STEADY START FOR AIRWAVES DUCATI
Round 9 of the British Superbike championship got underway at Cadwell Park today with Shane Byrne and Leon Camier finishing the day 3rd and 6th fastest.
Shane and Leon used first free practice to familiarise themselves with riding the Airwaves Ducati 1098R around the 2.173 mile Lincolnshire circuit, finishing 2nd and 6th fastest respectively. The Airwaves Ducati team then concentrated on longer race runs in the afternoon with Shane completing more laps than any other rider. His fastest time of 1:28.456 came on lap 27 of 31. Leon’s fastest time of 1:28.916 had secured him the 5th fastest time of the day until he was pushed down to 6th place with less than a minute of the session remaining.
Following practice Leon commented, “This morning was all about me getting into the flow of Cadwell Park on the Airwaves Ducati. We tried quite a few different things but went through our normal Free Practice 1 procedure with everything going to plan. We made a couple of changes for this afternoon’s practice but there are still some areas which need more work ahead of qualifying tomorrow. I’m not exactly where I want to be right now but we’ll be working hard to understand why and make improvements.”
Shane was feeling positive about his day saying, “It’s been great to get back on the Airwaves Ducati, especially here at Cadwell Park. Right from the start of first practice the Airwaves Ducati has been good. I have been struggling a bit on the last sector so tomorrow morning I’d like to look at gearing solutions. It’s just a matter of finding a couple of tenths here and there but we’re not a million miles away from where I want to be. In myself I’m feeling fine and looking forward to tomorrow’s qualifying.”
Qualifying for round 9 of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship commences at 14.00 tomorrow, Sunday 24th August 2008.