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British Supersport Championship 2007 – Round 1, Brands Hatch
Michael
Laverty made the perfect start on his return to British Supersport racing
with the Relentless Suzuki team by taking maximum points earlier today in
an Easter Monday thriller. After qualifying on the front row of the grid
Laverty didn’t take too long before settling into the lead:
unfortunately it was short lived when he crashed out on the exit of Surtees
but the race was red flagged moments later when Denis Hobbs also went down
at the same corner. After a quick inspection at the Medical Centre, Laverty
gathered himself together, jumped on his number two machine and romped home
to take 25 championships points and the early lead in the series.
Ian Lowry rode a mature race and could possibly have picked up the pieces after
Laverty and Hobbs went down while shadowing in third place, but the red flags
halted his progress and a possible maiden victory in the class. On the re-start
Lowry fought for 8 laps in a freight train headed by Laverty, eventually getting
the nod in third place after Martin Jessopp was disqualified for a technical
infringement. He was less than a second behind his team mate giving Relentless
Suzuki an almost perfect start to the season.
Michael Laverty
“I rode my luck a bit today but I knew I had a good race pace and just
sat on the leaders for a few laps before going in front. I tried to make a bit
of a break but the bike caught me out and I high-sided on the exit of Surtees.
It was pretty big air time but the boys in the team did a superb job and my number
two bike was virtually identical and made all the difference in the re-start.
I’m a bit sore after the crash but I’ve got a significant gap already
on my main rivals in the series. My GSX–R600 Suzuki was almost faultless
today and with a few minor changes I can go even faster this coming weekend where
I’ll be looking to stamp my authority on the championship.”
Ian Lowry
“It was a good weekend all in all even though the race was a bit of a dolly
mixture! I was up to third before the race was stopped, then in the re-start
there was nothing in it at the front between the top four riders. I had a great
dice with Jamie Robinson and I’m pleased to have started the season with
a podium even though I didn’t get to crack open the champagne. Every round
counts in this championship and the Relentless Suzuki had a great turn of speed
today and Pirelli gave us the tyres for the job. I must also mention our new
partners WP Suspension who made a great contribution to my progress this weekend.”
Philip Neill – Team Principal
“Thank goodness we got that little bit of luck, but then you need a little
bit of good fortune in this game. Fortune favours the brave and Michael Laverty
was that man today, even though he got himself out of jail! In fairness he demonstrated
the maturity and professionalism that we expected he would; that’s why
we signed him for the 2007 campaign and hopefully today he also learnt a little
bit more about the professionalism of our team at TAS Racing. The boys did a
great job having his spare bike ready in such a short space of time and I must
say the enthusiasm of our new sponsor Relentless has certainly rubbed off on
everyone in the garage. The atmosphere was bubbling over and to also give our
long term and loyal sponsor Beacon Security a double podium at their home round
is very pleasing.
Ian Lowry also conducted himself superbly today and he is now showing the potential
we always knew he would when he signed him. If the race hadn’t been red
flagged after Denis Hobbs’ incident then Ian would undoubtedly have taken
the win. That in itself shows the strength in depth within our team and also
the pedigree of the GSX–R600 Suzuki. We have worked hard over the winter
to perfect the bike in every area and with the support of Pirelli and now WP
Suspension I feel 2007 could be a memorable year.”
9 April 2007