Team Virgin Mobile Yamaha riders Tommy Hill, Billy McConnell and Kieran Clarke achieved their best set of results of the season in the third round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Thruxton this Easter weekend (17 April) when a record crowd saw all three young riders finishing well into the Championship points.
All three of the young Team Virgin Mobile Yamaha riders were getting stronger and faster on their Pirelli-shod Yamaha YZF-R1s as race one progressed. By lap 15, Tommy was putting in quicker lap times than Shane Byrne (Rizla Suzuki) and Jonathan Rea (Red Bull Honda) then caught and passed Dean Thomas (Hawk Kawasaki) for 8th position.
One lap later, Tommy passed Richards (Hydrex Honda) to take 7th, but Richards retaliated leaving Tommy in a solid 8th place. Aussie Billy McConnell and 21 year old Kieran Clarke entertained the capacity crowd as they exchanged places in the final laps, McConnell finished strongly and took his best result so far in 12th and 21 year old Clarke clinched a confidence-building 14th place.
In race two Team Virgin Mobile Yamaha rider Tommy Hill got another fantastic start and by the end of the first lap was leading a pack of riders in 7th place. Billy McConnell and Kieran Clarke were also making ground and lay in 18th and 19th position respectively.
Scunthorpe-based McConnell got too close to comfort with Steve Plater (Honda) and ended up tearing his front brake hose and crashing out uninjured.
Tommy put in a mature performance throughout the race holding off Laverty, Smart and Byrne. Byrne starting from the back of the grid after a pit lane infrignment eventually caught Tommy on the last lap deposing him of 8th place.
Clarke was also having an impressive race running in 14th position. But it wasn’t to be Kieran’s day and on the last bend of the last lap he had a coming together with two other riders and crashed out. Despite being run over by another rider he was uninjured.
Race two saw a new lap record set by Championship leader Gregorio Lavillia with a time of 1.14.890.
Tommy Hill: “I am happy to finish both races and I am really pleased with my results and proud of the performance I put in. I am feeling positive for Oulton, I got a good result there last year and we have some new things we are going to try out on the bike and a new Pirelli tyre which we have been developing. It’s early on in the season and I am confident I can improve.”
Billy McConnell:“The last time I came to Thruxton I was on a 600cc in the Virgin Mobile Cup, it has been a bit of a shock to the system to get on a Superbike and be racing round at 200mph. I was unlucky in race one as I was having my fastest lap when the pace car came out, but I am still pleased with my result as it racks up some points on the table. What happened in race two was just one of those things. I am looking forward to testing at Oulton this week and seeing how the race goes there in two weeks time.”
Kieran Clarke:“This weekend was all about building up my confidence again. With DNFs and crashes in races so far I just wanted to finish a race. Race one was just what I needed, I worked my way up through the grid, had some little battles with Billy and finished in a position I am pleased with. I am not quite sure what happened in race two, there was a some mud on track and one of the riders in the pack I was in slipped out taking me and another rider with him, it was just such a shame it had to happen on the last bend! The bike feels great though and the Pirelli tyres were running fantastic.”
Team Manager, Rob McElnea: “I am so proud of my team, Thruxton is a fast and difficult circuit and they all performed well. It’s our best result so far with all three young riders scoring championship points in the most competitive championship ever. Tommy is showing his ability as our lead rider, I am pleased with Kieran’s performance and the amazing Billy McConnell is continuing to impress!”
Superbike Race One Result:1, Gregorio Lavilla (Ducati) 28m47.270s,
2, Leon Haslam (Ducati) +4.460s,
3, Ryuichi Kiyonari (HM Plant Honda) +12.742s,
4, Jonathan Rea (Honda) +18.921s,
5, Shane Byrne (Suzuki) +19.058s,
6, Michael Rutter (Honda) +22.866s,
7, Glen Richards (Honda) +30.839s,
8, Tommy Hill (Yamaha) +30.974s,
9, Dean Thomas (Kawasaki) +34.210s,
10, Michael Laverty (Honda) +34.252s,
11, Scott Smart (Suzuki) +46.875,
12, Billy McConnell (Yamaha) + 52.481,
13 Steve Plater (Honda) + 52.718,
14, Kieran Clarke (Yamaha) +53.002.
Fastest Lap: Gregorio Lavilla (Ducati) 1m15.422s (112.45mph)
Superbike Race Two Result:1, Gregorio Lavilla (Ducati) 27m58.085s,
2, Leon Haslam (Ducati) +6.337s,
3, Karl Harris (HM Plant Honda) +15.230s,
4, Ryuichi Kiyonari (HM Plant Honda) +15.566s,
5, Jonathan Rea (Honda) +21.323s,
6, Dean Thomas (Kawasaki) +25.437s,
7, Michael Rutter (Honda) +30.305s,
8, Shane Byrne (Suzuki) +34.977s,
9, Tommy Hill (Yamaha) +38.501s,
10, Scott Smart (Suzuki) +42.610s.
Fastest Lap: Gregorio Lavilla (Ducati) 1m14.890s (113.25mph)
Bennetts British Superbike Championship Standings (after round 3)1, Gregorio Lavilla (Ducati) 132pts
2, Leon Haslam (Ducati) 96pts
3, Ryuichi Kiyonari (HM Plant Honda) 87pts
4, Karl Harris (HM Plant Honda) 57pts
5, Jonathan Rea (Honda) 54pts
6, Shane Byrne (Suzuki) 45pts
7, Scott Smart (Suzuki) 44pts
7, Michael Rutter (Honda) 44pts
9, Michael Laverty (Honda) 42pts
10, Dean Thomas (Kawasaki) 40pts
11, Tommy Hill (Yamaha) 35pts
19, Billy McConnell (Yamaha) 6 pts
26, Kieran Clarke (Yamaha) 2 pts
Related Linkswww.virginmobileracing.com
Related News
