Defending MCE Insurance British Superbike champion Tommy Hill scored a double podium finish at the seventh round of the season today at his home round of Brands Hatch in Kent whilst Noriyuki Haga took a sole fifth place.
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| Swan Yamaha's Tommy Hill |
In the opening race of the day Hill initially struggled with a clutch issue that dropped him down the order and the reigning champion then put in a determined ride to move back up the order to fourth. Haga had been running in a solid third place until a mistake on the final lap at Graham Hill Bend saw him crash out of contention. The crash for the Japanese rider elevated Hill to third and adding another podium credit to his tally ahead of the Showdown.
Hill then fought hard for a third place in race two as he closed in on eventual race winner Shane Byrne and second placed Josh Brookes. At his home circuit Hill was unable to push any harder and settled for third whilst Haga's side of the garage had worked hard to repair his Swan Yamaha for him to fight to fifth.
Hill said: "In the first we had an issue with the clutch; on the sighting lap the rear locked up and I came back to the grid and the clutch went solid on me so I spent the first few laps trying to adjust the lever and there were riders coming passed me from all directions. I set my target on Michael and I was able to get passed him and I wanted to try and go with Josh, but he had checked out. I wasn't going to be able to catch the leading three and I hold my hands up and say I was gifted the podium with Noriyuki crashing but you have to be in it to win it. In race two I got stuck in with Shakey and Josh as they came back to me about halfway through the race but it was a bit of an elastic band effect and I was never close enough to make a pass. Everyone was riding hard and we are all riding at the top of our game, but all in all it wasn't a bad weekend. We need to be consistently on the podium and we will raise our game and hopefully it will be our turn at Cadwell Park."
Haga said: "First of all I would like to say sorry to the Swan Yamaha team for the crash in the first race. I had an advantage to Tommy and I didn't have as much grip at the end but I made a stupid mistake to lose the front and crash. My crew worked hard and I thank them for getting me out for race two as they repaired the bike fast but it didn't feel the same as race one, because we didn't have time to make changes. This track I have more experience so we have learnt a lot this weekend and what we can make better for when we are here for the last round."
Team manager Gary Ekerold concluded: "It was a different weekend at Brands Hatch following a superb Oulton Park, but Tommy put in two British bulldog performances to twice finish on the podium. It was another learning weekend for Noriyuki but one that he will come back stronger from. Tommy had a technical problem in the first race but did an awesome job to bring the Swan Yamaha home in third and given that he is safe in the Showdown he didn't need to prove anything in that race. Although Noriyuki made a mistake in race one there were many positives we could take from today and he showed he had the pace capable of running at the front. The team worked hard to repair his Swan Yamaha for race two and now we need to all look ahead to Cadwell Park."
Hill then fought hard for a third place in race two as he closed in on eventual race winner Shane Byrne and second placed Josh Brookes. At his home circuit Hill was unable to push any harder and settled for third whilst Haga's side of the garage had worked hard to repair his Swan Yamaha for him to fight to fifth.
Hill said: "In the first we had an issue with the clutch; on the sighting lap the rear locked up and I came back to the grid and the clutch went solid on me so I spent the first few laps trying to adjust the lever and there were riders coming passed me from all directions. I set my target on Michael and I was able to get passed him and I wanted to try and go with Josh, but he had checked out. I wasn't going to be able to catch the leading three and I hold my hands up and say I was gifted the podium with Noriyuki crashing but you have to be in it to win it. In race two I got stuck in with Shakey and Josh as they came back to me about halfway through the race but it was a bit of an elastic band effect and I was never close enough to make a pass. Everyone was riding hard and we are all riding at the top of our game, but all in all it wasn't a bad weekend. We need to be consistently on the podium and we will raise our game and hopefully it will be our turn at Cadwell Park."
Haga said: "First of all I would like to say sorry to the Swan Yamaha team for the crash in the first race. I had an advantage to Tommy and I didn't have as much grip at the end but I made a stupid mistake to lose the front and crash. My crew worked hard and I thank them for getting me out for race two as they repaired the bike fast but it didn't feel the same as race one, because we didn't have time to make changes. This track I have more experience so we have learnt a lot this weekend and what we can make better for when we are here for the last round."
Team manager Gary Ekerold concluded: "It was a different weekend at Brands Hatch following a superb Oulton Park, but Tommy put in two British bulldog performances to twice finish on the podium. It was another learning weekend for Noriyuki but one that he will come back stronger from. Tommy had a technical problem in the first race but did an awesome job to bring the Swan Yamaha home in third and given that he is safe in the Showdown he didn't need to prove anything in that race. Although Noriyuki made a mistake in race one there were many positives we could take from today and he showed he had the pace capable of running at the front. The team worked hard to repair his Swan Yamaha for race two and now we need to all look ahead to Cadwell Park."
For more information on Swan Yamaha please visit www.swanyahama.co.uk
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