBR Quay Garage Honda +21.571s
12. Gary Mason GBR MSS Colchester Kawasaki +22.206s
13. James Ellison GBR Swan Honda +37.820s
14. Steve Brogan GBR Jentin Racing BMW +45.855s
15. Tom Tunstall GBR Doodson Motorsport Honda +46.402264s

16. Adam Jenkinson GBR Buildbase Kawasaki +46.900s
17. Christian Iddon GBR Sorrymate.com SMT Honda +47.528s
18. Hudson Kennaugh RSA MAR Kawasaki +50.865s
19. Peter Ward GBR Astro-Chase SST Kawasaki +52.622s
20. Pauli Pekkanen FIN 777 RR Motorsport Suzuki +52.769s
21. Gary Johnson GBR AIM Suzuki +1 lap
22. Craig Fitzpatrick GBR Close Print Finance Honda +2 laps

Not Classified

23. Tommy Hill GBR Worx Crescent Suzuki 8 laps completed
24. Peter Hickman GBR Ultimate Racing Yamaha 7 laps completed
25. David Johnson AUS Two Brothers BMW 5 laps completed
26. Yukio Kagayama JPN Worx Crescent Suzuki 1 lap completed
27. Karl Harris GBR East Coast Yamaha 0 laps completed
28. Chris Burns GBR Splitlath Aprilia 0 laps completed
29. James Edmeades GBR Redline KTM 0 laps completed

DNS Dan Linfoot GBR Motorpoint Yamaha
DNS Martin Jessopp GBR Ridersmotorcycles.com Ducati
DNS Aaron Zanotti GBR Red Viper Spike Suzuki
DNS Steve Heneghan IRL Quattro Plant Honda

Race Two

For the second time of the day it was a HM Plant Honda 1-2 after Ryuichi Kiyonari won the final race of the day ahead of his team-mate Josh Brookes.

Kiyonari once again dominated the second race of the day despite being briefly overtaken by Chris Walker on the opening lap.

The second HM Plant Honda rider made his way past Walker on lap 7 before chasing down his team-mate but the Japanese rider got his head down and created a gap of more than three seconds between himself and Brookes.

Michael Laverty made it onto the podium for his fifth consecutive race after finishing in third place ahead of Michael Rutter who once again took his second fourth place of the day.  Chris Walker also took his second fifth place of the day followed by John Laverty in sixth, Simon Andrews in seventh, Tommy Hill in eighth, Tommy Bridewell in ninth and Andrew Pitt in tenth.

Here are the results;

1.  Ryuichi Kiyonari  JPN HM Plant Honda  28mins 20.065s
2. Josh Brookes AUS HM Plant Honda +3.601
3. Michael Laverty GBR Relentless by TAS Suzuki +9.726s
4. Michael Rutter GBR Ridersmotorcycles.com Ducati +10.819s
5. Chris Walker GBR CW Suzuki +19.126s
6. John Laverty GBR Buildbase Kawasaki +21.249s
7. Simon Andrews GBR MSS Colchester Kawasaki +22.812s
8. Tommy Hill GBR Worx Crescent Suzuki +23.085s
9. Tommy Bridewell GBR Quay Garage Honda +23.326s
10. Andrew Pitt AUS Motorpoint Yamaha +23.950s
11. Alastair Seeley GBR Relentless by TAS Suzuki +32.645s
12. James Ellison GBR Swan Honda +39.495s
13. Gary Mason GBR MSS Colchester Kawasaki +40.135s
14. Dan Linfoot GBR Motorpoint Yamaha +43.289
15. Peter Hickman GBR Ultimate Racing Yamaha +48.414s

16. Christian Iddon GBR Sorrymate.com SMT Honda +53.274s
17. Hudson Kennaugh RSA MAR Kawasaki +1 lap
18. David Johnson AUS Two Brothers BMW +1 lap
19. Gary Johnson GBR AIM Suzuki +1 lap
20. Tom Tunstall GBR Doodson Motorsport Honda +1 lap
21. Pauli Pekkanen FIN 777 RR Motorsport Suzuki +1 lap
22. Chris Burns GBR Splitlath Aprilia +1 lap
23. Aaron Zanotti GBR Red Viper Spike Suzuki +2 laps

Not Classified

24. Karl Harris GBR East Coast Yamaha 0 laps completed
25. Adam Jenkinson GBR Buildbase Kawasaki +46.900s
26. James Edmeades GBR Redline KTM 0 laps completed
27. Stuart Easton GBR Swan Honda +13.883s
28. Peter Ward GBR Astro-Chase SST Kawasaki +52.622s
29. Steve Brogan GBR Jentin Racing BMW +45.855s

DNS Yukio Kagayama JPN Worx Crescent Suzuki
DNS Craig Fitzpatrick GBR Close Print Finance Honda
DNS Martin Jessopp GBR Ridersmotorcycles.com Ducati
DNS Steve Heneghan IRL Quattro Plant Honda

Karl Harris

Karl Harris will be riding for the East Coast Racing team at the Mallory Park round of the British Superbike championship after signing a one-off deal.

