Jason O'Halloran

Jason O’Halloran finally lived up to his promise with his first podium place of the season at Silverstone last weekend in the penultimate round of the British Supersport Championship.

The East Coast Racing Yamaha rider started the race in tenth place on the grid, but a good start to the race from O’Halloran was to no avail as the race was stopped after a big crash on the first corner.

Team mate Pat McDougall was caught up in the incident, hitting a fallen bike and injuring his foot in the process making it an awful weekend for him.

When the race was re-started it was reduced to just an eight laps and O’Halloran made an awesome start, settling into fourth place with some blistering lap times.

Having caught Ben Wilson and James Westmoreland, who were swapping places in an exciting race for second place, O’Halloran watched on as Wilson lost the front end of his bike on lap seven and the Australian grasped the podium opportunity with both hands.

A delighted Jason O’Halloran said

“Finally the podium I’ve been looking for all season. It’s been a hard weekend with a few ups and downs but the end result was ideal! I’m just chuffed to bits for all the team and myself, but the team have worked so hard since I joined them mid season at Mallory Park and we’ve been working for this ever since. The weather conditions certainly weren’t ideal but hopefully things will carry on like this for Oulton and I can get myself another good result there. I just like to thank everyone involved who have supported me this year and I couldn’t have done it without them!”

The third place result at Silverstone moves O’Halloran into seventh place overall in the British Supersport Championship.

winner in race one, Michael Rutter is still in the frame for title

Ridersmotorcycles.com Ducati team owner Phil Jessopp refused to concede that his rider, Michael Rutter’s chances of winning the 2010 British Superbike Championship title were over , even though Rutter is now 43 points behind championship leader Tommy Hill.

“It’s not over yet. As today showed, anything can happen. Obviously it’s disappointing that Michael crashed out of the second race but let’s not overlook that fantastic first race victory. I think the team did a superb job all weekend. We worked hard in practice and qualifying to get the bike working well around this difficult circuit that’s so different to anything else we race on in the UK.  And when the weather turned nasty, Michael rode brilliantly to win the first race.
We’re now at a critical point in the championship. It’s all getting very serious and the pressure is on but, with three races left at Oulton, anything can happen and we know the circuit really suits our bike.”

It had been a day of contrasting emotions for Rutter on Sunday, like most teams coming to the Silverstone track the Ducati team had to work hard to find a suitable bike set-up on the wide, fast flowing course but Rutter put the 1198 Ducati on the front row of the grid, in second place,  narrowly missing out on pole by a tenth of a second.

But on race day the weather turned nasty and that played into Rutter’s acknowledged smooth riding style as he revelled in a race that started in miserable wet conditions but started to dry out in the closing stages.

Rutter won the race by a whisker, holding on to keep Josh Brookes at bay and finishing just 1.26 seconds ahead of the Australian rider.

For a while it looked as though Rutter maybe able to repeat the performance in race two running a comfortable third, inches behind James Ellison and Ryuichi Kiyonari but on the fourth lap, he suddenly slid off at Aintree corner.

After the race Rutter said;
“I’m gutted. I’d been having problems in the fast double left all weekend. It’s not the kind of corner you should lose the front but that’s exactly what happened.  It simply washed out on me for no apparent reason. I wouldn’t mind if I’d done something stupid but I can’t see why I went down. Maybe I was inches off line and caught a puddle … but I certainly didn’t think I’d done anything wrong.”

MIchael Rutter - Ridersmotorcycles.com Ducati 2010

Michael Rutter and James Ellison took the win in the British Superbike races at Silverstone yesterday under horrendous weather conditions of the 2010 championship.

Race 1

After only 4 laps of the opening race at Silverstone yesterday, the red flags were waved as the heavens opened while the HM Plant Honda rider Josh Brookes was leading the way.

At the restart it was Michael Laverty that led the riders away from the lights ahead of Brookes and team-mate Ryuichi Kiyonari before the Japanese rider dropped back into fourth place, moving Michael  Rutter up into third.

