It was a day of mixed emotions at Croft in North Yorkshire for the Relentless Suzuki team, when series leader Michael Laverty suffered a minor electrical problem that put him out of actions after 10 laps while lying in second place. Team-mate Ian Lowry put in a strong performance leading for 17 of the 18 laps, only to be mugged within the final few corners by eventual winner Billy McConnell and Dennis Hobbs. Third place on the podium gave Lowry a further 16 points, closing the gap on Laverty in the championship, also by 16 points with three rounds remaining.
Ian Lowry
“In respect to not winning the race, I’d have to say I’m not a happy camper, but then on a positive note I’ve given myself a better chance in the championship race by closing the gap on Michael to only 16 points. The team did a great job this weekend and we did have an almost perfect set-up on the Relentless Suzuki. After leading from lap one I do feel a bit hard done by not to have taken the win, but after pushing so hard I’d unfortunately used the best of my tyre. Dennis made a bit of a strong move on me at the end to push me down a step on the podium, but I’m now in a stronger second place in the championship coming out of Croft, so I have to be happy.”
Michael Laverty
“It was one of those weekends where you just have ‘niggly’ problems from start to finish and it certainly wasn’t down to the effort put in by either the team or by myself. It’s disappointing to score no points after the times I was doing on race tyres in qualifying, but there is nothing you can do in this situation. The team have worked tirelessly all year and I’m still leading the championship with only three rounds to go, so I must thank Relentless, Suzuki and all our other sponsors for the big effort. I’m off to the Ulster Grand Prix this week to do a demonstration lap on my Relentless Suzuki before going to Cadwell, so that should be fun.”
Philip Neill – Team Principal
“It’s disappointing days like these in racing that make the good ones all the sweeter. As far as I’m concerned it’s a small setback, and only that. We have given both riders a great package all year on the Relentless Suzukis, and Michael’s minor electrical problem that caused him to retire, is the first time one of our bikes has stopped on track all year in both racing and qualifying.
I am disappointed for Ian but it’s another learning experience for him, even though it has to be said he was a little hard done by today by anyone’s standards. It’s easy to complain when things go against you but I’m just pleased that the top two riders in the championship are on Relentless Suzukis. That shows strength and consistency, which we’ll endeavour to pick up again in two weeks time at Cadwell Park.
Michael experienced a list of minor mishaps this weekend but on a positive note he continued to show his class, especially in the qualifying sessions when he obliterated the lap record on race tyres despite his problems.”
Results – Maxxis British Supersport Championship [Croft] 18 laps
- Billy McConnell [Yamaha] 25:45.686
- Dennis Hobbs [Honda] +1.136
- Ian Lowry [Relentless Suzuki] +1.475
- Ian Hutchinson [Honda] +8.340
- Stuart Easton [Kawasaki] +9.412
- John McGuinness [Honda] +11.766
Championship
- Michael Laverty - 165 points
- Ian Lowry - 149 points
- Dennis Hobbs - 143 points
- Jamie Robinson - 103 points
- Billy McConnell - 100 points
- Ian Hutchinson - 96 points
The next round of the series is at Cadwell Park – August 27th.
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