The safety car was called into use following Hopkins’ crash which left no gaps when the riders restarted. As soon as the safety car left the track Tommy Hill sped off to stretch his lead and left Josh Brookes, Shane Byrne & Michael Rutter to fight for second & third.

Relentless Suzuki rider Josh Brookes came in second with a slight gap on Bathams Ducati rider Michael Rutter, who beat HM Plant Honda rider Shane Byrne by overtaking him on the last lap of the final lap in an exciting finale.

Round 7 – Oulton Park, Race 1:

1.  Tommy Hill (Swan Yamaha)
2.   Josh Brookes (Relentless Suzuki) +5.492s
3.   Michael Rutter (Rapid Solicitors-Bathams Ducati) +5.669s
4.   Shane Byrne (HM Plant Honda) +5.755s
5.   Gary Mason (MSS Colchester Kawasaki) +6.789s
6.   Michael Laverty (Swan Yamaha) +7.128s
7.   Loris Baz (Motorpoint Yamaha) +13.055s
8.   James Westmoreland (Motorpoint Yamaha) +18.699s
9.   Jon Kirkham (Samsung Crescent Racing Suzuki) +18.960s
10. Scott Smart (Moto Rapido Ducati) +21.619s

Britisih Superbikes 2011 Championship:

1.  S. Byrne (HM Plant Honda) 214 points
2.  J. Hopkins (Samsung Crescent Racing) 182
3.   T. Hill (Swan Yamaha) 165
4.   M. Laverty (Swan Yamaha) 129
5.   R. Kiyonari (HM Plant Honda) 121
6   J. Brookes (Relentless Suzuki) 111
7   J. Kirkham (Samsung Crescent Racing) 91
8.   G. Mason (MSS Colchester Kawasaki) 90
9.   S. Easton (MSS Colchester Kawasaki) 89
10. M. Rutter (Rapid Solicitors Ducati) 88

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

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.

The Worx Suzuki rider Yukio Kagayama has recovered sufficiently to ride at the Cadwell Park round of the British Superbike championship this coming weekend.

Kagayama suffered two cracked vertebrae at the last round of the championship at Oulton Park after being clipped from behind in the first race of the day.  The Japanese rider went down at the fast Island bend and was taken for X-rays which revealed the compression to his vertebrae.

The Suzuki rider was ruled out of competing at the Monza round of the World Superbike series where he was to take part as a wild-card for the Yoshimura Suzuki team and was instead replaced by Daisaku Sakai.

jason o'halloran

The Fuchs-Silkolene British Supersport Championship rider Jason O’Halloran crashed out of the Oulton Park qualifying session in the final minutes, attempting to improve on his provisional tenth place on the grid, resulting in a splintered collarbone for the Triumph rider.

The young Australian had been working hard throughout the weekend at one of his favourite circuits but struggled to find a good set up on the Triumph 675 throughout the practice and qualifying sessions.

Having fought with the bike to put himself in tenth on the grid, O’Halloran was attempting to squeeze a bit more from his machine when he had a huge, fast crash at Cascades, effectively ending his weekend .

After a close inspection by the track doctors he was diagnosed with a splintered left collarbone, and he will  see a specialist on Tuesday and then the next steps will be taken to see if he requires surgery or not, in the hope to be back out on the Oxford Tag Triumph at Cadwell Park on the 22nd May.

Commenting he said “I’m really disappointed about hurting myself this weekend. It had been a tough weekend and we were struggling to find a set up that worked well for me here at Oulton. We had just made a bit of progress in the second qualifying session when I had a massive crash. Once I stopped rolling I thought I was ok but then the adrenalin wore off and knew I’d hurt my shoulder somehow. I’m just gutted as I really wanted a good result here. I’ve not many weeks before Cadwell so I have to try and get myself fully fit again by then, just sorry for all the team and hope things take a turn for the better soon!”

podium for rutter

Having qualified third for the Oulton Park British Superbike Bank Holiday meeting, Michael Rutter was left cursing his luck in the first race when he suffered what was thought to be an engine problem on the RidersMotorcycles.com Ducati, causing him to retire early.

He was to make amends in race two however, using all his experience to master the wet but drying track conditions to bring the Ducati home in second place.