On his second attempt, Brookes made his move stick when he passed Laverty to take the lead on lap 4 but the Australian rider could only hold onto the leading spot for a couple of laps before Laverty once again retook his position at the front.

While the two riders battled for the lead, Rutter was closing in on the pair and while Brookes once again moved to the front on lap 7, Rutter made his move on Laverty to slot into second place.

The Ridersmotorcylces.com Ducati rider then set his sights on Brookes, stealing the lead from the Honda rider with just 3 laps remaining.

Rutter crossed the line to take the victory followed by Brookes in second and Michael Laverty in third.  James Ellison finished in fourth place ahead of Ryuichi Kiyonari in fifth, Alastair Seeley sixth, Simon Andrews seventh, Tommy Hill eighth, Chris Walker ninth and Dan Linfoot in tenth.

Here are the results;

1. Michael Rutter  GBR Ridersmotorcycles.com Ducati  24mins 05.289s
2. Josh Brookes AUS HM Plant Honda +1.263s
3. Michael Laverty GBR Relentless by TAS Suzuki +5.254s
4. James Ellison GBR Swan Honda +12.177s
5. Ryuichi Kiyonari JPN HM Plant Honda +12.331s
6. Alastair Seeley GBR Relentless by TAS Suzuki +23.908s
7. Simon Andrews GBR MSS Colchester Kawasaki +25.628s
8. Tommy Hill GBR Worx Crescent Suzuki +26.984s
9. Chris Walker GBR Sorrymate.com SMT Honda +31.611s
10. Dan Linfoot GBR Motorpoint Yamaha +37.179s
11. Loris Baz FRA Motorpoint Yamaha +37.199s
12. Chris Burns GBR Splitlath Aprilia +37.976s
13. Yukio Kagayama JPN Worx Crescent Suzuki +38.554s
14. Gary Mason GBR MSS Colchester Kawasaki +40.542s
15. Tom Tunstall GBR Doodson Motorsport Honda +47.030s

Steve Heneghan IRL Quattro Plant Honda
Aaron Zanotti GBR Red Viper Spike Suzuki
Adam Jenkinson GBR Buildbase Kawasaki

Race 2

James Ellison - Swan Honda 2010

In the second of the races at the Silverstone circuit it was the Swan Honda rider James Ellison that crossed the line to take a sensational win in an incident packed round.

A crash at the first corner on the opening lap involving Michael Laverty, Loris Baz and Chris Burns ended the Irishman’s chance of a podium finish as James Ellison slotted into the leading spot.  Laverty managed to rejoin the race but suffered a technical problem just one lap later and was forced to retire.

Josh Brookes was on a mission and had moved into fifth place after overtaking Alastair Seeley on lap 3 and set about catching Gary Mason in fourth.  Brookes finally got past Mason on lap 5 to take third before trying to close the gap between himself and the front runners Ellison and Kiyonari.

Tommy Hill had a disastrous start and was lucky not to have been involved in an accident on the start/finish line as his Worx Crescent Suzuki was seen weaving across the track, miraculously missing the riders behind  but Hill fought his way back through the pack to finish in fifth place.

Michael Rutter crashed out on lap 4 whilst in third place and was out of the running.

Here are the results;

1. James Ellison  GBR Swan Honda  23mins 58.750
2. Ryuichi Kiyonari JPN HM Plant Honda +5.850s
3. Josh Brookes AUS HM Plant Honda +12.865s
4. Alastair Seeley GBR Relentless by TAS Suzuki +15.293s
5. Tommy Hill GBR Worx Crescent Suzuki +20.264s
6. Dan Linfoot GBR Motorpoint Yamaha +22.767s
7. Gary Mason GBR MSS Colchester Kawasaki +25.308s
8. Chris Walker GBR Sorrymate.com SMT Honda +27.694s
9. John Laverty GBR Buildbase Kawasaki +28.793
10. Peter Hickman GBR Ultimate Racing Yamaha +39.165s
11. Gary Johnson GBR AIM Suzuki +39.847s
12. Tommy Bridewell GBR Quay Garage Tyco Racing +40.248
13. Pauli Pekkanen FIN 777 RR Motorsport Suzuki +41.747s
14. Yukio Kagayama JPN Worx Crescent Suzuki +47.928s
15. Hudson Kennaugh RSA Splitlath Aprilia +49.791s

