Thurxton saw more thrilling racing and excellent results from the ISILON MSS Discovery Kawasaki team. In the Superbike class, 33-year-old Michael Rutter from Kirby Mallory rode around his slight lack of top-end speed to record 11th and 8th positions in the super-competitive Bennetts British Superbike championship. Meanwhile his 23-year-old Scottish team-mate in the MAXXIS British Supersport series stormed through from 14th on the grid to 5th in the race, with an impressive late-race pace that has helped him to third overall in the standings.
Rutter continues to sit in eighth in the Superbike championship, just ahead of Rizla Suzuki’s Chris Walker.
Michael Rutter, Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R (11th & 8th positions)“We are definitely happy with that. I just wished I could have had a better first race, as I really didn’t get going quick enough. I was off the start-line pretty well, but couldn’t get my head into gear quickly enough in those vital early laps. We altered the bike for the second race by raising it a bit, to get more feel. It was much improved, but overall we’re still down on speed and got a little bit hammered, so that’s our next thing, to get more power for Silverstone. That said: it’s pretty good to be ahead of the likes of Chris Walker in the championship after the first two rounds. ”
Stuart Easton, Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R (5th position)“Once again I’m pretty happy that we’ve salvaged such a good result from 14th on the grid. Better still, we were the quickest on track at end of the race and that’s a very positive feeling to have. We’ve come a long way on settings for the bike and that shows in not just 5th in the race but 3rd overall in the championship standings so far. The changes we made to the front-end of my bike have really helped my mid-corner speed, which is crucial. We now hope to be testing on Friday at Oulton Park, but I feel that we’ve now got a good base setting, which we can hopefully use for the upcoming tracks. ”
Nick Morgan, Team owner“We’re not too disappointed with these results – once again it all comes together on race day! For Michael to be ahead of Chris Walker in the series and Kawasaki to be the third-placed manufacturer in the Bennetts Superbike Championship is not to be sniffed at and is something positive to build on. Once again the boys were fantastic back in the pits. Our data technician Bob Gray did some marvellous work with the data and the Motec engine management system ensuring that we conserved our tyres well. We do realise that we still need a bit more power overall – maybe another 10-15 bhp should do it. The Showa suspension and K-Tech crew are working hard for us too. We will get better without a doubt. Fifth for Stuart in Supersport is also a pretty mega result. Sure, like the Superbike, we’d like more, but from 14th on the grid, it shows that his confidence with the bike is improving and that he’s going quicker and quicker. I think this shows that we need to get his bike sorted earlier in the weekend, but we’re testing between now and Silverstone so hopefully that will help.”
Stuart Simmonds, joint team owner“Another solid result from Michael on the Superbike. I think with the opposition they’re at around 90% of what they’re going to be capable of all year, while we’re in the 70s. That means we’ve got plenty more to come and it’s up to us to unlock some of that potential in time for Silverstone. With Stuart, 5th from 14th is a major achievement and it shows that he’s gelling with the Ninja ZX-6R. We’re hoping for a gradual improvement onto the rostrum for him soon.”
Bennetts British Superbike Championship: Race 11. Gregorio Lavilla
2. Ryuichi Kiyonari
3. Shane Byrne
4. Johnny Rea
5. Leon Camier
11: Michael Rutter, ISILON MSS Discovery Kawasaki
Best lap: 1m 16.688s
Bennetts British Superbike Championship: Race 21. Gregorio Lavilla
2. Leon Camier
3. Ryuichi Kiyonari
4. Shane Bryne
5. Tom Sykes
8: Michael Rutter, ISILON MSS Discovery Kawasaki
Best lap: 1m 16.044s
MAXXIS British Supersport Championship race:1. Michael Laverty
2. Jamie Robinson
3. Billy McConnell
4. James Westmoreland
5: Stuart Easton, ISILON MSS Discovery Kawasaki
Best lap: 1m 18.664
Related Linkswww.mssdiscoveryracing.com
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