This weekend saw three races at the Snetterton circuit with the re-run of Race 2 from the Knockhill round of the championship taking place on Saturday and the two races from round seven going ahead as scheduled on the Sunday.

Race 1 (re-run of Knockhill race two – Saturday)

The HM Plant Honda rider Josh Brookes took the chequered flag in the re-run of the cancelled Knockhill race 2 on Saturday after passing his team-mate Ryuichi Kiyonari on the final lap.

Kiyonari had dominated the race from the flag ahead of the Relentless Suzuki pairing of Michael Laverty and Alastair Seeley.  Tommy Hill on the Worx Crescent Suzuki had soon moved into third position passing both Relentless Suzuki riders as he chased down the leading HM Plant Honda duo.

Brookes was sitting in ninth place by the end of the first lap after a terrible start but by the seventh lap had passed Seeley, Michael Rutter and Laverty and was up to third place.  The HM Plant Honda rider was soon attacking Hill, passing him on the inside at Riches before going after his team-mate.  Kiyonari was defending his position but Brookes managed to make his way past on the final lap again at Riches to take his third win of the season.

Hill finished in third place ahead of Rutter in fourth, Seeley in fifth, Michael Laverty in sixth, James Ellison in seventh, Simon Andrews in eighth, Gary Mason in ninth and Tommy Bridewell in tenth.

Here are the results;

1. Josh Brookes  AUS HM Plant Honda  19mins 41.650s
2. Ryuichi Kiyonari JPN HM Plant Honda +0.594s
3. Tommy Hill GBR Worx Crescent Suzuki +4.475s
4. Michael Rutter GBR Ridersmotorcycles.com Ducati +4.989s
5. Alastair Seeley GBR Relentless by TAS Suzuki +5.485s
6. Michael Laverty GBR Relentless by TAS Suzuki +5.889s
7. James Ellison GBR Swan Honda +9.148s
8. Simon Andrews GBR MSS Colchester Kawasaki +11.305s
9. Gary Mason GBR MSS Colchester Kawasaki +14.364s
10. Tommy Bridewell GBR Quay Garage Honda +14.386s
11. Chris Walker GBR Sorrymate.com SMT Honda +14.698s
12. John Laverty GBR Buildbase Kawasaki +15.007s
13. Dan Linfoot GBR Motorpoint Yamaha +17.458s
14. Andrew Pitt AUS Motorpoint Yamaha +28.761s
15. Peter Hickman GBR Ultimate Racing Yamaha +28.933s

25. Stuart Easton GBR Swan Honda 5 laps completed
26. Chris Burns GBR Splitlath Aprilia 0 laps completed

Race One - Snetterton

It was Michael Rutter on the RidersMotorcycles.com Ducati that took to the lead as the opening race got underway ahead of Tommy Hill, Ryuichi Kiyonari, Michael Laverty and James Ellison.

Brookes was back in sixth place by the end of lap one despite claiming pole position in the Swan Combi Roll for Pole after another iffy start.  By the fourth lap the HM Plant Honda rider had moved up to third while his team-mate Kiyonari was forced to retire from the race following a mechanical problem.

Hill had fallen back down the field running behind both Seeley and Ellison but was soon looking to make a pass on the Swan Honda rider which he succeeded in doing to finish the race in second place.

By lap 7, Brookes had passed second place man Hill before being gifted the lead 7 laps later when Rutter was seen slowing down with a gear shift problem on the Ducati.

Hill finished in second place followed by Seeley in third, Ellison in fourth, Michael Laverty in fifth, Tommy Bridewell in sixth, Chris Walker in seventh, Stuart Easton in eighth, Simon Andrews in ninth and John Laverty rounding off the top ten riders.

