The Hawk Colchester Kawasaki Team ended the 2007 British Superbike season on a positive note at the final round of the Championship at Brands Hatch. In front of a huge 40,000 strong crowd the two Superbike riders James Haydon and Scott Smart gained a ninth and 12th place respectively in the second Superbike race. Haydon suffered a puncture in race one with Smart finishing in a healthy 11th place.
The day was action packed on the tight 1.2-mile circuit and after a number of incidents the two Hawk Colchester Kawasaki riders settled into a strong rhythm in both races. Smart struggled throughout the qualifying session on Saturday and was unable to put together a strong lap time and qualified in 18th position leaving him with a lot of work to do during the races to gain some good overall results. Working his way through the pack from the off in both races Smart was looking confident and setting quick lap times. Haydon had dropped to twelfth before retiring to the pits on lap six. After Tom Sykes’ crash at Graham Hill Bends the safety car was deployed whilst the marshals brought the burning bike under control.
Race two was also filled with drama after the race was red flagged on lap seven after James Buckingham’s bike blew up on the entrance to Paddock Hill. On the 20-lap restart Smart and Haydon both gained a good start and were working their way thought the pack. A tight battled proceeded with Haydon finally getting the better of Michael Rutter for ninth place and once again bringing the Hawk Colchester Kawasaki home as leading Kawasaki, with Smart only a fraction behind in 12th position.
Commenting Smart said “It’s been quite a difficult weekend as the Indy Circuit is so small it’s hard to find a good set-up which works well round such a short track. I struggled during qualifying and trying to find some empty space on the track to get a decent lap in was very limited. Luckily I got two really good starts and new I had to be fairly forceful on the opening laps to ensure that I was in with half a chance of getting some point scoring results. I’m pretty pleased with the overall results.”
Haydon said “I managed to adjust pretty well to the bike around here and secured ninth in qualifying which I was reasonably happy with. I knew I had a problem from the start in the first race but was unsure as to what it was, I knew I wouldn’t be able to complete the full distance and was forced to pull in. The second race was much better, I settled in and was having a close battle with Rutter throughout the entire time. I’d like to thank the Hawk Colchester Kawasaki team for taking me on when they did, it was much appreciated and glad that I could get them some solid finishes.”
The Hawk Colchester Junior Team ran Alex Camier and Dave Hallett in the Superstock Cup at Brands Hatch. After his double win at Donington Park Camier was eager to return to the podium step this weekend at Brands Hatch but was unable to manage it but still secured a strong sixth place, with Hallett in 21st after returning from surgery on his arms.
The team will be racing this weekend at the Race of the Year event at Mallory Park.
