Press release:Leon Camier and James Ellison had a tough outing at Donington Park today as Wild Card entries for the World Superbike Championship. Leon followed a 13th place finish in Race One with a fantastic ride from 20th to 6th in Race Two. James recovered from a DNF in Race One to finish 8th in Race Two.
In Race One, from 14th on the grid, James made his way up to 11th by the end of the opening lap. One row behind, Leon suffered off the start, dropping to 21st. Following a brief battle with the BMW of Ruben Xaus and the Honda of John Hopkins, James chased down Carlos Checa in 10th. Separated by just 0.182s as they crossed the line to start lap 12, James passed Checa going through on the inside of the Old Hairpin. One lap later, James' race came to end when he lost the rear going into McLeans. Leon meanwhile had been working hard to make his way past a number of riders. By lap 16 Leon was 13th and although he closed the gap to the group in front, was unable to make up any more places before the chequered flag.
At the start of an an incident packed second race, James pushed his way up to 9th whilst Leon dropped back to 20th. As a number of riders ahead of them fell, James and Leon both worked their way through the field. By lap 14, Leon had managed to catch James in 6th, eventually overtaking him through Esses. On the penultimate lap, James was overtaken by Kiyonari on the Honda to finish in 8th, whilst Leon remained in 6th.
On the days racing
James said:
"The start of Race One was pretty messy. There was a lot of fairing bashing so it was quite difficult to get a clean run to the first corner. We had a new engine for the race, and once I'd figured out how to ride it, I got my head down to chip away at the guys in front. I was looking forward to a good race, passing Hopkins and Checa cleanly. I'm so frustrated not to have finished. I lost the rear of the Airwaves Yamaha going into McLeans, but luckily I was ok for Race Two.
"Before the second race we made some adjustments to the engine to prevent another similar crash, but again, it took some time to get used to. I knew I had to be more aggressive off the start and tried to pass as many people as possible into the first corner. Once I got behind Tom Sykes, the plan was to stay behind and challenge later on. But my tyres started to wear and I couldn't do anything about it. This weekend has been good preparation for the rest of the BSB season, which is our main priority. I know I need to improve my riding to preserve the tyres. I'm looking forward to getting to Knockhill and making use of everything we've learnt."
After completing his first World Superbike Championship round
Leon said:
"Race One was tough. I struggled with braking, steering and a lack of grip. Plus my start was horrendous. The take-off point of the clutch was different and put me into a massive wheelie. It was difficult to pass with a lack of grip and brake problems, but I had to take the chance whenever I could."
"I was a lot happier with Race Two. I still suffered with brake problems but I just had to ride around them and overtake at every possible opportunity. My start was only slightly better compared to Race One, but still pretty terrible. To make my way up to 6th from 20th is a big achievement, and it's thanks to the Airwaves Yamaha team for all their hard work. Both James and I gave them a lot of re-building to do over this weekend and they did a mega job."
