The eighth round of the British Superbike championship travels up north to Fife in Scotland for this years round at Knockhill.
The season so far has seen Shane Bryne confidently dominate, but the previous round at Oulton Park saw a new winner for the first time out in the perpetually smiling Yorkshireman and Rizla Suzuki mounted Tom Sykes.
Sykes will be aiming to continue this run of form after making an impression whilst wildcarding at the World Superbikes round at Brands Hatch, after battling up front in against experienced veterans such as Troy Bayliss and Max Biaggi.
The Airwaves Ducati duo and in particular Shane ‘Shakey’ Bryne will be aiming to put a dent in Sykes’ form and continue with the dominance and extend his lead in the championship which has placed the popular rider nearly one hundred points ahead of his rivals. Leon Camier will be looking to turn around his fortunes of the past race after a confidence shattering crash put him out of the race at Oulton Park two weeks ago.
The unpredictable summer so far has made it difficult to judge what the condition of the weather will be on the weekend and the stereotypically rainy Scottish highlands may add to the excitement. A local myth says that the positioning of sheep and the cows can have some indication the forecast of the circuit.
Returning from a lengthy hiatus after recuperating from a broken wrist sustained at a 180mph+ crash in June at Snetterton, Stuart Easton will be aiming to revisit his impressive form onboard the MSS Discovery Kawasaki, the former supersport champion will be using his local knowledge and home fans to achieve this.
After Ryuichi Kiyonari’s performance from a successful stint at the Suzuka 8hr race and then moving towards his first double race victory at Brands Hatch WSBK, HM Plant’s Cal Crutchlow will be aiming to recapture his glory from earlier in the season and put the pressure on Shakey Bryne. Team-mate Leon Haslam will be looking to turn around his win drought after not standing on the top set since joining the factory Honda.
Hydrex Bike Animal Honda’s James Ellison has been touching upon the podium this season but will be hoping for a jump up this order and gain his first British Superbike victory. Popular rider Guy Martin will be looking towards Knockhill with trying to return to the points and improve on his best finish of ninth.
Relentless Suzuki’s Michael Laverty will be aiming to continue witahis progression towards the front of the pack on his energy drink sponsored TAS Suzuki.
Northwest 200 Ducati Michael Rutter has seen resurgence in his racing ability with a return to the podium and a race victory at the difficult race at Mallory Park. The wet weather specialist will look to utilising some of the Ducati’s torque to get ahead of the factory riders. Rutter’s team mate Buildbase Ducati's John Lavery and Daily Star Superbike Cup frontrunner will be wanting to keep control of his championship lead as well as tackling as many Superbike class riders as possible.
The British Supersport championship has been a tale of two warriors with MAP Embassy Triumph Glen Richards battling with Raceway Yamaha’s Hudson Kennaugh. The latter will be hoping to get one up on his rival and close him down in the championship.
Last year saw the current Ten Kate World Supersport rider Jonathan Rea dominated the race and took two race victories in the process at the highlands circuit. The current lap record around the 1.3 mile long technical track is held by Shane Bryne when he set a 48 second lap.
With the paddock still feeling the effects of Craig Jones' tragic death, many riders will be honouring the memory of the brilliantly entertaining rider with personal mementos in his respect. Cal Crutchlow will be wearing a replica of Jones' helmet, whereas Dean Ellison of Co-ordit Yamaha will drop a digit from his usual number to match the 18 of the Parkalgar Honda rider.
Related Content
» The Latest: British Superbikes
