Michael Laverty fought valiantly during the final British Superbike weekend of 2010 at Oulton Park, and despite failing in his bid to win the Championship, the Relentless by TAS Suzuki rider covered himself in glory with fourth place in the final Championship standings.

Sunday was a day of high drama and after a red flag situation in the opening race where a number of riders crashed, including Michael Laverty, the race was re-started over just seven laps. Laverty was forced to start from the back of the grid but fought through the pack, eventually taking eighth place. In the final encounter Laverty took his second holeshot of the day, but like race one, he struggled with chatter problems after his rear tyre spun on the rim and the Toomebridge man was forced to nurse his GSX-R1000 Superbike to fourth place.

Alastair Seeley also demonstrated his steely resolve at Oulton on Sunday – the Carrickfergus man digging very deep, producing two quality performances taking fifth and seventh placed finishes. The series rookie finishes 2010 in a fine sixth place, but should be commended for his year-long consistency, which saw him take his debut British Superbike victory at Brands Hatch in August.

Michael Laverty

“It was a tough day for me. In the first race I was pushing hard when the rear just let go on me at turn one and I got high-sided off the bike. The boys did a good job getting the bike repaired in time for the re-start; I got through to eighth place from the back of the grid and that secured my fourth place in the Championship. For the last race of the year I just wanted to get the win, but after getting the holeshot and taking the lead, the dreaded chatter came back and I struggled home in fourth place. It was a disappointing weekend but I’m still smiling, as we have established ourselves as one of the top rider/team combinations in the BSB Championship. I’m now looking forward to rounding out the season next weekend at the Sunflower Trophy Races.”

Alastair Seeley

“I struggled all weekend with set-up which wasn’t helped by having a touch of flu to deal with as well. After Saturday’s race my crew changed the bike back to the settings we used at the previous Oulton meeting. It really transformed it and made the big Suzuki feel more stable and helped me steer it through the fast stuff at Oulton. Fifth place was a decent result but I also feel I should have finished higher than seventh in the second race. A bike blew up at Clay Hill and covered my visor in oil and I was really expecting the race to be red flagged; I slowed down and two riders got past me. The organisers sent the Pace Car out instead, so that was another valuable lesson learned, even though I was able to fight my way back. I’m now looking forward to the Sunflower this Saturday where I’m sure we’ll be fit and healthy and ready to challenge at the front.”

Philip Neill – Team Manager

“We probably expected a bit more from the final weekend of the season, but we did have some problems with tyres spinning on rims and giving our riders bad chatter problems. We did everything we could to try and prevent this but had the same problem in all three races, which is very frustrating, as we have had very few problems this year. Michael showed how strong he can be in the early part of races and was unlucky to crash, but all the top guys were pushing hard in that opening race on Sunday. I don’t think fourth place is what Michael deserved from this season’s Championhsip effort, but that’s racing.

“Alastair had a really difficult start to the weekend, suffering with flu and struggled to find a comfortable set-up, which is all part of the Superbike learning curve for him. He made significant progress, so I was pleased to see that along with his crew, they were able to find a way forward on Sunday and get back closer to the front.

"I’d just like to finish the season by thanking all our sponsors: Suzuki, Relentless, Beacon, Motul and all our other loyal racing partners who have helped us become race winners and Championship contenders in 2010. We will be back with the intention of challenging for the British Superbike title in 2011.”


Final Standings

Ryuichi Kiyonari 649
Josh Brookes 625
Tommy Hill 620
Michael Laverty 604
Michael Rutter 559
Alastair Seeley 550