It was a disappointing end to the 2008 British Superbike Championship for Relentless by TAS Suzuki, with an electrical problem and a small mechanic fault forcing Michael Laverty out of races one and two respectively. Without scoring a single point today, Michael still maintained his top nine in the final championship standings.
Ian Lowry qualified on row two in the British Supersport class on his Relentless Suzuki, before getting involved in a five-way battle for fourth place throughout the race. Unfortunately for Ian he was at the back of the freight train as they passed the chequered flag for the final time this season – taking 8th place for his efforts. Ian secured third place in the final championship standings for his season long effort on GSX–R600 Suzuki machinery.
Michael Laverty“Another frustrating day for everyone in the team. In race one it was an electrical problem of some sort that burnt the coil out; then in race two a mechanic problem ended my season on lap two. There’s no way I could have ridden round the problem, so it was two starts, no finishes, and no points. I just hope we can put everything right for next weekend and end the year on a high at the Sunflower. We had good pace this weekend and fourth or fifth place would have been a realistic goal, as I was running with Sykes and Camier quite comfortably [race 1] until the bike slowed. It’s been an interesting year and I’d like to thank the whole Relentless Suzuki team for their efforts.”
Ian Lowry“It was one of those weekends where I could have been fourth but I was eighth! It was a tough battle, but that’s what I’ve come to expect this year and the Indy Circuit at Brands offers no rest at all for a rider. I enjoyed the race but again we need to be at the front battling for wins. Like Michael I’ll be looking for a good result at the Sunflower to end the season in a positive frame of mind. Thanks to everyone in the team for all the hard work this year.”
Philip Neill – Team Principal“It’s been a very disappointing and frustrating weekend for us but you can never legislate for minor mechanical or electrical issues – it’s just a case of bad luck to be honest. Other than that, Michael was solid all weekend, in or around the top six and qualifying on the second row was positive for us at this circuit. We set a goal of top 10 this season in the championship, but to be honest finishing 9th falls behind our expectations knowing how well we have progressed with the GSX–R1000 superbike this season; I’m sure it’s not where Michael expected to be either.
Ian has had a tough season in British Supersport and was charged with the job of developing the all-new K8 GSX–R600 as the sole supersport rider in the team this year. It has been a tough role for him and losing that little bit of ground at the start of the season, whilst not having another rider to bounce off was something he found difficult. This weekend the times were so close and there was only a whisker between the front and back of the freight train. He secured a solid third place in the championship and it’s pleasing to say we have not been out of the top three in British Supersport since 2005.
I’ll take positives from 2008, our first season as a team in the superbike class. We can now look forward to bigger and better things in 2009. I’d just like to finish the year by thanking everyone involved with Relentless by TAS Suzuki and of course a big thank you to all our sponsors and team members who have worked very hard this season.”