Here are the results;

1.  Josh Brookes  AUS HM Plant Honda  24mins 13.327s
2. Tommy Hill GBR Worx Crescent Suzuki +1.472s
3. Alastair Seeley GBR Relentless by TAS Suzuki +2.740s
4. James Ellison GBR Swan Honda +3.757s
5. Michael Laverty GBR Relentless by TAS Suzuki +4.152s
6. Tommy Bridewell GBR Quay Garage Honda +15.640s
7. Chris Walker GBR Sorrymate.com SMT Honda +17.779s
8. Stuart Easton GBR Swan Honda +18.417s
9. Simon Andrews GBR MSS Colchester Kawasaki +18.860s
10. John Laverty GBR Buildbase Kawasaki +19.131s
11. Gary Mason GBR MSS Colchester Kawasaki +21.546s
12. Andrew Pitt AUS Motorpoint Yamaha +21.838s
13. Steve Brogan GBR Jentin Racing BMW +32.999s
14. Gary Johnson GBR AIM Suzuki +34.969s
15. Tom Tunstall GBR Doodson Motorsport Honda +44.072s

DNS Chris Burns GBR Splitlath Aprilia
DNS Luke Jones GBR PR Racing Yamaha

Race Two

Josh Brookes was denied his third win of the weekend after a technical problem occurred seeing him retiring from the race on lap 12.

It was the Swan Honda of James Ellison that took to the front of the pack as the race got underway ahead of Josh Brookes and Ryuichi Kiyonari.

By lap 3, Kiyonari squeezed his way through on Michael Laverty before passing his team-mate Brookes seven laps later.  On lap 9, the Honda rider had managed to get past the leading Swan Honda rider Ellison as they headed into Riches.  Brookes was hot on the tail of his team-mate until he was forced to retire from the race.

Kiyonari was leading the race 1.3 seconds ahead of Michael Laverty, Rutter and Ellison until Alastair Seeley attempted a pass on Ellison taking them both out of the race.

Michael Laverty made a move on the leading man only to run wide and lose his second position to a stalking Tommy Hill.  Rutter finished in fourth place ahead of John Laverty in fifth, Simon Andrews in sixth, Chris Walker in seventh, Andrew Pitt in eighth, Gary Mason in ninth and Yukio Kagayama in tenth.

Here are the results;

1.  Ryuichi Kiyonari  JPN HM Plant Honda  26mins 52.964s
2. Tommy Hill GBR Worx Crescent Suzuki +0.591s
3. Michael Laverty GBR Relentless by TAS Suzuki +0.954s
4. Michael Rutter GBR Ridersmotorcycles.com Ducati +1.584s
5. John Laverty GBR Buildbase Kawasaki +3.897s
6. Simon Andrews GBR MSS Colchester Kawasaki +4.899s
7. Chris Walker GBR Sorrymate.com SMT Honda +6.127s
8. Andrew Pitt AUS Motorpoint Yamaha +8.211s
9. Gary Mason GBR MSS Colchester Kawasaki +8.349s
10. Yukio Kagayama JPN Worx Crescent Suzuki +9.566s
11. Peter Hickman GBR Ultimate Racing Yamaha 10.663s
12. Dan Linfoot GBR Motorpoint Yamaha +12.146s
13. Steve Brogan GBR Jentin Racing BMW +16.226s
14. Gary Johnson GBR AIM Suzuki +17.302s
15. Hudson Kennaugh RSA Splitlath Aprilia +17.607s

DNS James Edmeades GBR Redline KTM
DNS Chris Burns GBR Splitlath Aprilia
DNS Luke Jones GBR PR Racing Yamaha

Oulton Park

After cancellation of some of the races of the British and National Superbike championship the organisers have now rescheduled and the dates are as follows;

Round 6, British Superbike series, Race 2 at Knockhill will now take place on Saturday July 17th at the Snetterton circuit. The participants of that race are confined to those published on the Grid for Race 2 published at Knockhill on 4/7/2010.

National Superstock 600, Round 3 at Oulton Park will now run over the weekend of July 30/31st and August 1st at the Silverstone circuit, supporting the Superbike World Championship. The participants of that race are confined to those published on the Race 9 – Final Grid published at Oulton Park on 3/5/2010.  Round 5, Race 2 at Knockhill will now take place on July 17th at Snetterton. The participants of that race are confined to those published on the Race 3 and 10 – Final Grid published at Knockhill on 4/7/2010

British 125GP championship, Round 6 from Knockhill will now take place on Saturday 11th September at the Croft circuit.