Harris began his season riding in the National Superstock 1000 series on an Aprilia but the relationship ended after just three rounds of the series had been completed.

The former Honda and Yamaha rider failed to secure a British Superbike ride for this season until now and is looking forward to once again riding the ex-Rob Mac Racing Yamaha that he last rode in 2008.

Simon Andrews - Kawasaki

Simon Andrews will be back on a Kawasaki this weekend as he rides in the National Superstock 1000 support race at the British MotoGP Grand Prix.

Andrews suffered a fractured heel while racing in the World Superbike round at Valencia two-months ago as a replacement rider for Chris Vermeulen.

The British Superbike rider will be replacing the injured Conor Cummins at the Blackhorse Kawasaki team after Cummins was injured during last weeks TT.  Cummins received a back injury, a broken arm, a dislocated knee and bruised lungs in the high speed accident at the Isle Of Man and is expected to be out for the rest of the season.

Andrews is also expected to return to the British Superbike championship at the next round at Mallory Park.

Andrew Pitt - Supersport 2008

Andrew Pitt, the double World Supersport champion, has signed a deal to race for the Motorpoint Yamaha team from the Mallory Park round of the season.

Pitt will be replacing Ian Lowry, who was drafted in to ride in place of the injured, now retired Neil Hodgson.  The Australian rider has previously raced on an R1 after riding in the WSB series in 2006 where he finished in fifth place and has also competed in the MotoGP series.

Donington Park

A revised calendar for the 2010 MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship in association with Pirelli has been announced today due to the major changes involving Donington Park which is unable to be included for the coming year.

The Donington Park round due to take place on 10-12 September will now be held at the Croft circuit and on May 21-23 is now being held at the Cadwell Park circuit.

Other changes to the calendar show the Knockhill round has moved to the 2-4 July while the 16-18 July round will be held at the Snetterton circuit.

* – Denotes three BSB races at these events, all others two.

Tommy Hill - Worx Crescent Suzuki 2009

Tommy Hill has signed a contract to race for the Worx Crescent Suzuki team for the 2010 season to ride alongside Yukio Kagayama.

The 24-year-old rider was given a chance in the 2009 season with the Worx Suzuki team to cover for the injured Sylvain Guintoli at Mallory Park where he qualified in second place in race 1 before being caught-up in the carnage when Josh Brookes lost control of his bike.  Hill was kept on for the following round scoring two-top five finishes at the Brands Hatch triple header before it was announced that Guintoli would be back for the next meeting.

Hill then filled in for the Hydrex Honda rider Karl Harris after he was sacked by the team and achieved a seventh and sixth position on his first outing at Croft followed by two fifth positions at Silverstone.

Tommy said;

“I’m over the moon. I’m very happy to be in the Worx Crescent Suzuki team.  I’ve worked with the team this year, and so for me going into winter testing with a team that I’ve already worked with is fantastic. The Suzuki GSX-R1000 is a cracking bike, to have that and a team that I want to work with is so important – that’s always good for a rider’s confidence.

For me, the only downside is that now I’ve got to sit around and wait! I just want to get on with the season right now and get racing again. In the British championship we have a long winter period. Sure, we will be testing in the New Year, and there will probably be the odd shakedown before Christmas, but you know I just really want to get riding right now!”

Matt Bond - Mist Suzuki 2009

The British Superbike team Mist Suzuki, have been forced to pull-out of the remainder of the 2009 championship due to lack of funds.

Team boss Mike Edwards said;

“Everyone is extremely disappointed but for a new team to the Superbike class I think we have done well despite being seriously hampered by the non-delivery of many essential parts, especially as we are almost unique amongst the privateer teams in that we chose to develop a new bike from scratch.

We are privately funded and staffed entirely by volunteers although some people put in more hours with the team than doing their full time jobs. We had a reasonable budget to complete the season but with so much bad luck we have struggled to get this far. Having a bike written off due to no fault of our own before it had managed to complete a single lap of it’s first race was really hard and it took us several rounds to bounce back.

