MIXED RESULTS FOR REA
05 June 2005 - Honda Racing

Round six of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship went from elation to frustration for Jonathan Rea at Croft today

The Ulster teenager finished race one in seventh position following a number of precisely calculated overtaking manoeuvres, which made for a superb performance.

He looked set to improve on that when he got away from the grid in second position for race two. However, a ride-through penalty was imposed on the Red Bull Honda rider for a jump start, which relegated the CBR1000RR Fireblade to 13th position.

Undeterred, Rea began making his way back through the field at the 2.127-mile North Yorkshire track. He was in 12th place when the race was red flagged due to rain, forcing him to restart from the end of the third row.

After a promising start, misfortune struck for the 18-year-old. A coming together with Marty Nutt and Marshall Neill saw Rea’s race end in the gravel trap.

Jonathan Rea: “I’m obviously a little disappointed with race two, but I don’t want to dwell on that because there are a lot of positives that we can take away from this weekend. The Red Bull Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade and Dunlop tyres are working well together and I am continuing to make good progress at every round of the championship.”

Race one: 1. R. Kiyonari (HM Plant Honda Racing) 29:58.160; 2. M. Rutter (HM Plant Honda Racing) +5.382; 3. G. Lavilla (Ducati) +17.352; 4. M. Laverty (Honda) +24.018; 5. G. Richards (Kawasaki) +26.001; 6. L. Haslam (Ducati) +26.474; 7. J. Rea (Red Bull Honda) +29.683; 8. J. Haydon (Yamaha) +35.204; 9. G. Mason (Honda) +35.477; 10. D. Thomas (Kawasaki) +36.541

Fastest lap: 1:20.931 – Kiyonari (new lap record)

Race two: 1. G. Lavilla (Ducati) 20:10.015; 2. M. Rutter (HM Plant Honda Racing) +0.775; 3. R. Kiyonari (HM Plant Honda Racing) +0.984; 4. G. Richards (Kawasaki) +2.132; 5. G. Mason (Honda) +2.902; 6. D. Thomas (Kawasaki) +7.024; 7. S. Plater (Kawasaki) +21.153; 8. K. Clarke (Honda) +21.670; 9.S. Brogan (Honda) +21.845; 10. J. Laverty (Honda) +32.538; DNF J. Rea (Red Bull Honda)

Fastest lap: 1:21.489 – Lavilla

Championship points: 1. Rutter – 235; 2. Lavilla – 190; 3. Kiyonari – 182; 4. Richards – 138; 5. Haslam – 130; 6. Harris – 102; 7. Thomas – 85; 8. Emmett – 79; 9. Mason – 72; 10. Smart – 68; 15. Rea – 31

Frustrating finish for Laverty

Round six of the British Supersport Championship came to a premature end for Red Bull Honda’s Eugene Laverty when he was forced to retire to the pits on lap15 of the 20-lap race. The 18-year-old had been enjoying one of his best rides of the season before a slipping clutch on the CBR600RR brought it to an end.

Laverty did not get the best start at the 2.127-mile Croft circuit in North Yorkshire. However, he slotted safely into ninth position and focussed on achieving his objective of a top five finish.

The Toomebridge teenager soon began to power his way through the pack and by lap seven he was in fifth position. Following a breathtaking dice with Tom Sykes, Laverty got up to fourth place before reluctantly having to retire into pit lane early

Eugene Laverty: “I’m a bit frustrated about what happened because I was doing really well. I like Croft and it seems to suit my riding style, so I was hoping for a good result today. Obviously, it wasn’t meant to be. The Red Bull Honda team will be working on the CBR600RR ahead of Knockhill and I’ll be making sure I’m in the best possible shape for the next round.”

Race result: 1. S. Easton (Ducati) 28:03.883; 2. L. Camier (Padgetts Honda) +0.340; 3. C. Jones (Honda) +5.557; 4. T. Sykes (Suzuki) +6.280; 5. J. Robinson (Honda) +22.351; 6. P. Riba (Kawasaki) +22.513; 7. R. Frost (Honda) +38.719; 8. S. Owens (Honda) +41.444; 9. T. Tunstall (Honda) +44.031; 10. K. Murphy (Honda) +55.407; DNF E. Laverty (Red Bull Honda)

Championship points: 1. Jones – 94; 2. Sykes – 90; 3. Easton – 85; 4. Camier – 83; 5. Crutchlow – 55; 6. Riba – 53; 7. Vincent – 51; 8. Robinson – 47; 9. Murphy – 43; 10. Young – 33; 11. Laverty – 30

Jones takes first victory

Red Bull Honda rookie Chris Jones scored his first race win of the season and his first victory for the team at round six of the Honda-dominated British 125GP Championship at Croft today. The 14-year-old rode a superb race aboard the Honda RS125 for his best result to date.

The Droitwich teenager secured the holeshot from third position on the grid and looked confident in the early stages. However, Jones was caught up with four other riders dicing for the lead and by lap four had been relegated to fourth place.

By lap 10, the Red Bull Honda was back on a charge through the pack, picking off the opposition one by one. By lap 11 he was in a hard-fought second position, which he continued to battle for until lap 14 when race leader Ashley Beech crashed out of contention.

Jones seized on this opportunity and began to pull out a lead, eventually passing the chequered flag 0.906 seconds ahead of second placed Dan Linfoot.

Chris Jones: “I’m absolutely ecstatic about winning today. I was feeling much more relaxed this weekend and putting less pressure on myself, which seemed to work well. I would like to thank Red Bull Honda and Dunlop for their support so far and I hope that I can now produce more wins for them. I can’t describe how good it felt to be the first rider across the line.”

Race result: 1. C. Jones (Red Bull Honda) 23:47.574; 2. D. Linfoot (Honda) +0.906; 3. K. Weston (Honda) +1.221; 4. J. Westmoreland (Honda) +3.275; 5. R. Guiver (Honda) +14.996; 6. M. Wilcox (Honda) +17.911; 7. T. Hayward (Honda) +19.945; 8. J. Ford (Honda) +20.400; 9. C. Elkin (Honda) +20.830; 10. S. Lowes (Honda) +21.691

Championship points: 1. Elkin – 108; 2. Guiver – 91; 3. Linfoot – 89; 4. Beech – 49; 5. Jones – 48; 6=. Clark, Westmoreland – 46; 8. Coghlan – 45; 9. Wilcox – 38; 10. Weston – 36

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