BSB Oulton: Camier Cruises to Double Victory

Oulton Park is a fine racetrack. As the name suggests, it is set in parkland, surrounded by forests and a lake. The tarmac twists and turns upwards and downwards, with so many blind corners that a guide dog would come in handy. Leon Camier stamped his authority all over the championship by taking both the wins in the British Superbike meeting.

Camier started from the front, having snatched pole position in the dying seconds of the qualifying session. The tall, laconic Englishman didn't make good starts, but was typically unflappable as he picked off his rivals, even surviving a scare on the grid for race two when an official claimed to have spotted fluid leaking from his Airwaves And Thanks To GSE Group And Jewson For Getting Me Here Yamaha (I think that's what he calls it).

The bike is still running with a tarted up road bike engine, with the full-on WSBK spec motor not appearing until team-boss Colin Wright takes an oxy-acetylene torch to the padlock on the GSE chequebook, probably when they reach a fast, non-twisty track where the extra 15 to 20 horse will be direly needed. You certainly wouldn't want to be going down the back straight at Snetterton 20 horse down on your rivals.

The fact that the youngster dominated the race meeting on a wheezing bike, despite being one of the biggest riders out there (either 6'2" or 6'3" depending on who you listen to, with about a foot of that being taken up by his giraffe-like neck) shows just how well he is riding. I had thought he would take a while to get back into the 4-cylinder groove after a year on V-twin Ducatis, but I was wrong about that. The new Yamaha R1's "bag of spanners" firing order gives it the best of both worlds, and it seems to suit Leon perfectly. I had picked Glen Richards for the title, and although the Aussie's consistency should help towards the end of the season, Camier is now looking like the favourite as he racks up the points early on.

Small Scotsman Stuart Easton took the lead early on in both races like some kind of mildly-overgrown Dani Pedrosa, but dropped down to fourth in the first race, and retired with electrical gremlins in race two. The Borders boy is certainly paying back the support of his fans, who have long claimed that he could do great things on a great bike.

His Hydrex Honda team-mate, Karl "Bomber" Harris had a better day. The Yorkshire bruiser had his personal trainer on the grid, presumably to stop him lying down and snaffling chocolate cakes before the races. It seemed to do the trick. Karl had horrible luck this time last year, but stayed on the bike and raced hard to climb onto the second step of the podium in both races. It was also a great result for Hydrex Honda, who have really rubbed the formerly factory HM Plant Honda team's nose in it.

Popular Frenchman Sylvain Guintoli was hugely impressive on his first race visit to Oulton, taking his Worx Suzuki to a pair of third places. Everyone agrees that this is a difficult track to learn, and nothing remotely like the MotoGP tracks that Sylvain is used to. Add to that the fact that the Suzuki is generally considered to shine on high speed tracks, and you have an excellent start to the season. Guintoli even came out with a bizarre story, claiming that he knew he would do well because he dreamed that his team boss Jack Valentine came down his chimney dressed as a blue Santa Claus, and handed him a trophy. Presumably, being French, Sylvain had been eating cheese before bedtime that day.

Other riders who stood out include Simon Andrews, who raced his Kawasaki brilliantly in the early stages of both races, despite being injured, before crashing in one and dropping down the field in the second.

Young Aussie Jason O'Halloran also punched above his weight on the SMT Honda, particularly in race one.

Gary Mason won the Cup class as usual on his Quay Garage Honda, embarrassing some of the riders from vastly richer teams.

Overall, it was a great day's racing, with the conditions staying pretty dry for the Superbikes. Camier looks like the favourite for the title, but it's a long way to the end of the season, and he knows better than most how badly things can go wrong mid-season. Still, the race for the title is already fascinating.

BSB: Double Joy for Sykes at Oulton Park

Tom Sykes blew the Ducati domination of this year's British Superbike Championship to shreds at Oulton Park with not just a debut win, but a debut double on the Rizla Suzuki.

Race 1
Cal Crutchlow had taken pole position ahead of Shakey Byrne, Tom Sykes and Leon Haslam. The 2nd Airwaves Ducati was missing after the giraffesque Leon Camier crashed heavily in qualifying . A wet race was declared, with the track damp and the clouds threatening, but all riders started on slicks. When the lights went out, Sykes took the holeshot. Behind his Suzuki were Leon Haslam, James Ellison and Karl Harris. Cal Crutchlow and Shane Byrne both made poor starts, and were 5th and 7th on the first lap.