The Henderson Harley Davidson XR1200 Trophy, Rounds 3 & 4 has now been incorporated into the event at Brands Hatch on the weekend of August 6/7/8 with the revised remaining rounds as follows;

Round 3 August 7th Brands Hatch GP

Round 4 August 8th Brands Hatch GP

Round 5 August 29th Cadwell Park

Round 6 August 30th Cadwell Park

Michael Rutter – BSB – Knockhill 2010

The Ridersmotorcylces.com rider Michael Rutter claimed his first win in two-years at this weekends British Superbike championship and the first ever for the team.

The second race of the day was cancelled due to a crash under horrendous weather conditions which saw the first race restarted three times as the heavens opened.

The first start ended after heavy rain fell on the track with only 2 laps completed, causing a delay of the restart of 90 minutes as the downpour continued.  As the restart got underway an accident on lap 3 saw the second red flag as Chris Walker and Dan Linfoot crashed out spilling mud across the circuit which needed to be cleared.

At the third start it was Josh Brookes who led the pack from pole position followed by Michael Rutter and Ryuichi Kiyonari.

On lap 6 Kiyonari put his HM Plant Honda in front of both riders to take the lead but as a dry line began to develop on the soaked circuit, Rutter slipped past Brookes and was on the tail of  the Honda rider.

Rutter made his move with 5 laps of the shortened 15 lap race to take the lead remaining at the front until he crossed the finish line ahead of Kiyonari and Brookes.

Relentless Suzuki rider Michael Laverty crossed the line in fourth place followed by Alastair Seeley in fifth, John Laverty in sixth, Simon Andrews in seventh, Tommy Hill in eighth, Gary Mason in ninth and Chris Walker in tenth.

Rutter said after the race;

“This is brilliant, not just for me but for the team. It’s great to back as a championship contender and it’s even better to be standing on top of the podium again.

The conditions played into my hands a bit but I was desperate to get past the Hondas and run my own race. I know the race was shortened but it’s a win none the less in far from ideal conditions.”

As the warm-up lap of race two got underway the rain once again began to fall followed by a six-bike pile-up after Simon Andrews fell off his Kawasaki at turn 1.  As the clean up began and the rain subsided the wind began to gust across the track leading to officials to cancel the second race.

Here are the results;

1.  Michael Rutter  GBR Ridersmotorcycles.com Ducati  13mins 32.658s
2. Ryuichi Kiyonari JPN HM Plant Honda +0.577s
3. Josh Brookes AUS HM Plant Honda +6.187s
4. Michael Laverty GBR Relentless by TAS Suzuki +9.363s
5. Alastair Seeley GBR Relentless by TAS Suzuki +13.285s
6. John Laverty GBR Buildbase Kawasaki +18.708s
7. Simon Andrews GBR MSS Colchester Kawasaki +21.149s
8. Tommy Hill GBR Worx Crescent Suzuki +23.233s
8=. Gary Mason GBR MSS Colchester Kawasaki +23.233s
10. Chris Walker GBR CW Suzuki +28.717
11. Andrew Pitt AUS Motorpoint Yamaha +29.831s
12. Gary Johnson GBR AIM Suzuki +30.312s
13. David Johnson AUS Two Brothers BMW +31.077s
14. Christian Iddon GBR Sorrymate.com SMT Honda +32.288s
15. Tom Tunstall GBR Doodson Motorsport Honda +34.394s

DNS Dan Linfoot GBR Motorpoint Yamaha

Yukio Kagayama – Worx Crescent Suzuki

The Worx Crescent Suzuki rider Yukio Kagayama is to miss this weekends round of the British Superbike championship after suffering a broken hand at the last round at Mallory Park.

The Japanese rider crashed out early in the first race at Mallory after returning to the series following the fractured vertebrae he received when he crashed at Oulton Park.

Kagayama took the decision to rest the injury this weekend to enable himself to be fit for Snetterton in two-weeks time.  It is the third round that the team have had only one rider on the grid with Kagayama finishing with only one top ten finish so far this season.

Donington Park

A revised calendar for the 2010 MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship in association with Pirelli has been announced today due to the major changes involving Donington Park which is unable to be included for the coming year.

