British Superbike News

Tommy Hill - Worx Crescent Suzuki 2010

This weekend saw the first of the three rounds of the title showdown for the British Superbike championship of 2010 with Tommy Hill and Michael Laverty sharing the wins of the day.

Race One

The Worx Crescent Suzuki rider Tommy Hill crossed then line to take the chequered flag in race 1 of the day at Croft followed by Michael Laverty on the Relentless Suzuki, just a tenth of a second behind.

The safety car was deployed on lap 1 following a crash at Clerveaux of David Johnson, who although battered and bruised didn’t appear to have any serious injuries.  At the restart of the race it was Michael Laverty that took to the front of the pack followed by Hill, Michael Rutter, James Ellison and Dan Linfoot.

Within two corners, Hill had put his Suzuki ahead of Laverty and attempted to create a gap, while on lap 5, Simon Andrews made his move past Dan Linfoot to slot into seventh place.

The HM Plant Honda rider Ryuichi Kiyonari dropped several places after running straight-on at Tower Corner, finding himself down in 22nd place.

On lap 9, Alistair Seeley was passed by the second HM Plant Honda of Josh Brookes before crashing his Relentless Suzuki at the hairpin.

Michael Rutter crashed his Ridersmotorcyles.com Ducati on lap 13, losing the front end at the hairpin as Hill’s lead on Laverty increased to six-tenths of a second.

Hill took the win ahead of Laverty in second, Stuart Easton in third, Simon Andrews in fourth, Dan Linfoot in fifth, Josh Brookes in sixth, Loris Baz (replacement rider for Andrew Pitt) in seventh, John Laverty in eighth, Chris Walker in ninth and Gary Mason in tenth.

Here are the results;

1.  Tommy Hill  GBR Worx Crescent Suzuki  27mins 43.359s
2. Michael Laverty GBR Relentless by TAS Suzuki +0.155s
3. Stuart Easton GBR Swan Honda +10.177s
4. Simon Andrews GBR MSS Colchester Kawasaki +13.512s
5. Dan Linfoot GBR Motorpoint Yamaha +14.742s
6. Josh Brookes AUS HM Plant Honda +15.407s
7. Loris Baz FRA Motorpoint Yamaha +21.044s
8. John Laverty GBR Buildbase Kawasaki +25.983s
9. Chris Walker GBR Sorrymate.com SMT Honda +26.304s
10. Gary Mason GBR MSS Colchester Kawasaki +26.670s
11. Ryuichi Kiyonari JPN HM Plant Honda +31.454s
12. Peter Hickman GBR Ultimate Racing Yamaha +35.436s
13. Adam Jenkinson GBR Buildbase Kawasaki +40.448s
14. Tom Tunstall GBR Doodson Motorsport Honda +43.184s
15. Hudson Kennaugh RSA Splitlath Aprilia +45.526s

25. James Ellison GBR Swan Honda 17 laps completed
26. Tommy Bridewell GBR Quay Garage Honda 13 laps completed
27. Alastair Seeley GBR Relentless by TAS Suzuki 8 laps completed
28. David Johnson AUS Becsport Suzuki 0 laps completed

Race Two

In race two, it was the Irishman Michael Laverty that took the chequered flag for the Relentless Suzuki team ahead of Tommy Hill.

Laverty took the lead as the lights went out followed by Stuart Easton on the Swan Honda ahead of Hill and the second Swan Honda of James Ellison with Michael Rutter in hot pursuit.

Easton didn’t make it easy for Hill to get past giving Laverty time to create a gap from his lead position.  As Josh Brookes, who had struggled with illness all weekend, managed to catch-up with Ellison after starting from ninth on the grid, he was passed by Tommy Bridewell on the inside at the hairpin.  Only two laps later he was passed by Dan Linfoot and Simon Andrews and by the halfway point of the race, his team-mate Kiyonari also got ahead of him.

Rutter and Ellison were battling for fourth place with Rutter winning the contest until the final lap when Kiyonari passed both riders.

Laverty took the victory ahead of Hill in second, Stuart Easton again in third, Kiyonari in fourth, Rutter in fifth, Ellison in sixth, Bridewell in seventh, Brookes in eighth, Linfoot in ninth and Andrews in tenth.

Here are the results;

1. Michael Laverty  GBR Relentless by TAS Suzuki  25mins 42.670s
2. Tommy Hill GBR Worx Crescent Suzuki +0.202s
3. Stuart Easton GBR Swan Honda +8.534s
4. Ryuichi Kiyonari JPN HM Plant Honda +9.590s
5. Michael Rutter GBR Ridersmotorcycles.com Ducati +9.833s
6. James Ellison GBR Swan Honda +10.138s
7. Tommy Bridewell GBR Quay Garage Honda +10.730s
8. Josh Brookes AUS HM Plant Honda +11.619s
9. Dan Linfoot GBR Motorpoint Yamaha +12.412s
10. Simon Andrews GBR MSS Colchester Kawasaki +16.489s
11. Gary Mason GBR MSS Colchester Kawasaki +17.680s
12. Chris Walker GBR Sorrymate.com SMT Honda +27.340s
13. John Laverty GBR Buildbase Kawasaki +27.714s
14. Yukio Kagayama JPN Worx Crescent Suzuki +29.477s
15. Alastair Seeley GBR Relentless by TAS Suzuki +31.153s

27. Loris Baz FRA Motorpoint Yamaha 10 laps completed
28. David Johnson AUS Becsport Suzuki 0 laps completed