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British Supersport Championship 2007 – Final
Round, Brands Hatch Indy
British Supersport Champion Michael Laverty finished his 2007 campaign with
his tenth podium of the year at Brands Hatch earlier today in third place.
Ian Lowry also capped a perfect season for the Relentless Suzuki squad bringing
his GSX–R600 Suzuki home in sixth place making it a Suzuki ‘one-two’ in
the championship.
On the 1.19-mile Indy circuit at Brands, Laverty battled through from sixth on
the opening lap taking the final podium position, and Lowry, after a terrible
start fought his way through from twelfth, taking enough points to hold off Dennis
Hobbs for second place in the championship when the race was eventually red flagged
on lap 22.
Michael Laverty
“The times on the Indy circuit are so close in qualifying but I was
confident of having a good race. It took about ten laps to get through to
third and on the back of the leading pair, but by that stage I’d used
the best of my tyre and settled for third. It’s another podium for
Relentless Suzuki who I have to thank for a great season. It was also nice
to be able to ride today with the number one plate as I’ll not get
the chance next year when I move up.”
Ian Lowry
“I made a bad start but when I found my rhythm I just kept Dennis Hobbs
in my sights. I knew what I had to do to get second place and I didn’t
want to take any risks and lose it at this stage of the year. The pass on Steve
Brogan was pretty bold but I wasn’t settling for anything less than the
runners-up spot in this championship! A big thanks to all the team at Relentless
Suzuki. 2008 can’t come around quick enough for me.”
Philip Neill – Team Principal
“We always want to win at every circuit but this weekend was a little
bit strange having already won the championship. Michael came through the pack
easier than I thought he would, and to be honest I shouldn’t have doubted
him. He had the pace to win the race but as so often happens when you need
to play catch up, he’d used up his tyre. Michael was mature enough to
know that and settled for a safe third and another podium for the team. Ian
was unbelievable after a very poor start and showed great aggression and determination
to get past Steve Brogan at the end just before it was red flagged. It’s
been a great year and we’ve shown that the GSX–R600 Suzuki is by
far the best bike in the championship. Everyone has played their part from
Pirelli to WP, Putoline and of course Relentless: we have formed an almost
perfect partnership with them. It was also good to see Ian Glen from Beacon
Security here today, as it’s his home race. Now we move onwards and
upwards and start preparing for 2008.”
14 October 2007