Recently by Burning Rubber

British Superbikes, by Zoe Burn

IT seems like just two minutes ago when we all headed south to Brands Hatch as the 2008 season started in earnest - yet here we are seven months later with just two days until the chequered flag falls for the last time.

And when the final Superbike does cross the line at around 5pm on Sunday afternoon, it will be the end of an era as we bid a fond farewell to some of the UK's top riders.

In the biggest shake-up BSB has seen for some years, many of the fans favourites will wave goodbye this weekend, as they head out to the world scene.

Newly-crowned champ Shane "Shakey" Byrne is looking to end his stint with Airwaves Ducati on a high on his local track.

"It's my home circuit, and I can just go out there and enjoy myself knowing that the Championship is mine," he said. "I really hope I can sign the season off in style and I'm going to be pushing 100% to get back onto the top step of the podium."

But Shakey is going to have his work cut out. The battle for the runner-up spot looks set to be a corker, and on a track as tiny as the Indy circuit, it's all to play for.

Leon "Pocket Rocket" Haslam is another man heading abroad next year, and having been pipped to the title by Byrne, the HM Plant Honda man will be taking no prisoners.

"Winning is what it is all about and and I want to end the season with a double, ending on a real high - my aim at the start of the season was the title, but now I want to be the best of the rest. In the last four rounds I've been the top scorer and I am keen to continue that to make up for the bad start I had to the season." he said.

Meanwhile Rizla Suzuki's Tom "Grinnner" Sykes could still nab P2 from under the nose of Haslam before he too goes to the World stage

"I am going there in the mind set to win the races," said Sykes. "I need to at least beat Leon Haslam as we want the runner-up spot in the standings rather than third."

Haslam's team-mate Cal Crutchlow - who heads to World Supersport in 09 - believes he too has unfinished business

"I desperately want to end this year on a high and for me a win at least would be the best way to sign-off things in the UK but I will be doing everything I can to do the double."

These guys may be set for a battle royale among themselves, but more pressure is sure to come from riders like Michael Rutter, James Ellison and Karl Harris, as everyone bids to end 08 with that all-important win.

British Superbikes, Croft Circuit.

LEON Haslam took the win in Race Two at Croft, as Shakey Byrne narrowly missed out on taking the title this afternoon.
The HM Plant Honda rider backed-up his second place in Race One by taking a solid victory around the North Yorkshire track, after taking the lead three laps from the end.

The race started as almost a carbon copy of the first, with polesitter Cal Crutchlow grabbing the holeshot and leading the field into the opening lap.

As the pack rounded the hairpin to begin Lap Two, Byrne missed a gear and dropped back to 10th, while Crutchlow crossed the line ahead of Rizla Suzuki's Tom Sykes and North West 200 Ducati pilot Michael Rutter.

Crutchlow led the race all the way to Lap 10, when Sykes made a pass, forcing Cal down to second just ahead of team-mate Haslam who was now sitting third.

Byrne meanwhile had been making his way through the pack, and on Lap 13 passed Rutter for fifth, while a lap later Airwaves Ducati's Leon Camier passed Haslam at the Complex.

On Lap 18, Camier waved team-mate Shakey through into third while up at the front, Haslam, who had found his way past Crutchlow, made a daring move on Sykes at Tower, and made it stick.

It was a place he was to hold up to the chequered flag two laps later, but all eyes were now on Shakey, who had closed the gap to Crutchlow.

Only needing to finish third to wrap-up the championship, Byrne pushed as hard as he could but could not find that extra something needed to catch and pass the Honda, and settled for fourth.

The title fight was left to rumble on to the next round at Silverstone in a fortnight.

Meanwhile in the Superbike Cup, John Laverty finally put the rest out of their misery by taking the title.

He finished second in the race, again behind the formidable force which is Gary Mason, but the points advantage he gained before Mason joined the series earlier this year where enough to give him the title, with two rounds still remaining.

