Battling Tommy Hill

Tommy Hill’s luck ran out with ten miles remaining of the 2006 season! There were only 3 laps left of the final Superbike race at a weather beaten Brands Hatch yesterday when Tommy crashed out, ending a fantastic season nursing some heavy bruises. The weekend was proving to be a great finale to an incredible season. 21 year old Tommy rode amazingly in treacherous conditions, where more seasoned campaigners were making mistakes and finished a very credible fourth in the first leg, behind new British Superbike Champion Ryuichi Kiyonari, Leon Haslam and Jonny Rea.

The second leg was again run in changeable weather conditions; all riders started on full wet tyres but were faced with conditions varying from blinding sunshine to torrential rain!

Tommy again rode brilliantly, battling with the front runners in fourth position and looking solid as the track started to dry. The Pirelli wet tyre can cope with hotter temperatures when the track becomes dry and Tommy knew he could be strong at the end of the race.

Gaining at a rate of 3 seconds a lap Tommy had the capacity crowd on their feet as he caught the leading group. Unfortunately his luck ran out when he ran a fraction wide and touched a damp white line and crashed out.

A battered Tommy Hill said: “What a terrible way to end the season, it had been a really difficult day for everyone, the weather has been a headache and I just wanted to finish strong for my team and myself. The Pirellis were coping with the drying track much better than the others and I felt comfortable. I just ran a fraction wide coming out of the bottom bend and woke up in the ambulance! I feel pretty beaten up right now but will be back to full fitness and testing very soon.”

Billy McConnell the 2006 Virgin Mobile Cup champion made the most of the opportunity of slippy conditions and levelling the competition. For the first race he gambled on a softer wet tyre which shredded as the track got drier but made amends in the second leg with a fantastic 7th position, passing his hero Glen Richards and Michael Rutter in the final few laps.

Billy McConnell said: “It’s such a shame for Tom to finish his great season like that. We have had a great team this year and it was good for me to finish this strong in the last race for them. I know I have given them lots of work and I really appreciate all my guys looking after me in my first season of Superbike, and it was a great bonus to beat my hero Glen at the end of the year!”

Team Manager Rob McElnea said: “That was such a shame for Tom, he had put together a really mature weekend in the worst conditions possible. Lots of big names were making mistakes but Tom had been very strong. A tiny error cost him dearly. He has had a great season and has really done our team proud and will start 07 much wiser and stronger. Billy finished the season on a high, and I am very happy for him. He again deserves a little luck and to beat his home town hero Glen Richards was always a goal for him.

I would like to personally thank all our partners for their invaluable support throughout the 2006 season. Our dream of creating our home grown British Champion of the future is only a matter of time."

Race 1 Results:

1 Ryuichi Kiyonari 19:45.196
2 Leon Haslam 19:45.377
3 Michael Rutter 20:01.697
4 Tommy Hill Team Virgin Mobile Yamaha 20:17.757
5 Glen Richards 20:20.890
6 Scott Smart 18:52.174
7 Ben Wilson 18:52.611
8 Simon Andrews 18:57.244
9 James Haydon 18:57.786
10 Chris Martin 19:02.087
11 Dean Thomas 19:04.575
12 Billy Mcconnell Team Virgin Mobile Yamaha 19:07.137

Race 2 Results:

1 Leon Haslam 22:02.916
2 Ryuichi Kiyonari 22:11.688
3 Jonathan Rea 22:17.614
4 Karl Harris 22:20.855
5 Michael Laverty 22:30.502
6 James Haydon 22:35.365
7 Billy Mcconnell Team Virgin Mobile Yamaha 22:41.539
8 Michael Rutter 22:43.460
9 Glen Richards 22:44.537
10 Ben Wilson 23:06.238
11 Peter Hickman 23:10.550
12 Ollie Bridewell 23:23.679

Final Championship Points:

1 Ryuichi Kiyonari 466
2 Leon Haslam 458
3 Gregorio Lavilla 377
4 Jonathan Rea 248
5 Karl Harris 244
6 Shane Byrne 224
7 Michael Rutter 206
8 Tommy Hill (Yamaha) 187
9 Michael Laverty 179
10 Glen Richards 151
11 Dean Thomas 117
12 Ben Wilson 113
13 Scott Smart 102
14 Craig Coxhell 94
15 James Haydon 77
16 Billy Mcconnell (Yamaha) 60

Related Links
www.virginmobileracing.com