Kiyo anchors-up and Hill has to get out of the way
By David Miller at Snetterton
Image by Jamie Morris
Shoei man Tommy Hill had to take evasive action in the second British Superbike race at Snetterton on Sunday after Ryuichi Kiyonari anchored-up unexpecedly hard into the new hairpin (Monterey), leaving Hill nowhere to go but down.
The Lingfield man had podiumed behind John Hopkins in the first outing but could do nothing about this spill. Even though the race was red-flagged for Simon Andrews and Steve Brogan’s get-off, Hill wasn’t allowed back on track.
“In race two I knew we had the pace to challenge for the win and I got off the line well and maintained third position. We just went into Montreal and Kiyo stopped directly in front of me and there was nothing else I could do other than brake hard but I had nowhere to go,” said Hill.
“I got back on and there was some damage to the Swan Yamaha and unfortunately I couldn’t make the restart as I hadn’t made it back out before the red flag. I am gutted as I thought we could have won that second race and I desperately wanted to be out there rather than watching from the garage.”
Hill in contemplative mood earlier in the season
By BSB desk
Image by Double Red
Shoei Man Tommy Hill is more confident going into this weekend’s British Superbike round at Snetterton than he has been all season after his first ever double win last time out at Knockhill where he dominated both races.
The Lingfield rider romped away from series leader Shane Byrne and reckons that the base setting he has for the YZF-R1 should suit the Norfolk circuit where he did a handful of laps in testing before crashing at Riches, damaging his elbow.
“We have a very strong base setting on the Swan Yamaha and I think that should be a place for us to start this weekend. It has been good for us; it took us to pole at Oulton Park and then a pole again and double win at Knockhill so we are hopefully not going to be far off from the start,” said Hill.
“I am just looking forward to getting out in practice and getting some laps in as I have done fewer than most of the other riders as when we were here for the test I had a crash and only did a handful of laps. The new track is going to be exciting that’s for sure and really for the first time this season everyone is in the same position with a completely new track.
“I definitely want to be back at the front collecting the points and the podium credits for the championship. My confidence is probably the highest it has been since before my crash at Oulton Park so it can’t come soon enough.”
Hill giving his electronics a lot to do. It’s damp up there. And cold…
By David Miller
Image by Double Red
Shoei Man Tommy Hill picked up where he left off this morning and has set the fastest time in this afternoon’s second British Superbike free practice session at Knockhill but he now has youngster Loris Baz and ex-MotoGP rider John Hopkins for company.
In another wet-but-no-longer-pissing-down session, Hill was the only rider to go under the 53s barrier with a 52.810 while Frenchman Baz lapped just three-tenths slower than the Lingfield man. Hopkins tested at the track last week and is just another 0.154s further back while Michael Laverty, on the sister Swan bike, is fourth on a 53.394.
The Irishman was second fastest this morning on a 53.576 so managed to go fractionally faster while Shane Byrne, third earlier, dropped to fifth but also went four tenths faster.
Relentless Suzuki’s Josh Brookes was a big mover in the second outing, jumping from 14th up to sixth place and is now only three-quarters of a second off the pace while his team-mate from last year, Ryuichi Kiyonari, is seventh. MSS Kawasaki’s Gary Mason, never a fan of the wet, is eighth with his 2010 team-mate Simon Andrews, now on an Evo bike, in ninth. Samsung Suzuki man Jon Kirkham, who crashed unhurt, rounds out the top ten and is 1.1s in arrears.
The second works Kawasaki of Alex Lowes is in 11th place and he has Dab Linfoot and Chris Walker, together again, for company. Michael Rutter is uncharacteristically slow for these conditions in 14th while Glen Richards is 15th and the second Evo man. Scott Smart’s Moto Rapido Ducati is third in the Evo standings.
Shoei man Tommy Hill is not letting the fact he is once again the British Superbike Championship series leader following two sterling rides at Brands Hatch, saying there is a long way to go before the trophy is lifted.
Tommy recovers from injury to show a promising start.
Hill came back from a 160mph off-track excursion along the Brabham Straight as he avoided fallen team-mate Michael Laverty to finish second in race one and then bagged his first win of 2011, crossing the line ahead of Ryuichi Kiyonari in the second race.
“It has been a long four days as it has been the most I have ridden for a while! Last week I was concerned about my elbow and I had a lot of treatment throughout the week to be ready which has paid off. It is fantastic to be leading the championship but it is only round one and it is early days still,” said the Lingfield man.
“The bike has been working well and we couldn’t have asked for a better start today. We are now looking forward to Oulton Park and getting the bike to work around what is a completely different track. Hopefully we can get there and come away with a very similar result.”
Thanks to David Miller at Bike Sport News for the content and the guys at Double Red for the images.
Swan Yamaha have concluded two successful tests in Spain as the team ended
on a high at Cartagena with Tommy Hill setting a blistering time to be the only
rider to break into the 1m:32s barrier as Michael Laverty came close to equalling
his team-mate’s performance.
