British Superbike title challenger Michael Laverty suffered a day of mixed fortunes at Silverstone during the penultimate round of the 2010 Championship at the weekend.
The Relentless by TAS Suzuki rider took third place in race one, which was re-started due to inclement weather conditions. Laverty had led in the opening laps, but having used the best of his rear Pirelli, he settled for a safe third place, closing the gap on series leader Tommy Hill to just eight points.
Starting race two from second place on the front row of the grid, Laverty took the holeshot in treacherous conditions and was confident of taking his third top step of the year. Unfortunately a questionable loss of traction at turn one caused him to crash. He bravely re-mounted, but the damage to his machine was too great to continue for much more than a few corners.
Despite the incident, Laverty still has a fighting chance of taking the title, just 19 points adrift of top spot with three races remaining.
Michael Laverty:
"I can't say I'm anything other than disappointed: Race one was okay; I led for three quarters of the race but my tyre was finished and I had to settle for third place with the Championship in the back of my mind. When the rain really came down for race two I was feeling confident about pulling off the win. I made the start, got into turn one first, but before I knew it the rear just let go and I was thrown over the top and onto the ground. It's not over yet though as I'm only 19 points down on Tommy with 75 still up for grabs. I will rebound at Oulton and give it everything I have to shoot for the title."
Alastair Seeley regained his composure after a high-speed crash on Friday, coming from his fourth row grid slot in race one to take a fine sixth place. In race two Seeley slowed to miss his fallen team-mate at turn one after a solid start from the second row, narrowly missing out on the podium in fourth place after 10 pulsating laps.
Alastair Seeley:
"It turned out to be a decent enough day for me after my crash on Friday and a bad qualifying. The first race was damp and with a drying track my wet tyres chewed up on both sides and the bike was also spinning in a straight line. Michael highsided in front of me at turn one in race two. I had to sit up and get on the anchors which allowed the others to get away. I had a good race with Tommy Hill, Gary Mason and Josh Brookes but I couldn't find a way round Brookes for a podium spot. After a bit of a moment starting the last lap I decided to bring it home for the points. Thanks must go to my crew for getting the bike ready after the spill on Friday afternoon."
Philip Neill - Team Manager:
"Racing can be the most emotionally-rewarding sport when it all goes your way but can also be soul-destroying when things happen like today. The difference between Michael leaving Silverstone leading the Championship or leaving with a mountain to climb was down to the smallest of errors. The wet conditions are a bit of a lottery for everyone and these things can happen - I'm sure Michael feels a bit hard done by.
"In saying that we have worked so hard to put Relentless and Suzuki at the top of this Championship and we are not giving up without a fight. We may need to win at Oulton to stand a chance of lifting this Championship and that is exactly what we will try to do.
"Alastair is continuing to learn as the season goes on. After a difficult qualifying with a big crash, he rode in a calculated manner in both races scoring good points. It's a shame about his no-score at Croft or he would still be in with a chance. He now needs to concentrate on achieving some more podium finishes to end a great season on a high.
"Overall, a very disappointing weekend in the Championship hunt, but what we do best is work as a team and we will return even stronger for the final round at Oulton in two weeks time."
British Superbike Championship, Silverstone, race one result:
1. Michael Rutter (Ridersmotorcycles.com Ducati) 2.Josh Brookes (HM Plant Honda) +1.263s 3.Michael Laverty (Relentless Suzuki by TAS) +5.254s 4.James Ellison (Swan Honda) +12.177s 5.Ryuichi Kiyonari (HM Plant Honda) +12.331s 6.Alastair Seeley (Relentless Suzuki by TAS) +23.908s 7.Simon Andrews (MSS Colchester Kawasaki) +25.628s 8.Tommy Hill (Worx Crescent Suzuki) +26.984s 9.Chris Walker (Sorrymate.com SMT Honda) +32.611s 10. Dan Linfoot (Motorpoint Yamaha) +37.179s
British Superbike Championship, Silverstone, race two result:
1. James Ellison (Swan Honda) 2.Ryuichi Kiyonari (HM Plant Honda) +5.850s 3.Josh Brookes (HM Plant Honda) +12.865s 4.Alastair Seeley (Relentless Suzuki by TAS) +15.293s 5.Tommy Hill (Worx Crescent Suzuki) +20.264s 6.Dan Linfoot (Motorpoint Yamaha) +22.767s 7.Gary Mason (MSS Colchester Kawasaki) +25.308s 8.Chris Walker (Sorrymate.com SMT Honda) +27.694s 9.John Laverty (Buildbase Kawasaki) +28.793s 10.Peter Hickman (Ultimate Racing Yamaha) +39.165s
British Superbike Championship standings:
1. Tommy Hill (Worx Crescent Suzuki) 589 2.Josh Brookes (HM Plant Honda) 578 3.Ryuichi Kiyonari (HM Plant Honda) 574 4.Michael Laverty (Relentless Suzuki by TAS) 570 5.Michael Rutter (Ridersmotorcycles.com Ducati) 546 6.Alastair Seeley (Relentless Suzuki by TAS) 529
