Leon Haslam leaves Oulton Park just 5 points off of the championship lead having achieved 2nd and 3rd place finishes in round 9 of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship. However it is not Gregorio Lavilla’s lead he is chasing after the Spaniard finished 3rd in the first race but failed to finish race 2. Having won both races Kiyonari now leads the championship but he is closely followed by Haslam and Lavilla.
In race one Leon got a good start from second place on the grid and was leading the field by the second lap. Lavilla quickly worked his way through the field from 6th to 4th place before overtaking Tommy Hill on lap 6 to take a podium position. As Kiyo stretched out his lead the two Ducati 999F06’s battled it out for second and third with Leon eventually taking the chequered flag in second place, one second ahead of his team mate.
After a good mornings performance both riders were confident for race 2. Leon moved into 4th place from the start whilst Greg was in 7th however on lap 8 Greg started to experience problems with his bike and had to retire. With the Hondas in front Leon was challenging Jonathan Rea for 3rd and by the time he had passed Rea, Kiyo and Harris had too much of a lead to make up. Leon pulled away from Rea and took a comfortable 3rd place and his second podium of the day.
Now lying in 3rd place in the championship 2005 BSB Champion Gregorio Lavilla said, “I am really disappointed with this afternoon, I had a big problem with my bike and it has really set me back in the championship. This morning’s race was good and I felt really confident that I would be able to challenge for another podium and possibly a win this afternoon but when things like this happen there is nothing you can do. Now I will have to work even harder in the last few races this season and hope for some better luck.”
Leon Haslam is still second in the championship and was pleased with his performance here today. “Today’s results have been good for me but I was frustrated in the first race as Kiyo pulled away and I couldn’t go with him but getting a second place filled me with confidence for the second race. Unfortunately I got caught behind Rea and when I finally overtook him I tried to push for the lead but they had gone too far away from us. I then saw Greg go out so I decided to settle for the points. I have an eye on the championship lead now I am only 5 points off it so I will continue to push for race wins and go into the last part of the season with confidence.”
Team manager Colin Wright said, “Not the best day at the office for Greg, he has been experiencing a run of bad luck lately and we must all work hard to turn it round for him. GSE Racing performs well under pressure and we will not give in till the last race. Leon has yet again proved he is hot property, his speed and consistency over the season has paid dividends for him and the team. There are still 250 points to be won and we intend to take the lions share of them!”
Round 10 of the BSB Championship is on 13th August 2006 at Croft.
Race One Results:1) Ryuichi Kiyonari – HM Plant Honda
2) Leon Haslam – Airwaves Ducati
3) Gregorio Lavilla – Airwaves Ducati
4) Shane Byrne – Rizla Suzuki
5) Jonathan Rea – Red Bull Honda
Race Two Results:1) Ryuichi Kiyonari – HM Plant Honda
2) Karl Harris – HM Plant Honda
3) Leon Haslam – Airwaves Ducati
4) Jonathan Rea – Red Bull Honda
5) Shane Byrne – Rizla Suzuki
D.N.F. Gregorio Lavilla
Related Linkswww.airwaves-ducati.co.uk
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