Freddie Russo and the AP Kawasaki team took a debut victory at Cadwell Park yesterday when the Brentford rider claimed his and the team's first ever victory in the Metzeler National Superstock 600cc Championship but the win was overshadowed by the death of fellow Kawasaki rider Ben Gautrey following an accident in the race. 

Russo was continuing his fine form from Brands Hatch and was again on the pace throughout the weekend putting his 600cc Kawasaki on the front row of the grid after qualifying third, only denied pole position by heavy traffic in the second qualifying session. In the race itself, he moved into second place and after series leader Keith Farmer ran off track on lap seven, he was comfortably in the lead and he duly took the victory in the shortened race. The 25 points have also elevated him up into third place in the championship table with four rounds of the series still remaining.

It was also a good weekend for the other two members of the team, Leon Hunt and Michael Booth, who were contesting the Metzeler National Superstock 1000cc Championship race. Having qualified strongly in 14th, Brighton rider Hunt made a good start in the 15-lap race and found himself up in 12th place at the end of the first lap. A lap later he moved up to 11th where he remained until lap eight when he was relegated back to 12th. However any hopes of reclaiming the position were dashed when a crash brought out the red flag on the eleventh lap thus bringing the race to an early conclusion. Subsequently, Leon had to settle for 12th place.

New man to the team Booth also had a good ride and adapted well to the Kawasaki ZX-10R having spent the season thus far on the very different Ducati machine. 23rd on the grid, the Brough rider put in a solid, consistent ride and ended the race in 22nd position..

Freddie Russo: "Naturally, to get my first major win was a memorable moment but my joy was tempered once I leaned the news about Ben Gautrey's tragic accident. Before that, it had been an absolutely brilliant weekend what with a front row, race win and a new lap record. The bike's been working really well the last few meetings and since we've dialled the suspension in, it's been 100% and I've been focussing on being consistent. I felt really comfortable behind Keith Farmer and was just going to sit there and make my move in the closing stages but my pressure paid off and he ended up making a mistake. From that moment on, I was over three seconds clear and to take my first win is brilliant so a big thanks to everyone for the part they've played, but right now, my thoughts are with Ben's friends and family."

Leon Hunt: "Everything's gone well this weekend, the only slight problem is that I'm getting a bit frustrated when I don't do the lap times I know I can and a bit of red mist comes down and I start to ride a bit ragged. I got a fairly decent start in the race and was battling for 10th and feeling fairly confident with everything. The front group weren't getting away from me too much whilst I also went a few tenths quicker in the race than what I had done in qualifying so that was very pleasing. I was having a good dice with Jonathan Howarth and we were quicker than each other on various parts of the course but the red flag came out and that stopped me from having a go at overtaking. 12th is a solid result and it's the fourth meeting in a row that I've been in the points so it's good that we're now running consistently in the top dozen riders."

Michael Booth: "I've struggled a bit this weekend to be honest as the Kawasaki is very different to the Ducati and we haven't made many adjustments to it, I've just wanted to stay out of trouble and put in as many laps as possible. The power delivery is quite different but each time I've gone out I've gone quicker although I got boxed in a bit at the start of the race and that prevented me from moving forward as much as I would have liked. As I'm not used to the bike it took me a while to work out where I could pass people but although I would have liked to have finished higher up, it's a solid start. I've really enjoyed working with the team and they've made me feel very welcome so we can all look forward to the next three rounds of the championship."

Alan Greig: "Freddie's victory was a wonderful acheivement but it has been put into perspective with the tragic news about Ben Gautrey. Freddie wants to dedicate his win today to Ben and everyone at AP Kawasaki would like to extend their deepest sympathy to all of Ben's family and friends. Freddie had been on it all weekend from free practice to qualifying through to the race and he's just been both comfortable and confident from start to finish so to get both his and the team's first win is brilliant. It's possibly been a bit overdue but we'll take it now it's arrived and I'm just delighted for eveyone in the team they've put in so much hard work and effort this season that it's what they've all deserved.

"It's been our best weekend so far as both Leon and Michael rode well too. Leon's had some new people working with him and it's made him more confident. He's happy with both the set-up of the bike and the team so it's now just down to him. He's got a bit angry with himself as he feels he has more to give but he's consistently in the top 12 and that's where we all want to be. As for Michael, he's gelled with the team from day one although it's been a big change for him coming from the Ducati to the Kawasaki. He's on a steep learning curve but he's improved in each session so we'll look for more of the same progress at the final three rounds."

Metzeler National Superstock 600cc Championship (8 laps)1 Freddie Russo (AP Kawasaki) 12m32.064s2 Keith Farmer (Yamaha) +3.858s3 James East (Yamaha) +5.344s4 Josh Wainwright (Suzuki) +5.692s5 Daniel Hegarty (Kawasaki) +6.014s6 Connor Behan (Kawasaki) +9.451s7 Dominic Usher (Yamaha) +11.165s8 Deane Brown (Yamaha) +11.361s9 Jonathan Lodge (Triumph) +11.615s10 Grant Whitaker (Yamaha) +12.026s

Championship positions (after 8 rounds)1 Farmer 142pts2 Behan 833 Russo 834 East 735 Brown 706 Irwin 64

Metzeler National Superstock 1000cc Championship (15 laps)1 Richard Cooper (BMW) 16m44.928s2 Adam Jenkinson (Honda) +0.213s3 Luke Quigley (BMW) +3.635s4 Jimmy Storrar (BMW) +3.940s5 Danny Buchan (Kawasaki) +4.121s6 Tristan Palmer (Honda) +5.879s7 Howie Mainwaring (Kawasaki) +8.835s8 Victor Cox (Kawasaki) +8.955s9 Billy Mellor (BMW) +10.453s10 David Johnson (BMW) +12.519s12 Leon Hunt (AP Kawasaki) +18.366s23 Michael Booth (AP Kawasaki) +1 lap

Championship points (after 9 rounds)1 Cooper 155.5pts2 Buchan 1353 Quigley 894 Mainwaring 885 Jenkinson 86.56 Palmer 8618 Hunt 13