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2011 British Superbike
When the 2011 British Superbike Championship headed to Oulton Park the first time for Round 2, Swan Yamaha’s Tommy Hill had no luck.
The Yamaha YZF-R1 rider crashed out earlier this year, injuring his shoulder. But at Round 7 in Oulton Park this weekend, Hill redeemed himself, taking first in the race 1. And there was only one race; the second was canceled due to rain. Joining Hill on the podium was Relentless Suzuki’s Josh Brookes and Rapid Solicitors-Bathams Ducati’s Michael Rutter.
The British Superbike battle began in qualifying, when the American John Hopkins (Relentless Suzuki GSX-R1000) just beat Hill for the pole position by 0.105 of a second.
But Hopkins crashed out at Lodge Corner shortly after taking the lead on lap four. This gave the lead to Shane Byrne (HM Plant Honda CBR1000RR SUperbike), but soon Hill was in the lead. Behind, Brookes took second from Byrne with five laps remaining; Brookes would finish 5. 492 seconds behind Hill.
Then Rutter would edge out Byrne on the last lap for the final podium position. Byrne would finish fourth, followed by MSS Colchester Kawasaki Gary Mason on the ZX-10R Superbike.
Tommy Hill (Swan Yamaha YZF-R1 Superbike) says: "I just carried on. The rain was coming down even heavier as the race went on but I felt comfortable just keeping chipping away and getting into a good rhythm and keeping that going through the race.
"The win was just what we needed, and it was a case of using all of the grip we could get. I had to keep my concentration and just make sure I didn’t crash. I think the team probably wanted me to slow down but I just didn’t want to lose that win."
Race 2 has been rescheduled; it will be held at Cadwell Park over the August Bank Holiday weekend.
Oulton Park British Superbike: Round 7 Results
Race one, 15 laps:
1.Tommy Hill (Swan Yamaha) 28m 36.674s
2.Josh Brookes (Relentless Suzuki) +5.492s
3.Michael Rutter (Rapid Solicitors-Bathams Ducati) +5.669s
4.Shane Byrne (HM Plant Honda) +5.755s
5.Gary Mason (MSS Colchester Kawasaki) +6.789s
6.Michael Laverty (Swan Yamaha) +7.128s
British Superbike Championship Standings (after seven of 12 rounds):
1.Shane Byrne (HM Plant Honda) 214
2.John Hopkins (Samsung Crescent Racing Suzuki) 182
3.Tommy Hill (Swan Yamaha) 165
4.Michael Laverty (Swan Yamaha) 1219
5.Ryuichi Kiyonari (HM Plant Honda) 121
6.Josh Brookes (Relentless Suzuki) 111