The Donington Park round due to take place on 10-12 September will now be held at the Croft circuit and on May 21-23 is now being held at the Cadwell Park circuit.

Other changes to the calendar show the Knockhill round has moved to the 2-4 July while the 16-18 July round will be held at the Snetterton circuit.

* – Denotes three BSB races at these events, all others two.

Glen Richards – HM Plant Honda 2009

The British Superbike HM Plant Honda rider Glen Richards, is due to make his return at Silverstone next weekend after missing eleven races this season through injury.

Richards suffered a broken left femur at the Knockhill round back in July when he crashed with Ian Lowry on the Relentless Suzuki during qualifying.

The Australian has maintained his fitness levels during the five rounds that he was side-lined and has recently tested at the Silverstone circuit on a Superstock bike.

The team manager Havier Beltran said;

“We are happy to have Glen back on the HM Plant Honda for Silverstone, especially as he has worked so incredibly hard to maintain his fitness levels since the crash. He completed around 40 – 50 laps of Silverstone today on a Superstock bike and he feels 100% stronger than he did when he rode the bike before the Croft round.”

Mallory Park

The next round of the British Superbike Championship will take place at Mallory Park on the 17-19 July and there will be some new faces on the grid standing-in as  replacements for injured riders.

British Superstock Champion Steve Brogan will be on the HM Plant Honda, filling-in for Glen Richards who broke his left femur last weekend at Knockhill.  On Sunday, Richards underwent surgery to have a pin inserted to hold the bone together and is now up and about on crutches.

It is hoped that Richards will be back on the grid before the end of the season, although it has already been decided that Steve Plater will be the replacement at the Brands Hatch round on the 7-9 August and at Cadwell Park on the 29-31 August.

Michael Rutter had been covering for Guintoli until he and the team mutually agreed to end their association after the Knockhill round.

After leaving the Hanspree Honda Althea World Superbike team earlier this season, Tommy Hill is to be the replacement rider for the injured Worx Crescent Suzuki man Sylvain Guintoli at Mallory Park.

Guintoli suffered compound fractures to his right fibula and tibia in a freak, two bike accident on his sighting lap for the first race at Donington Park.  It happened as Guintoli was turning into the Melbourne hairpin, Josh Brookes on the HM Plant Honda arrived at the corner too fast and crashed into the Suzuki.  It was later discovered that it was caused by a failure in the operation of the braking system of the Honda.

Hill will be riding under a one race contract until Guintoli is considered fit enough to return after making a steady recovery so far.

Glen Richards – HM Plant Honda

The HM Plant Honda British Superbike rider Glen Richards, has had a successful operation after a pin was inserted into his broken left femur, after his accident in qualifying at Knockhill last weekend.

Richards suffered a  huge crash, colliding with Relentless Suzuki rider Ian Lowry, and was taken to a local hospital where his brake was diagnosed.

The Australian has been reported as being mobile already and the brake was described by a doctor as a ‘clean break’, which is expected to heal relatively quickly.

The HM Plant Honda team manager Havier Beltran said;

“Glen’s operation to pin his broken left femur went well at the weekend and he is due to be released from hospital today,”

“He has been up and mobile already, but of course he will have to take it easy over the next few weeks.

“It was a clean break in the middle of his femur which means that it should heal reasonably fast, so we want to pass on our best wishes to Glen for his recovery. In terms of a replacement for the Mallory Park round, we will announce the rider this week.”

Leon Camier – Airwaves Yamaha 2009

Leon Camier won both races at the Knockhill round of the British Superbike Championship for the Airwaves Yamaha team today.

Race 1

From second on the grid, Leon Camier took the lead in race one on the second lap after passing Stuart Easton on the Hydrex Honda.

Towards the end of the race, Gary Mason on the Quay Garage Honda, lost the front end of his machine and collected Tristan Palmer on the Buildbase Kawasaki in the process, bringing out the red flag.

At the restart, it was once again Camier that took the lead, and held it for the remaining six laps. Easton finished in second, almost two-seconds behind Camier, followed by Josh Brookes in third for the HM Plant Honda team.

Simon Andrews on the MSS Colchester Kawasaki finished in fourth place ahead of James Ellison on the second Airwaves Yamaha and Ian Lowry on the Relentless Suzuki.