As it is we are already making plans and looking forward to the 2010 Superbike season and would love to put in another appearance before the end of the year if it was possible.”

The team only switched from the European Superstock class to the British Superbike series four-weeks before the season began, despite not having secured a crucial title sponsor.  They team managed to get the bike prepared for the opening round at Brands Hatch with an hour to spare before the start.

Matt Bond was the initial rider with the team and had a disastrous first round through no fault of his own.  Still taking things slowly, Matt had positioned himself well at the end of the first lap when Tom Tunstall came off his bike, he landed on the ground but his bike kept going, directly across the track in front of an oblivious Bond.  The Suzuki rider could do nothing to stop the inevitable and the GSXR1000K9, scattered it’s precious parts around the circuit.  Matt surprised everyone by retiring  before round seven of the championship due to work pressure, leaving the team with no rider to complete the Mallory Park round.

The team returned for the Brands Hatch triple header with Steve Mercer on their Suzuki, completing only 3 laps in the first race before retiring and no start in the following two races.

SMT Honda (Michael Rutter) Mallory Park 2009

Another team suffering from the effects of the economic crisis, SMT Honda, have had to pull out of the Brands Hatch round of the championship.

The team only just managed to get the funding together for the Mallory Park round after a last minute deal with a sponsor took place and with Michael Rutter on board to award the team with a fourth and sixth position in the two races of the day.

Team manager Robin Croft said;

“It is so disappointing for the whole team that we currently won’t be racing at Brands Hatch, especially after we showed such potential at Mallory Park with Michael Rutter’s fourth place,” he told the BSB website. “We really need someone to come onboard and back the team if we are going to be able to race this weekend.

We have everything ready to go, the bikes are ready in the truck, the team are ready, but currently we simply just don’t have the funds to go racing. If anyone can help then I urge them to get in contact so we can see the team back in the paddock and Michael challenging this weekend.

I’ve never experienced such highs and lows as the last two weeks. We won’t give up, it means too much.”

Meanwhile Michael Rutter has landed a ride with the fourth team this season as he replaces the injured Simon Andrews on the MSS Colchester Kawasaki.

Andrews underwent surgery to have his left scaphoid screwed back together the day after the Mallory Park round of of the championship.  Unfortunately, after further tests this week, the bone has not fused together as quickly as was expected meaning the rider needs more time to rest the injury.

HM Plant Honda 2009

The HM Plant Honda British Superbike Team have announced their riders for the next two rounds of the championship on the 7-9 August at Brands Hatch and at Cadwell Park on the 29-31 August.

Original rider Glen Richards, is still recovering from a broken leg and was replaced by Steve Brogan at Mallory Park.  The reigning British Superstock Champion ended the day with an impressive seventh and ninth place and is keen to ride for the team again despite continuing to defend his own title in the Superstock class.  Brogan will share his ride with John McGuinness, who will be taking his place at the Cadwell Park round.

The second team rider Josh Brookes, was given a two race ban at the last round at Mallory Park after being found guilty of reckless riding .

Karl Muggeridge is set to make his British Superbike debut as a replacement for Brookes and is eager to get back on board a Superbike after recuperation for the past few months.  The 35-year-old Australian, broke two vertebrae after a big crash at Assen at the beginning of the year in the World Superbike series while riding for the Celani Team.  On his return at American round, he crashed again bringing out the red flag but escaped with only bruising, he was replaced by Alessandro Polita for the remainder of the season.

The team manager Havier Beltran said;

“Rider changes mid season are never ideal for riders or the team, but we’re in the situation we’re in and we fully intend to just try and make the most of a less than ideal situation and get on with the job. Steve did a superb job for the team at Mallory on his first real taste of a Superbike and we’re confident we can build on that performance at Brands Hatch. But beyond that, Steve needs to be able to concentrate fully on defending his Superstock title, which is why we’ve chosen to field John at Cadwell, instead of Steve again. John is familiar with the HM Plant Honda Superbike from the TT and North West 200 and this, coupled with his strong performance during our team test at Cadwell last week, secured him the BSB seat at the team’s home round. Karl is a rider who has experience of the British series and also Honda, having ridden for us in the Supersport championship a decade ago. He’s also won races at Brands, it’s his favourite circuit and he has experience of the Fireblade from his World Superbike experience. All in all, we feel we’re fielding a strong line-up for the next two rounds.”