ISILON MSS Discovery Kawasaki riders Michael Rutter and Stuart Easton scored a pair of top-ten finishes at today’s British Championship races at Mallory Park, in Leicestershire. Michael, still riding while recuperating from breaking two bones in his left wrist, was forced out of race one with a technical problem, but bounced back to take a hard-earned 8th in the second Bennetts British Superbike race. His 23-year-old team-mate Stuart Easton clawed his way up the field to take 7th place in the MAXXIS British Supersport race.
Michael Rutter, Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R (DNF and 8th) “This circuit may only be around 1.4 miles long but it’s pretty tough on my left wrist! The mechanical DNF in the first race is just one of those things, but I was pretty happy with the result in the second race. Sure, I want better but we’ve had a hard time of it at the last few meetings, so I’m looking forward to Croft, where my wrist will be 100% and we will have the new engines to use. This could be the final piece in the jigsaw for us, as the bike is very well balanced, we just need some more power out of it, which will improve it across the board.”
Stuart Easton, Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R (7th)
“What can I say? I was riding the bike as hard as I could. With no qualifying, we were put on the grid in our championship positions so from 10th on the grid I just tried to get my head down and get a good start. I passed Jamie Robinson and made it up to 7th but then couldn’t do much more, so I decided to bring it home for some more points. We’re looking forward to Croft, Cadwell, Donington and Brands as I think those circuits should suit us more than the likes of Mallory. I’ve still got my chin up and there’s still a way to go in the championship so we will get the podium before the end of the season.”
Jack Valentine, Race Team Manager “In the first Superbike race we had an ignition amplifier problem so Michael had to pull out of the race. We got everything right for the second race and scored a decent result, which isn’t too bad. With Michael this weekend his wrist has caused him problems, as he’s not been as agile on the bike or as committed as he’d like to be. On the plus side we’ve had some niggling chassis and fuelling problems which we’ve managed to solve, so we’ve now got a very well balanced bike. We’re looking forward to Croft where we’ll have a 100% fit Michael and the new engines. With Stuart you could see he rode as hard as he could to get 7th, but we’re confident of getting the podium result when we get to tracks like Croft and Cadwell which should suit our bike a little more.”
Nick Morgan, Team Owner “I’m pretty upbeat about the weekend as we’ve made some steps forward with the Superbike which have resulted in Michael’s confidence being much higher. With Stuart we’ve got some tracks coming up that should suit the Ninja ZX-6R a little more than the stop-start nature of Mallory Park, so we WILL get that podium eventually!”
Bennetts British Superbike Championship: Race One
1. Shane Byrne
2. Jonathan Rea
3. Leon Haslam
4. Chris Walker
5. Gregorio Lavilla
DNF: Michael Rutter, ISILON MSS Discovery Kawasaki
Bennetts British Superbike Championship: Race Two 1. Ryuichi Kiyonari
2. Leon Haslam
3. Shane Byrne
4. Tom Sykes
5. Cal Crutchlow
8th: Michael Rutter, ISILON MSS Discovery Kawasaki
MAXXIS British Supersport Championship race 1. Michael Laverty
2. Ian Lowry
3. Dennis Hobbs
4. Billy McConnell
5. Ian Hutchinson
7th: Stuart Easton, ISILON MSS Discovery Kawasaki
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