Text courtesy Team Suzuki.
Edited by webBikeWorld
April 9, 2006 - Rizla Suzuki racers
Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne and James Haydon crashed out of
both races at the second round of the Bennetts
British Superbike Championship at Donington Park.
In the first race, Shakey was in
fourth place and James in ninth when rain and hail
started to fall. On slick tyres James crashed
at the Old Hairpin and a minute later, Shakey
high-sided at Schwantz at 140mph as the rain robbed
the track surface of grip. The race was red
flagged and taken back a lap with Shakey eventually
being awarded fifth place behind winner Gregorio
Lavilla on a Ducati.
In the second, event Shakey crashed
out on the warm-up lap on a track covered in
standing water. Haydon made a brilliant start
from eighth to second but then went grass-tracking
before rejoining well down the field. He
crashed on lap two at Goddards and showed his
determination when he rejoined the race before
crashing again and retiring on lap nine at McCleans
as he struggled to find grip in the wet conditions.
Vivaldi Suzuki’s Scott Smart won the race.
Both Rizla Suzuki racers are
battered and bruised after their crashes but have no
serious injuries and are already looking forward to
the third round of the Championship at Thruxton next
weekend.
Shakey Byrne: “In the first race I
suffered one of the biggest crashes of my career
flat out in fifth gear going through the Schwantz
curve. It had started to rain and the back end
of the bike just came round and I went flying. It
was a big crash and I am well bruised after that.
The only consolation is the race was declared from a
lap earlier and I was awarded fifth place.
“In the second race I went into
Coppice on a closed throttle nice and steady on my
out lap. The back end came round in slow
motion and I couldn’t do anything about it and
crashed out. I didn’t have a spare bike for
race two after my first race crash and that was
unfortunately the end of the day for me.”
James Haydon: “In the opening race
the rain started to pour down and going into the Old
Hairpin the back end slid away. I held it for
what seemed like forever before it high-sided and I
crashed out. It was a real shame because I was
enjoying the race and the bike was handling better
than ever.
“In the next race the wet and
slippery conditions caught me out twice. The first
time I remounted and was cutting back through the
field towards the front when I crashed again and
this time I couldn’t get restarted. It’s been a
tough weekend and I hope the next round at Thruxton
is dry.”
Robert Wicks - Team Manager: “It’s
been a hard day at the races for Rizla Suzuki with
five crashes in four race starts. The conditions
were awful and played their part in causing those
accidents and we will count our good fortune that
both riders can walk away from Donington with minor
bruising injuries and nothing more serious.
“This weekend we proved in the dry
we have front running pace. That’s a step forward
for us and we will take the positives from that to
the next round at the team’s home circuit at
Thruxton.
“Well done to Vivaldi Suzuki’s Scott
Smart on taking victory in a dramatic and wet second
race. Seeing a GSX-R1000 win is encouraging for all
of us.”
|
British Superbike, Round
2, Donington Park
Race One Result |
|
1: Gregorio Lavilla (Ducati)
20:53.166 |
|
2: Ryuichi Kiyonari (Honda)
+0.134 |
|
3: Leon Haslam (Ducati)
+5.246 |
|
4: Michael Laverty (Honda)
+9.361 |
|
5: Shane Byrne (Rizla
Suzuki) +9.591 |
|
6: Karl Harris (Honda)
+10.540 |
|
7: Michael Rutter (Honda)
+11.533 |
|
8: Jonathan Rea (Honda)
+20.235 |
|
9: Dean Thomas (Kawasaki)
+22.451 |
|
10: Scott Smart (Suzuki)
+23.216 |
|
James Haydon (Rizla Suzuki)
DNF. |
|
|
|
Race Two Results |
|
1: Smart 27:37.071 |
|
2: Haslam +0.576 |
|
3: Lavilla +2.297 |
|
4: Gary Mason (Honda) +5.943 |
|
5: Rea +30.768 |
|
6: Tommy Hill (Yamaha)
+33.586 |
|
7: Laverty +36.829 |
|
8: Ollie Bridewell (Suzuki)
+59.273 |
|
9: Chris Martin (Honda)
+59.297 |
|
10: Malcolm Ashley
(Kawasaki) +1:04.142 |
|
James Haydon (Rizla Suzuki)
DNF |
|
Shane Byrne (Rizla Suzuki)
DNS. |
|
|
|
2006 British Superbike Championship Standings
(after two of 13 rounds) |
|
1: Lavilla 82 |
|
2: Kiyonari 58 |
|
3: Haslam 56 |
|
4: Harris 41 |
|
5: Smart 33 |
|
6: Laverty 31 |
|
7: Rea 30 |
|
8: Shane Byrne (Rizla
Suzuki) 26 |
|
9: Rutter 25 |
|
10: Thomas 23 |
|
16: James Haydon (Rizla
Suzuki) 15. |
