May 11th 2008

LAVERTY FOURTH AT BRANDS HATCH BSB

Michael Laverty continued his impressive Superbike form on the Relentless Suzuki GSX-R1000 at Brands Hatch at the weekend with a fourth-placed finish in race two.

In race one, after a superb start, he forced his way through to third before crashing out at Druids when hot on the heels of Tom Sykes in second place.

Ian Lowry had a tough weekend but battled bravely in today's Supersport race with a shoulder injury. Unfortunately he just lost out on a points-scoring finish after being forced to start his race from pit lane due to a front brake problem on the warm-up lap.

Michael Laverty:

"I made a great start in the opening race but I suppose I just pushed too hard and lost the front while shadowing Tom Sykes. In race two I proved I could run at the front with the likes of Shakey and Rutter, but again we suffered with the tyre spinning on the rim. Fourth place is a positive result for the team and the bike is working really well but I am a bit frustrated. As a team, we are probably surprising a few people but the Relentless Suzuki is proving to be a good package, and if we can iron out that small tyre problem I know I'm capable of getting on the podium. I have no doubt we will get more competitive as the season progresses."

Ian Lowry:

"That was not a good day at all. I had a problem with my brake adjuster on the out lap that left me with virtually no front brake, so I had to start the race from pit lane on my number two bike. I just couldn't get onto that middle group for some points and with my shoulder injury and riding my number two bike, I lost a bit of confidence. It's really a weekend to forget, but hopefully the bad luck will be shared about, and we can start again from the next round at Donington Park in two weeks time.

Philip Neill - Team Principal:

"It has been an indifferent weekend for the team, but again we can take a lot of positives from our races on the GSX-R1000 Relentless Suzuki. Progression is what we are looking for and we shouldn't forget it's our 'learning year' in BSB. Our target has been set for top-10 results, but again Michael has delivered a great performance in fourth place in race two. His lap times in both races were worthy of a top five placing, but I'm not going to criticise him for crashing in race one as he was giving 100%. He has beaten some top riders out there today and he's continuing to set his fastest ever lap times on the Relentless Suzuki Superbike - long may that continue.

"On the Supersport side it is clear that Ian had a few problems this weekend and his high-side in practice, where he suffered a shoulder injury, certainly hampered his progress in the race. He was also unfortunate to have a brake adjuster problem, which forced him to start the race from pit lane on his number two machine. From there the odds were stacked against him, but I'm sure it will only be a matter of time before he regains the form that made him a championship contender in 2007."