2007 British Superbike Motorcycle Racing

Race Results
April 29, 2007 - Honda's Ryuichi Kiyonari won both races at the 2.13-mile-long Silverstone race circuit on Sunday, chipping away at Gregorio Lavilla's lead in the 2007 series.

Lavilla took a 5th place in Race 1 and a second in Race 2.

Rizla Suzuki's Chris Walker scored a well-deserved and hard-fought third-place podium finish in the opening race at the third round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Silverstone in Northamptonshire.

"Stalker", starting from fifth on the grid, battled his way up to second before settling down for a race long duel for the final podium place in the opening race.

Last lap heroics saw him take third and Rizla Suzuki's first podium of 2007.  In race two he was again fighting for the podium but the race was stopped after just 13 of the 20-laps and declared a result with Walker in fourth.

Cal Crutchlow ran off at Becketts in the opening race, relegating himself to 14th before fighting back to 11th.  In the second race he ran off and found himself in 14th again before fighting back to seventh when the race was stopped.

Rizla Suzuki returns to action next weekend at Oulton Park in Cheshire. Practice and qualification take place on the weekend with Superbike racing on Bank Holiday Monday, May 7th.

Chris Walker:  "The first race was ace.  My Rizla Suzuki crew deserved the podium more than I did because they have worked so hard.  This morning they tried something new on my bike - a geometry change - which worked a treat and we were right on the pace.

"For the second race we stiffened the fork springs to give more braking power - it was better and I was a fair bit quicker.  The problem was with more stopping power as I continuously out-braked myself. It's been a positive weekend and now I'm off to Mondello in Ireland for a track day to learn the circuit before racing at Oulton Park next weekend."

Race One Results: 1: Ryuichi Kiyonari (Honda) 28:49.500, 2: Jonathan Rea (Honda) +5.800, 3: Chris Walker (Rizla Suzuki) +8.760, 4: Leon Camier (Honda) +8.847, 5: Gregorio Lavilla (Ducati) +16.073, 6: Leon Haslam (Ducati) +16.347, 7: Tom Sykes (Honda) +18.012, 8: Tommy Hill (Yamaha) +22.181, 9: Karl Harris (Honda) +26.095, 10: Michael Rutter (Kawasaki) +28.048. 11: Cal Crutchlow (Rizla Suzuki) +28.212.

Race Two Results: 1: Kiyonari 18:37.312, 2: Lavilla +2.450, 3: Rea +11.758, 4: Chris Walker (Rizla Suzuki) +12.597, 5: Haslam +16.336, 6: Sykes +16.966, 7: Cal Crutchlow (Rizla Suzuki) +17.590, 8: Hill +21.227, 9: Rutter +21.603, 10: Tommy Bridewell (Suzuki) +31.640.

Championship Positions (after three of 13 rounds) 1: Lavilla 131, 2: Kiyonari 99, 3: Rea 85, 4: Camier 80, 5: Haslam 64, 6: Sykes 59, 7: Chris Walker (Rizla Suzuki 55, 8: Shane Byrne (Honda) 45, 9: Rutter 41, 10: Hill 37, 12: Cal Crutchlow (Rizla Suzuki) 26.

Qualifying
Ryuichi Kiyonari, the reigning Bennetts British Superbike Champion, enjoys Silverstone and that was underlined by him taking his first pole start of the campaign here at the Northamptonshire circuit, though by only a split second from the determined Leon Haslam.

The Japanese rider took a winning double to ease towards the crown in the penultimate round last term and he needs an action replay of those results as he plays catch-up in the title stakes, being 51 points down on the champion of two years ago, the currently unbeaten series leader Gregorio Lavilla.

The Spaniard finds himself starting from the second row of the grid and also being out-gunned by his Airwaves Ducati team-mate Haslam who was riding through the pain barrier, after a 174mph crash during Friday practice had left him with a badly bruised and swollen left thigh.

Haslam had put in a race distance run in the grid deciding session before using his qualifying tyre to good effect in the final moments of a dramatic session, putting in a time of 1m 25.406secs, just 0.023secs down on Kiyonari’s scorching 93.29mph lap.

Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne, a former winner of the title, put his Stobart Vent-Axia Motorsport Honda onto the front row, third fastest, although he was not too pleased: “I’m a bit disappointed as I was baulked by a couple of slower riders on a fast lap, but at least we are up at the front and feeling good for the races.”

Jonathan Rea, the 20 year old Ballyclare rider, completed a good day for the HM Plant team, as he ran fourth, with a time of 1m 25.688secs with less than a third of second between him and Kiyonari.

Chris Walker ran strongly for Rizla Suzuki, pushing Lavilla, whose best lap came in 1m 26.032secs, back into sixth place and a starting slot alongside his nearest championship rival, Leon Camier, riding the Bike Animal Honda. Cal Crutchlow completed the second row.

Tom Sykes continues to grow in stature, running marginally faster than the experienced Michael Rutter aboard the Isilon MSS Discovery Kawasaki, with the top ten riders all qualifying within a second of each other. Karl Harris, riding Hydrex Honda was just ahead of Virgin Media Optoma Loans Yamaha rider Tommy Hill and the Team NB Suzuki Bridewell brothers Tommy and Ollie.

Marty Nutt heads the qualifiers for the British Superbike Cup, but faces a medical check on raceday morning after sustaining back injuries in a tumble late on in qualifying. Tristan Palmer, Malcolm Ashley, Paul Barron, Tom Tunstall and Neil Faulkner completed the Privateer qualifiers.

Suzuki Team Report - Rizla Suzuki's Chris Walker will start from fifth and Cal Crutchlow from eighth to bookend the second row of the grid in tomorrow's third round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Silverstone in Northamptonshire.

"Stalker" was in contention for a front row position for much of the session and only missed out by just over a 10th of a second right at the end.  Crutchlow saved his best lap until last to join his team mate on the same row of the grid.

In blustery wind and glorious sunshine, both Rizla Suzuki racers made big strides forward with the set-ups on their GSX-R1000s.

Honda's Ryuichi Kiyonari took pole position.

Chris Walker:  "The effort it takes to ride a Superbike on the limit is incredible.  I gave it my all in qualifying and earned my second row start.

"My Rizla Suzuki feels hard at the front and soft at the rear.  It's a situation we are working on but it isn't easy to sort because if we soften the front, it hampers our braking performance.  Overall the package isn't bad though - it's certainly close to the pace and we'll be working to make it better in warm-up in the morning."

Cal Crutchlow:  "My Rizla Suzuki is absolutely mint when I am riding it on a qualifying tire - the extra grip gives me so much confidence.  On race tires it moves around a little but it is now becoming more predictable and I enjoy riding it.

"We still have a decision to make on which tire we will use in the races. I will be aiming for a good start and to hang on to the riders in front of me; my target is the top six."

Simon Buckmaster - Team Manager:  "I think Chris was a little unlucky to have been pushed off the front row right at the end of the session; but that actually might play to our favor for the races as he is now starting behind pole position and on the best part of the track for attacking the first corner.

"Cal did a terrific job to get on the second row and has lifted his game as the weekend has progressed.  If he can get into the top six from the start then he'll start fighting with the other riders and that'll bring the best out of him.

"The Rizla Suzuki team has worked hard this weekend and will do what it takes to get back to the front where it belongs.  We are all pulling together and working well as a team and that means the results will not be far away."

More 2007 British Superbike Information
Round 3 – Silverstone Circuit – 2.21 Miles
Lap Records: Superbike – Kiyonari – 1.25.512.  Supersport – E Laverty – 1.28.547

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