The AP Kawasaki team enjoyed a good day of racing in front of over 43,000 fans at Snetterton today with both Freddie Russo and Leon Hunt scoring points in their respective Metzeler Superstock Championships.
Russo took a fine fifth place in the Metzeler National Superstock 600cc Championship race, just a couple of tenths off a podium spot, whilst Hunt racked up his second points scoring finish of the season with a fighting 15th in the 1000cc category.
Brentford rider Russo had been in good form all weekend and right from the off he was on the pace, posting the third fastest time in free practice. Qualifying saw him post the fifth fastest time and so he was in good shape coming into today's 12-lap race. A good start saw him complete the first lap in sixth place but a lap later he was up to fifth as he fought it out with three other riders for third place when out came the red flags to stop the race.
With the re-start scheduled for five laps, Freddie got another solid start and finished the first lap in fourth place although he was shuffled back to fifth at the end of lap three as once more though, the red flag came out for another crash and with the results taken at the end of the third lap, he was awarded fifth place, a result which moves him onto 38 points and up to ninth in the Championship table.
Hunt meanwhile had again struggled with the set-up of the machine during practice and only qualified in 19th place but a change to his suspension settings saw him post the eighth quickest time in morning warm-up. Although he still had to start from the fifth row of the grid, Leon was happier with the bike and he made steady progression throughout the race. Lapping consistently quicker than those riders in front of him, the Brighton rider moved up into the points on the 13th of the 14 laps and his hard riding was rewarded with 15th place and a valuable Championship point.
Freddie Russo: "With all the red flags, it was a bit of a stop-start race but I had a good race plan in my head and although I didn't make the greatest of starts, I had a good first corner and was able to maintain my position. I got a better start in the re-run and although fifth's still good, I'm a little disappointed as I'm sure we could have had third had it not been for the second red flag. James East had got me at the last turn but I was able to get by him going into the first bend and I was just lining up Jake Newstead for third when the red flag came out again so it scuppered that plan.
"I've been in the top six all weekend, which is where we want to be, and the bike's been on the dyno and it's been flying all weekend whilst we've also got a real good set-up now so I'll be looking to stay in the top six from now on in. I enjoyed the new Snetterton circuit so a big thanks to all the team for doing a great job. We've got Oulton Park next, where I got second earlier in the year, so I'll be looking to keep the momentum going and hope for more of the same there."
Leon Hunt: "I again struggled in qualifying but the changes we made overnight definitely worked and although I didn't get the greatest of starts I was catching and passing people throughout. I had a small problem with my brakes in the early laps and when I went to adjust it, I moved the lever the wrong way so lost a bit of time trying to sort it out. It took me a while to get going again but, when I did I was really happy with my pace and I was reeling people in all the time, even the group battling for eighth place were coming back to me. I'm still not happy with 15th as I know I can do better but my fitness is now really good, I was happy with how I rode and we're making progress all the time so there are lots of positives to take from the race."
Alan Greig: "After the Knockhill round, Freddie's learnt the importance of qualifying well and he was fast straight out of the traps this weekend. He only lost out on a front row start in the dying seconds so we were all confident he could have a good race. He was challenging for third place right from the off and actually got into that position when the red flag came out. Sadly for us, the results went back a lap and we got bumped back to fifth but the target was the top six and that's what we got so we're very pleased with the result.
"It's been the same story for Leon this weekend as he's continuing to struggle with the set-up of the bike but he tried something totally different for morning warm-up and he was immediately a lot happier. He still had to start from 19th, which was obviously tough but he moved forward throughout the race and, with a series of good laps, he made his way into the points, which was very satisfying. We're moving in the right direction with both riders and bikes and we can go to Oulton feeling confident. It's a good track for us and where Freddie finished on the podium earlier in the year so we're all very much looking forward to going there."
Metzeler National Superstock 600cc Championship (3 laps)1 Glenn Irwin (Kawasaki) 5m54.429s2 Connor Behan (Kawasaki) +0.363s3 Jake Newstead (Yamaha) +1.822s4 James East (Yamaha) +2.095s5 Freddie Russo (AP Kawasaki) +2.126s6 Deane Brown (Yamaha) +2.355s7 Keith Farmer (Yamaha) +2.436s8 Tom Fisher (Kawasaki) +5.006s9 Grant Whitaker (Yamaha) +5.132s10 Cody Nally (Kawasaki) +5.547s
Championship Positions (after 6 rounds)1 Farmer 109pts2 Behan 713 Irwin 644 Brown 625 East 576 Burke 489 Russo 38
Metzeler National Superstock 1000cc Championship (14 laps)1 Richard Cooper (BMW) 26m14.313s2 Danny Buchan (Kawasaki) +0.234s3 Howie Mainwaring (Kawasaki) +20.569s4 Luke Quigley (BMW) +20.621s5 Tristan Palmer (Honda) +21.060s6 Victor Cox (Kawasaki) +21.084s7 Adam Jenkinson (Honda) +21.632s8 David Johnson (Honda) +26.955s9 Jonathan Howarth (Kawasaki) +32.653s10 Marshall Neill (Aprilia) +32.654s15 Leon Hunt (AP Kawasaki) +42.653s
Championship Positions (after 6 rounds)1 Buchan 117pts2 Palmer 1153 Cooper 1044 O'Halloran 615 Mainwaring 546 Quigley 5225 Hunt 2
