LOWES AND SAMSUNG HONDA CONTINUE PODIUM FORM AT ASSEN

[totalmotorcycle]

#LOWES AND @SAMSUNG #HONDA CONTINUE PODIUM FORM AT #ASSEN

23 September 2013, 09:44

The Samsung Honda team celebrated victory in yesterday’s opening Showdown round of the British Superbike championship at Assen in The Netherlands as Alex Lowes claimed a thrilling first race win over title rival Shane Byrne.


The 23-year-old followed up with another victory in race two – his sixth BSB win in succession – but was later excluded from the results following investigation into an earlier incident which saw Byrne crash out on lap four. Lowes now heads to the penultimate round at Silverstone on 6 October just one point behind Byrne in the championship standings.

His Samsung Honda team-mate Ryuichi Kiyonari struggled to find a perfect set-up for the fast and flowing Assen circuit and finished race one in 14th place. However, the Japanese ace rallied in race two, finishing fourth before being promoted to the final podium slot after Lowes’s exclusion.

In the British Supersport championship, Samsung Honda’s Jason O'Halloran continued his superb run of podium finishes with a third place in Saturday’s Sprint race and a hard-fought second on Sunday to make it five podium finishes from the last seven races.

Alex Lowes:
We were not giving up in the first race and I managed to pass Shakey on the corner before the last one and was lucky to come out ahead. Races like that are what you live for. I tipped in, got the lead, but then he was back ahead and that was how it went. I’m going to give it everything – if I don’t win the title it will not be for the lack of trying. In the second race I thought the move was OK but when you touch someone at 130mph they go down. Shakey is someone that I respect totally, he is my friend and I did not mean to do it. I was in a good position, he changed his line at the last minute and I hit him. It looks different when you watch it on television, but the pressure is on all of us in these three rounds of the Showdown and everyone wants close racing.

Ryuichi Kiyonari:
The second race was much better for me and we are making some good progress and maybe next time out we will get a podium and then a win. It has not been all good for me, but we make some changes and we are getting there. I do not know why the first race was not so good. Now in the Showdown it is very important that I get good results in remaining races.

Jason O’Halloran:
I’m well pleased with that result. Halfway through the race I didn’t think I would be on the podium having been shuffled back but to come back through like that was so good. We had made some changes to the bike after the first race and while it was tough at the start, turning, we had more grip. That’s my first double podium of the season, and now for more.

Havier Beltran – team manager:
For Alex it has been another great weekend in that he has worked so hard on the set-up and strategy, proving that he has the pace to be at the front. It was a shame about the incident with Shane Byrne, as he was trying to line up for a possible pass at the next corner. But after that, Alex composed himself to maintain his pace and make what would have been a triple of double wins. A decision has been made by the race officials on the incident and we take into account their findings and no further action will be taken by the Samsung Honda team. As for Kiyo, again there are signs there of the incredible talent that he has but the first race was not a good result for him. Jason has done another great job and is looking forward to Silverstone now for more strong results. He has been pushing really hard but there are still a few areas in which he can improve to give him a bit more confidence. But for his first time at Assen these are great results.