Weather blighted the sixth round of the British Superbike Championship at Knockhill in Fife today. Only the first race was run, and in wet and blustery conditions Worx Crescent Suzuki's Tommy Hill found himself battling tyre issues to bring his GSX-R1000 home in eighth place.
The second race was abandoned due to still worsening conditions after being red flagged on the first lap following a six-rider crash. That race will now be rolled over to the forthcoming Snetterton round, in a fortnight, taking place on the Saturday (after the Roll for Pole qualifier) with starting positions the same as those at Knockhill.
Tommy Hill: "That was a disappointing end to the weekend after what had been a good build-up. In the first race I had a big issue with the treaded rear tyre which ripped to pieces over the 15 laps of the race – I was lucky to bring it home. I don't mind the rain and have scored good results in wet races in the past, so this was a major disappointment.
"With that result I've also now lost my championship lead, although I'm only four points behind. I'm still leading the podium points tally, though, which are the only ones that count once the championship moves into the Showdown phase from Croft (round ten) onwards. So I'm keen to get to Snetterton and claw those points back and add further to those vital podium points. And that's a good track for me as I scored Pirelli's first ever podium in BSB there, back in 2006."
Jack Valentine, team manager: "Today has been a total washout. This morning in what was a soggy warm-up Tommy was more than happy with his wet set-up. We changed nothing for the race but the tyre never gripped from the off and was shredded by the end of the race, which had been shortened to 15 laps after two stoppages. With gale force winds it was the right decision to abandon the meeting, but that doesn't stop the feeling of disappointment.
"With the championship tightening up both in terms of championship and podium points, Snetterton, with three races on the programme, will become a very important round."
MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship
Round Six, Knockhill
Race one result:
1. Michael Rutter (Ridersmotorcycles.com Ducati)
2. Ryuichi Kiyonari (HM Plant Honda) +0.577s
3. Josh Brookes (HM Plant Honda) +6.187s
4. Michael Laverty (Relentless Suzuki by TAS) +9.363s
5. Alastair Seeley (Relentless Suzuki by TAS) +13.295s
6. John Laverty (Buildbase Kawasaki) +18.708s
7. Simon Andrews (MSS Colchester Kawasaki) +21.149s
8. Tommy Hill (Worx Crescent Suzuki) +23.233s
9. Gary Mason (MSS Colchester Kawasaki) +23.233s
10. Chris Walker (CW Racing Suzuki) +28.717s
BSB Championship standings after six rounds:
1. Josh Brookes (HM Plant Honda) 166pts
2. Tommy Hill (Worx Crescent Suzuki) 162
3. Ryuichi Kiyonari (HM Plant Honda) 148
4. Michael Laverty (Relentless Suzuki by TAS) 146
5. Michael Rutter (Ridersmotorcycles.com Ducati) 139
6. John Laverty (Buildbase Kawasaki) 108
16. Yukio Kagayama (Worx crescent Suzuki) 25