michael rutter @ snetterton

RidersMotorcycles.com racer Michael Rutter was robbed of a possible win in the first of Sunday’s two races at Snetterton when his gear lever snapped off while leading the race and left his bike stuck in sixth gear.

Having finished Saturday’s race in a strong fourth position, Rutter looked in exceptional form all weekend.

In Sunday’s first race starting sixth on the grid, Rutter made a brilliant start, moving into second place by the first corner and leading the race by the end of the first lap.

Half a second clear of nearest rival Josh Brookes at the halfway stage of the race things went pear shaped for the Ducati rider when his gear lever snapped.

Rutter said: “It’s gutting when something like that happens but that’s racing and you have to take it on the chin. It’s hard to lead a race like that. I saw plus zero on my board and started to ride defensive and then once I’d got the gap, I could  back to normal racing lines – the fastest way around the course – and then the gap opened up again.”

In race two on Sunday Rutter was once again mixing it with the best, with some stunning overtaking manouvres and a generally outstanding ride.  Sadly it was not quite enough to make the podium as Rutter finished fourth once again.

“I tried my best but didn’t quite make the podium,” he said. “I’m really pleased how well we’ve gone here because we thought we might just lack a bit on top end down the straights here a lot more than we did. My bike is the best through the corners but the four-cylinder bikes do just have the edge down the long straights here. It’s been another good weekend and I’m looking forward to Brands Hatch now.”

Rutter remains in fifth place overall in the British Superbike Championship going into round 8 at Brands Hatch. Team owner Phil Jessopp said; “Michael rode well again. It’s a real shame about the second race – it messed up our weekend really but as Michael said, we’re looking forward to Brands Hatch now which should really suit our bike.”

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

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.

Dan Linfoot – Oulton Park 2009

Dan Linfoot began the season on the Node 4 Yamaha in the Supersport series until a crash during the qualifying session at Snetterton left him with a broken foot.

Now out of contention for the Supersport championship, Dan is going to have some fun at the final two rounds of the British Superbike championship at Silverstone and Oulton Park.

Dan said;

“We have talked through the year about getting a blast on the Superbike and with the Supersport championship over for me we might as well get on with it!I can’t wait, I have had a few tests last year and a couple on the new bike this year and to think now I will be going for it on Sunday with the big boys it’ll be amazing. It has been my goal to get into Superbikes and now I have a chance, it’s a big jump straight into race weekend and I am more than up for it”

Dan will be riding the Node 4 Yamaha in replace of John Kirkham and has the advantage of having already tested the bike this season.

Chris Burns – MV Agusta

Chris Burns will allegedly be on the grid of the next round of the British Superbike Championship at Brands Hatch, on August 7/8/9, for the Jentin Racing Yamaha Team

Burns was signed at the beginning of the season to ride the STP-JHS MV Agusta Team, however, before he had even ridden the machine, the contract ended after delays in getting the bike on track.

The Geordie rider, landed a full-time ride in the German Superbike Championship for this season with the Holzhauer Honda Racing team.  Initially, the former MotoGP rider, was a replacement rider for the injured reigning champion Martin Bauer, but after an impressive 2nd and 4th place at the Sachsenring, he was offered the ride until the end of the season, alongside Bauer and team-mate Michael Schumacher.

There is still no confirmation at this point, but with Michael Schumacher returning to the Formula One series to cover for the injured Ferrari driver Felipe Massa, and Bauer still recuperating, it leaves Burns as the sole rider for the German Superbike Team making it seem unlikely that they would let him go, however, I didn’t expect to see Schumacher back in F1!

Stuart Easton – Hydrex Honda 2009

This weekend the British Superbike riders and teams head to Scotland for round six of the Championship at the Knockhill circuit in Fife.

Michael Rutter will once again be riding the Worx Crescent Suzuki, where he is aiming for nothing less than a podium finish for the team.  In 2008, Rutter rode the NW 200 Ducati, claiming fourth in the first race and second in race two and has said that he loves this track and knows that he can be at the front.