Tommy Hill setting a blistering time to to break into the 1m:32s
Laverty had initially set the pace on the opening day as the team continued to
build on the progress made earlier in the week at Calafat. On day two Hill was
the rst rider to dip into the 1m:33s lap times before their final session of the
test yesterday when he became the only rider to break into the 1m:32s barrier.
The team now leave the track and return to the UK in a con dent mood ahead
of further tests in the UK prior to the opening round at Brands Hatch.
Hill said: “What a great fi nal day. I had been doing some race simulations with
some longer stints on track and was comfortably running in the 1m:33s region
so I was happy with that. I wanted to see if we could go faster so in our final
session, we put in a new tyre and did the 1m:32s which was an awesome way
for us to end the test. It showed we can do consistent runs, but when we need
to we can put in a fast lap when it counts. We have made some real improvements
over the last few days and there is still more to come when we get back
to the workshop and strip the bikes down. We can then have a look through
the data and then plan for our next tests in the UK. I have to thank the whole of
the Swan Yamaha team for all of their e orts over the last week as we really
achieved what we needed to in Spain.”
Everyone at Shoei wishes Tommy a great season ahead…
Tommy Hill will once again be wearing Shoei helmets for the 2011 British Superbike Championship.
Having led the 2010 championship for the majority of the season, Tommy will be gunning for the title that eluded him with his new team, Swan Yamaha.
Another memorable moment for Tommy in 2010 was the release of his first replica Shoei on the popular XR1100; a reflection of his loyalty to the Japanese brand and his popularity with race fans.
- Tommy Hill with his replica Shoei
On continuing his Shoei relationship for the fifth consecutive year, Tommy Hill said: “I’ve been working hard to prepare for the coming season and I’m very pleased to have secured a continued relationship with the premium helmet brand Shoei.
“Feridax, the importers of Shoei helmets in the UK for over forty years, and I both really wanted to continue our relationship and maintain our success of the Tommy Hill replica; which for me is an interesting project to be part of.
“To be using the Shoei X-Spirit 2 again for 2011 is all part of the confidence you need as a rider; to be using what I feel is the best helmet on the market is just what I need.”
Feridax Sales Director, Steve Clifford, quoted: “We are delighted to announce that we will be continuing our support for Tommy with his efforts to secure the 2011 BSB Championship title.
“We felt it important to continue our relationship to show our respect for the amazing courage and skill that Tommy displayed throughout the season to become a main contender for the 2010 British Superbike championship – these are the personal values that we admire and wish our brand to be associated with.
“We’re looking forward to an exciting season ahead with Tommy and we are especially excited about the new Tommy-designed ‘Hill Replica’ that is now available for 2011.”
Shoei rider clinches his third BSB title in nail-biting final round.
- Kiyonari with special championship Shoei helmet
Ryuichi Kiyonari took three sensational victories in the final triple-header race event of the season at Oulton Park to secure his third British Superbike Championship crown.
The Japanese star arrived at the final round trailing fellow Shoei racer, Tommy Hill, on points. The HM Plant Honda rider took the first race win on Saturday from Hill to reduce the points deficit, but then the drama unfolded.
Riding in second position in the early stages of Race 2, Hill was challenging another Shoei rider, James Ellison, for the lead into Lodge corner when his bike kicked off a bump, causing Hill to come into the corner faster than planned, leading to a collision with Ellison. Both riders crashed.
Hill remounted in 19th position and was attempting to regain positions when the damaged master cylinder to his front brake failed completely (again at Lodge) and Hill was forced to the lay the bike down. Travelling at high speed the damage to the bike was extensive and he was unable to make the restarted race, won by Kiyo.
Hill’s Worx Crescent Suzuki team did however regroup to rebuild what was a written-off machine in time for the third race. In the circumstances the bike lacked the precision set-up and feel of the original and, after starting from the third row, Hill overcame set-up issues to finish a fighting fifth. Kiyonari and team mate Josh Brookes finished race 3 in first and second positions to seal the same championship positions, with a gallant Hill placed third in the championship.
Ryuichi Kiyonari said: “Saturday’s race was awesome and the second race was good for me but I was feeling more nervous ahead of the last race as I felt that the pressure was on me and that I had more to lose. It was a good race and I wanted to win so badly.
“The third race I was pushing hard as I knew that the others needed the win, but it feels a relief now as the win was enough to be champion again. It has been a big fight all season and all the other riders haven’t made it easy for me all year. It has been tough and there have been good and bad moments but now I can relax. The championship means as much to me as the others and I have to thank everyone for their support and the team for their hard work.”
Tommy Hill said: “I’m devastated. The team has put so much effort into this championship, and we wanted this championship so bad – and it’s not happened.
“Its been an incredible year, though. We started fantastic, we were fastest in testing and we started the season so well. The pressure then came on but we responded and stayed at the front – so for it to go away in one race, well, we’re all disappointed. I just have to thank everyone in the Worx Crescent Suzuki team, they’ve been incredible, and they’ve given me the championship of my life.”
