Brits block out Assen podium
Added on Monday, April 26th, 2010 by Carole Nash Editor | No Comments
Brits block out Assen podium
The Assen podium was locked out by Brits this weekend, much to the delight of the huge number of travelling fans as Jonathan Rea, Leon Haslam, James Toseland and Leon Camier all made it to the rostrum in the Netherlands.
Ten Kate Honda rider Rea stole the show at the TT Circuit, claiming his first ever double victory after starting from pole to move up to third in the championship standings. And the 23-year-old could not hide his delight at the result, taking the time to thank the entire team after a busy week of testing and racing.
“You know, it’s been great, but I couldn’t have done it without my team; they gave me a fantastic bike today, so thanks to everyone – my crew chief, data guy, suspension guy, everyone involved,” said the Northern Irishman. “We changed the balance of the bike quite a lot for this weekend and it’s made it more comfortable to ride. I guess you could say that today’s two races were probably the smartest I’ve ever ridden; I never got frustrated or caught in traffic and, when it was time to pull the pin, I did, and I’m really, really happy with the double.
“It’s a clean sweep with pole position, a double win and, I think the fastest lap, so I’m as proud as punch and I can’t wait to take this home. I’m looking forward to getting back into the swing of things and going to Monza but we’ll definitely savour the moment and I’ll stick around the hospitality this evening and definitely buy the big boss a drink!”
Suzuki’s Leon Haslam extended his lead at the top of the championship to 20 points with a second place in race two after finishing a disappointing 11th in race one of what he described as a struggle of a weekend with some very competitive racing.
“It was very, very hard, but I am happy because I have extended my lead in the series,” he claimed. “In race one I had a problem with the front end and was struggling in 16th after five laps. I wasn’t sure if it was a brake problem, but when the bike was checked over after the race, the team discovered that air had escaped from the front tyre. It was a real struggle to keep going especially when I was with a couple of other riders, but I was determined to bring the bike home one way or another.
“The team changed the front discs and pads (in case they were part of the problem) for race two and I was able to do a normal race. It was a fantastic race, with plenty of close contact. Elbows were everywhere and we were close enough to touch each other’s handlebars. It was very hard, but fair, and we all enjoyed it a lot. It must have been great for the fans and of course, having both podiums filled by Brits was also great.”
Yamaha’s James Toseland continued his return to form with a second and a third place finish, recovering from 10th on the grid after replacing the Yamaha’s entire linkage system, putting in some superb laps throughout the weekend to move up to fifth in the championship.
“We’ve had another tough weekend, especially Friday and Saturday, but we’ve pulled through,” said a relieved Toseland. “Once again the team has worked fantastically well, especially this morning, we had a new linkage system on the rear end just to try and sort some issues and it seems to have worked. It’s been a long weekend but to come from tenth on the grid and get a second and a third, two podiums is just a great result for me and the team.
“It’s been coming slowly, we’ve come from far behind in the first two races so it’s fantastic to be up there at the front and fighting. There are a lot of Brits out there, and we’re all racing at the front and doing a great job, everybody deserves to be in it. I’ve had great support from my family and friends and want to thank everyone for supporting me in getting back to where I should be.”
Alitalia Aprilia’s Leon Camier was the fourth and final man to make the podium, with the reigning British Superbike champion claiming his best ever WSB finish with a third place in race one before crashing out of a promising position in the closing stages of race two.
But the Ashford rider was looking at things optimistically, believing that the result can help him kick start his season.
“I’m obviously very pleased with race one, my first WSBK podium, but crashing just two laps from the end of the second race really disappointed me,” he claimed. “In the second part of the race I was very fast, the tyres slipped, but that was the same for everyone.
“Unfortunately I lost a lot of time behind Toseland; he was riding in strange lines which made him very difficult to overtake. Once in third place I saw the gap with Haslam getting smaller and I wanted to push for it by braking late, but I lost the bike and crashed.”
“We’ll have to look at the glass as half full: we worked well, growing throughout the weekend, and this can’t help but favour us for the next races. This week we have plans to test in Misano and this will allow me increase my familiarity with my Aprilia.”
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