Concerns about the weather proved unfounded as Airwaves Ducati completed two dry races in round 10 of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Croft today. In the highly competitive races Leon Haslam achieved a 5th and a 6th place finish, whilst Gregorio Lavilla followed a 6th place finish in race one with a 4th in race two.
In the first 20 lap race Gregorio Lavilla got a good start and was 5th at the end of lap one. As the top 6 riders moved away from the rest of the field Leon set the fastest lap of the race whilst chasing 5th position. The Airwaves Ducati riders fought hard to try and better their positions; Leon overtook his team mate on lap 16 to finish in 5th with Greg in 6th.
In the second race both Airwaves Ducati riders worked hard to keep up with the pace of the Hondas. Greg had moved through the field to take 5th place by lap 5 and Leon was pushing hard in 6th when he ran off the track relegating him to 8th. Following a fall by Crutchlow, Greg was moved up into 4th position where he finished. Leon regained two places to finish the race in 6th.
Following a tough day for the team Gregorio Lavilla commented; “I think we may have got as good a result as we could have hoped for here. It is a fast track and we struggle on straight line speed against the Hondas. I was not too happy with how my bike was feeling after the first race but the team worked really hard to improve it for the second race; unfortunately it was not enough. The only place we could overtake was on the final corner and I did it once but I was not really in control; after that I did not want to risk my position by doing it again and making a mistake or crashing. In the second race I was happy enough in 4th and I was hoping for a mistake by one of the riders in front of me but they didn’t make any so I had to finish where I did. It was not the best of results for us but now we will head to Cadwell Park and focus on getting a good result there.”
Leon Haslam was disappointed with his day saying, “I made some mistakes today and I have not come away with the result that the team or I were hoping for. I had disappointing starts to both races but I was lapping quicker than the winners in both races and I set the fastest lap in race one. Had I got better starts then I think I would have been up there fighting for a podium place. I am third in the championship and it is very much still in my mind. I am looking forward to getting to Cadwell Park and putting in a good performance there, ahead of the final two races of the season.”
Race One Result- Ryuichi Kiyonari – HM Plant Honda
- Jonathan Rea – HM Plant Honda
- Tom Sykes – Stobart Vent Axia
- Cal Crutchlow – Rizla Suzuki
- Leon Haslam – Airwaves Ducati
- Gregorio Lavilla – Airwaves Ducati
Race Two Result - Ryuichi Kiyonari – HM Plant Honda
- Jonathan Rea – HM Plant Honda
- Tom Sykes – Stobart Vent Axia
- Gregorio Lavilla – Airwaves Ducati
- Leon Camier – Bike Animal Honda
- Leon Haslam – Airwaves Ducati
Championship Points- Ryuichi Kiyonari – 348
- Jonathan Rea – 322
- Leon Haslam – 288
- Gregorio Lavilla – 269
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