The two Airwaves Yamaha riders, Leon Camier and James Ellison, will be back in the British Superbike series after competing as wild-cards in last weekends World Superbikes at Donington.  Both riders will then return as wild-card riders for the following weekend race in the World Superbike Championship.

Another rider who wants no less than a win this weekend is the Scottish rider Stuart Easton on the Hydrex Honda machine.  With five podium finishes so far this season, Easton believes he can get in front of the leading Airwaves Yamaha riders at his home circuit.

The two HM Plant Honda riders Josh Brookes and Glen Richards, are also expected to be in the front runners, with Brookes claiming three thirds in the last three races.  Richards has always been strong at the Scottish circuit and has a lot of experience of the tight, short track.

Rumours have been circulating that Gary Mason would not be at Knockhill this weekend as the Quay Garage Honda team had run out of money, however, it has been confirmed that although the team are struggling and desperately need to find backers, they will be on the grid for round six.  Mason is currently leading the Superbike Cup and is only 4 points behind Josh Brookes in the Championship.

Yesterday afternoon the annual ‘Superbikes In The Square’ took place, where the championship riders ride through the city centre of Glasgow, demonstrating their skills to thousands of spectators.

Leon Camier and team-mate James Ellison entertained the crowd with burn-outs and wheelies, along with Simon Andrews.  Josh Brookes was on the back of Steve Plater’s machine before he and his team-mate Glen Richards put on some demonstration laps for their fans.

John McGuiness was cheered by onlookers as he rode the Padgetts Honda along with Steve Brogan.  Rutter raised one of the loudest cheers as he destroyed the rear tyre of the Worx Crescent Honda.  Atsushi Watanabe, Ian Lowry, Billy McConnell, Tom Grant and Dan Cooper were also in attendance along with riders from the 125GP British riders.

Gary Mason – Quay Garage Honda

Gary Mason crossed the line in the second race at Snetterton last weekend, minus his screen after putting his head through it in his battle to get past Jon Kirkham.

Mason said in an interview;

“I just protected my line when I passed Kirkham, so I went in a bit deep at the last chicane. I ran wide and there a big drop off and i was in the air and my head went through the screen, I nearly got him on the line but I hurt the old private parts!

“We had a DNF in the first race, but that’s racing and we’ve had a good run. We were due for a bad weekend, so hopefully this is the one and we can move on to Knockhill.””

Mason is leading the riders in the Mirror Cup class despite having to retire from race one due to mechanical problems.  The Quay Garage Honda rider went on to win the second race giving him a 56 point lead over second place man Peter Hickman on the Ultimate Yamaha.

Leon Camier – Snetterton 2009

On Sunday, the fifth round of the British Superbike Championship took place at Snetterton with Leon Camier taking a double victory for the Airwaves Yamaha team.

Race 1

Leon Camier qualified on pole position for the fourth consecutive time on Saturday just before the rain began and the third part of the session was cancelled with his team-mate James Ellison beside him.

Josh Brookes qualified in his best position this season with third for the HM Plant Honda team followed by Stuart Easton on the Hydrex Honda machine.

Camier dropped back to eighth place as the race got underway but by lap four the race had been red flagged after oil on the track caused several riders to go down.

Camier once again got off  badly when the race was restarted as Stuart Easton took the lead followed by Ellison and Chris Walker on the Motorpoint/Henderson Yamaha.

Ellison tried every which way to get past Easton, finally managed to outbreak the Honda rider going into the Esses, but not for long as Easton retook his position on the following lap while Camier made his move on Relentless Suzuki man Ian Lowry who was running in fourth.

By lap 8, Ellison and Easton were challenging each other for the lead while Brookes sat behind the battling duo hoping for a mistake, behind Camier caught up with the battle and swapped paint with Ellison as he tried to pass.

