Josh Waters didn’t let inclement weather or a trip to the medical centre hamper his bank holiday weekend at Cadwell Park, with the Tyco Suzuki rider taking a brace of fifth placed finishes – moving him into ninth place in the championship standings, one place ahead of his team-mate John Hopkins.
Hopkins, suffering from a badly fractured left foot after his crash at Oulton Park a fortnight ago, sat out race two at Cadwell after bravely taking three points from race one.
Josh Waters:
“I was happy again to improve throughout the weekend at Cadwell. To qualify on the second row and then to finish in the top five in both races was really good for me. Cadwell Park is a very unique circuit, so again I was happy to be competitive. Big thanks to my crew and team Tyco Suzuki. Now I’ll rest up and recover after my get off and look ahead to Donington Park.”
John Hopkins:
“I hate to let anyone down, but I had to make the decision to sit out the second race due to the foot being too sore. I was not able to put enough pressure on the footpeg to generate rear grip, making it far too dangerous. I have very high expectations going into Donington Park and the remaining rounds this season – so I want to be as close to 100% to meet those expectations. I want to thank the team for giving me the best bike possible this weekend and I’m just sorry I wasn’t able to finish it off. But to my team and the fans I have every intention of making up for it at Donington and beyond.”
Taylor Mackenzie came through from the sixth row of the grid to take seventh place in the feature Supersport race on his Tyco Suzuki GSX-R600. The Scottish rider holds ninth place in the championship standings.
Taylor Mackenzie:
“Well after the weekend we’ve had I was really happy to come away with a seventh place today. Starting 17th on the grid was never going to be easy, so to come away with some decent points is probably the best of a bad weekend. I really cannot wait to get to the next three tracks as they should suit both me and my GSX-R600. I hope we can finally have some good luck and be on the podium, which is where I want to be.”
Philip Neill – Team Manager:
“Cadwell in those conditions is a treacherous place to compete, so big credit to Josh for his two top-six finishes, especially race two where he picked himself up after a nasty crash to battle at the sharp end once again on the Tyco Suzuki GSX-R1000 Superbike.
“John did his best to come back after the Oulton injury and qualified well, but the physical nature of the Cadwell Park circuit was just a little too soon for him. Of course we are disappointed, but so is John, and we are all looking forward to Donington Park in a fortnight’s time where we hope all three riders can put in strong performances.”
British Superbike Championship, race two result:
1. Peter Hickman (Honda)
2. Shane Byrne (Kawasaki) +3.398s
3. Tommy Bridewell (Yamaha) +12.886s
4. Gary Mason (Kawasaki) +18.282s
5. Josh Waters (Tyco Suzuki) +24.701s
6. Jon Kirkham (Kawasaki) +28.781s
7. Glen Richards (Kawasaki) +29.031s
8. Chris Walker (Kawasaki) +32.093s
9. Ben Wilson (Kawasaki) +32.357s
10. Michael Rutter (BMW) +33.034s
via Team Suzuki Press Office
