It could only happen in Ireland! At the sixth round of the series it took three races at Mondello Park to finally get a Supersport result, producing mixed fortunes for the Relentless Suzuki pairing of Michael Laverty and Ian Lowry. Lowry eventually taking a podium position [third] to reduce his team-mates championship lead to only five points, after the luckless Laverty was punted into the gravel somewhat unceremoniously by Billy McConnell, on lap four of a nine lap sprint.
After difficult qualifying sessions that produced anything but dry conditions, Laverty and Lowry started Sunday’s proceedings from unfamiliar territory in 10th and 20th places respectively. Laverty despite his grid position was soon in the wheel-tracks of Dennis Hobbs at the head of the field; Ian Lowry had forced his way into the top ten with some aggressive, yet controlled riding. Unfortunately the race was red flagged after the Safety Car had been deployed; then in the re-start [after the second Superbike race] the red flags came out again after less than a lap.
In the third encounter run over nine laps, Michael Laverty was sitting at ease in second position, planning an immediate attack on race leader Dennis Hobbs coming onto lap five. Unfortunately for Michael, Yamaha rider Billy McConnell tried an impossible and somewhat ‘bullish’ manoeuvre into the final turn on lap four, with both riders ending up in the gravel.
Ian Lowry made the most of the ever-changing situation, and after starting the day on the fifth row of the grid, the Moira rider put his Pirelli shod Relentless Suzuki on the podium in third place, reducing the deficit in the championship to only five points.
Ian Lowry“I struggled to find a perfect set-up in qualifying and I was looking for damage limitation after having to start from the fifth row of the grid, but the team did a great job and all the stoppages helped my progress in the race. To have reduced Michael’s championship lead to only five points leaves me in a good position. It could so easily have been second place in the race, as I had the pace to run with Jamie Robinson, but I didn’t want to get involved in a dogfight, giving John McGuinness and Stuart Easton a chance of coming back at me so I waited to the final lap. I was so frustrated because I just couldn’t find a place to pass him! It’s another podium and Knockhill is a strong circuit for me so I’m looking forward to that.”
Michael Laverty
“I was in control of the first race and riding well within myself and in race two. I hadn’t even begun to exert myself, so Dennis probably feels he did a great job. I had plenty in reserve and was planning my pass but unfortunately both races got red flagged. In the last race I was comfortable again but Billy made a stupid move and took me out. It’s very annoying to lose so many points because of a stupid mistake from another rider, and unfortunately my bike was too badly damaged to continue. I’m still leading the championship, but there will be no more conservative riding!”
Philip Neill – Team Principal“It was an incident packed day but I don’t think the first race should ever have been stopped. In my opinion the incident could have been dealt with in such a way that we could have been allowed to finish the race. A nine lap sprint is not perfect for anyone and not an ideal way to run a professional championship. This just throws your race plan out the window.
Fair play to Ian for taking a podium after what can only be described as a ‘low beat’ start to his weekend. It keeps the Relentless Suzuki 100% podium record intact. It also puts him right in the mix in the championship with only 11 points now covering the top three, although I am pleased that our guys are out front.
Up until the moment of madness from Billy McConnell it was looking like a superb weekend for Michael. He was comfortable through qualifying and also in the race with a great set-up on the GSX–R600 Suzuki, and he showed that with a new lap-record in the first re-start, all riding well within himself.
Unfortunately, as Billy McConnell has displayed more than once this season, he lacks a certain amount of race-craft and his move on Michael was nothing short of ridiculous and unnecessary. There were lots of apologies after the race but they don’t bring back points. I sincerely hope the organisers and his team take some form of disciplinary action.
All of the top three riders have now had a DNF that has been out of their control, so in terms of equality, it’s a level playing field moving into the second half of the season – two Suzukis against a Honda!”
Results – Maxxis British Supersport Championship [9 lap re-started race 3] Winner – Dennis Hobbs [Honda] 15:22.686
2nd – Jamie Robinson [Honda] +4.683
3rd – Ian Lowry [Relentless Suzuki] +4.804
4th – John McGuinness [Honda] +6.571
5th – Stuart Easton [Kawasaki] +8.249
6th – Tom Grant [Yamaha] +14.082
Championship Points:
Michael Laverty 102
Ian Lowry 97
Dennis Hobbs 91
Jamie Robinson 78
John McGuinness 51
Stuart Easton 46
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