Tough Time at Cadwell for MCE Ducati
The MCE Ducati team continued their difficult season at the seventh round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship which took place at Cadwell Park this weekend.
After yesterday’s promising start with Tom Sykes qualifying the MCE Insurance-sponsored and factory-supported Ducati Panigale V4R inside the top six, his crash when taken out by another rider in the sprint race set the precedent for what was to follow today.
The ex-World Superbike champion battled to a tenth place in today’s opening race before crossing the line in a disappointing 20th in the third and final race after losing time early in the race.
The challenging Lincolnshire track didn’t favour teammate Josh Brookes either whereby the Aussie was hoping to improve on his top ten position of yesterday for Paul Bird’s Penrith-based team.
The double BSB champion crashed out over the Mountain in today’s opening race with a couple of laps to go, luckily without injury, but battled back to record an 11th place finish in the final race of the day.
The team’s disappointment was compounded by the fact that neither rider can now qualify for the title-deciding Showdown later in the season.
Josh Brookes: “Again it’s difficult to put a positive spin on things. We continued to make changes to the bike in the hope of improving it but today, that compromised us getting it off the line. And whilst the set-up was better for the races, I was hampered by getting bad starts. I got stuck in a battle with Tom both times and tried to pass him but crashed on the Mountain and in the final race, it took a long time to pass him, by which time I’d no chance of catching the riders in front. It’s been a painful weekend in more ways than one but that’s the situation unfortunately.”
Tom Sykes: “I don’t really have a lot to say. It’s been another very tough weekend for us and I’m disappointed with the results after a promising start in Superpole yesterday. We’ll regroup and hope for better luck next time out at Snetterton.”
Johnny Mowatt, Team Co-Ordinator: “It’s a very disappoining day as for the first time since it came into play, PBM haven’t made the Showdown which is a significant factor for us. There were some positives, especially as Tom showed his mettle in Superpole, which is where he made his mark in World Superbikes. Josh was lucky to get away without injury after his big crash which was a relief too. We move on to Snetterton where we enjoyed a good pre-season test earlier in the year so hopefully, we can replicate that sort of form.”
Bennetts British Superbike Championship race two
1 Danny Buchan (BMW)
2 Bradley Ray (Yamaha)
3 Tommy Bridewell (Ducati)
4 Leon Haslam (Kawasaki)
5 Rory Skinner (Kawasaki)
6 Andrew Irwin (BMW)
10 Tom Sykes (MCE Ducati)
DNF Josh Brookes (MCE Ducati)
Bennetts British Superbike Championship race three
1 Danny Buchan (BMW)
2 Bradley Ray (Yamaha)
3 Tommy Bridewell (Ducati)
4 Leon Haslam (Kawasaki)
5 Rory Skinner (Kawasaki)
6 Peter Hickman (BMW)
11 Josh Brookes (MCE Ducati)
20 Tom Sykes (MCE Ducati)
Championship Standings (after seven rounds)
1 Ray 372pts
2 O’Halloran 359
3 Skinner 241
4 Jackson 225
5 Irwin 214
6 Bridewell 201
12 Brookes 99
15 Sykes 81
Pictures courtesy of Double Red: Josh Brookes (25) and Tom Sykes (66).