Rutter said after the race: “My tyre had lost grip towards the end of the race and I was just doing everything I could to nurse it home but still retain second place. The bike and the RidersMotorcycles.com Ducati team worked really well this weekend and I’m delighted to be on the podium for them.”

Rutter was not sure what had caused his early exit in race one however, and said, “We’re not sure whether anything is wrong or not, the engine was making strange noises but when we checked the data everything seemed okay.”

Rutter’s team-mate Martin Jessopp bounced back from a 90mph crash in practice to chalk up 11th and 12th in the two races and is now ninth in the championship standings with 42 points.

Jessopp said: “We’ve had a few issues this weekend. I crashed when I got into the corner a little bit hotter than before and folded the front end. Then we had a gear selection problem. I kept getting neutrals, which was unnerving. We got some solid finishes in the end but I never really felt like I got into a rhythm  on race day and maybe I was being to harsh on the brakes in the dry first race and upsetting the chassis.

Team owner Phil Jessopp added: “In all it’s been a pretty good weekend for the RidersMotorcycles.com Ducati team. Michael’s experience showed as he finished a very strong second in race two in the most difficult of conditions and he’s now only six points off fourth in the championship. Martin’s weekend was trying with the crash and then the gearbox problem. His 12th place in the wet was a hard-earned result. He wasn’t quite sure how hard to push in the rain. We could have done without the technical issues but we’re still looking to get both our riders into the top six of the championship come the ninth round so they can go through to the final three-round title Showdown.”

Stuart Easton – Oulton Park 2010

This weekend saw the British Superbike championship riders head to Oulton Park for a wet bank-holiday Monday outing with Stuart Easton and Michael Laverty taking victory in the two races.

Race 1

In Race 1, Stuart Easton, on the only Swan Honda of the weekend, managed to hold back a challenging Tommy Hill to take the chequered flag by just 0.058 seconds.

It was the first win of the season for Easton after a fantastically quick get away off the line, his team-mate James Ellison, was unable to race this weekend due to the injuries he suffered at the last round of the championship.

Hill on the Worx Crescent Suzuki had qualified in pole position and stuck to the tail of the Swan Honda for the entire race while his team-mate Yukio Kagayama, crashed out at Island bend on the opening lap.

Michael Rutter on the Ridermotorcycles.com Ducati was running in an impressive fourth place and attempting to pass the HM Plant Honda of Josh Brookes but ran wide and within a few laps was forced to retire from the race.

On lap 2, Ian Lowry on the Motorpoint Yamaha, crashed out at the Shell Oils corner ending his race followed moments later by Christian Idden on the Sorrymate.com Honda at Brittens.

The second HM Plant Honda rider Ryuichi Kiyonari had been running in fifth place until Alstair Seeley on the Relentless Suzuki began to pile on the pressure behind him, eventually making a move up the inside at Shell Oils corner on lap 9, forcing the Honda rider wide and moving him down to seventh.  Kiyonai later retired from the race.

John Laverty on the Buildbase Kawasaki and his brother Michael on the Relentless Suzuki, appeared to be racing each other on the track with Michael running wide on lap 16 of the race leaving enough space for John to get through and move in to fifth place.

Easton crossed the line for the win followed by Hill in second and an impressive John Laverty in third after a fantastic final lap.

Alastair Seeley finished in fourth place ahead of Michael Laverty in fifth, Josh Brookes in sixth, Gary Mason on the MSS Colchester Kawasaki in seventh, Chris Walker on the second MSS Kawasaki in eighth, Dan Linfoot on the Motorpoint Yamaha in ninth and Tommy Bridewell on the Quay Garage Honda in tenth.

