Motorcycles and news

Blistering sunshine brought out the crowds to one of the best events of the season, the technical underlations of this high speed classic circuit always prove to be a big hit with race fans and riders alike.

This was the second time the BSB circus had travelled to Oulton Park so the lap times and racing was always gong to be fierce.

Team Virgin Mobile Yamaha’s senior rider Tommy Hill at 21 is fast becoming the most improved rider of the season, with the majority of the established front runners at their best and Tommy’s talent not yet levelled out. With every race Hill is getting sronger and more confident and this weekend he stepped up to the premier league when he ran with the leading group of riders, smashing the lap record on his way!

After a slip in the final minutes of qualifying and a quick ride back to the pits for his spare bike Tommy still made 6th position starting on the second row of the grid and setting himself up for a good race day.

Billy McConnell found himself being overshadowed by team mate Tommy after setting his best qualifying time in 13th position, two seconds faster than his first visit to Oulton Park earlier in the season. This was amazing for the Team’s rookie 2005 Virgin Mobile Cup winner. The third young lion of Team Virgin Mobile Yamaha, Kieran Clarke, struggled to 18th but was upbeat about scoring some Championship points.

Tommy has been improving with every race, developing the new Pirelli tyres along the way and growing with confidence, Oulton Park is one of his favourites and his body language sent out all the signals we were in for some sparks!

From the second row Tommy barged his way in to second place at turn one, splitting the Championship contenders Ryuichi Kiyonari and Leon Haslam. Leon made an early move relegating Tommy to third and for five laps these three riders pulled a five second gap on the chasing pack of Gregorio Lavilla, Shane Byrne and Jonny Rea with Tommy the fastest man the track smashing the lap record on lap four and looking for a way to pass Haslam.

A podium position was a genuine possibility as Tommy found his rhythm, but it was not to be, after his foot rest broke on lap six. Amazingly he tried to hang on for four laps without his left foot rest, trying to salvage some points. He paid the price for his youthful desire and slipped out on lap ten without injury.

This left Billy and Kieran flying the flag for Team Virgin Mobile Yamaha and a opportunity for Billy to come out of Tommy’s shadow! a fantastic race with Kawasaki’s Craig Coxhill ended with Billy coming home in 9th position beating his fellow more experienced Australian and setting some impressive lap times along the way, Kieran finished the race in 14th position and was pleased to score points after his qualifying position.

Race two was always going to be tough, coming back from a crash adds more pressure and the race pace was going to be intense. Tommy once again made a great start passing Micheal Rutter to tag on to the leading group in fifth position. Billy was the first casualty, his slightly exubarant overtaking move on on Simon Andrews caused a touch and he crashed out without injury. Tommy rode fantastically hanging onto Shane Byrne for most of the race finishing one place behind in sixth, relieved to finish after the first race care. Kieran managed to again score championship points in 15th position and made headway with his lap times.

Tommy Hill:”That was a great weekend, very tough but great fun and I feel we have got a lot closer to the front guys. The Pirellis are coming good and I am getting more confident, I want to give a big thanks to my team and it’s a shame the footrest broke in race one but there will be more chances. This weekend has set me up for the next World Superbike round as a wildcard at Brands Hatch in two weeks.”

Billy McConnell: “Man that is so frustrating, I had a great ride in the first race and did some good lap times, so to make a mistake in the second race and crash out hurts at the minute. I’m sorry for my team as we were looking good, great for Tommy, he inspires me and proves we have the package to get results.”

Kieran Clarke: “I am pretty frustrated at this weekend’s results, we have a great team. I can see how Billy is making progress and I should be with him, I managed to salvage a couple points on a bad weekend so that’s something!”

Rob Mac: “That was probably the best we have seen from Tommy so far, he is still learning and we have lots more to come, it was great to see him running with the big guns, not just hanging on but breaking lap records! Billy has made just as impressive jump too, the pace of this series is world class and Billy after his 9th race is in the second group, at 19 he is a star of the future.”

RACE ONE RESULTS
1 Ryuichi KIYONARI 27:16.848, 2 Leon HASLAM +4.673, 3 Gregorio LAVILLA +5.805, 4 Shane BYRNE +11.573, 5 Jonathan REA +12.536, 6 Michael RUTTER +22.649, 7 Michael LAVERTY +23.180, 8 Scott SMART +30.844, 9 BILLY McCONNELL TEAM VIRGIN MOBILE YAMAHA +33.927, 10 Craig COXHELL +34.099, 11 Steve PLATER +45.903, 12 Gary MASON +48.483, 13. Simon ANDREWS +56.304, 14 Peter HICKMAN +59.734, 15 KIERAN CLARKE TEAM VIRGIN MOBILE YAMAHA 1:03.825