James Ellison took the lead on lap 2, passing Sykes at the hairpin, running wide but cutting back down the banking. A 5-bike train soon developed, with Crutchlow up to 3rd ahead of Haslam and Harris. With the sun starting to shine, Sykes managed to outbrake Ellison for the lead, with the charging Crutchlow passing Ellison a lap later. Shakey Byrne was now up to speed, and on lap 10 the race would explode into controversy. Karl Harris ran wide at the hairpin, but when he cut back he was clobbered by Byrne's Ducati. Shakey had gone for a gap that wasn't really there, and Harris was punted off his bike into the scenery while the Ducati wobbled but carried on. Would the stewards have the guts to punish Byrne like they did to Haslam when he accidentally punted off Sykes at the same track a few months ago? Nope. What was the difference between the two incidents? Who knows?...

Read the rest of this review of the BSB action from Oulton Park at Motorbikesport.co.uk, where my race reports for this weekend's racing are appearing. The site has news, reviews, a forum and all the great galleries you'd expect from a site run by a pro photographer.

BSB Oulton Park: Shakey Shines Again

Shakey Byrne did the double at an Oulton Park meeting that had more red flags than a "voluntary" government-organized parade in Beijing.

Race 1 was red-flagged after just 1 corner of racing. On the sighting lap, the riders discovered that it was tipping down rain around the back of the track. When they got back to the grid, they all sat looking each other. Just to spice things up, some clown extinguished the red lights and started the race. They all shrugged their shoulders and took off, several of them actually getting round turn 1. Tom Sykes was among those who ended up on his backside, and not for the last time...

When the race was re-started, everybody was on wet tyres. Shakey Byrne won after working his way through the pack and inheriting the lead when polesitter Cal Crutchlow tried too hard and ran his HM Plant Honda off the track. Tom Sykes impressed on the Rizla Suzuki, but his challenge evaporated when he went straight on at a chicane. Leon Haslam on the other HM Plant machine got faster and faster as the track dried, sticking his nose briefly ahead of Byrne's Ducati only to run wide. The wily old fox managed to frustrate young Haslam's ambitions by being quick where it mattered and slow where it didn't, and Shakey took his 2nd win of the season.

Unluckiest man in the paddock Karl Harris tried a little bit too hard and fell off in the tricky drying conditions, his bike carrying on valiantly without him for a few seconds just in case there were any more flying Rizla Suzukis in the vicinity. Harris was battered but OK, and luckily is the only person tough enough to brave the wrath of his team boss Rob Mac without fleeing the country.

Race 2 was where things got really interesting, as the weather had dried out and some real racing could take place. Shakey Byrne didn't have a great start, but things went from bad to worse when he nearly crashed and ended up having to take a short cut around a chicane. When he finally found a gear low enough to take off again, he was in 13th place, but happy not to have fallen off.

Tom Sykes continued to show why he's one of the highest rated youngsters in the paddock by leading the race in fine style. Unfortunately, he was still leading when he was assaulted from nowhere by HM Plant Honda's Leon Hazard. Sorry, that's Leon Bedlam. Young Bedlam went for a gap that wasn't there, and the hapless Sykes tipped the bike in only to find a Honda Fireblade slamming into him like a freight train. He was distraught as the bike flipped over and landed in a steaming heap in the grass, his first victory having been ripped out of his hands. Bedlam ran off the track and carried on, but was excluded from the race by the stewards, who have had just about enough of this pair colliding.

At least Karl Harris wasn't nearby to get whacked by the flying Suzuki this time, although he managed to fall off a few laps later just to bring a few more tears to Rob Mac's eyes. Harris and the Yamaha are both hugely impressive this year in terms of pace, but whenever they don't get crashed into, they do it themselves. A little patience and "Bomber" will start racking up some serious points to add to his current total of zero.

The red flags appeared once again, waving all over the place like a 1980's Labour Party conference, after Cal Crutchlow crashed all on his own again, this time sustaining a dislocated ankle. (Yowwww!!!) So far this year, Crutchlow is damned quick, sometimes a bit too quick. He certainly looks like he has team-mate Leon Bedlam under control, so long as he can stay on the bike. In addition to Crutchlow's crash, two of the privateers had also visited the scenery on the same lap. With marshals all over the place dragging bikes to safety and medics attending Crutchlow on the outside of a terrifyingly fast corner, the red flags were fully justified. Hopefully the quacks will be able to pop Cal's ankle back together and get him out for the next race.