Camier made his move stick on lap 10 and then chased down the leading man Easton, who after making a mistake on lap 14, allowed the Airwaves Yamaha rider through to take the win.

Here are the results;

1. Leon Camier GBR Airwaves Yamaha 19mins 51.245secs 20 laps
2. Stuart Easton GBR Hydrex Honda +1.575secs
3. Josh Brookes AUS HM Plant Honda +2.450secs
4. James Ellison GBR Airwaves Yamaha +3.028secs
5. Ian Lowry GBR Relentless TAS Suzuki +6.309secs
6. Chris Walker GBR Motorpoint/Henderson Yamaha +6.628secs
7. Michael Rutter GBR Worx Crescent Suzuki +6.721secs
8. Karl Harris GBR Hydrex Honda +10.415secs
9. Julien Da Costa FRA MSS Colchester Kawasaki +11.074secs
10. Simon Andrews GBR MSS Colchester Kawasaki +11.804secs
11. Graeme Gowland GBR Motorpoint/Henderson Yamaha +12.899secs
12. Jason O’Halloran AUS SMT Honda +16.298secs
13. John Laverty IRL Buildbase Kawasaki +17.399secs
14. Jon Kirkham GBR North West 200 Yamaha +22.559secs
15. Tommy Bridewell GBR Team NB Suzuki +25.159secs Cup

DNS. Tom Tunstall GBR Hardinge Doodson Honda Cup
DNS. Martin Jessopp GBR Riders Racing Honda Cup

Race 2

Camier claimed his third double win of the season in race two at Snetterton yesterday, finishing ahead of his team-mate Ellison.

Once again it was the Hydrex Honda rider Easton that led going into the first corner ahead of Brookes, Walker, Ellison and Camier.

Brookes flew past Easton on lap 4 with Camier and Ellison getting a tow in his slip-stream.  Brookes managed to re-pass Ellison but not for long as he made a mistake and lost the position.

Camier out-braked Brookes going into Russell’s followed by his team-mate who then started closing the gap until Camier got his head down on lap 11.

An exciting battle was going on behind the leading pack as John Laverty on the Buildbase Kawasaki, Julian Da Costa on the MSS Colchester Kawasaki and Ian Lowry on the Relentless Suzuki battled it out for position, swapping places several times.

It was a disappointing weekend for Michael Rutter and the Worx Crescent Suzuki team when they got caught up in the crash that saw the red flag waved in race one.  Fortunately, Rutter managed to get back on the grid for the restart on his second bike where he finished in seventh.  In the second race, Rutter was once again running well until lap 3 when the GSX-R Suzuki developed an engine problem and Rutter lost power seeing him retire from the race.

Here are the results:

1. Leon Camier GBR Airwaves Yamaha 24mins 10.003secs 20 laps
2. James Ellison GBR Airwaves Yamaha +3.050secs
3. Josh Brookes AUS HM Plant Honda +7.827secs
4. Stuart Easton GBR Hydrex Honda +11.135secs
5. John Laverty IRL Buildbase Kawasaki +15.972secs
6. Julien Da Costa FRA MSS Colchester Kawasaki +16.639secs
7. Ian Lowry GBR Relentless TAS Suzuki +16.655secs
8. Glen Richards AUS HM Plant Honda +16.729secs
9. Karl Harris GBR Hydrex Honda +19.145secs
10. Jason O’Halloran AUS SMT Honda +21.505secs
11. Simon Andrews GBR MSS Colchester Kawasaki +21.894secs
12. Graeme Gowland GBR Motorpoint/Henderson Yamaha +22.157secs
13. Jon Kirkham GBR North West 200 Yamaha +28.819secs
14. Gary Mason GBR Quay Honda +28.866secs Cup
15. Peter Hickman GBR Ultimate Yamaha +29.072secs Cup

DNS. Aaron Zanotti GBR Red Viper Honda
DNS. Martin Jessopp GBR Riders Racing Honda Cup