Chris Walker claimed seventh place for the Motorpoint/Henderson Yamaha team followed by his team-mate Graeme Gowland in eighth.

In ninth place was the Mirror Cup runner Tommy Bridewell riding the Team NB Suzuki followed by Jason O’Halloran in tenth on the SMT Honda.

Karl Harris crashed his Hydrex Honda while trying to pass Chris Walker at the Hairpin, and just a couple of laps later Julian De Costa and then John Laverty both went down.  David Johnson crashed out not long after leaving a list of retirees from the first race with no points.

Here are the results;

1. Leon Camier GBR Airwaves Yamaha 27mins 49.745secs 33 laps
2. Stuart Easton GBR Hydrex Honda +1.805secs
3. Josh Brookes AUS HM Plant Honda +1.904secs
4. Simon Andrews GBR MSS Colchester Kawasaki +4.001secs
5. James Ellison GBR Airwaves Yamaha +4.875secs
6. Ian Lowry GBR Relentless TAS Suzuki +4.898secs
7. Chris Walker GBR Motorpoint/Henderson Yamaha +6.587secs
8. Graeme Gowland GBR Motorpoint/Henderson Yamaha +7.326secs
9. Tommy Bridewell GBR Team NB Suzuki +9.551secs Cup
10. Jason O’Halloran AUS SMT Honda +9.728secs
11. Michael Rutter GBR Worx Crescent Suzuki +9.928secs
12. Peter Hickman GBR Ultimate Yamaha +11.750secs Cup
13. Tom Tunstall GBR Hardinge Doodson Honda +22.387secs Cup
14. Atsushi Watanabe JPN Relentless TAS Suzuki +28.191secs
15. Aaron Zanotti GBR Red Viper Honda +1 lap
16. David Haire GBR DHR Racing Honda +1 lap Cup

DNS. Glen Richards AUS HM Plant Honda Did not start
DNS. Jon Kirkham GBR North West 200 Yamaha Did not start
DNS. Alastair Fagan GBR Red Viper Honda Did not start Cup

Race 2

Camier went onto win the second race of the day at Knockhill after passing Stuart Easton and then chasing down the race leader, Josh Brookes on lap 7.  However, Camier didn’t make the move stick until the following lap when he then began to edge away from the pack.

Brookes finished in second place for the Honda team ahead of James Ellison on the second Airwaves Yamaha, who had passed Easton earlier when the Hydrex rider made a mistake.

Easton claimed fourth place followed by Chris Walker on the Yamaha and Simon Andrews on the Kawasaki in sixth.  In seventh place was Walker’s team-mate Graeme Gowland ahead of Julian De Costa on the second Kawasaki.

Tommy Bridewell took ninth position ahead of Gary Mason, who had managed to get his Quay Garage Honda on the grid for the second race to take tenth place.

On lap 4, John Laverty crashed his Buildbase Kawasaki while a technical problem caused the retirement of Ian Lowry on the Relentless Suzuki on lap 8.

Karl Harris retired his Hydrex Honda later in the race followed by the Worx Suzuki rider Michael Rutter on lap 21, who went off at the hairpin.

Here are the results;

1. Leon Camier GBR Airwaves Yamaha 24mins 41.486secs 30 laps
2. Josh Brookes AUS HM Plant Honda +4.996secs
3. James Ellison GBR Airwaves Yamaha +6.307secs
4. Stuart Easton GBR Hydrex Honda +6.748secs
5. Chris Walker GBR Motorpoint/Henderson Yamaha +16.488secs
6. Simon Andrews GBR MSS Colchester Kawasaki +26.311secs
7. Graeme Gowland GBR Motorpoint/Henderson Yamaha +29.157secs
8. Julien Da Costa FRA MSS Colchester Kawasaki +30.550secs
9. Tommy Bridewell GBR Team NB Suzuki +30.813secs Cup
10. Gary Mason GBR Quay Honda +31.621secs Cup
11. Tristan Palmer GBR Buildbase Kawasaki +32.134secs
12. Jason O’Halloran AUS SMT Honda +36.114secs
13. David Johnson AUS Team Maxxis Adept Yamaha +42.160secs
14. Peter Hickman GBR Ultimate Yamaha +44.008secs Cup
15. Atsushi Watanabe JPN Relentless TAS Suzuki +1 lap
16. Tom Tunstall GBR Hardinge Doodson Honda +1 lap Cup
17. Kenny Gilbertson GBR Jx Fuelcards Kawasaki +1 lap
18. David Haire GBR DHR Racing Honda +1 lap Cup
19. Aaron Zanotti GBR Red Viper Honda +1 lap

