Michael Rutter powered in a popular victory in a dramatic sixth round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship as he headed off the challenge of runaway series leading Shane Byrne in a rain affected second race at Mallory Park.
Earlier in the afternoon the Airwaves Ducati rider had taken his eighth victory and he was not too concerned about having to settle for second best to his North West 200 Ducati rival who had gambled correctly on tyre choice.
Rutter, regarded as something of a circuit expert, decided that the rains had passed and the Leicestershire track would dry – he opted to run on slick tyres and that decision was a winner as a dry line quickly developed.
He led throughout, always in control, to take his first victory since his success at Oulton Park back in May 2005, crossing the line a little over four seconds clear of Byrne.
“That was a dream, unbelievable,” enthused Rutter. “I thought it was all going to be a nightmare for me. I was going to use my second bike for the first race, but then had a problem on the line. That meant using my other bike, but starting from the back of the grid.
“Then I crashed and damaged my hand, and I thought that’s it, nothing but trouble, only for this. It’s down and up so quick, but a great feeling.” Byrne was quick to congratulate Rutter.
“It was good for him and he rode a fantastic race – the old boy really deserved to win. I went out with an intermediate front and a slick rear tyre and thought I had made the right choice but the track dried out a lot quicker than I expected,” explained Byrne.
The second race had provided intense action with constant positional changes but it was HM Plant Honda rider Cal Crutchlow who eventually came through, closing in dramatically on the leading duo, and at one point moving briefly ahead of Byrne, to take third place ahead of the pole starting Rizla Suzuki in the hands of Tom Sykes.
Karl Harris, ruled out early on in the opener when a stone pierced the radiator of his Rob Mac Racing Yamaha, took fifth ahead of Leon Haslam and the Lloyds British Jentin Yamaha rider Simon Andrews while Leon Camier, a first bend faller first time out took eighth from Tristan Palmer and Scott Smart.
The first race had its moments, particularly in the early stages when Byrne found himself momentarily halted as his bike was sandwiched between Michael Laverty’s Relentless Suzuki and the trackside wall at the Hairpin.
“He came across me, we had a coming together and I went into the wall and had to get back up and get going again,” explained Byrne. “It was a bit chaotic coming through, and to be honest I was more nervous before this race than I’ve ever been.”
The champion of five years ago however was in no mood to allow that to halt his charge and was quickly back in contention, moving through from fifth place to take the lead, ahead of Haslam and Crutchlow with six laps remaining.
His record over a dozen races now is eight victories and four second placings, putting him 280-183 ahead of Crutchlow at the halfway point of the series, while in the chase for the Daily Star Cup, the race within a race for Independent teams, John Laverty, riding the Buildbase NW200 Ducati, with a win and a second place has opened up a 256-140 points lead over Tom Tunstall, fifth and third, here.
Chris Burns held on to take the Cup victory in the second race.
Results – Bennetts British Superbike Championship – round sixRace one – 30 laps:1.Shane Byrne (Airwaves Ducati) 28m 33.049secs
2. Leon Haslam (HM Plant Honda) +1.024s
3. Cal Crutchlow (HM Plant Honda) +1.147s
4. Tom Sykes (Rizla Suzuki) +1.355s
5. James Ellison (Hydrex Bike Animal Honda) +11.302s
6. Billy McConnell (MSS Disovery Kawasaki) +17.149s
7. Simon Andrews (Lloyds British Jentin Racing Yamaha) +18.252s
8. Tristan Palmer (TENA for Men Honda) +19.761s
9. Atsushi Watanabe (Rizla Suzuki) +26.422s
10. John Laverty (Buildbase NW200 Ducati) +27.593s
Race two – 30 laps:1. Michael Rutter (North West 200 Ducati) 30m 10.219secs
2. Shane Byrne (Airwaves Ducati) +4.405s
3. Cal Crutchlow (HM Plant Honda) +4.586s
4. Tom Sykes (Rizla Suzuki) +13.383s
5. Karl Harris (Rob Mac Racing Yamaha) +13.589s
6. Leon Haslam (HM Plant Honda) +19.517s
7. Simon Andrews (Lloyds British Jentin Racing Yamaha) +25.928s
8. Leon Camier (Airwaves Ducati) +35.007s
9. Tristan Palmer (TENA for Men Honda) +44.194s
10. Scott Smart (Hawk Kawasaki) +56.422s
Bennetts British Superbike Championship standings:1. Shane Byrne (Airwaves Ducati) 280
2. Cal Crutchlow (HM Plant Honda) 183
3. Leon Camier (Airwaves Ducati) 160
4 Leon Haslam (HM Plant Honda) 148
5. Michael Rutter (North West 200 Ducati) 127
Next round – Oulton Park, Cheshire – 18/19/20 July
