Haslam wins again as HM Plant Honda take more podiums!
Published by Robin Goodwin
15 September 2008, 16:52
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Croft saw yet another win for Leon Haslam – his fourth from the last five Bennetts British Superbike outings. Today’s points haul moves him up into second place in the championship behind Shane Byrne. Leon’s team-mate Cal Crutchlow also took a podium in race two. It was a disappointing day for Steve Brogan. After his two crashes yesterday, it was found that he had broken two bones in his right foot. The team withdrew Steve from the Fuchs-Silkolene British Supersport race so he could concentrate on the Metzeler National Superstock 1000 event. Steve – runaway leader of the series – eventually finished fourth, the first time he’s finished off the podium all year. He will now rest his injured foot so he can take the title at Silverstone.
Leon Haslam – HM Plant Honda
British Superbike – Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade
RACE ONE: 2nd position
RACE TWO: 1st position
“In the first race I saw Tom struggling a little with traction and made my move. Eventually when I was in the lead I began to lose a little traction myself, so I tried to keep things steady but then Leon Camier came past and he was so smooth there was nothing I could do to beat him, which was disappointing, as I wanted to have four in a row – which no-one has done so far this year. I guess this made the win in the second race very satisfying for me. I didn’t get the start I wanted in the second outing, but managed to fight through and then keep ahead of Tom to the flag, despite the fact that he was pretty fast through the last few corners! It’s a credit to HM Plant Honda to win the second race, as they changed a few things on the bike to make things easier for me.”
Cal Crutchlow – HM Plant Honda
British Superbike – Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade
RACE ONE: 4th position
RACE TWO: 3rd position
“I enjoyed the second race and was happy to get a podium at HM Plant’s home round as I’ve not had one for a while and it’s good to see Leon get the win for them as well. It was strange, but despite pole we seemed to struggle a little in the races. In the first one we had issues with front-end grip then in the second it was the rear that we had problems with. Big thanks to the HM Plant Honda team who’ve worked hard this weekend. I’m now looking for more podiums and some more wins before the end of the year to try and regain second position in the championship before the end of the year.”
Steve Brogan – HM Plant Honda / Honda (UK) Racing
British Supersport – HM Plant Honda CBR600RR
DNS
British Superstock – Honda (UK) Racing CBR1000RR Fireblade
4th position
“I’m obviously very disappointed but things could have been worse. The damage to the foot is more serious than the injury I suffered earlier this year. Basically, two metatarsals have snapped in my right foot. To get a handful of points would have been good, so fourth is great, but I’m a little annoyed as I was in second place for so long. Jon’s been my shadow all year, so I was expecting him to win the race. I’m not going to drag myself down though, as I was suffering from arm-pump for half the race as I couldn’t steer the bike with my feet. If I can get a top four at Silverstone, then that should be enough to take the title.”
Havier Beltran – HM Plant Honda team manager
“Another set of brilliant results for the team. Leon and Cal were once again pushing hard at the sharp end, although Leon had two stronger races than Cal, to be fair. In race one Leon had a few things hindering him, but the team rectified that for race two and he was able to get on the gas earlier and get the drive he needed. Cal was making a few errors and maybe not riding as smooth as he could, but he managed to come back strongly in the second race to make it a double podium with Leon taking the win. We’re happy for the team, the riders, HM Plant and their Chairman John Jones. Race two also made our Showa technician – Javier Gonzalez – very happy as it was a Showa 1-2-3 for the first time this season! For Steve it’s been a disappointing day. He does have two broken bones in his right foot so we pulled him from the Supersport race and he did well to get fourth in Superstock. We really need him to rest up for the next few weeks so he can take the title in the last two rounds.”
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