DNS. Glen Richards AUS HM Plant Honda Did not start
DNS. Jon Kirkham GBR North West 200 Yamaha Did not start
DNS. Alastair Fagan GBR Red Viper Honda Did not start Cup

Josh Brookes – HM Plant Honda 2009

Qualifying for the British Superbike Championship took place today at the Knockhill circuit with the HM Plant Honda rider Josh Brookes claiming his first British Superbike Pole.

Leon Camier had to settle for second place on the grid for the Airwaves Yamaha team, after finding no way around the Honda rider.

Stuart Easton on the Hydrex Honda qualified in third position ahead of Worx Crescent Suzuki rider Michael Rutter in fourth.

The session ran in two-parts after a crash for HM Plant Honda rider Glen Richards,brought out the red flag.  The rider went down at the hairpin leaving nowhere for Ian Lowry to go, crashing his Relentless Suzuki into the Honda.

Richards is receiving medical attention at a nearby hospital for what it suspected to be a broken right femur, he is awaiting x-ray results.

Karl Harris on the Hydrex Honda will start in fifth on the grid after crashing out towards the end of the session, ahead of James Ellison on the second Airwaves Yamaha and Chris Walker on the Motorpoint/Henderson Yamaha.

Graeme Gowland, Walker’s team-mate, was in eighth and Ian Lowry was able to return to the session on his spare bike and qualified in ninth place followed by Glen Richards in tenth, it remains to seen if Richards will be on the grid tomorrow but it seems unlikely.

Alastair Fagan on the Red Viper Honda crashed and is suspected of suffering a dislocated shoulder and Jon Kirkham went down on his Lloyds British Yamaha and looked to have injured his hand.

Here are the results;

1. Josh Brookes AUS HM Plant Honda 48.759secs
2. Leon Camier GBR Airwaves Yamaha 49.056secs
3. Stuart Easton GBR Hydrex Honda 49.110secs
4. Michael Rutter GBR Worx Crescent Suzuki 49.133secs
5. Karl Harris GBR Hydrex Honda 49.183secs
6. James Ellison GBR Airwaves Yamaha 49.348secs
7. Chris Walker GBR Motorpoint/Henderson Yamaha 49.383secs
8. Graeme Gowland GBR Motorpoint/Henderson Yamaha 49.490secs
9. Ian Lowry GBR Relentless TAS Suzuki 50.404secs
10. Glen Richards AUS HM Plant Honda No time

11. Gary Mason GBR Quay Honda 49.584secs Cup
12. Simon Andrews GBR MSS Colchester Kawasaki 49.605secs
13. John Laverty IRL Buildbase Kawasaki 49.614secs
14. David Johnson AUS Team Maxxis Adept Yamaha 49.663secs
15. Peter Hickman GBR Ultimate Yamaha 49.698secs Cup
16. Tristan Palmer GBR Buildbase Kawasaki 49.764secs
17. Julien Da Costa FRA MSS Colchester Kawasaki 49.772secs
18. Tommy Bridewell GBR Team NB Suzuki 49.804secs Cup
19. Jon Kirkham GBR North West 200 Yamaha 49.864secs
20. Jason O’Halloran AUS SMT Honda 49.929secs

21. Atsushi Watanabe JPN Relentless TAS Suzuki 50.015secs
22. Tom Tunstall GBR Hardinge Doodson Honda 50.526secs Cup
23. Aaron Zanotti GBR Red Viper Honda 50.572secs
24. David Haire GBR DHR Racing Honda 50.772secs Cup
25. Alastair Fagan GBR Red Viper Honda 51.133secs Cup

Cup denotes eligible for Mirror.co.uk Cup