Steve Heneghan IRL Quattro Plant Honda
Adam Jenkinson GBR Buildbase Kawasaki
David Johnson AUS Becsport/Two Wheel Suzuki
Michael O’Brien GBR Motomob/O’Brien Hifi

Oulton Park

After cancellation of some of the races of the British and National Superbike championship the organisers have now rescheduled and the dates are as follows;

Round 6, British Superbike series, Race 2 at Knockhill will now take place on Saturday July 17th at the Snetterton circuit. The participants of that race are confined to those published on the Grid for Race 2 published at Knockhill on 4/7/2010.

National Superstock 600, Round 3 at Oulton Park will now run over the weekend of July 30/31st and August 1st at the Silverstone circuit, supporting the Superbike World Championship. The participants of that race are confined to those published on the Race 9 – Final Grid published at Oulton Park on 3/5/2010.  Round 5, Race 2 at Knockhill will now take place on July 17th at Snetterton. The participants of that race are confined to those published on the Race 3 and 10 – Final Grid published at Knockhill on 4/7/2010

British 125GP championship, Round 6 from Knockhill will now take place on Saturday 11th September at the Croft circuit.

The Henderson Harley Davidson XR1200 Trophy, Rounds 3 & 4 has now been incorporated into the event at Brands Hatch on the weekend of August 6/7/8 with the revised remaining rounds as follows;

Round 3 August 7th Brands Hatch GP

Round 4 August 8th Brands Hatch GP

Round 5 August 29th Cadwell Park

Round 6 August 30th Cadwell Park

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.

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!”

James Ellison - Airwaves Yamaha 2009

This weekend sees the final round of the British Superbike Championship of 2009 taking place at Oulton Park with crowned champion Leon Camier aiming for another victory.

This weekends triple-header consists of one race on the Saturday with two further races on the Sunday at the Cheshire circuit.

The second Airwaves Yamaha rider James Ellison, will be aiming for maximum points to become runner-up in the championship against rival Hydrex Honda rider Stuart Easton.  Ellison has a 51 point advantage over Easton but if he fails to finish in the points at this round Easton will take the second place.

Although the pressure has eased off slightly for Camier, he feels that this weekend will see his team-mate riding his socks off and also expects to be challenged by the HM Plant Honda rider Josh Brookes.

Camier said;

“These past couple of weeks have been pretty hectic so I’ve not had a chance to sit down and really let the Championship sink in. But it does feel as though the pressure is off to some extent. The motivation to win is as strong as ever, although I know it’s not going to be easy. My teammate James is going to be fast straight away, as will Josh Brookes. The GSE Racing team has been incredible all year, so I know they’ll give me the best possible package once again.”

Ellison said;

“I’m so excited about this weekend, but also disappointed it’s the final round. The past three race meetings have gone better and better for me. We’ve made small changes here and there, and now the Airwaves Yamaha is really working for me. It’s a shame we couldn’t have got to this point earlier, but the Championship now belongs to Leon and all I can do is go out there, top Practice, and try and win all three races.”

Not only is it the end of the BSB series this weekend but also the end of the five-year partnership between the GSE Racing team and sponsors Wrigley’s Airwaves

Alastair Seeley will be on a full Relentless Suzuki by TAS this weekend after making his British Superbike debut at the last round at Silverstone.  The machine he rode at the Northampton circuit however, was the Suzuki specified to the newly introduced ‘Evo’ regulations, to be used in 2010, whereas this time out he will be riding the same machine as ridden by Ian Lowry and Atsushi Watanabe this season.

Relentless Suzuki by TAS 2009

After his impressive ride at the Silverstone British Superbike round last weekend, Alastair Seeley will be back on the Relentless Suzuki by TAS for the seasons finale at Oulton Park.

The 2009 National Supestock Champion, made his debut in the British Superbike series aboard the new Evo specification GSX-R1000 for the Relentless Suzuki by TAS. The specifically built 2010 machine featured a Superstock engine fitted into the full British Superbike spec. rolling chassis, with a Yoshimura EM Pro kit ECU.