Here are the results;

1. Stuart Easton GBR Swan Honda 28mins 55.815s 18 laps
2. Tommy Hill GBR Worx Crescent Suzuki +00.058s
3. John Laverty GBR Buildbase Kawasaki +10.399s
4. Alastair Seeley GBR Relentless by TAS Suzuki +10.843s
5. Michael Laverty GBR Relentless by TAS Suzuki +10.849s
6. Josh Brookes AUS HM Plant Honda +11.073s
7. Gary Mason GBR MSS Colchester Kawasaki +23.428s
8. Chris Walker GBR MSS Colchester Kawasaki +27.478s
9. Dan Linfoot GBR Motorpoint Yamaha +35.997s
10. Tommy Bridewell GBR Quay Garage Honda +36.709s
11. Martin Jessopp GBR Ridersmotorcycles.com Ducati +37.359s
12. Peter Hickman GBR Ultimate Racing Yamaha +43.608s
13. Adam Jenkinson GBR Buildbase Kawasaki +47.997s
14. Hudson Kennaugh RSA MAR Kawasaki +48.550s E
15. Steve Brogan GBR Jentin Racing BMW +59.109s E
16. David Anthony AUS MIST Suzuki Racing +59.203s E
17. Gary Johnson GBR AIM Suzuki +1m 04.680s E
18. David Johnson GBR TwoWheelTuning.com Suzuki +1m 12.038s E
19. Aaron Zanotti GBR Red Viper Spike Suzuki +1m 22.557s E
20. Pauli Pekkanen FIN 777 RR Motorsport Suzuki +1 lap E
21. Peter Ward GBR Astro-Chase SST Racing Kawasaki +1 lap E
22. Michael Howarth GBR Magic Bullet Two Wheel Suzuki +1 lap E
23. Michael O’Brien GBR Motomob/O’Brien Hifi +1 lap E

DNF. Ryuichi Kiyonari JPN HM Plant Honda 12 laps completed
DNF. Craig Fitzpatrick GBR Close Print Finance Honda 6 laps completed E
DNF. Michael Rutter GBR Ridersmotorcycles.com Ducati 5 laps completed
DNF. Christian Iddon GBR Sorrymate.com SMT Honda 3 laps completed
DNF. Tom Tunstall GBR Doodson Motorsport Honda 3 laps completed
DNF. Alex Lowes GBR Redline KTM 3 laps completed E
DNF. Ian Lowry GBR Motorpoint Yamaha 1 lap completed
DNF. Yukio Kagayama JPN Worx Crescent Suzuki 0 laps completed

Fastest laps:

Ryuichi Kiyonari JPN HM Plant Honda 1m 35.859s
David Anthony AUS MIST Suzuki Racing 1m 37.841s E

Race 2

Michael Laverty appeared to be the happiest man on the planet yesterday after sealing his first win in the second race of the day for the Relentless Suzuki team.

With very changeable weather conditions for the third round of the championship, Laverty rode a faultless race to secure his number one spot on the podium.

It was the HM Plant Honda rider Ryuichi Kiyonari who got to the front as the race got underway ahead of Tommy Hill and Michael Laverty.  However, Laverty was already on a mission and had moved past the championship leader to move up to second place as they headed to the Shell Oils corner.

Michael Rutter on the Ridersmotorcyles.com Ducati had moved into fourth place by the second lap before passing Kiyonari.  Rutter and Kiyonari swapped the position once again before Rutter made the move stick and Laverty slipped back to fourth place.

Michael Laverty crossed the line to take the victory on his maiden win ahead of an impressive Michael Rutter and third placed man, championship leader Tommy Hill.

In fourth place was Ryuichi Kiyonari followed by John Laverty, Alastair Seeley, Tommy Bridewell, Josh Brookes, Hudson Kennaugh and Adam Jenkinson.

Stuart Easton failed to finish in the second race after struggling for grip.  He was seen returning to the pits with a possible rear tyre problem but it later turned out to be a problem with the electronics and he later retired.

Chris Burns was forced to miss both races this weekend after his wrist injury failed to heal in time following the surgery only 12 days ago.  The Splitlath Motorsport Aprilia rider, found the practice and qualifying stints to painful to endure and was forced to withdraw on the morning of the race.

