John Hopkins stormed to a dominant double win today at the tenth round of the 2011 British Superbikes Championship at Donington Park. The wins put Hopkins in the lead of the BSB championship with just two rounds to go.
Hopkins' Samsung Crescent Racing team-mate Jon Kirkham was also in great form, fighting for podium finishes and placing 5-3 to strengthen his position as leader in the Rider's Cup, the competition to be the best rider outside of the Showdown's Title Fighters.
Hopkins' Samsung Crescent Racing team-mate Jon Kirkham was also in great form, fighting for podium finishes and placing 5-3 to strengthen his position as leader in the Rider's Cup, the competition to be the best rider outside of the Showdown's Title Fighters.
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| Hopper and Kirkham - on the podium again |
John Hopkins: "This is a very special double-win for me. It's good to come back from injury and to immediately win and to take over the championship lead. But as well this is a day of remembrance back at home, for the victims of 9/11, so I'm thinking of those people and their families, and this is my tribute to them.
"We enjoyed some great racing today. I was careful to conserve my tyres in the first race and I let the opportunities come to me, Tommy Hill's mistake when passing Shane Byrne played to my advantage and then it was just a matter of planning and waiting for the chance to pass Michael Laverty, and that came four laps from home. I had plenty of pace left in the bike, and in the tyres, to take it from there.
"We enjoyed some great racing today. I was careful to conserve my tyres in the first race and I let the opportunities come to me, Tommy Hill's mistake when passing Shane Byrne played to my advantage and then it was just a matter of planning and waiting for the chance to pass Michael Laverty, and that came four laps from home. I had plenty of pace left in the bike, and in the tyres, to take it from there.
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| Two wins and a lead in the Championship! |
"The second race was actually harder. I got most of the racing done early, I was in the lead by the fourth lap, but the lack of distractions meant the pain in my fingers was very obvious. The bike was awesome, though, from half distance I was able to pull four-tenths a lap on Tommy and once we got to a two-second buffer I just controlled it from there."
Jon Kirkham: "I'm really pleased. I was looking for two top-fives this weekend, so a fifth and a third is more than job done. I got caught behind Ryuichi Kiyonari early in the first race and this let the leaders get away, it was only a matter of a couple of seconds, but it's so hard to pull that back given the pace at the front.
Jon Kirkham: "I'm really pleased. I was looking for two top-fives this weekend, so a fifth and a third is more than job done. I got caught behind Ryuichi Kiyonari early in the first race and this let the leaders get away, it was only a matter of a couple of seconds, but it's so hard to pull that back given the pace at the front.
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| Podium finish and Rider's Cup lead |
"The second race was brilliant fun. I could see from my pit board that I was being chased hard and when Kiyo slowed I had to pass quickly and make something of a break if it wasn't going to get messy. I got my head down and from there to the end of the race I wouldn't let my speed drop. So the gap grew quite comfortably and I was surprised at the end to see Tommy's bike coming into view. To share the podium with John today was fantastic."
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