BRITISH SUPERBIKES - CADWELL PARK - ROUND 11
31 August 2006 - Hawk Kawasaki

Mixed results for Hawk Kawaski

Varying weather conditions played a crucial part this weekend for Hawk Kawasaki, at the eleventh round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Cadwell Park, Monday 28th August.

The three Hawk riders, Dean Thomas, Craig Coxhell and Peter Hickman scored a mixed bag of results in the two races around the technical and twisty 2.17-mile circuit.

Thomas who is still recovering from serious injuries, found the weekend''s racing hard going on the unforgiving circuit and claimed a strong eighth and 11th place respectively. After qualifying his ZX10-R in 12th position the 33-year-old Australian knew he had a lot of work to do in the two 18-lap races.

Commenting he said, ''I knew Cadwell would be physically hard for me. I am still recovering from the crash I had at Snetterton where I broke some ribs and punctured a lung. Cadwell is a demanding circuit when you are fully fit and so I had a feeling that I would have my work cut out. The weather didn''t help matters as it made it a gamble when it came to tyre choice. I managed to score points in both races and hopefully I can improve on these results at Silverstone in a few weeks times.''

Craig Coxhell suffered a number of problems over the weekend and could only salvage 16th place during the 50 minute qualifying session on Sunday. From that the young Australian managed to gain a seventh place in the first race. An incident in the second race saw him lose his chain at the Mountain Section, a visit to the pit garage saw this problem rectified and allowed Coxhell to rejoin the race and a lap down and finish in 17th position overall.

''Cadwell is certainly not one of my favourite circuits and I just seemed to have problem after problem. It was a difficult weekend for me, but getting seventh in the first race made me feel a little better about everything. I crashed on Sunday at the top of the Mountain so I was feeling a slightly second hand and bruised during the races. I had an issue with my chain in the second race and I had to pull into the pits to get it fixed. I''m certainly looking forward to moving onto Silverstone from here as it''s one of the few British Circuits that I know fairly well.'' Coxhell said.

Young Rookie rider Peter Hickman had a varied weekend and gained a 14th and 15th positions in the two races. The local rider certainly impressed a number of people when he managed to qualify in 11th place on the grid, just in front of his elder team-mate Dean Thomas. The two races were full of excitement for the 19-year-old. After stalling his bike on the start of race one ''Hicky'' had to start from the back of the field and worked his way through to a creditable point scoring position.

Speaking with him ''I''ve enjoyed this weekend and I know every weekend my confidence is growing. Cadwell is my local circuit, which I know well and I wanted to get some good results here, which I think I did. I had a couple of problems in both races but I know as the year has progressed, I feel like I have made some big steps forward in the right direction. Once again thanks to all the team for working so hard.''

Superbike Race One Result

1, Gregorio Lavilla Ducati

2, Leon Haslam Ducati

3, Ryuichi Kiyonari Honda

4, Shane Byrne Suzuki

5, Tommy Hill Yamaha

6, Glen Richards Honda

7, Craig Coxhell Hawk Kawasaki

8, Dean Thomas Hawk Kawasaki

9, Jon Kirkham Suzuki

10, Karl Harris Honda

14, Peter Hickman Hawk Kawasaki

Superbike Race Two Result

1, Leon Haslam Ducati

2, Gregorio Lavilla Ducati

3, Jonathan Rea Honda

4, Tommy Hill Yamaha

5, Karl Harris Honda

6, Steve Plater Suzuki

7, Michael Laverty Honda

8, Ben Wilson Suzuki

9, Glen Richards Honda

10, Billy McConnell Yamaha

11, Dean Thomas Hawk Kawasaki

15, Peter Hickman Hawk Kawasaki

17, Craig Coxhell Hawk Kawasaki

www.hawkkawasaki.co.uk

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