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British Supersport Championship 2007 – Round 4, Oulton Park
Ian Lowry and Relentless Suzuki teammate Michael Laverty continued their
consistent British Supersport form at the May Bank Holiday special at Oulton
Park in Cheshire, making it seven podiums from a possible eight so far this
season. Lowry took second place on the podium for the second week in succession
ahead of Laverty, who is still the championship leader with 82 points.
Starting
the race from the fourth box on the front row, Laverty lead the race for
six laps in a tight duel with Dennis Hobbs. Lowry didn’t make the
most of his third placed qualifying position and slipped to seventh on lap
one, but the Moira man took the challenge to both Laverty and Hobbs at half
distance and narrowly missed out on a debut win on the number 5 Relentless
Suzuki.
Laverty was forced to settle for third at the end of 16 laps but
the Toomebridge rider again showed ‘ring-craft’ scoring 16 points
to maintain his championship lead, with Lowry moving into second place in
the series with 56 points.
Ian Lowry
“I didn’t make the best of starts today after working hard to
secure a front-row slot and had to battle back from almost five seconds
down on Dennis and Michael. I found a good rhythm in the middle section
of the race and put in some fast laps that pulled me right back into it.
When I got past Michael I could see that Dennis was really riding the wheels
of his bike but the GSX–R600 Suzuki was well capable. Frustratingly,
I had probably asked too much from my Pirellis in the middle part of the
race and I just couldn’t eek out that final tenth to take the win,
but it’s not far away. First and second in the championship is also
great viewing for the Relentless Suzuki team!”
Michael
Laverty
“There’s no point hiding the fact that I’m a bit disappointed
after that today. I had what I thought was a good race set-up and wasn’t
too worried when I saw that Dennis was making ground on me. When he got
past and I tried to up the pace I started to suffer with front-end chatter;
then Ian came past as well and I couldn’t fight back as I was missing
apexes. I have three circuits coming up that I really enjoy – Snetterton,
Mondello and Knockhill – so I’ll be gunning to win them all!”
Philip Neill Team Principal
“Another double podium and a one-two in the championship after four
rounds doesn’t leave me with much to complain about, but from a racers
point of view, we need to take the opportunity to win when it’s available.
Having both riders so close to the front and missing out on the win today
is a bit frustrating, as I don’t believe Dennis Hobbs had a better
package than either of them this weekend.
Ian made a bad start but came
back through the field with some very fast laps in the middle section. Unfortunately
he may have taken the best from his tyre in the process and didn’t
quite have the grip to take the win but it will come.
Michael is one of
the most talented riders in the paddock and is more than capable of winning
more races this season, so if he felt the package wasn’t quite right
for him today then I have to respect his decision. He rode a calculated
race to third, but I know he wont be satisfied with losing points this weekend
to his main rivals.
So far the GSX–R600 Suzuki has proven to be the
bike of the championship and with regular podiums and two wins to date,
hopefully we have been able to give our loyal sponsors a positive return.”
7th May 2007