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2006 BRITISH SBK

2006 BRITISH SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP

ROUND 4, 2006: 29 Apr - 1 May 2006: Oulton Park

RACE RESULT

		RACE 1	MAY 1, 2006
	POS	RIDER	BIKE	TIME	GAP
	1	Gregorio Lavilla	Ducati
	2	Shane Byrne	Suzuki		0.4
	3	Leon Haslam	Ducati		0.8
	4	James Haydon	Suzuki
	5	Karl Harris	Honda
	6	Ryuichi Kiyonari	Honda
	7	Tommy Hill	Honda
	8	Jonathan Rea	Honda
	9	Michael Rutter	Honda
	10	Glen Richards	Honda
		RACE 2	MAY 1, 2006
	1	Gregorio Lavilla	Ducati
	2	Karl Harris	Honda		0.05
	3	Shane Byrne	Suzuki		12.0
	4	Jonathan Rea	Honda
	5	Ryuichi Kiyonari	Honda
	6	Michael Rutter	Honda
	7	Leon Haslam	Ducati
	8	Tommy Hill	Honda
	9	Glen Richards	Honda
	10	Ben Wilson	Suzuki

WINNER, LAVILLA:

• “I played my cards right ... Last year I was beaten by Ryuichi Kiyonari by the smallest possible margin in a similar move, but I learned from that experience, and was able to get the line and the victory. All of the teams are getting very close to us now and that means I have to work very hard. I am not talking or thinking about the title. Last year, Michael Rutter was 65 points clear at one stage and he did not take the championship. I am concentrating on each race, and scoring good points.”

SUZUKI REPORT (Byrne R1, 2nd; R2 3rd)

• RIZLA SUZUKI’S Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne scored brilliant second and third place podium finishes in today’s Bank Holiday fourth round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Oulton Park while racing with a stomach bug that left him feeling barely strong enough to stand.
• Shakey was given a saline drip by doctors before climbing aboard his Rizla Suzuki GSX-R1000 for the first race. Despite feeling weak he showed his determination to lead the race and finish in second place to score Rizla Suzuki’s first podium of the season.
• In the second event an exhausted Shakey battled for third place for the entire race. On the last lap he clashed with Honda’s Jonathan Rea and both riders went off track. Rea missed the Knickerbrook chicane and crossed the line in third while Shakey came back on track and finished fourth. He was later awarded third place after an investigation into the incident and both riders sportingly shook hands. Shakey is now up to fifth in the Championship standings.
• Rizla Suzuki’s James Haydon was in contention for the win in the opening race and finished fourth just two seconds behind the winner. In the next race he was knocked off track by Kawasaki’s Dean Thomas at Shell Oils corner and despite rejoining the race, finished out of the points in 17th. Ducati’s Gregorio Lavilla won both races.
• Rizla Suzuki will test at Croft in North Yorkshire on Tuesday, May 9th before making the trip to Mondello Park in the Republic of Ireland for the fifth round of the Championship on Sunday, May 21st.
• Shakey: “A massive thank you to the medical staff who kept me hydrated and fit enough to race this weekend. I have had a serious stomach bug which meant I couldn’t eat or sleep and felt absolutely terrible in the races.
• “Before the first race Niall Mackenzie told me to do the warm up lap and if I felt bad then come in to the pits and go straight to bed. But when you receive the amount of support I do from Rizla Suzuki it wasn’t an option and I had to give it a go. I’m glad I did…
• “In both races I wasn’t riding as well as I could have, I just wasn’t strong enough to muscle the bike around. Thanks to the team for giving me a great bike this weekend and also to Jonathan Rea for being such a good sport over our last lap clash and conceding third place. I’m sure we’ll both be fighting for more podiums again very soon.”

KAWASAKI RACE REPORT

• Hawk Kawasaki riders Dean Thomas (33), Craig Coxhell (23) and Peter Hickman (19) suffered mixed fortunes at the fourth round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Oulton Park on Monday (1st May).
• Qualifying in eighth position on the grid Dean Thomas got a flying start in the first race and settled nicely into fifth position. Leading a trio of factory riders including Honda's Ryuichi Kiyonari and Karl Harris, Thomas was fighting a strong battle and fending off the chasing pack. As half distance approached the Chesterfield based rider began to struggle with grip and chatter problems and began to drop places, finishing in 12th position overall. He was only to see half a lap in the second race after another good start he got tangled up with Suzuki rider James Haydon at Shell Oils corner forcing Thomas to crash out.
• An injured Thomas said "Things definitely progressed this weekend and we made a number of alterations on the ZX10-R and we are now moving in the right direction and know where we want to be. I have broken a rib after the crash with James (Haydon) so I'm feeling a little second hand at the moment, which I could have done without. If I'm well enough, we have a test at Mallory Park this Friday, which I'd like to attend and continue making improvements with the bike."
• Returning from injury his fellow Australian team-mate Craig Coxhell rode two impressive races to finish a creditable 17th and 15th places respectively. Coxhell who broke his left collar bone and tore the muscles in his right shoulder three weeks ago fought through the pain this weekend and battled around the demanding circuit.
• Coxhell said "Oulton is certainly a very difficult circuit to ride when you are fully fit so I was struggling a lot this weekend with my injuries. All I wanted to do was finishes both races and learn more about bike and the track for the next time we visit there in July. The bike was moving around a fair bit towards the end of the races so I was having to ride it harder than normal. I did struggle with bike fitness but this is just a time thing and hopefully I will be fully fit by Mondello in three weeks."
• Youngest rider in the British Superbike Series, Peter Hickman gained a 20th and 19th position in the two races at the Cheshire circuit. Hickman who is contending his first year on a Superbike is learning the trade well, the Lincolnshire based rider was locked in a battle with experienced Superbike rider Kieran Clarke in race one and Clarke's team-mate Billy McConnell in the second race.
• Commenting "It's been a tough weekend but I managed two race finishes which I'm pleased about. I'm learning so much and realise what a tough class the Superbike series is. I've had a couple of crashes at the last few meetings and so my main aim at Oulton was to stay on, which I did. I still have a long way to go and still focusing on scoring some Championship points."
• The Hawk Kawasaki Team will be testing at Mallory Park on Friday 5th May.

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