Oulton; Lavilla Wins Two from Two
Added on Sunday, April 30th, 2006 by Carole Nash Editor
Oulton; Lavilla Wins Two from Two
Another super smooth performance by Gregorio Lavilla saw the Spanish racer take a double win from Oulton’s BSB round today, whilst his rivals struggled for consistency.
Lavilla won race 1, with Shakey Byrne battling hard to secure 2nd place, despite not being anywhere near tip-top physical condition. Haslam settled for 3rd and Haydon stayed on the bike - for a change - to make 4th place.
Race 2 saw Rutter, Harris, Lavilla and Byrne charge away in an epic scrap, after pole-sitter Haslam stalled on the line and had to start from the back of the grid. Haslam went on to hack his way up to the top ten, but the race at the front was between Harris and Lavilla, with the reigning BSB champ always looking like he was in control.
In spite of Harris taking some bold lines on the last two laps to try his damndest to make an overtake stick, Lavilla kept his cool and repeatedly slipped back into the lead, snatching victory by a few hundredths of a second on the line. Harris should be pleased that he alone looked capable of beating Lavilla, and that he was in another league to Kiyonari in race two.
Ulsterman Jonny Rea proved his skill by picking off top names one by oine until he secured 3rd place at the flag, with Byrne looking gutted to settle for 4th place. Kiyonari rode well, after a poor start, to finish in 5th, just ahead of Rutter on the privateer Honda.
The series is already looking a bit dull, as Lavilla can’t seem to be spooked into making any kid of error, which will cost him serious points. Barring a Ducati mechanical breakdown or three, or an amazing comeback by Shakey Byrne, the series looks far too settled for such an early stage of the season.
