Press release: Leon Camier comfortably won both races in the fourth round of the ViSK British Superbike Championship in association with Pirelli at Thruxton to extend his lead in the title stakes to 38 points over his Airwaves Yamaha team-mate James Ellison who finished second in each of the races.
“There was nothing easy about these races,” explained Camier. “In the first race the tyres were moving about because of the heat and I was lacking a bit of grip – I was not able to be consistently on the pace that we had had earlier in the weekend.
“We made a couple of changes in between races and they paid off,” added Camier, who praised the efforts of his team: “They have been working so hard to achieve this level of success – when the new parts came, they had everything there for me to be ready to win races.”
Camier, who had started from his third pole of the campaign, had an ominous warning for his rivals: “there is more to come – this is a mega time for me.”
Ellison was unable to make any real impression on Camier. “It was hot out there, and in the first race in particular the pace was not as great as I expected, but I’m glad it wasn’t.
“Leon was riding so well that I couldn’t stay with him,” admitted Ellison who had to ride hard in the closing stages of the second race to hold off the hard charging Josh Brookes who had come through from sixth to be third on the HM Plant Honda.
“We made some changes between the races and you can see what happened,” said Brookes who crossed the line a tenth of a second down on Ellison. “This is the old me back again – I am working in a good team environment and this is paying back their efforts.”
Brookes hard ride into third eased Stuart Easton back into fourth, denying the Hydrex Honda rider a pair of podium finishes, although his consistency has moved him third in the overall standings, though 22 points down on Ellison.
Simon Andrews took fourth place in the opener for the MSS Colchester Kawasaki team, running ahead of Michael Rutter, deputising for the injured Sylvain Guintoli, aboard the Worx Crescent Suzuki, with Glen Richards sixth for HM Plant Honda.
Rutter made it a pair of fifths in the second race as he headed Andrews and Richards to the line.
Gary Mason, riding the Quay Garage Honda, continued his clean sweep in the Mirror.co.uk Cup with a fourth winning double as he finished ninth and twelfth overall. “I had hoped for better overall finishes having secured a front row start but they were maintaining a hot pace ahead of me and they had that bit extra in the corners, so it was frustrating.”
Tom Tunstall was second to Mason in the opening race, ahead of Peter Hickman and Martin Jessopp while next time out, Jessopp was second, to maintain his second place in the rankings. Hickman was third from Tunstall.
ViSK British Superbike Championship in association with PirelliRace One – 20 laps:1. Leon Camier (Airwaves Yamaha) 25m 27.557sec
2. James Ellison (Airwaves Yamaha) +1.296s
3. Stuart Easton (Hydrex Honda) +7.236s
4. Simon Andrews (MSS Colchester Kawasaki) +10.670s
5. Michael Rutter (Worx Crescent Suzuki) +11.304s
6. Glen Richards (HM Plant Honda) +11.515s
7. Josh Brookes (HM Plant Honda) +15.872s
8. John Laverty (Buildbase Kawasaki) +19.707s
9. Gary Mason (Quay Garage Honda) +23.199s
10. Julien Da Costa (MSS Colchester Kawasaki) +27.292s
Race Two – 20 laps:1. Leon Camier (Airwaves Yamaha) 25m 25.643secs
2. James Ellison (Airwaves Yamaha) +3.505s
3. Josh Brookes (HM Plant Honda) +3.640s
4. Stuart Easton (Hydrex Honda) +5.693s
5. Michael Rutter (Worx Crescent Suzuki) +6.632s
6. Simon Andrews (MSS Colchester Kawasaki) +8.089s
7. Glen Richards (HM Plant Honda) 11.365s
8. Ian Lowry (Relentless Suzuki by TAS) +11.648s
9. Karl Harris (Hydrex Honda) +14.344s
10. Julien Da Costa (MSS Colchester Kawasaki) +17.324s
Championship standings:
1. Leon Camier (Airwaves Yamaha) 167
2. James Ellison (Airwaves Yamaha) 129
3. Stuart Easton (Hydrex Honda) 107
4. Glen Richards (HM Plant Honda) 95
5. Sylvain Guintoli (Worx Crescent Suzuki) 77
Next round: June 19-20-21 at Snetterton
