Superbike World Championship regular Tom Sykes qualified second on the grid for the first race of a busy BSB weekend, which took place on Saturday 7th August. In that two-part wet race he finished fifth, putting himself on the second row for the start of action on Sunday. Hitting the front of each dry race early on in proceedings, Sykes finished ahead of HM Plant Honda's Ryuichi Kiyonari on each occasion.
Ian Lowry was drafted into the team for the weekend, getting to know his Ninja ZX-10R during practic before taking one tenth place finish and a pair of 11th places. These were more than creditable results for a rider still suffering from a lingering chest infection.
The Kawasaki Racing Team will now take a well-earned break before reforming to compete at round eleven of the Superbike World Championship, at the Nürburgring on September 5.
Tom Sykes: “It’s been great to race at Brands Hatch again as it’s a circuit I really love. There was quite a bit of pressure from myself to perform this weekend but we used this as a bit of a test. Up until last night things weren’t really going that well, then we went back to basics and made a few changes, which obviously seemed to work in today’s races. Hats off to the team and Paul Bird for pushing hard for us to come here as the results paid off and it just goes to show we’re not doing a bad job in where we are in the World Championship. It’s a nice pat on the back to the guys for all their hard work this year and really good for me to get the double. It has certainly put a smile on my face.”
Ian Lowry: “I was called on Thursday lunchtime to ride for the Kawasaki Superbike Team and I jumped at the opportunity, despite having been pretty ill the past week. I was thrown in the deep end a little but I really enjoyed riding the Kawasaki machine and on Friday I gelled with it straight away, and managed to do some good lap times. In Sunday’s races I wasn’t quite as comfortable due to my health but I’m pleased I was able to perform at this level having been out of racing most of the year.”
2010 Brands Hatch British Superbike Race Results
RACE 1: Saturday 7 August (two-part wet race - 18 laps)
1. Alistair Seeley (Suzuki)
2. Michael Rutter (Ducati)
3. Ryuichi Kiyonari (Honda)
4. Josh Brookes (Honda)
5. Tom Sykes (Kawasaki)
6. Michael Laverty (Suzuki)
7. James Ellison (Honda)
8. Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki)
9. John Laverty (Kawasaki)
10. Ian Lowry (Kawasaki)
RACE 2: Sunday 8 August (20 laps)
1. Tom Sykes (Kawasaki)
2. Ryuichi Kiyonari (Honda)
3. Michael Rutter (Ducati)
4. Michael Laverty (Suzuki)
5. James Ellison (Honda)
6. Tommy Hill (Suzuki)
7. Stuart Easton (Honda)
8. Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki)
9. Dan Linfoot (Yamaha)
10. Gary Mason (Kawasaki)
11. Ian Lowry (Kawasaki)
RACE 3: Sunday 8 August (20 laps)
1. Tom Sykes (Kawasaki)
2. Ryuichi Kiyonari (Honda)
3. Michael Rutter (Ducati)
4. Tommy Hill (Suzuki)
5. James Ellison (Honda)
6. Josh Brookes (Honda)
7. Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki)
8. Stuart Easton (Honda)
9. John Laverty (Kawasaki)
10. Simon Andrews (Kawasaki)
11. Ian Lowry (Kawasaki)