Ian Lowry put his GSX–R600 Relentless Suzuki on the top step of the podium at Donington Park earlier today, after a titanic battle with World Supersport riders Jonathan Rea and Andrew Pitt. It was a welcome return to the front of the pack for Lowry who spent the entire race mixing it with the Ten Kate duo crossing the line in third place.
Due to an infringement with the rules, both Ten Kate riders were subsequently disqualified, giving Lowry the win – nothing more than he deserved after a masterful performance.
In the superbike class, Michael Laverty was unlucky to stall his machine on the line at the start of the sighting lap in race one. And having been forced to start the race from pit lane, the Toomebridge rider came from last place in turn one, to take a fine ninth place at the chequered flag. In race two Laverty was as high as third place before a fuel starvation problem forced him back into the midfield runners. He eventually retired to the team garage with a faulty fuel pump the post race prognosis.
Ian Lowry“I’m over the moon with that and to be mixing it with top World Supersport riders is great. When I was in the lead I felt pretty comfortable but got a false neutral into the chicane and lost a bit of ground. I used the best of my tyre to get back onto Pitt and Rea. I was able to dice with Pitt but Johnny gave himself a bit of tyre for the end of the race and made a break for it. I shut it off with three laps to go as I wasn’t going to fall off trying to be a hero just because it was Andrew Pitt I was chasing. All the boys are over the moon and I want to thank them for the big effort this weekend. I think we showed that the GSX–R600 Suzuki is a capable package, even in top company. In the end we got the win, so it worked well all round.”
Michael Laverty“I was a bit stupid to stall the bike in the first race, but ninth was ok and the result gave me confidence for race two. After qualifying well in the wet, I was hoping we might get a bit of rain for the second race. We had changed a few things on the bike and I was really comfy. I definitely had the pace to lead the race but after about six laps I started to struggle with grip and by lap ten I’d dropped back a bit. That’s down to me: I just need to work my set up to get the best out of the tyres for a full race distance. I ended up pulling out with a faulty fuel pump, and at first I thought we had a traction control problem, so I flicked a few switches but obviously nothing happened. It was a frustrating weekend, although it was awesome to see Ian up there mixing it with the Ten Kate boys.”
Philip Neill – Team Principal“Ian’s ride was phenomenal today. He just proved how competitive the GSX–R600 Suzuki really is, and also how strong the British Supersport class can be, by running alongside two of World Supersport’s top riders. Rea and Pitt brought a bit of prestige to the series this weekend but all credit to Ian for mixing it with them. It’ll be a real confidence booster for him and he also proved all is not lost in the championship chase.
Michael was a bit unlucky today with fuel starvation problems in race two and being held back to start in pit lane in the race one after stalling his bike. On the first few laps of race two, Michael was superb and showed that we are nearly there with this bike – a podium can’t be too far away. He also showed grit and determination in race one coming from dead last and his lap times were good enough for top five. Again we can take a lot of positives from this weekend.”
Results BSB Race 1:Winner – Shane Byrne [Ducati]
2nd – Leon Haslam [Honda]
3rd – Tom Sykes [Suzuki]
4th – James Ellison [Honda]
5th – Leon Camier [Ducati]
6th – Cal Crutchlow [Honda]
9th – Michael Laverty [Relentless Suzuki] BSB Race 2:Winner – Shane Byrne [Ducati]
2nd – Leon Haslam [Honda]
3rd – Cal Crutchlow [Honda]
4th – Leon Camier [Ducati]
5th – James Ellison [Honda]
6th – Tom Sykes [Suzuki]
DNF – Michael Laverty British Supersport:Winner – Ian Lowry [Relentless Suzuki]2nd – Glen Richards [Triumph]
3rd – Miguel Praia [Honda]
4th – Steve Brogan [Honda]
5th – Chris Martin [Kawasaki]
6th – James Webb [Honda]
Championship:1. Richards [85]
2. Brogan [65]
3. Kennaugh [58]
4. Lowry [52]NEXT BSB EVENT [ROUND 5] – Snetterton, Norfolk, June 13/14/15
