Round six of the British Superbike Championship at Thruxton didn’t quite produce the results or fulfil the expectations of all three Tyco Suzuki riders, but with more information logged, it’s all about forward planning for Oulton Park this coming weekend.
John Hopkins produced a pair of eighth placed finishes for his weekend’s efforts, with Josh Waters taking 12th place in race two, which bettered his race one performance of 17th.
In the British Supersport class Taylor Mackenzie crashed out of Sunday’s action but took eighth place in Saturday’s sprint race.
John Hopkins:
“I did everything possible and rode as hard as I could to get away with the lead group in both races, but unfortunately we didn’t have the speed down the multiple straights to pass the guys ahead. In the draft we no doubt had the pace to run at the front and we’ve made steps to close the gap, but still weren’t able to achieve the results we all are looking for as a team.”
Josh Waters:
“It was a tough weekend. In race two I was much better, moving forward and getting to 10th place before the red flag. The re-start was good to begin with but midway through I had an off feeling with the rear tyre. I kept battling throughout the race and all I can say is, I’m looking forward to Oulton where I’ll be looking to get back up to the sharp-end with the Tyco Suzuki team.”
Taylor Mackenzie:
“I was disappointed to crash out of race two, as I feel like it’s one of the best Supersport races I’ve ridden. It was the best I’ve been on the first two laps, which helped me massively. I’m looking forward to getting back out at Oulton Park now and really showing what I can do on the GSX-R600.”
Philip Neill – Team Manager:
“Although Thruxton did not deliver the results we were hoping for, once again we have some positives to take away from the round. John showed his ability with some impressive lap times in various sessions during the weekend; we just need to work on our consistency.
“We will continue to work as hard as possible for our next race at Oulton Park where we will be hoping to see an improvement on our current results. Taylor is starting to look like a top-five contender in the Supersport class and I believe he can now start to make the step forward and be consistently in that number for the rest of the year.”
via Team Suzuki Press Office