Here are the results;

1. Michael Laverty GBR Relentless by TAS Suzuki 27mins 26.150secs 15 laps
2. Michael Rutter GBR Ridersmotorcycles.com Ducati +06.000s
3. Tommy Hill GBR Worx Crescent Suzuki +11.333s
4. Ryuichi Kiyonari JPN HM Plant Honda +16.029s
5. John Laverty GBR Buildbase Kawasaki +23.590s
6. Alastair Seeley GBR Relentless by TAS Suzuki +27.258s
7. Tommy Bridewell GBR Quay Garage Honda +30.287s
8. Josh Brookes AUS HM Plant Honda +30.823s
9. Hudson Kennaugh RSA MAR Kawasaki +32.463s E
10. Adam Jenkinson GBR Buildbase Kawasaki +54.950s
11. Chris Walker GBR MSS Colchester Kawasaki +56.620s
12. Martin Jessopp GBR Ridersmotorcycles.com Ducati +59.748s
13. Aaron Zanotti GBR Red Viper Spike Suzuki +59.957s E
14. Dan Linfoot GBR Motorpoint Yamaha +1m 10.760s
15. Steve Brogan GBR Jentin Racing BMW +1m 11.833s E
16. David Anthony AUS MIST Suzuki Racing +1m 14.396s E
17. Peter Hickman GBR Ultimate Racing Yamaha +1m 35.805s
18. Gary Johnson GBR AIM Suzuki +1m 44.656s E
19. Pauli Pekkanen FIN 777 RR Motorsport Suzuki +1m 54.437s E
20. Alex Lowes GBR Redline KTM +1 lap E
21. David Johnson GBR TwoWheelTuning.com Suzuki +1 lap E
22. Craig Fitzpatrick GBR Close Print Finance Honda +1 lap E
23. Michael Howarth GBR Magic Bullet Two Wheel Suzuki +1 lap E
24. Peter Ward GBR Astro-Chase SST Racing Kawasaki +1 lap E

Michael Laverty GBR Relentless by TAS Suzuki 1m 48.173s
Hudson Kennaugh RSA MAR Kawasaki 1m 49.813s E

Chris Walker

The MSS Colchester Kawasaki team have confirmed that Chris Walker will be the replacement rider for the injured Simon Andrews at the next round of the British Superbike Championship at Oulton Park.

Andrews suffered a broken heel earlier this month when he had a coming together with Vittorio Iannuzzo when racing as a replacement rider in the World Superbike series in Valencia, Spain.

Walker has been competing in the British Superbike series this year on a privateer Suzuki GSX-R1000 under CW Racing, but has so far failed to make much of an impact.  The 38-year-old rider had been chasing the ride for the Kawasaki team throughout the winter so is absolutely thrilled to have been given the chance to get to grips with the Ninja ZX-10R for a round or two at last.

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.

James Ellison – Airwaves Yamaha 2009

This weekend sees the final round of the British Superbike Championship of 2009 taking place at Oulton Park with crowned champion Leon Camier aiming for another victory.

This weekends triple-header consists of one race on the Saturday with two further races on the Sunday at the Cheshire circuit.

The second Airwaves Yamaha rider James Ellison, will be aiming for maximum points to become runner-up in the championship against rival Hydrex Honda rider Stuart Easton.  Ellison has a 51 point advantage over Easton but if he fails to finish in the points at this round Easton will take the second place.

Although the pressure has eased off slightly for Camier, he feels that this weekend will see his team-mate riding his socks off and also expects to be challenged by the HM Plant Honda rider Josh Brookes.

Camier said;

“These past couple of weeks have been pretty hectic so I’ve not had a chance to sit down and really let the Championship sink in. But it does feel as though the pressure is off to some extent. The motivation to win is as strong as ever, although I know it’s not going to be easy. My teammate James is going to be fast straight away, as will Josh Brookes. The GSE Racing team has been incredible all year, so I know they’ll give me the best possible package once again.”

Ellison said;

“I’m so excited about this weekend, but also disappointed it’s the final round. The past three race meetings have gone better and better for me. We’ve made small changes here and there, and now the Airwaves Yamaha is really working for me. It’s a shame we couldn’t have got to this point earlier, but the Championship now belongs to Leon and all I can do is go out there, top Practice, and try and win all three races.”

Not only is it the end of the BSB series this weekend but also the end of the five-year partnership between the GSE Racing team and sponsors Wrigley’s Airwaves

Alastair Seeley will be on a full Relentless Suzuki by TAS this weekend after making his British Superbike debut at the last round at Silverstone.  The machine he rode at the Northampton circuit however, was the Suzuki specified to the newly introduced ‘Evo’ regulations, to be used in 2010, whereas this time out he will be riding the same machine as ridden by Ian Lowry and Atsushi Watanabe this season.