Title Fighters Confirmed After Cadwell Park

After a three race weekend at Cadwell Park, 6 riders have been confirmed as title fighters. Tommy Hill, Shane Byrne, John Hopkins, Michael Laverty, Josh Brookes, and Ryuichi Kiyonari will all be competing for the British Superbike Championship during the three round title showdown.

Tommy Hillwas the victor at Cadwell Park, taking two out of three victories, but Hill had already confirmed his spot among the title fighters. The real battle throughout the weekend was between 2010 champion King Kiyo, Josh Brookes, and Michael Rutter.

And the battle was no more intense than in the first race. Brookes and Rutter would clash on the course and eventually Rutter would hit the pavement. Brookes would move onto third place for the race and seemingly seal up a spot among the title fighters, but a ruling was made shortly after the race that removed Brookes from the results.

"I think that race will probably mean that people start calling me 'bad boy Brookes' again but at this stage of the season every point is vital," Brookes said after race 1. "I had tried several times to make a pass and he would have seen my front wheel a few times and I knew I had to try and make a move and the only chance was at Hall Bends. I had no intention of taking Michael out; I just went for the pass and he sat it up and unfortunately went down. As you get to the end of the championship you have to be pushing so to finish on the podium and score some podium credits was what we needed."

In the second race, Rutter would again hit the pavement, but this time Brookes was no where to be seen. Rutter's title hopes were done at the end of race two, but Brookes made sure to step on the podium in the final race just to cement his spot among the title fighters.

"It was good for me to be back on the podium because I wasn't happy with the first race earlier in the day when I missed out on the podium... We gave it our all and now we are set for the Showdown."

The Title Fighters

1. Tommy Hill (Swan Yamaha) 529S
2. hane Byrne (HM Plant Honda) 522
3. John Hopkins (Samsung Crescent Racing Suzuki) 518
4. Michael Laverty (Swan Yamaha) 510
5. Josh Brookes (Relentless Suzuki by TAS) 509
6. Ryuichi Kiyonari (HM Plant Honda) 508