This weekend the 2011 British Superbike season will begin at Brands Hatch, and the Swan Yamaha team is ready to fight for the championship. Tommy Hill and Michael Laverty will both be making their debuts with the Swan Yamaha team this weekend, and both riders should be toward the top of the time sheets.
Hill and Laverty both made it into the final 6 showdown last year. Hill managed to take third place behind Ryuichi Kiyonari and Josh Brookes, while Laverty took fourth in the series.
Both riders have also been extremely fast during the practice sessions. Hill set a lap record during the Cartagena test, and Laverty earned top three finishes during the final testing session at Snetterton.
Hill will have a slight disadvantage, however, as he missed the majority of the final testing session due to a crash.
“I just want to get to Brands Hatch now after what has really been six weeks off,” said Hill. “We set a new lap record at Cartagena and we felt confident after those tests. It was disappointing for me that I missed out at Snetterton with a crash, but it doesn’t take long to get back into it on the Indy circuit.
“Once we have the first day on Good Friday to blow the cobwebs away we just need to be consistent and score some good points. That was the approach I had last season and I came away with a first and second place plus the championship lead so who knows what can happen. I just need to push on at my home circuit, get the best results I can for the Swan Yamaha team and then prepare for Oulton Park the following weekend.”
Laverty was also happy with his pre-season performance, and feels that he’s ready to deliver for the Swan Yamaha team.
“The first races at Brands Hatch are going to be strange as the Indy circuit can throw a curveball you don’t expect. I think though that after the pre-season testing we are in the position to challenge for the wins and get the job done,” Laverty said. “It has been a longer build up to this season and the anticipation really has been building for these first races and everyone just wants to get out and race now.
“We have been fast in testing so I hope that people are looking at us and thinking we are going to be up there at Brands Hatch. The pressure doesn’t matter to me; myself and Tommy have proved we have the pace - we just need to make sure we don’t get complacent and translate our testing performance into strong results.”
[Photo Courtesy of Swan Yamaha]
