The weather played a major role in the penultimate Showdown round of the British Superbikes Championship at Silverstone, but Adaptaflex sponsored Tommy Hill retained his lead in the title standings.
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| Leading the pack |
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He rode to eighth and fifth in the two races taking an 11 point lead into the final round of the championship which takes place at Oulton Park on 8-10 October.
After just four laps the first race was red flagged due to heavy rain and the riders had to change to wet tyres in order to complete the race. An electrical fault meant that Tommy was running blind on his Suzuki GSX-R1000. Despite a repair during the halt there was insufficient time to install the bike’s wet settings so Tommy had to be extra vigilant through to the finish taking a creditable eighth place.
With the electrical problem solved and riding with his preferred wet setting Tommy had a much better second race although excess wheel spin off the start line meant he had to work hard to re-pass several riders eventually coming home fifth.
Commenting Tommy Hill said, “I’m not over the moon with the performances at Silverstone, but I am happy with the outcome. We had a few setbacks today, but the job was to keep a level head throughout, bearing in mind my championship lead, and not take excessive risks. Consequently it was my rivals who were taking the risks and so suffered the worst misfortune.
“So I’m looking forward to Oulton Park which is probably my favourite track of the championship. While not everything went to plan this weekend we did again find podium pace both in the wet and dry so I’m confident that we have everything we need to fight for the title come the final Showdown.”
Team manager Jack Valentine was again impressed with Tommy’s riding, adding, “He may not have had a starring role in the races but he had some issues forced upon him. To his credit he never panicked, making sure he brought the bike home, taking as many points as it was safe to do.
“In that second race he showed good pace and if he hadn’t been slowed by the battle to pass Dan Linfoot in the early stages he may well have been closer to the front and finished higher than fifth. But again, in very difficult conditions he kept his head and in this race it really paid off.
“To come away with an 11 point lead in the championship is a fair achievement. Tommy came here without the circuit knowledge of his rivals and we saw through free practice that he gave it his all to break down their advantage. Then when the race day turned treacherous he played a calm game when so many issues could have unsettled him and caused a disaster. For me, this says we’ve got the right guy for the job come Oulton Park. He has the speed and he has the intelligence – and he’s now heading into the three most important races of his life!”
Tommy goes into the final three-race round at Oulton Park leading the championship ahead of the HM Plant Honda pair Josh Brookes and Ryuichi Kiyonari.
Making the most of the conditions at Silverstone Jimmy Hill, also sponsored by Adaptaflex and racing in the National Superstock 600 Championship came home in 5th position riding his MAP Group Triumph.
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