Shoei’s sponsored British Superbike riders, Michael Rutter and James Ellison, enjoyed the spoils in both headline races at the penultimate round at Silverstone yesterday (September 26, 2010) while Tommy Hill retained his championship lead.
Shoei's Tommy Hill and Yukio Kagayama at Silverstone, yesterday
In challenging conditions thanks to the autumnal weather, Michael Rutter lived up to his reputation as a rain master to take the victory in the re-started first race on his Ridersmotorcycles.com Ducati ahead of Josh Brookes and Michael Laverty.
In Race 2, Swan Honda’s James Ellison made a welcome return to the podium after an eight month absence to record a popular win with a masterful display of wet riding.
Shoei’s Tommy Hill, overcame the difficult weather conditions and technical set backs on his Worx Crescent Suzuki, to retain his lead in the BSB title standings with an eighth and fifth in the two wet races and takes an 11 point lead into the final round of championship at Oulton Park in two weeks time.
Tommy Hill: “I’m not over the moon with today’s performances but I am happy with the outcome. We had a few setbacks today but the job was to keep a level head throughout, bearing in mind my championship lead, and not take excessive risks. Consequently it was my rivals who were taking the risks and so suffered the worst misfortune.
“So I’m looking forward to Oulton Park, it’s probably my favourite track of the championship. While not everything went to plan this weekend we did again find podium pace both in the wet and dry so I’m confident that we have everything we need to fight for the title come the final Showdown.”
MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship
Round 11, Silverstone
Race one result:
1. Michael Rutter (Shoei)
2. Josh Brookes
3. Michael Laverty (Shoei)
4. James Ellison (Shoei)
5. Ryuichi Kiyonari (Shoei)
6. Alastair Seeley
7. Simon Andrews (Shoei)
8. Tommy Hill (Shoei)
9. Chris Walker
10. Dan Linfoot
Race two result:
1. James Ellison (Shoei)
2. Ryuichi Kiyonari (Shoei)
3. Josh Brookes
4. Alastair Seeley (Shoei)
5. Tommy Hill (Shoei)
6. Dan Linfoot
7. Gary Mason (Shoei)
8. Chris Walker
9. John Laverty
10. Peter Hickman
MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship standings after Silverstone:
1. Tommy Hill (Shoei) 589
2. Josh Brookes 578
3. Ryuichi Kiyonari (Shoei) 574
4. Michael Laverty 570
5. Michael Rutter (Shoei) 546
6. Alastair Seeley 529
British riders to wear Shoya Tomizawa’s number and mascot at next BSB round
The late Shoya Tomizawa
Shoya Tomizawa, who tragically died as a result of the injuries he sustained in the Moto2 race on Sunday 5th September at Misano, will be honoured by the complete team of Shoei supported British Superbike riders, including championship leader Tommy Hill, by sporting Tomizawa’s No.48 and his cartoon mascot at the next BSB round at Silverstone on September 24th to 26th.
Feridax, the UK distributor for Shoei Helmets, will be making a significant donation to the memorial fund which has been set up in Tomizowa’s name. Any members of the public wishing to donate can also do so by visiting the Shoei race service at the final two rounds of BSB.
A unique Tomizawa XR-1100 will be signed by all the Shoei BSB riders and auctioned off at the final BSB round at Oulton Park 8th to 10th October, with the proceeds of the auction going to the memorial fund.
<ENDS>
The three-round showdown that will decide who will be this year’s British Superbike champion kicked off in style at Croft yesterday (September 12, 2010).
Of the six racers who are in contention to lift the ultimate prize in British circuit racing, three are using the new Shoei X-Spirit 2 to great effect.
Worx Suzuki’s Tommy Hill kicked off this most important part of the season in fine style with a win and a 2nd place, and leads the championship by 16 points over Relentless Suzuki’s Michael Laverty.
Tommy Hill: “I’m really happy with the first race, for once it was a race that went to plan. I was able to push on and feel comfortable. I was very comfortable in the second race, too. I was able to pull Michael (Laverty) in quite comfortably and I sat behind him for a few laps to see his strengths. Then I passed him as planned – only when I wound the wick up he went with me! It was a good race and in the end he was able to do what i had done in the first race, to get in front and to protect his line.
“So I can’t be 100% happy, but I’m in the best position of anybody in the championship so I’m not complaining. Michael was great today and he’s shown this is no three-horse race as it’s been called, all the guys in the top-six are there for a reason. Bring on Silverstone!”
Croft wasn’t so fortunate to Michael Rutter on the Ridersmotorcycles.com Ducati and two-time former BSB champion, Ryuichi Kiyonari on the HM Plant Honda. They struggled with various issues but scored strongly in the second of the day’s races.
The championship continues at Silverstone on September 26.
MCE Insurance 2010 British Superbike Championship standings after Croft:
1. Tommy Hill (Shoei) 570
2. Michael Laverty 554
3. Ryuichi Kiyonari (Shoei) 543
4. Josh Brookes 542
5. Michael Rutter (Shoei) 521
6. Alastair Seeley 506