Tyco BMW recorded five podium finishes from the opening weekend of the season at Silverstone, with Michael Laverty’s opening BSB race win from the second row, backed up by a double podium from Christian Iddon – his first in BSB – and our Superstock riders also in podium action.
Laverty suffered cruel luck in race two when a leaking radiator cap put an embargo on a potential double victory, but despite the disappointment at finishing sixth after leading, he still holds second place in the championship standings.
His team-mate Christian Iddon recorded his first two podiums in the British Superbike series with third placed finishes in both races and holds the same place in the championship standings after round one.
The Superstock 1000cc class also produced some top class racing with Tyco BMW duo Josh Elliott and Ian Hutchinson finishing second and third after swapping positions on a number of occasions on their S1000RR machines. A great result for Hutchy at Silverstone after his career threatening injury at the same circuit six years ago.
Michael Laverty: “I’m obviously happy with the race one win but also very disappointed, as I feel that was a great chance to take a double win away this weekend. Water started appearing on my visor and I thought it was raining. I braked early and Hickman and Shakey came past and I was thinking ‘where is this rain coming from?’ I lost too much ground until I actually figured out that it wasn’t raining. I brought it home, but it was frustrating not to do the double today, but on a positive note we were able to show in race one what we are capable of doing; getting to the front and controlling it to take the win on the Tyco BMW.”
Christian Iddon: “It was an awesome weekend from start to finish. The team improved my Tyco BMW S1000RR session on session despite difficult conditions. If we factor in a couple of poor starts, to pull out a double podium was superb, which justifies the hard work we put in during pre-season. I said I wanted a solid start to 2016 with Tyco BMW and that will do just nicely.”
Ian Hutchinson: “I was a bit tentative at the start as I didn’t want to get caught up in anything stupid, but once Josh got past Rutter I knew I had to get past Kennaugh and go with them if I’d any chance of a podium. Towards the end of the race the others were struggling on worn tyres and I felt pretty comfortable. I’m happy with the podium for Tyco BMW on my debut and I know where we can improve for the next round, but what a way to avenge what happened here six years ago. Thanks to the whole team for the effort.”
Josh Elliott: “All things considered it was a fun race today. I got a decent start from the third row and chipped my way through. Once I’d got up to second I new Taylor [Mackenzie] was probably too far up the road to catch him, so I settled for second but Hutchy came back past me, which was a bit of a surprise. He was nice and smooth and I enjoyed riding with him and I’m happy enough with second place after the day we had yesterday. It was a good day all round for the Tyco BMW team and very enjoyable to be part of.”
Philip Neill – Team Manager: “It’s great to enjoy such a strong start to our season and credit must go to our riders and crew for the hard work over the past few months. The BMW S1000RR is working really well both in Superbike and Superstock specification. As we enter our second campaign together with BMW we are beginning to display the potential of a great package, which leaves us excited about the year ahead.
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www.tycobmw.com