Seeley retired from race one due to a bolt breaking on the rear shock absorber but scored a tenth place in race two on his first outing in BSB, with team owner Philip Neill saying;

“The job is done with the Evo bike,” team owner Philip Neill said. “Alastair proved a point that the new rules will work. Let’s park that now and see what he can do on the Superbike.”

The Irish man has now been offered the opportunity to impress the team boss on the same bike ridden by Ian Lowry and Atsushi Watanabe at the Northamptonshire circuit.

Leon Camier - 2009 British Superbike Champion

The 23-year-old Airwaves Yamaha rider Leon Camier, claimed the British Superbike Championship title at Silverstone yesterday after taking the victory in race one.

Race One

After starting on pole position, Leon Camier dropped back to fifth position as the race got underway, behind Stuart Easton on the Hydrex Honda, Josh Brookes on the HM Plant Honda and his team-mate James Ellison.

By the end of the first lap, Ellison had passed both Easton and Brookes to take the lead, while Camier got on with the job in hand, taking first Brookes and then taking advantage of Easton as he ran wide on lap 4 before chasing Ellison, who was now 1.2 seconds ahead.

With 16 laps of the race still to go, the Airwaves Yamaha swapped the lead a couple of times before Camier took the lead on the penultimate lap, passing Ellison on the inside at the Priory left-hander.

Camier held the lead and took the championship by 0.244 seconds and was presented with a #1 for his bike on his return to the pits.

James Ellison finished in second place followed by Josh Brookes in third and Stuart Easton in fourth.  In fifth place was Tommy Hill on the second Hydrex Honda, John Laverty on the Buildbase Kawasaki was in sixth, Sylvain Guintoli on the Worx Crescent Suzuki in seventh, Ian Lowry on the Relentless by TAS Suzuki in eighth, Simon Andrews on MSS Colchester Kawasaki in ninth and his team-mate Julian Da Costa in tenth.

Michael Rutter on the Bathams Ducati was out of the race on lap 4 after developing technical problems with his machine while Karl Harris didn’t even make the start as a mechanical problem occurred before the race.

The British Superbike Cup winner was Tommy Bridewell on the NB Suzuki after finishing in twelfth place while Cup champion Gary Mason finished in fourteenth for the Quay Garage Honda team.

Here are the results;

1. Leon Camier GBR Airwaves Yamaha 20 laps
2. James Ellison GBR Airwaves Yamaha 0.244sec
3. Josh Brookes AUS HM Plant Honda 8.827sec
4. Stuart Easton GBR Hydrex Honda 9.164sec
5. Tommy Hill GBR Hydrex Honda 18.278sec
6. John Laverty IRL Buildbase Kawasaki 18.787sec
7. Sylvain Guintoli FRA Worx Crescent Suzuki 18.933sec
8. Ian Lowry GBR Relentless TAS Suzuki 22.408sec
9. Simon Andrews GBR MSS Colchester Kawasaki 22.921sec
10. Julien Da Costa FRA MSS Colchester Kawasaki 24.682sec
11. Graeme Gowland GBR Motorpoint/Henderson Yamaha 30.923sec
12. Tommy Bridewell GBR Team NB Suzuki 31.473sec Cup
13. Glen Richards AUS HM Plant Honda 35.532sec
14. Gary Mason GBR Quay Honda 37.551sec Cup
15. Peter Hickman GBR Ultimate Yamaha 38.199sec Cup
16. Richard Cooper GBR Co-ordit Yamaha 38.780sec Cup
17. Tom Tunstall GBR Hardinge Doodson Honda 40.462sec Cup
18. Dan Linfoot GBR Rob Mac Racing Yamaha 56.937sec
19. Atsushi Watanabe JPN Relentless TAS Suzuki 1min 1.468sec
20. Martin Jessopp GBR Riders Racing Honda 1 lap Cup
21. Michael Howarth GBR STP-JHS MV Agusta 1 lap

