VICTORY NUMBER THREE FOR HARRIS
06 June 2004 - Honda Racing

Honda Racing’s Karl Harris dominated the British Supersport race at Thruxton today and in adding another win to his tally, also went to the top of the points table in the process. The 24-year-old Yorkshire rider made a great start to the 18-lap race and soon pulled a comfortable gap at the front. In fact, the only rider capable of staying with him in the early stages was his championship rival, Michael Laverty.

As Harris controlled the race from the front, Leon Camier moved up into third and by half race distance, he had closed right up to Laverty, and passed him on lap 11. Two laps later, he outbraked Harris to take the lead, which was the wake-up call the HM Plant Honda Racing rider needed. He retook the lead within a lap on the exit of Church corner and soon pulled out a comfortable gap.

Meanwhile, Red Bull Rookies Honda rider Jonathan Rea was having his best ride of the season to date, and was involved in a four-way battle for sixth place with Jay Vincent, Shane Norval and Paul Young. The 17-year-old Ulsterman won this battle and crossed the finish line in sixth place, collecting ten valuable championship points in the process.

Back at the front, Harris had done enough during the latter stages to stay out in front, win the race and secure 25 championship points. And when Leon Camier passed Michael Laverty on the final lap to steal second place, this handed the championship lead back to Harris, who is now four points in front at the top of the table.

Karl Harris: “I’m delighted to have won my third race of the year and more importantly, reclaim the lead in the championship. The HM Plant Honda Racing CBR600RR was an awesome package today. The excellent race set-up that we achieved during practice meant that I was able to keep my head down and just get on with the race. When Camier slipped past me, I knew that I had to make a move straight back and then I just concentrated on pulling away.”

Jonathan Rea: “That’s more like it – I’ve achieved my latest goal, which was to finish today’s race in the top ten, so I’ve got to be pleased with my performance. I got a good start but selected a wrong gear on the first lap and lost a lot of ground. After that I kept watching the pit board for my lap times and then pulled in the group in front of me. The Red Bull Rookies Honda was going really well and I amazed myself at how easy it was to get past them and claim my best result of the year.”

Result: 1. K. Harris (HM Plant Honda Racing) 23:38.851; 2. L. Camier (Honda) + 0.933; 3. M. Laverty (Ducati) + 0.999; 4. L. Quigley (Suzuki) + 14.971; 5. P. Riba (Kawasaki) + 15.044; 6. J. Rea (Red Bull Rookies Honda) + 20.631; 7. J. Vincent (Honda) + 20.652; 8. P. Young (Honda) + 21.005; 9. S. Norval (Honda) + 21.391; 10. T. Sykes (Suzuki) + 22.288

Points after round six: 1. Harris – 111; 2. Laverty – 107; 3. Vincent – 77; 4. Riba – 72; 5. S. Andrews (Yamaha), Quigley – 65; 7. Camier – 49; 8. C. Jones (Triumph) – 41; 9. Sykes – 36; 10. C. Crutchlow (Honda) – 32; 15. Rea – 18

www.honda-racing.co.uk

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