Hopkins and Brookes win at Silverstone
Added on Sunday, September 25th, 2011 by Carole Nash Editor
Hopkins and Brookes win at Silverstone
John Hopkins and Josh Brookes scored victories in this weekend’s British Superbike Championship adventure at Silverstone.
As the grid formed for the opening race of the day, drama followed HM Plant Honda’s Ryuichi Kiyonari from qualifying into race one. After being moved from the starting grid whilst his team changed a rear tyre he lined up in his original fourth row position, before taking a ride through penalty for not starting from the back of the grid.
Laverty jumped immediately into the lead as the first race began, a position he held until the closing stages. After trailing Laverty for many laps, John Hopkins was able to find a way into the lead on lap nine, where he stayed until the end.
As Hopkins was crowned the victor Laverty secured second place, ahead of Tommy Hill in third. Hopkins win gave him the championship lead as the field awaited race two.
Elsewhere, Josh Brookes was able to secure fourth place, ahead of Shane Byrne, who has worked his way through the field after a difficult qualifying session. Graeme Gowland and Alex Lowes followed in sixth and seventh places, whilst Michael Rutter, Martin Jessopp and Tommy Bridewell completed the top ten.
An eventful second race saw most of the championship contenders take a turn at leading the race, before Brookes settled in the winning position.
Hopkins slipped into the lead as the race got underway, before Laverty stole the position. With the title contenders battling for supremacy, a fierce fight unfolded throughout the remainder of the outing. However as the chequered flag fell, Brookes has elevated himself from his early seventh place to the head of the field.
Behind the Relentless Suzuki by TAS rider, Hill and Hopkins completed the podium, as the title fight edges closer to conclusion. Laverty eventually crossed the finish line in fourth place, ahead of Byrne in fifth.
Jon Kirkham fought to sixth place as he swept passed the chequered flag, ahead of Peter Hickman in seventh and Rutter in eighth. Bridewell again featured within the top ten with a ninth place finish, whilst Dan Linfoot secured the final top ten spot in tenth place.
As the BSB fiedl head into their final outing of the year at Brands Hatch in two weeks time, everyone is eager to see who will be crowned 2011 BSB Champion. Hopkins currently leads the way in the championship standings with 609 points, ahead of Byrne with 601 points and Hill with 568 points. Laverty and Brookes are currently joint in fourth place with 565 points, with Kiyonari sixth with 521 points.
