Reigning champion Josh Elliott took his first win of the season in the Pirelli National 1000cc Superstock class on Sunday [September 11] for Tyco BMW at Oulton Park, making it eight wins from ten races for BMW’s all-conquering S1000RR.
Elliott, who has been nursing a whiplash injury all weekend – that he suffered in a cycling training incident – hit the front on lap two and set the pace until lap 10 of 14, when he was passed by his Tyco BMW team-mate and championship contender Ian Hutchinson.
Playing the supporting team-mate role was then the optimum goal for Elliott, but when Hutchinson crashed out in an incident caused by series leader Taylor Mackenzie at the final corner on the final lap, Elliott swooped in to take the win for Tyco BMW.
Josh Elliott: “Leading for so many laps and setting the pace was not really the best plan for tyre life, but as much as I wanted the win, I was also ready to play the supporting role to Hutchy if required. I had a bit of a moment at about half distance and really tweaked my neck and lost a bit of momentum, but hung on as best I could despite being in pain and discomfort.
“When the boys went down in front of me at the end I was able to take the win. The team made a big step forward for me this weekend with the Tyco BMW S1000RR package and although the championship is beyond me at this stage, I would like to finish the season on a high at Donington and Brands Hatch with something similar.”
Ian Hutchinson: The Tyco BMW team did another great job for me preparing a race winning package for Oulton Park and I’m disappointed that it was taken away from us in the incident at the last corner. On a positive note, it’s now only four days until we ride again in the opening session at Donington Park and I’ll be looking for that win again on Sunday.”
In the British Superbike class, despite a valiant effort in race three of the triple-header weekend, where he finished fourth from the sixth row of the grid, Michael Laverty narrowly missed on making the top six Showdown. His opening race crash on Sunday [race 2], on the final lap, was a bitter blow for the Ulsterman and his Tyco BMW team, but it will not stop them from looking for more race wins in the final six races this season. Christian Iddon took 11th and 9th placed finishes on Sunday after crashing out of race one on Saturday.
Michael Laverty: Dropping out of the Showdown on the very last race is a bitter pill to swallow. I made one small mistake clipping a kerb on the last lap of race one on Sunday and crashed out, otherwise I’d done everything needed this weekend to stay in the Showdown. I dug deep in that final race; that was all I had but it wasn’t quite enough. We have had a few difficult rounds of late and on Sunday we learned a few things that we will take into these last three rounds and make sure we get the Tyco BMW back on the top step of the podium.”
Christian Iddon: “Clearly not the weekend we wanted, but we have made a good step in my view with the bike and that showed with the fastest lap in the final race. It is tough to not be in the Showdown as, as a team I really feel we deserve it. It is hard to take when we have all worked so hard towards a common goal, but that is the situation, so now it’s time to re-focus and show what we are capable of in the final few races this season.”
Philip Neill – Team Manager: “It was very pleasing to see Josh back on top of the podium and showing the kind of speed he had at the start of the year. Hutchy was obviously set for his third race win of the year before being taken out by his championship rival in a desperate last corner manoeuvre.
“There is no way of hiding our disappointment at not reaching the Showdown stage of this year’s British Superbike Championship, after having made the top six at this stage during each of the six years the system has been in operation. We were also the only team with two riders in the top six last year. As we have said many times before, we enjoy success together as a team and we share the disappointments as a team.
It is clear our team tried everything possible to support our riders and I know both riders tried their best at Oulton to achieve the results required, however, it is unfortunate that crashes for both riders ended our chances. We know the BMW S1000RR is more than capable of running at the front and we appreciate the continued support of both Tyco Security Products and BMW Motorrad. Our goal now is very clear: to win some races before the end of the season.”
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