2008 British Superbike Motorcycle Racing - Round 7 - Oulton Park

2008 British Superbike Round 7 - Oulton Park

Text and Photos Courtesy Kawasaki  Racing, Suzuki Racing, Yamaha Racing, Pirelli Tyre, Metzeler Tyre and British Superbike.  Edited by webBikeWorld.

Race Results - July 20, 2008
Rizla Suzuki's Tom Sykes won his debut and second British Superbike races in quick succession to claim an emotional double win at the seventh round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Oulton Park in Cheshire today.

Starting from third on the grid in the opening race, Yorkshire ace Sykes led from lap seven and never looked back, winning by a dominant five seconds despite admitting to nerves as the laps ticked down and heavy clouds menaced the 2.69-mile circuit.

In race two he took the lead on lap two and then maintained a slim advantage under enormous pressure to the checkered flag, riding with impressive composure and speed.

He capped the day by setting the fastest lap in both races and moves from sixth to third in the title race.

Rizla Suzuki and Sykes step up to the challenge of World Superbike racing in two weeks time when he takes a wild-card ride in the massively-popular Brands Hatch round of the Championship.  Rizla Suzuki then goes on to the eighth round of the British Superbike Championship at Knockhill in Scotland one week later.

Tom Sykes:  "It doesn't get much better than this; to win my first race and then my second on the same day is a dream come true.  A big thank you to my Rizla Suzuki team, every member deserves this success as it has been a big effort to get my GSX-R1000 performing so well - thank you one and all.

"Race one was completely nerve-wracking. It seemed to be the longest race ever; the laps took forever and I had far too much time to think of what could go wrong so I was relieved and overjoyed to get to the checkered flag and get the win in the bag.  Race two was harder with all the pressure but I knew my Rizla Suzuki was good and controlled it from the front; it was the icing on the cake.

"Brands Hatch World Superbike is next and my debut at that level of racing.  My Rizla Suzuki is as good as any Superbike in the world and I can't wait to rub shoulders with Bayliss, Haga and Kagayama:  They need to look out as I'm going for the podium."

Jack Valentine - Rizla Suzuki Team Manager:  "Brilliant, ace, mega, fantastic, awesome - any of those will describe Tom's double win, take your pick.  Well done to the Rizla Suzuki team and Tom on a fairy-tale performance, it is thoroughly deserved and well earned.  I think now we have established Tom and the Rizla Suzuki GSX-R1000 as race winners, there will be more to come.

"Thank you to all the Rizla Suzuki sponsors and fans for all their support - this double race win is for you all to share with us.  With a bit of luck there will be more champagne this season and wouldn't it be great to taste it at Brands World Superbikes - come along and give us your support if you can, every bit helps!"

Tom Sykes, Winner, 2008 British Superbike Championship, Oulton Park

Qualifying
July 19, 2008 - The 50-minute qualifying session started off in damp conditions but the 2.69-mile Cheshire circuit dried rapidly.  Sykes was always in contention for pole position and led the time-sheets for much of the session, showing he has real race-winning pace.  Watanabe used his previous experience at Oulton Park to maintain his top 15 placing and will be aiming for a top-10 finish when the racing starts in anger.

Race one will take place at 1315 on Sunday and race two at 1630.

Qualifying results:

1: Cal Crutchlow (Honda) 1:36.298
2: Shane Byrne (Ducati) +0.292
3: Tom Sykes (Rizla Suzuki) +0.293
4: Leon Haslam (Honda) +0.523
5: Karl Harris (Yamaha) +0.533
6: Simon Andrews (Yamaha) +0.807
7: Michael Rutter (Ducati) +1.073
8: James Ellison (Honda) +1.260
9: Tristan Palmer (Honda) +1.502
10: Billy McConnell (Kawasaki) +1.542
13: Atsushi Watanabe (Rizla Suzuki) +1.754

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