In the second race of the weekend Hill had been embroiled in an intense battle with title rival Shane Byrne but was forced to settle for second, but in race three he came back fighting at his home circuit to lead the race from the start and maintain his position. Michael Laverty showed impressive pace in the second race to carve his way through the field from a fifth row start to secure fourth, which he followed up in the final race with another fourth after challenging for third place in the closing stages.
Hill said: "It’s been a great day and I am happy that we could be back on the podium in both races for Swan Yamaha. In the second race I tried to make a move on Shakey going in to Paddock Hill Bend but it was a bit brave and it just didn’t work out, but I knew I needed to try and make a lunge. Hopper was closing us down and I knew we needed as main Podium Credits as possible. We knew we would be in the ball park for the third race so we just made a few tweaks and then was ready for the last race.
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| Tommy Hill celebrates at Brands Hatch |
"The third race was probably the best ride of my season so far. I knew I needed to get off the line and Hopper and Shakey kept the pressure on me; I just had to bite the screen and keep pushing to try and get a bit of an advantage. The three of us (who finished on the podium) keep raising the bar and we just need to keep doing that at every round. We are in the top six now for the Showdown and we can concentrate on the podium credits at Cadwell Park and then fighting for the wins over the final three rounds. I need to thank the Swan Yamaha team, it was a shame about yesterday’s first race result but now we are looking forward to Cadwell Park."
Laverty said: "It has been a frustrating day for me really and the results don’t really reflect the pace that we have had this weekend. In race two I had to start from the fifth row of the grid and it was hard work to come through the field and by the time I did, the leading three had an advantage. In the races I was able to run a string of consistent fast laps and knew we had the pace to win, but thought we could try in race three starting from the front row. I was behind Shakey and he was strong on the brakes and on the exit of the corner but where the Swan Yamaha was faster was mid corner and I just couldn’t get passed him. I wasn’t prepared for us both to end up in the gravel trap with a bit of an over ambitious move because fourth place kept us inside the top six. We know we have the pace to win so now we have to focus on Cadwell Park and trying to maintain that top six place and score some Podium Credits for our championship."
Team Manager Gary Ekerold concluded: "It would have been nice to have a fourth race this weekend as we know that both Tommy and Michael could still have made some further improvements after a strong weekend. To score another win for Tommy was a great result and Michael again scored consistently to maintain his position in the standings and he pushed Byrne all the way in the final race of the weekend. We now look forward to Cadwell Park where we will be aiming to return to the podium in the three races."
For more information visit www.swanyamaha.co.uk
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