World Supersport Championship
After a thrilling 22-lap Supersport race at Donington Josh Brookes (Hannspree Stiggy Motorsports Honda CBR600RR) gave his team their first win, as he himself took his second career win in this class. Having qualified fourth, Brookes was in a race-long contest with fellow Honda riders Andrew Pitt (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR) and Jonathan Rea (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR) with Barry Veneman’s Suzuki falling off the leading pace towards the final few laps.
All three top Honda riders took their turn to lead, but at the end Brookes had the final game plan that put him 0.872 seconds ahead of 15th place qualifier Pitt, and 4.846 seconds up on fellow front row rider Rea. Matthieu Lagrive was on pole on Saturday, in the wet conditions that affected every single session before the largely dry race itself, but the Frenchman slipped back in the race to ninth.
In the championship the three Donington podium finishers hold the top positions also, with Pitt on 169 points, Brookes now second on 137, and Rea third on 133.
Robbin Harms (Hannspree Stiggy Motorsports Honda CBR600RR) qualified 12th in the wet and raced to sixth in the dry, while 16th place qualifier Gianluca Nannelli (Hannspree Althea Honda CBR600RR) equalled that performance in the race, just missing out on points. Russell Holland (Hannspree Althea Honda CBR600RR) got tangled with another rider on lap two and failed to finish.
A tribute to the late Craig Jones, who lost his life after a crash at Brands Hatch, was held before the first Superbike race of the day. His great friend and regular Hannspree Althea Honda rider Tommy Hill did a slow lap on the number 18 Parkalgar Honda ridden by Jones this year, to the applause of the British crowd.
Brookes said:
"Today was great, I had a great bike to race with and I rode my best to finish on the top. I got a good start and felt really comfortable. The guys in front were not as fast as I was expecting so I was quite surprised. I put my head down and I felt really secure that I was able to fight for the win. I had a few moments but as I got comfortable again I focused on riding perfect laps and before I knew it I was right behind Pitt.
I stayed behind and two laps before the finish I passed and brought home the victory. I’m really happy, especially since we didn't have any dry practice this weekend. I was really thankful that we found such a good dry race set-up. I want to thank the team for hard work and for giving me the right tools to win today. I also would like to dedicate this win to the memory of Craig Jones."
Pitt said:
"I thought I’d done enough but Josh had a little bit more at the end, I guess. I’m happy enough after the problems we had in qualifying yesterday, and starting from the fourth row was always going to be hard work. But it was made easier by the team, who put a great bike underneath me, so big thanks to them."
Rea said:
"I’ll take third today, because I didn’t really have enough to match the two guys in front of me. But the team’s been fantastic after all the wet weather this weekend and the bike was brilliant. I was trying to win the race as much for my good friend, Craig Jones, as for myself. Maybe that was the problem today."
Harms said:
"My start was OK, but I had two near highsides on the first lap, one was so big I hit my head on the screen and broke it. I was really lucky not to crash but I lost a few positions and also my confidence and rhythm. Now I need to start focusing on the next race and make good results."
Nannelli said:
"Today was definitely not a good day. I had a bad start and I lost a lot of time trying to pass some slow riders. From the very beginning of the race I experienced a problem with the front suspension and it was impossible for me to pursue the riders in front of me."
Holland said:
"It’s hard to explain just how disappointed I am. After a good start, I was feeling quite comfortable and confident on the bike. I tried to overtake Kallio him on the inside but I touched his bike and we crashed. I'm feeling pain in my wrist and I have a swollen eye, but hopefully I’ll be able to race in Vallelunga. I’d like to apologize to my team as I’ve created a lot of extra work for them."
On September 21st the WSS competitors gather at Vallelunga in Italy for round 11 of the championship.
-Honda -
More reports from this category all copyright automobilsport.com.
