HARRIS READY FOR CHAMPIONSHIP CHALLENGE
29 August 2004 - Honda Racing

Karl Harris has completed his final preparations for one of the most important races of his career by qualifying in second position for tomorrow’s 16-lap Supersport showdown with rival Michael Laverty.

The HM Plant Honda Racing star will start from the front row, knowing that he has to finish in front of Laverty to secure his second consecutive British Supersport Championship title – with two rounds to spare.

Harris also won last year’s series at Cadwell Park in front of Honda Racing’s home fans. The Louth team is only based a short distance from the Lincolnshire circuit and the 24-year-old Yorkshireman also considers the August Bank Holiday venue as his local event. It would therefore be fitting if the Sheffield-based rider could take the chequered flag with a decisive advantage over Ulsterman Laverty to take his third domestic Supersport title in four years.

Pole position went to fellow Honda rider Leon Camier in a time of 1:30.769 on his Padgetts-entered CBR600RR. Tom Sykes and Laverty completed the front row for the 11th round of the championship, with less than 0.4 seconds covering the top four riders.

Red Bull Rookies Honda’s Billy McConnell qualified in 22nd position after the two qualifying sessions at the undulating 2.2-mile circuit. The 17-year-old Australian is continuing to substitute for injured Jonathan Rea after making his first appearance for the team at the last round at Croft. McConnell spent most of the session inside the top 20, but slipped down to the sixth row at the chequered flag.

Karl Harris: “My aim today was to qualify on the front row with the HM Plant Honda Racing CBR600RR. That was the most important thing with a view to getting a good start and potentially securing the championship here at Cadwell Park tomorrow. We’ve moved on from the testing we did here last week and I’m confident that we’ve got a good race set-up. I’ll approach the race in the same frame of mind as every other round and only think of the title after I’ve reached the chequered flag.”

Billy McConnell: “This has been a better weekend for me than my British Supersport debut at Croft two weeks ago. I had the opportunity to test the Red Bull Rookies Honda CBR600RR here prior to the meeting and that has given me more of an advantage in my first year of road racing. I appreciate all the help that the team has given me in the build-up to this race and I’ll be doing everything I can to get into the points once again at their home event.”

Qualifying times: 1. L. Camier (Honda) 1:30.769; 2. K. Harris (HM Plant Honda Racing) 1:30.867; 3. T. Sykes (Suzuki) 1:31.043; 4. M. Laverty (Ducati) 1:31.160; 5. P. Young (Honda) 1:31.235; 6. S. Easton (Ducati) 1:31.330; 7. J. Vincent (Honda) 1:31.391; 8. P. Riba (Kawasaki) 1:31.451; 9. L. Quigley (Suzuki) 1:31.537; 10. A. Coates (Suzuki) 1:31.539; 22. B. McConnell (Red Bull Rookies Honda) 1:33.886

www.honda-racing.co.uk

More News
  For August 2004
  From Honda Racing
  For Racing General
  Biker247.com Home Page