SUPERSPORT CLEAN SWEEP FOR HONDA
15 August 2004 - Honda Racing

Honda took a one-two-three finish at the inaugural British Supersport Championship round at Croft.

HM Plant Honda Racing rider Karl Harris crossed the line in third behind the Padgetts’ Honda CBR600RRs of Jay Vincent and Leon Camier.

With his closest rival Michael Laverty failing to finish, Harris has extended his advantage to 52 points and closed in on the prestigious Supersport title. If the 24-year-old Yorkshireman finishes ahead of Laverty at round 11 at Cadwell Park, he will claim his second consecutive British Supersport crown for Honda Racing.

An uncharacteristically poor start left Harris with a lot of work to do over the remainder of the 20-lap race at the 2.127-mile North Yorkshire circuit. However, he immediately set about hunting down the riders at the front of the pack.

Early race leader Laverty crashed on lap three and despite remounting was forced to retire in the pits. Another leading rider, Pere Riba, opened the way for Harris when he crashed out on lap five at Tower Bend.

Harris moved up to fourth behind Tom Sykes and began his battle for a podium spot. The Yorkshireman powered the HM Plant Honda Racing CBR600RR past Sykes on lap 15 and maintained third place until the chequered flag.

It was also a successful day for Red Bull Rookies Honda newcomer Billy McConnell. The 17-year-old Australian finished in the points after crossing the line in 15th on his first British Supersport outing.

Karl Harris: “There’s only really one line around Croft on a Supersport machine, so a slow start obviously made the race really hard work. It’s difficult to overtake during the course of a race and I got stuck behind Tom Sykes. I knew there was only the Padgetts’ Hondas ahead of me, so I settled down and took third, safe in the knowledge that I was further extending my championship lead.”

Billy McConnell: “I’ve never competed over that sort of distance before, but the adrenalin of racing the Red Bull Rookies Honda CBR600RR took me through to the chequered flag. I settled into my race pace and made really good progress. I enjoyed the race and it was even better when I learned that I had got a point – that was my objective for this weekend.”

Result: 1. J. Vincent (Honda) 28:17.303; 2. L. Camier (Honda) +1.240; 3. K. Harris (HM Plant Honda Racing) +7.116; 4. T. Sykes (Suzuki) +8.726; 5. L. Quigley (Suzuki) +13.659; 6. A. Coates (Suzuki) +15.470; 7. M. Llewellyn (Ducati) +15.743; 8. S. Easton (Ducati) +21.402; 9. C. Crutchlow (Honda) +21.659; 10. J. Robinson (Yamaha) +26.301; 15. B. McConnell (Red Bull Rookies Honda) +1:01.416

Points after round ten: 1. Harris – 197; 2. Laverty – 145; 3. Vincent – 142; 4. Riba – 101; 5. Camier - 85; 6. Quigley – 81; 7. Andrews – 76; 8. Sykes – 67; 9. Crutchlow – 57; 10=. Jones, Young – 49

www.honda-racing.co.uk

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