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British Supersport: Sweet Success For
Northpoint Honda Racing
Northpoint Honda Racing Team consisting
of 19-year-old Cal Crutchlow and 20-year-old Craig Jones had
their most successful weekend of the year so far at round four
of the British Supersport Championships at Oulton Park. The pair
gained a fantastic 2nd and 4th place in the wet race over the
Bank Holiday weekend.
Thousands of fans crammed into the picturesque Cheshire based
track and they were delivered with some stunning racing. Crutchlow
got his weekend off to a flying start when he gained his and
the team's first ever Pole Position and was looking extremely
confident come the race. Jonesy on the other hand was riddled
with slower riders throughout the qualifying session and started
from 9th on the grid.
As rain pelted down on the 2.69-mile circuit it was a tough decision
as to which tyres to run but both Crutchlow and Jones made the
correct decision. Whilst Championship leaders Leon Camier, Jay
Vincent and Stuart Easton swapped onto dry tyres the two Northpoint
boys opted for full wets, a decision that proved crucial as the
race panned out.
Crutchlow gained a fantastic start and completely dominated the
whole proceeding, he soon was lapping back-markers and it was
not long before he was passing his main rivals in the Championship.
Looking smooth and happy leading the hounding bunch and the track
slowly drying Crutchlow was steadily losing grip and the feisty
Tom Sykes was hunting him down. With only three laps remaining,
Sykes who had chosen a slightly harder compound tyre made a move
on Crutchlow seeing him slip to second.
Meanwhile, Jones was making fantastic progress through the field
and was making the most of his rivals flagging at the back of
the pack. Jones saw the opportunity to pick up some extremely
valuable Championship points, which hoisted him from 4th overall
to 2nd in the title standings.
A delighted Crutchlow said 'I'm disappointed not to have won
as I lead for most of the race but I'm delighted with a second
place. It's my best ever result in the Supersport class and also
a great feeling to stand up there on the podium again it's been
a while. The team have worked so hard this weekend and I'd like
to thank them for all their support. Everything felt perfect
but we just lost a little grip towards the end. I'm improving
at every round and that's the most important thing to me.'
Backing up his comments Jones said 'I agree with Cal the team
have been brilliant all weekend and I've now moved up to second
in the Championship only five points behind the leader Leon Camier.
It's amazing how things can change in just one round, the top
three in the series didn't score any points today which is unheard
of but I'm not complaining.'
Team Principle Gary Ekerold was extremely content with the results
today, 'Cal and Craig have worked exceptionally hard this weekend
and have gained the results to prove that. Cal gained Pole Position
and also gained his best result to date. It's a good sign that
the team are moving in the right direction and we are moving
ever nearer to our goal of taking the British Supersport title.'
Jones is now second in the Championship and Crutchlow has moved
up to 6th. The next round is at Mondello Park, Ireland on the
15th May.
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