Top Ten:

1: Leon Haslam, HM Plant Honda
2: Tom Sykes, Rizla Suzuki
3: Cal Crutchlow, HM Plant Honda
4: Shane Byrne, Airwaves Ducati
5: Leon Camier, Airwaves Ducati
6: Michael Rutter, North West 200 Ducati
7: James Ellison, Hydrex Bike Animal Honda
8: Karl Harris, Team Yamaha
9: Simon Andrews, Jentin/Lloyds British
10: Michael Laverty, Relentless Suzuki by TAS

Superbike Cup:

1: Gary Mason,Quay Garage
2: John Laverty, Buildbase NW200 Ducati
3: Tom Tunstall, Hardinge - Ice Valley Motorsport

British Superbikes, Croft Circuit.

LEON Camier took the spoils in the first of today's British Superbike races at Croft Circuit.In a race which saw four different riders take the lead, it was the Airwaves Ducati star who took the chequered flag at the end of a tough 20-laps.

At the green light, it was polesitter Cal Crutchlow who grabbed the holeshot, but the HM Plant Honda rider soon lost out to the ever-popular Tom Sykes, who barged his Rizla Suzuki machine into the lead as the pack came round to start the second lap.

Sykes' time at the front was to last six laps, until Leon Haslam took the lead, where he stayed for the next six, as the race reached and breached its midway point.

Camier meanwhile had started to weave his way through the field, passing team-mate Shakey Byrne, Crutchlow and Sykes before starting to hunt down Haslam.

On Lap 13 he made his move on the Pocket Rocket as they headed through Tower, and within two laps had gapped the Honda to give himself a healthy cushion.

Haslam was unable to find any more, and had to settle for second, as the battle raged for third.

Byrne tried his hardest to make up the places, and after passing Sykes on Lap 18, it looked like he would be taking the final podium spot.

However it all changed on the final lap, as Sykes refused to give up third, and made a move on the hairpin which forced Shakey wide and let Crutchlow through as well. Sykes got third, Crutchlow fourth and Shakey found himself fifth.

In the Superbike Cup, Gary Mason kept the frontrunners honest, taking the win and finishing 11th overall. John Laverty closed even further in on the title with a second, while local rider Chris Burns crossed the line third on the MV Agusta.

Top Ten:

1: Leon Camier, Airwaves Ducati
2: Leon Haslam, HM Plant Honda
3: Tom Sykes, Rizla Suzuki
4: Cal Crutchlow, HM Plant Honda
5: Shane Byrne, Airwaves Ducati
6: Michael Rutter, North West 200 Ducati
7: Michael Laverty, Relentless Suzuki by TAS
8: Karl Harris, Team Yamaha
9: James Ellison, Hydrex Bike Animal Honda
10: Simon Andrews, Jentin Racing/Lloyds British.

Superbike Cup:

1: Gary Mason, Quay Garage
2: John Laverty, Buildbase NW200 Ducati
3: Chris Burns, STP Superbike

British Superbikes, Croft Circuit.

HM PLANT Honda's Cal Crutchlow took pole ahead of tomorrow's two Bennetts British Superbike races at Croft.

After a damp final practice session this morning, the clouds cleared and the sun came out in time to dry out the Darlington track ahead of this afternoon's Swan Combi Roll For Pole.

While it looked like championship leader Shakey Byrne - who returned to action this morning after getting the all-clear from circuit medics after his high-speed off yesterday - would be the strongest in the second part of the session, it was Crutchlow who dominated the final ten minutes.

Crutchlow crossed the line with a hotlap of 1:20.386, ahead of Michael Rutter, Byrne and with Leon Haslam rounding off the front row.

Top Ten:

1: Cal Crutchlow, HM Plant Honda 1:20.386
2: Michael Rutter North West 200 Ducati 1:20.597
3: Shane Byrne, Airwaves Ducati 1:20.663
4: Leon Haslam, HM Plant Honda 1:20.706
5: Tom Sykes, Rizla Suzuki 1:20.787
6: Leon Camier, Airwaves Ducati 1:20.807
7: Karl Harris, Team Yamaha, 1:20.950
8: Michael Laverty, Relentless Suzuki, 1:21.029
9: Gary Mason, Quay Garage Honda, 1:21.379
10: James Ellison, Hydrex Honda, 1:21.447

British Superbikes at Croft Circuit

JONATHAN Dickson and Joe Burns will be making a hard charge from the second row when the National Superstock 600 race gets underway this afternoon.

Dickson was the fastest of the Geordie boys in this morning's final qualifying session, and will line up fifth on the grid, while Burns is right next to him in sixth.

