RELENTLESS SUZUKI 1-2 IN CHAMPIONSHIP

British Supersport Champion Michael Laverty finished his 2007 campaign with his tenth podium of the year at Brands Hatch earlier today in third place. Ian Lowry also capped a perfect season for the Relentless Suzuki squad bringing his GSX–R600 Suzuki home in sixth place making it a Suzuki ‘one-two’ in the championship.
On the 1.19-mile Indy circuit at Brands, Laverty battled through from sixth on the opening lap taking the final podium position, and Lowry, after a terrible start fought his way through from twelfth, taking enough points to hold off Dennis Hobbs for second place in the championship when the race was eventually red flagged on lap 22.

Michael Laverty
“The times on the Indy circuit are so close in qualifying but I was confident of having a good race. It took about ten laps to get through to third and on the back of the leading pair, but by that stage I’d used the best of my tyre and settled for third. It’s another podium for Relentless Suzuki who I have to thank for a great season. It was also nice to be able to ride today with the number one plate as I’ll not get the chance next year when I move up.”
 

Ian Lowry
“I made a bad start but when I found my rhythm I just kept Dennis Hobbs in my sights. I knew what I had to do to get second place and I didn’t want to take any risks and lose it at this stage of the year. The pass on Steve Brogan was pretty bold but I wasn’t settling for anything less than the runners-up spot in this championship! A big thanks to all the team at Relentless Suzuki. 2008 can’t come around quick enough for me.”

Philip Neill – Team Principal
“We always want to win at every circuit but this weekend was a little bit strange having already won the championship. Michael came through the pack easier than I thought he would, and to be honest I shouldn’t have doubted him. He had the pace to win the race but as so often happens when you need to play catch up, he’d used up his tyre. Michael was mature enough to know that and settled for a safe third and another podium for the team. Ian was unbelievable after a very poor start and showed great aggression and determination to get past Steve Brogan at the end just before it was red flagged. It’s been a great year and we’ve shown that the GSX–R600 Suzuki is by far the best bike in the championship. Everyone has played their part from Pirelli to WP, Putoline and of course Relentless: we have formed an almost perfect partnership with them. It was also good to see Ian Glen from Beacon Security here today, as it’s his home race. Now we move onwards and upwards and start preparing for 2008.”
 
Results
Winner – Billy McConnell [Yamaha] 17:33.977; 2nd – Dennis Hobbs [Honda] +0.286; 3rd – Michael Laverty [Suzuki] +0.391; 4th – Tom Grant [Yamaha] +0.899; 5th – Steve Brogan [Honda] +2.796; 6th – Ian Lowry [Suzuki] +2.849