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Despite
an indifferent day at the final round of the Bennetts British
Superbike Championship at Brands Hatch today, Stobart Motorsport
riders Shane Byrne and Tom Sykes claimed fifth and sixth position in
the Championship respectively.
After a
superb performance in qualifying which saw both VK Vent Axia
sponsored and Dunlop shod bikes on the front row of the grid neither
rider could turn that into a podium and indeed both Byrne and Sykes
only saw the chequered flag once each after a dramatic day of action
in the Kent sunshine.
In the
opening 30 lap race Byrne suffered with a poor start but battled
back to claim sixth at the finish as Sykes slid out of third
position which resulted in his machine catching fire but the 21 year
old Yorkshireman escaped uninjured.
In race
two it was Byrne’s turn to run with the leading bunch early on and
was holding a solid podium place when he crashed out on the fast
Paddock Hill Bend leaving Sykes to bring the second of the Hondas
home in seventh place.
The nett
result was for the first time in seven meetings the Paul Bird team
came away without any silverware but with two riders in the top six
of the Championship it can be construed as a successful season for
the Stobart VK Vent Axia Team.
Tom
Sykes:
“I had a decent start in both races, but in the first one I
started struggling a little bit with grip and then I lost the front
going into the corner, then in the second race I was on the spare
bike and something just wasn’t right for me. We’ve had an absolutely
fantastic season so I can’t be too negative but I have had a bad
weekend. I’d just like
to thank all the boys who have worked so hard this year, especially
Birdy, Phil and Johnny and all the crew have been fantastic so its
all thanks to the Stobart Vent Axia squad. I’m just gutted I didn’t do
the job for them this weekend, but its just one of those things –
that’s racing. I’d also
like to thank Dunlop tyres for all their support all
season.”
Shane
Byrne: “It’s
a really disappointing end to what should have been a really good
weekend. In the first
race I got duffed up at the start by Michael Rutter but I got past
him a couple of laps later.
The course car came out and I thought that was perfect, just
what I needed, then I put a move on Cal Crutchlow towards the end of
the race but was running a bit too hot and I made a couple of
mistakes trying too hard.
I felt I had the pace on them, but I just couldn’t get past
them. In race two I
tried so hard and I got into the lead, the bike went sideways and I
knew I needed to get a good drive going down the hill and I caught
the engine casing on the kerb and down I went. It’s a disappointing end to
the season and I really wanted to get a podium both for the boys and
for myself, but I probably tried too hard and paid the
price.”
Paul
Bird:
“After a fantastic qualifying it was a disappointing end to
the year but you can’t knock the boys for trying, they have given
100% in every race all year.
I’d just like to thank all the mechanics, sponsors and all
the team for making it a most enjoyable year.”
Race 1 Result
1, Gregorio Lavilla (Ducati) 23m35.208s, 2,
Jonathan Rea (Honda) +2.499s, 3, Ryuichi Kiyonari (Honda) +3.390s,
4, Leon Haslam (Ducati) +3.450s, 5, Cal Crutchlow (Suzuki) +3.673s,
6, Shane Byrne (Stobart Vent
Axia Motorsport Honda) +4.193s, 7, Chris Walker (Suzuki)
+16.715s, 8, Michael Rutter (Kawasaki) +16.818s, 9, Simon Andrews
(Yamaha) +20.523s, 10, Steve Plater (Yamaha)
+20.581s.
Race 2 Result
1, Gregorio Lavilla (Ducati) 15m22.873s, 2,
Jonathan Rea (Honda) +2.182s, 3, Cal Crutchlow (Suzuki) +2.468s, 4,
Ryuichi Kiyonari (Honda) +3.592s, 5, Leon Haslam (Ducati) +3.809s,
6, Chris Walker (Suzuki) +9.724s, 7, Tom Sykes (Stobart Vent Axia
Motorsport Honda) +9.875s, 8, Karl Harris (Honda) +16.214s, 9,
James Haydon (Kawasaki) +18.331s, 10, Michael Rutter (Kawasaki)
+18.396s.
2007 Bennetts British Superbike Championship
Final Positions
1, Ryuichi Kiyonari (Honda)
433pts
2, Jonathan Rea (Honda)
407pts
3, Leon Haslam (Ducati)
387pts
4, Gregorio Lavilla (Ducati)
368pts
5, Shane Byrne (Stobart Vent Axia Motorsport
Honda) 293pts
6, Tom Sykes (Stobart Vent Axia Motorsport
Honda) 279pts
7, Chris Walker (Suzuki)
225pts
8, Leon Camier (Honda)
199pts
9, Cal Crutchlow (Suzuki)
152pts
10, Tommy Hill (Yamaha)
138pts
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