DNF:
Alastair Seeley GBR Relentless TAS Suzuki 18 laps Evo
Tristan Palmer GBR Buildbase Kawasaki 18 laps
Howie Mainwaring GBR Team Maxxis Yamaha 11 laps
David Haire GBR JX Fuelcard Kawasaki 10 lap Cup
Chris Walker GBR Motorpoint/Henderson Yamaha 9 laps
David Johnson AUS Jentin Yamaha 7 laps
Aaron Zanotti GBR Red Viper Honda 7 laps
Michael Rutter GBR Bathams Ducati 4 laps
Karl Harris GBR SMT Honda 0 laps

Race Two

In the second race of the day it was yet again an Airwaves Yamaha on the top step of the podium but this time it was the turn of James Ellison.

Race two was red flagged before the end of lap one after a huge oil spillage caused chaos for the mid-pack riders on the approach to Abbey corner.

At the restart, which reduced the race to 18 laps, it was once again Stuart Easton on the Hydrex Honda that led the pack, ahead of Josh Brookes, Ellison and Camier.

Camier made a move to pass Ellison as the pair headed to the Bridge/Priory turns, firing Ellison up and regaining his position at the final chicane.  Ellison then moved into second place after passing Brookes at Abbey on lap 2 as Camier followed a lap later.

Camier managed to get in front of his team-mate again on lap 3 before chasing down Easton.  This time however, as he tried to outbrake the Hydrex Honda rider entering Abbey, he went wide and was forced onto the grass, dropping him back to ninth place with 14 laps left to run.

Within two laps, Camier has muscled his way back to sixth place as Ellison snatched the lead from Easton through Maggots.  With 9 laps to go, Camier passed Tommy Hill to take fourth place, 2.1 seconds behind his team-mate and then hunted down Brookes to take third and then second as he passed Easton on lap 15.

Ellison took the lead, 1.2 seconds ahead of his team-mate and leaving him with a 51 point advantage of the runner-up spot in the championship over Easton.

Josh Brookes finished in third place followed by Stuart Easton in fourth, Tommy Hill in fifth, Julien Da Costa in sixth, Simon Andrews in seventh, Sylvain Guintoli in eighth, Ian Lowry in ninth and Alastair Seeley in tenth.

Here are the results;

1. James Ellison GBR Airwaves Yamaha 18 laps
2. Leon Camier GBR Airwaves Yamaha 1.200sec
3. Josh Brookes AUS HM Plant Honda 2.583sec
4. Stuart Easton GBR Hydrex Honda 3.974sec
5. Tommy Hill GBR Hydrex Honda 9.774sec
6. Julien Da Costa FRA MSS Colchester Kawasaki 11.099sec
7. Simon Andrews GBR MSS Colchester Kawasaki 14.340sec
8. Sylvain Guintoli FRA Worx Crescent Suzuki 16.148sec
9. Ian Lowry GBR Relentless TAS Suzuki 21.434sec
10. Alastair Seeley GBR Relentless TAS Suzuki 23.963sec Evo
11. Chris Walker GBR Motorpoint/Henderson Yamaha 24.269sec
12. Tommy Bridewell GBR Team NB Suzuki 24.362sec Cup
13. Peter Hickman GBR Ultimate Yamaha 27.693sec Cup
14. Karl Harris GBR SMT Honda 28.296sec
15. Michael Rutter GBR Bathams Ducati 32.883sec
16. Tom Tunstall GBR Hardinge Doodson Honda 45.709sec Cup
17. Martin Jessopp GBR Riders Racing Honda 55.170sec Cup
18. Aaron Zanotti GBR Red Viper Honda 1 lap
19. Michael Howarth GBR STP-JHS MV Agusta 1 lap

DNF:
John Laverty IRL Buildbase Kawasaki 13 laps
Gary Mason GBR Quay Honda 10 laps Cup
Graeme Gowland GBR Motorpoint/Henderson Yamaha 10 laps
David Haire GBR JX Fuelcard Kawasaki 5 laps Cup
Dan Linfoot GBR Rob Mac Racing Yamaha 2 laps