Shakey Byrne had a brilliant race, picking off everybody one by one and showing he can win from the front, or from close to the back. The Ducati is perfectly suited to Oulton, and Shakey is perfectly suited to the Ducati, keeping it nice and smooth and using the thunderous torque of the big V-twin.

James Ellison finished 2nd on his Honda, to the joy of his many fans and the amazement of anyone who ever saw him race in MotoGP. Although a lot of people fell off in front of him, Ellison was actually very close to the pace of the leaders, so it wasn't a total fluke by any means.

Leon "Giraffe" Camier finished 3rd to complete his brace of podiums. Very impressive, considering that he hurt himself horribly last year, and hurt himself a bit more in pre-season testing. He's doing well to stay anywhere near the pace of a Ducati-meister like Shakey.

This season is turning out to be really interesting. Not the championship battle, Shakey Byrne will win that at a canter. It's the quality of racing. Sykes and Crutchlow have been brilliant, and the chaos that's following Leon Bedlam this year has just added spice to the mix. Next time out it's "Round One" from Brands, and there are scores to settle...

BSB Oulton: Great Weather For Michelins

Oulton Park is a twisty, hilly, narrow racetrack. Exactly the kind of place where you don't want horrible weather, but that's what riders were faced with when the British Superbike Championship arrived there.
The Michelin wet weather dominance was carried over from Knockhill, with the HM Plant Honda riders taking a win each. They also shared near-identical crashes, so both left with 25 points, meaning Ryuichi Kiyonari maintains his slim championship lead over his team-mate Johnny Rea.
In Race One, former champ Greg Lavilla made it round one corner before falling off his Airwaves Ducati. It was the worst possible moment to be sliding along the track, surrounded by other riders and hidden in the heavy spray. Inevitably, one of the racers simply didn't see the Spanish star until way too late. Lavilla was run over, taking a heavy blow to the ribs but luckily nothing more serious. The safety car was deployed while medics looked after the Ducati rider and marshals cleared up the track.
Johnny Rea charged off after the restart, picking up where he left off at Knockhill. He lost the lead when he had a huge moment on the exit of the fast right-hander, Druids. His on-bike camera showed the Honda was well sideways and having a good try at throwing the Ulsterman over the handlebars. Somehow, Rea held onto it, and ran over the grass before rejoining in 3rd place. The bike was giving Johnny a subtle hint that he might like to be a bit lighter on the throttle at that point, but he wasn't going to let a machine tell him who's boss. A couple of laps later he did the exact same thing, only this time the Honda went even further sideways and flung him over the highside. He staggered away from the wreck and collapsed, winded, but with his recently repaired knee still intact.
HM Plant Honda team-mate Kiyonari took the opportunity to disappear into the wide grey yonder never to be seen again. He won by over 20 seconds, showing that you really need Michelins when the weather is like this.
Behind him, the other Hondas were also looking quick. Stobart Honda's Tom Sykes and Hydrex Honda's Karl Harris were battling with Walker for a podium spot when Sykes lowsided out of the race. Harris's charge was ended when he had a similar crash.
Leon Haslam was running in a clear 2nd place on his Airwaves Ducati when his tyre started to go south, eventually getting beaten into 4th by the battling duo of Shakey Byrne (Stobart Honda) and Chris Walker (Rizla Suzuki).
Race Two saw another great start from Johnny Rea, but he was soon overtaken by his team-mate Kiyonari. Unsurprisingly, Rea was taking things a bit easy and letting Kiyo run at his own pace, but he must have been amazed when the Japanese rider proceeded to have the exact same crash that the Ulsterman himself had had in the first race. Maybe the HM Plant Honda engine mapping was a tad harsh for that corner, because when Kiyonari got on the gas the bike slewed sideways and threw him over the top. Kiyo gamely hung onto the clutch for as long as possible, but the bike flipped over and was well and truly trashed.
Rea took things relatively easy, winning by just 12 seconds and celebrating with a cheeky pair of imaginary binoculars, looking for the rest of the field.
Behind him, Karl Harris finally managed to kick start his season with a flawless 2nd place. The big bruiser was overcome with emotion as he stood on the podium as the first Dunlop runner on a day when Michelin were unbeatable (as long as you kept them on the ground and not 3 feet above it, facing the sky).
Shakey Byrne took 3rd for his second podium finish of the meeting, a good day for the ex-champion.
Leon Haslam was 4th again, but this time it was an amazing performance. He seemed to be stopping at one point, apparently having found a false neutral. His left foot was flapping up and down as he struggled to find a gear, but he eventually picked up the pace again. Incredibly, it was later revealed that he had lost 3rd gear, so couldn't get to 4th or 5th and was forced to battle on with just 1st and 2nd gears available. Oulton in the rain was just slow and twisty enough for Haslam to get away with this great display of riding round a major problem.
Overall it was a great display from Michelin, who were untouchable. That is not to say that it was easy to win on Michelin tyres, as both Rea and Kiyo showed when they visited the Twilight Zone with their identical highsides at Druids. HM Plant Honda still dominate the championship, while their arch rivals Airwaves Ducati struggle. The Michelin tyres are proving to be a massive advantage in this British "summer". Greg Lavilla must have broken a few mirrors lately, and his wet-weather confidence has evaporated. Shakey and Stalker have both hit form, and it was great to see Karl Harris showing just how much that podium visit meant to him.

