Ian Lowry produced a near faultless performance earlier today at Knockhill in Fife, putting his K8 GSX-R600 Relentless by TAS Suzuki on the top step of the British Supersport podium. Lowry moved to the front of the field as early as lap five and was never troubled throughout the race, which was red flagged after 22 of the scheduled 27 laps. Lowry also set the fastest lap of the race on lap 11. He remains third in the championship table on 120 points behind Glen Richards [157] and Hudson Kennaugh [127] with four rounds remaining.
Michael Laverty had a frustrating day in the Superbike class with only one points scoring finish to show for his front row qualifying position. Sixth place in race one was followed by an early retirement in race two after a wrong tyre choice prematurely ended his weekend in Scotland. Laverty's consolation was the Flying Haggis trophy for setting the fastest Superbike lap of the day. He occupies eighth place in the BSB Championship on 110 points.
Australian Cameron Donald made his Knockhill debut in the Superstock class, finishing today's race in eighth place. Donald now moves on to Dundrod for next week's Ulster Grand Prix in Northern Ireland.
Ian Lowry - Supersport"That was a pretty good day... or a pretty good weekend! I knew we had the perfect dry set-up on the K8 Suzuki so I got a bit of a gap early on and just held on to it until the red flags stopped the race. I rode the K8 bike all weekend and I was very happy with it. The guys have done a great job with the new bike and I'm told there's even more to come from it, so that will set me up well for the next round at Cadwell Park."
Michael Laverty - BSB"That was a bit like a repeat of Mallory today: we promised so much and delivered very little! I suppose sixth wasn't too bad in race one but I got stuck behind Camier for a long time and that ruined any chance of fighting back for a podium. In the second race I made a bad start but was working my way through them when it was stopped; then in the re-start I made the wrong tyre choice. It was my own fault, and I knew when we did the sighting lap that I'd picked the wrong tyres, as did a few others. It's very disappointing as I was quicker than Rutter, Ellison and Harris all weekend and they all picked up podiums. Knockhill is all about getting a good start, especially in the wet with only one line on the circuit making it difficult to pass."
Cameron Donald - Superstock"It was a good enough weekend but I'm not here to finish eighth. It was a wet race on a drying track so it was hard to read and I think I was a bit too cautious. I think I maybe had next week's Ulster Grand Prix on my mind, where I'll be looking to get back on the top step of the podium."
Philip Neill - Team Principal"Ian's performance today was superb and I just knew he was winning that race when the lights went green - his body language was so positive. The last time we seen Ian riding that like was at Donington where he showed the same determination and aggression. The team has worked tirelessly to make Ian feel comfortable on the K8 GSX-R600, so my biggest thanks must go to them, although it was certainly a faultless performance from a tremendously talented rider.
Cameron has now got another new circuit under his belt and although he's disappointed with the result, his lap times were pretty consistent all weekend. Eighth is satisfactory, although his mind was probably on next week's international road race - the Ulster Grand Prix, which to be honest, is his priority this season.
Unfortunately the potential that Michael showed throughout practice and qualifying didn't translate into positive race results today, which is a little disappointing. Michael's talent has never been in question – the fastest BSB lap of the day demonstrated that - however he's struggling to find consistency. After a reasonable race one, Michael made the wrong tyre choice in race two opting for full wets, which forced him to retire on a drying track."
