Camier ends season with a magic 19
Added on Sunday, October 11th, 2009 by Carole Nash Editor
Camier ends season with a magic 19
Leon Camier ended his 2009 British Superbike Championship winning season with his nineteenth victory of the year, in the final race at Oulton Park this afternoon.
As in the previous two races at the Cheshire circuit, Stuart Easton made another good start, as did his Hydrex Honda teammate, Tommy Hill. Josh Brookes, powered by his HM Plant Honda, soared to third as the lights went out, however after getting caught out on the kerb exiting Old Hall he lost out, dropping down the order slightly.
As the field headed down the Avenue towards Cascades Simon Andrews and Alistair Seeley were involved in a fierce crash which saw both of them fly off into the gravel. It was reported that Seeley was battered and bruised and had a suspected broken finger, however Andrews lost consciousness as a result of the accident. He was given medical attention trackside and soon regained consciousness, but was taken to the circuit’s medical centre to be checked over.
As a result of this the Safety Car was deployed, followed by an almost immediate red flag. The restarted race was reduced to a twelve lap dash to the flag, due to bring more action.
Easton and Tommy Hill again both enjoyed strong starts, however this time it was Hill who got the better of his teammate, leading the field around Old Hall. By the time they had reached Cascades Camier had worked his way up into second, demoting Easton to third.
By the second lap Camier had fought his way past Hill into the lead, however Hill and Easton weren’t about to let him walk away so easily. This leading trio soon edged out a gap to their pursuers, while behind, James Ellison, Josh Brookes and Chris Walker were enjoying a tough fight for fourth.
Back up at the front, Easton was trying his hardest to find his way past his Hydrex Honda teammate, Hill, but the latter wasn’t having any of it. Easton tried out-braking him at every opportunity, even trying an impressive move around the inside into the Knickerbrook Chicane, but to no avail. On lap five his Honda got caught on the kerb on the inside of Brittains, resulting in Easton sliding off and onto the grass, immediately into retirement. Despite losing out on a potential podium place finish this was Easton’s first crash all season – giving the Scotsman something to be extremely proud about.
Further afield, young Irishman Ian Lowry was involved in a thrilling tussle with fellow Irishman John Laverty and Sylvain Guintoli, with Lowry putting in one of his most impressive performances of the season. Shortly afterwards Laverty suffered the same fate as Easton, succumbing to the same race-ending kerb. This took the presure off of the rear of Lowry’s Relentless Suzuki, allowing him to really concentrate on pursuing Guintoli – a move he perfected on the final lap.
Front-runner Ellison suddenly began dropping backwards through the field by this stage, constantly checking behind him as if looking to source the problem. It seemed as though his race had been run, however he managed to keep is Airwaves Yamaha going until the chequered flag.
As the chequered flag swept down for the final time this season, Camier secured his nineteenth victory of the year, followed by an extremely ecstatic Hill in second, with Brookes third. After soaring through the field Lowry rode to a notable fourth place, also giving him fifth overall in the final championship standings, while Guintoli was awarded fifth. Julien Da Costa finished sixth, with Chris Walker, Glen Richards, Tommy Bridewell and Gary Mason completing the top ten.
Ellison eventually finished twelfth after suffering earlier problems. It was a difficult day for the Yamaha rider, as an engine blow out this morning meant he was forced to use the spare bike for both of today’s races.
Commenting on yet another triumph, 2009 BSB Champion, Camier, said: “That was an awesome race for me and I wanted to end the season with a win. I have to thank the whole Airwaves Yamaha team as they have been my strength and I couldn’t have done it without them. I owe this all to them as they have made my dream come true this season and I couldn’t have asked for anything more.”
Second placed Hill said: “I’m absolutely over the moon with the weekend, it was great to have three chances as well because normally it’s just a two race weekend. It’s fantastic, absolutely over the moon, to come back from the injuries that I had the year before, and to come back fighting strong. Obviously now it’s all trying to get a ride and there are politics involved here and there, but absolutely over the moon and the pace of the race as well. Me and Leon broke away, I wanted to stay with Leon but he rode well. Roll on next year, if I can gel with a team and build a relationship I’m going to fight for the championship next year. That is the plan, so hopefully we can build on this. It’s been a fantastic year, roll on 2010.”
Third placed Brookes commented: “I was riding as hard as I could but I wasn’t making any ground on the guys in front but I had a big gap to fourth behind me. It’s still good to be on the podium though, yesterday I had a DNF with an electrical fault, and I rode lousy this morning; it was like group suicide, one race off of the podium and it’s like the end of the world, so I won’t complain about coming third anymore, because anything less than third is even worse. Just a big thanks for the HM Plant Honda team, without a doubt they’ve been good for me this year. The team have stuck by me all through the hard times.”
Mirror.co.uk Cup winner, Bridewell said: “The race was good, really, really hard; I ran on at the chicane and went straight across the grass, dropped to dead last and still managed to pull it up to tenth, so it was good. But my slow down lap was the most dangerous part; I picked up one of my old friends James Hillier and we accidently managed to sort of hit two other riders on the way back to the pits, I’m sure they’ll be alright. It was good to get the cup win and good to put it in the top ten.”
