Team Virgin Mobile Yamaha had a fantastic weekend of racing at the 11th round of the Bennett's British Superbike Championship, at Cadwell Park in Lincolnshire. The circuit is one of the most popular events of the season and is where lead rider Tommy Hill had his first Superbike win last year.
After a fantastic qualifying session securing 4th position and his first front row of the season Tommy was looking good for a strong race day. Tommy’s pace inspired 19 year old Virgin Mobile Cup Champion Billy McConnell who narrowly missed out of a second row start in the last minutes of qualifying.
Race one lined up after a torrential downpour soaked the track, with blue sky following it was a gamble on tyre choice, every rider made a different decision from full wets to cut slicks! Tommy opted for front wet intermediate rear option pushing through to 3rd position on lap 3. The amazing McConnell on full wet tyres caught Tommy and ran in 4th. The pair dazzled the crowd as they struggled to find grip on the now drying track. Eventually Billy's overheated rear wet tyre lost grip and he slipped off without injury.
Tommy was left flying the flag but Gregorio Lavilla and 2006 Championship leader Leon Haslam were gaining pace on the drying track on their cut slicks. The pair eventually caught early leader Kiyonari and Tommy rode a mature race coming home in 5th position with his tyres totally finished.
The second race was declared dry and the front row started on slick tyres. Tommy made a great start running 3rd in the early stages, Billy made a bad start giving himself a lot to do from 15th position.
The track was still damp in places but the pace was fast. The 35,000 strong crowd were on their feet as the pack constantly swapped positions. The race win went to Haslam with team mate Lavilla second, Jonnie Rea took the last step of the podium with Tommy in 4th. Billy battled through to a fine 10th position and secured more championship points.
Tommy Hill:“That was a real tough weekend, I was looking forward to coming back to Cadwell as it holds great memories for me with my win last year and my confidence was high, it was pretty scary racing in those dodgy conditions, I think we made the right tyre choice, we moved up the championship ladder and had no crashes which is more than you can say for a lot of other teams!”
Billy McConnell: “I am a bit frustrated, the wet tyres early on were great and it was fantastic running up front with Tommy, I got too excited and lost grip as the tyre overheated on the dry track and crashed out with Steve Plater. The dry race was good, coming from behind to catch some of those guy’s was good for me, two more races left and I need to keep pushing for results.”
Rob Mac: “All in all it was a great weekend for us, the weather was a nightmare and really caused big problems, I think over all we made some good decisions and gave our guys a strong chance of results, Tommy was strong and rode really maturely, he has now moved above Michael Rutter in the championship. Billy was great, he did what we want from a young lion, have a go! He ran up with Tommy and got caught out with his tyre wasted, good effort from all my team.”
Race one results:1 Gregorio Lavilla 28:03.40,
2 Leon Haslam +5.307,
3 Ryuichi Kiyonari +20.611,
4 Shane Byrne +30.238,
5 Tommy Hill Team Virgin Mobile Yamaha +35.712,
6 Glen Richards +35.823,
7 Craig Coxhell +45.755,
8 Dean Thomas +48.406,
9 Jon Kirkham +48.446,
10 Karl Harris +49.815,
11 Ben Wilson +1:29.637,
12 Michael Laverty +1 lap,
13 Marty Nutt +1 lap,
14 Peter Hickman +1 lap,
15 Nick Medd +1 lap,
16 Howie Mainwaring +1 lap
Race two results:1 Leon Haslam 26:34.675,
2 Gregorio Lavilla +0.859,
3 Jonathan Rea +19.928,
4 Tommy Hill Team Virgin Mobile Yamaha +23.784,
5 Karl Harris +24.399,
6 Steve Plater +29.053,
7 Michael Laverty +29.668,
8 Ben Wilson +39.079,
9 Glen Richards +40.892,
10 Billy Mcconnell Team Virgin Mobile Yamaha +41.569,
11 Dean Thomas +44.231,
12 Gary Mason +53.380,
13 Ollie Bridewell +54.472,
14 Jon Kirkham +54.882,
15 Peter Hickman +56.014,
16 Michael Howarth +1 lap,
17 Craig Coxhell +1 lap,
18 Marty Nutt +3 laps
Championship Standings after 11 of 13 rounds:1: Haslam 352,
2: Lavilla 337,
3: Kiyonari 326,
4: Byrne 211,
5=: Harris, Rea 192,
7: Laverty 152,
8: Tommy Hill Team Virgin Mobile Yamaha 151,
9: Rutter 138,
10: Richards 104,
11: Coxhell 92,
12: Thomas 85,
13: Smart 82,
14: Wilson 68,
15: Mason 56
16: Plater 37,
17: Haydon 36,
18: Billy Mcconnell Team Virgin Mobile Yamaha 31.
Related Linkswww.virginmobileracing.com
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