New podium finish for Greg Lavilla at Silverstone

© GSE Racing. The Airwaves Ducati team completed another good day at Silverstone, in round 3 of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship. Gregorio Lavilla finished in 5th and 2nd whilst Leon Haslam was 6th and 5th.

In race one Leon got a good start from second place on the grid and was leading by the end of the first lap. He held the lead until lap 8, when he was overtaken by Kiyonari who then pulled away at the front. Greg, who had worked his way up to 4th by the end of lap 6, made up a 2.4 second deficit to challenge his team mate and Chris Walker for the two remaining podium spots. However, in the second half of the race, the Airwaves Ducati’s were overtaken by Rea and Camier leaving Greg in 5th and Leon 6th at the chequered flag.

© GSE Racing. Both Leon and Greg had a good start to race two and were in 2nd and 6th at the end of the first lap. Greg then moved up to 4th and was closing in on 3rd place when he saw Shane Byrne collide with his team mates’ rear tyre. As a result Leon dropped to 6th and Greg moved into 2nd position and proceeded to close in on Kiyonari. Leon moved up into 5th and was catching Rea and Walker, when a red flag caused the race to be stopped and declared a result with Greg finishing 2nd.

As a tough weekend came to a close Leon Haslam was pleased with his results saying, “I am happy enough with today, I had a few problems in race one and having lost the lead I dropped back and finished up 6th but it gave me confidence for the second race. I got a good start in race two and was feeling good chasing Kiyo but getting bumped by Shakey caused me to fall back again. After that I was just starting to catch Jonny Rea and Chris Walker when the red flag came out leaving me in 5th. To be honest I am happy enough with that, after my crash on Friday I wasn’t sure if I would be racing so I am pleased with my weekend’s results and I am looking forward to Oulton Park.”

© GSE Racing. Championship leader Gregorio Lavilla was also pleased with his weekend saying, “In race one I did not get a very good start but I quickly got into my rhythm and I was feeling good. I reached Chris and Leon and kept pushing but ended up 5th. In race two I got a better start and then I was just behind Shakey when he went into the back of Leon. After that I had a clear track and again I was pushing hard to close the gap on Kiyo but the red flag meant I finished in 2nd. It was a shame because I was feeling good, but that is racing! I am now looking ahead to Oulton Park where I will aim for another good performance and hopefully a couple of podium finishes.”

Colin Wright summed up the weekend, “After Leon’s crash on Friday we were concerned he would be unable to sit on the bike, never mind qualify and race. However, Leon is so determined to mix it with Greg & Kiyonari that a small tip off was not going to prevent him from starting today. He performed very strongly considering the pain he was suffering. We made a bad decision with our Dunlop tyres for race one but Greg & Leon did superbly well under the circumstances & I’m proud of them for collecting as many points as they did. Greg proved what he could do in race two, with a lap time of 1’25.37, (6th tenths of a second faster than his qualifying lap!) We will be doing everything possible to help him get on the front row for the remaining races; this should make his job a little easier!”

Round 4 of the championship commences next weekend at Oulton Park.

Round 3 Results

Race One

1) Ryuichi Kiyonari – HM Plant Honda
2) Jonathan Rea – HM Plant Honda
3) Chris Walker – Rizla Suzuki
4) Leon Camier – Bike Animal Honda
5) Gregorio Lavilla – Airwaves Ducati
6) Leon Haslam – Airwaves Ducati

Race Two

1) Ryuichi Kiyonari – HM Plant Honda
2) Gregorio Lavilla – Airwaves Ducati
3) Jonathan Rea – HM Plant Honda
4) Chris Walker – Rizla Suzuki
5) Leon Haslam – Airwaves Ducati