BSB Oulton Park: Wins for Lavilla and Kiyonari

The British Superbike meeting at Oulton Park produced some hard racing, as riders fought tooth and nail for positions one of the most narrow, twisting and undulating tracks on the calendar.
The usual suspects were at the sharp end, with Lavilla and Kiyonari taking a win each.
In race one, the Spaniard and his Japanese rival were joined by Leon Haslam in the fight for victory. Haslam seems to have conquered his tyre and setup problems after a slow start to the season, and is right back on the form he showed last year.
Kiyo led into turn one, and as the pack sorted themselves out it became a race between his HM Plant Honda and the two Airwaves Ducatis of Haslam and Lavilla. The Spaniard was in a determined mood, scything past Kiyonari to lead the race. His English team-mate was just as fired up, and vaulted into the lead. Behind them, Kiyo was having trouble braking hard enough to pass the Ducatis, pulling alongside several times but failing to pull off the pass.
Lavilla is usually a very fair and smooth rider, but his pass on Haslam for the lead was straight from the playbook of his compatriot Toni Elias. As Leon took his usual, slightly wide entry to the steeply banked Shell Oils corner, Greg launched his bike down the inside, crunching into his team-mate's fairing. Haslam was forced to lift the bike up, and Lavilla accelerated into first place. It was a firm but fair move, with emphasis on the word "firm". Unlike Valentino Rossi in the Elias MotoGP incident, Haslam made no complaint about his rough treatment. Most people agree that shoving your team-mate into the gravel is well out of order, but forcing him to lift the bike up a bit in a corner is perfectly fair. However, it was still a surprise to see such an aggressive pass between the two Ducatis.
Lavilla took the victory, with Haslam finishing second. Perhaps wisely, Kiyonari took 3rd place, deciding not to attempt a heroic last-lap manoeuvre on Haslam, who must still have been fuming. Behind them, Johnny Rea took a respectable 4th place, with Tom Sykes 5th ahead of his team-mate Shakey Byrne. Sykes is quietly putting together an impressive debut season on the Stobart Honda. His fellow rookie Leon Camier started well but faded with tyre problems.
Race two started strangely, with the track slightly damp and nobody quite sure how hard to push. The two losers were Lavilla and Rea, who were miles down the order by the end of lap one. The surprise leader was Tom Sykes, capitalising on a front row start, but he was soon overhauled by another surprise leader, Tommy Hill. The Virgin Media Yamaha rider has had a torrid start to the season, despite a great qualifying result at Thruxton. There are dark rumours that his tyre suppliers, Pirelli, are concentrating too much on making consistent tyres for the whole WSBK field, and not enough on quick tyres for BSB. Hill was at the sharp end of the pack for most of the race, but cruelly started to drop back in later laps, finishing 7th. Haslam was first to pass Hill, followed by Kiyonari, who was looking fast but erratic. Sure enough, Kiyo sailed past Haslam into the lead and pulled out a small gap. After a titanic struggle, Shakey Byrne managed to pass Hill for 3rd spot.
Behind the leaders, Lavilla and Rea were having incredible races, with both of them giving brilliant displays of speed and controlled aggression. Lavilla kept setting fastest laps as he sliced through the field, finishing a breathtaking 4th after being around 15th on lap 1. Johnny Rea was doing the same, eventually snatching 5th place by slaughtering Sykes and Hill on the last lap. Rea is not yet the finished article in terms of consistency, but his racecraft was flawless as he battled through the field.
Gregorio Lavilla still leads the championship, but Ryuichi Kiyonari has taken 3 wins from the last 4 races. The championship battle looks to be between the current and previous British Superbike champions, but the youngsters in their first and second years of BSB are really starting to turn heads.