Dickson, 20 of Blyth had dominated Friday's first qualifying, grabbing provisional pole from the start and had looked unbeatable, while 16-year-old Burns struggled with set-up issues and was left down in 15th.

But the pair were much closer today, and ended the session separated by a tenth of a second. Pole was taken by Robbie Brown.

The National Superstock 600 race is due to get underway at a revised time of 3.25pm. It will run later than initially planned, due to a half-hour stoppage time in this morning's Superbike practice when marshalls were forced to close the track to deal with a massive oil spillage.

British Superbikes, Croft Circuit.

SHANE "Shakey" Byrne escaped serious injury in a high speed crash during today's second practice at Croft Circuit.

The championship leader suffered tissue damage to his left shoulder, lost a tooth and was left generally bruised and beaten after losing control of his Airwaves Ducati coming out of the chicane, just moments into the session.

Tomorrow morning he will meet with medics to determine whether or not he is fit to ride.

Shakey currently leads the title fight on 364 points, ahead of Rizla Suzuki's Tom Sykes on 254.

He arrived in a position to potentially sew-up the championship by close of play on Sunday night, but if deemed unable to ride, things could soon swing the other way.

Sykes has been on a charge of late, and has nothing to lose after already securing a ride for 09 with the Yamaha Motor Italia squad in World Superbikes,

And with Sykes fastest in second practice this afternoon, it's hard to say what will happen....

DURHAM-based Eugene Laverty will start tomorrow's World Supersport race from a lowly 21st after being caught out in the wet at Donington Park this afternoon.

In the first of two events with the Yamaha World Supersport squad, Laverty had looked a strong contender in Friday's earlier practice sessions, lying eighth after first qualifying.

But things took a bad turn during today's second session, as he made a rush to capitalise on a fast lap as the rain began to fall.

"It was obviously wet out there but there was none coming down, and just while I was on a decent lap, it started again. I thought it was going to come in for the duration so I pushed that little bit harder to get the lap in.

"Unfortunately I pushed that little too much and I ended up crashing. The worst part was that it stopped raining after that, so if I'd just kept going and kept on it, I'd have been fine!"

Although he starts from 21st today, Laverty is confident he can get a clean getaway and leapfrog as many spots as possible into the opening corners, before pushing and chasing down a top ten finish.

Image by Fotofuel. Not for reproduction without permission.

DAN Linfoot and teenage wildcard Joe Burns set the standard for the North boys by qualifying fourth and sixth respectively for tomorrow's European Superstock 600 race at Donington Park.

Series regular Linny was forced to put everything into Saturday's half-hour session, after crashing early in Friday's first qualifying, failing to set a time.

Despite the rain and soaking track, Linny managed to put his Team Stonebaker Yamaha R6 on the front row in the dying moments, ahead of Sunday afternoon's race.

Meanwhile 16-year-old Burns, entering the event as a wildcard, shocked the paddock when he finished sixth overall, and will line-up for the race on the second row of the grid.

As well as beating the other Brit wildcard, Leon Hunt, Burns claimed more than his fair share of big scalps, as the series regulars struggled to find their feet at the rain-hit track.

"I'm well happy with that, it's a great result and I can't wait to start the race tomorrow afternoon," he revealed.

"The bike worked perfectly, and I'm loving the tyres here. It all looks good for tomorrow, so hopefully with the improvement I've made to my start, I can be a strong contender for the race."

Image by fotofuel. Not for reproduction without permission.

VALENTINO Rossi is without a doubt the greatest motorcycle racer of his generation if not ever....but this week I'm starting to wonder if he isn't, in fact, just bad for our sport.

I can hear the cries now (heaven knows I've heard them all before)...."what are you talking about woman?" ...."don't you know anything about bike racing?".....and then the old chestnut "What sort of journalist are you?".....but this time, I refuse to budge.

The reason for my sweeping statement comes on the back of the frankly disgusting behaviour of some of the great one's fans at Donington Park on Sunday.

LAST year, two Brits went into the final round of their respective world championships with a chance of taking the prize.

One succeeded, one didn't, one became an overnight star, a national hero, while the other was lucky to get a quick guest spot on the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Awards, and most of the population still don't even know who he is.

But surely the tide is set to change - James Toseland - aka JT - has the whole package to make him the UK's most famous sportsman. So when will the country realise?