It’s been a big holiday weekend of racing, hence why this round-up is coming on a Monday, following the first British Superbikes meeting of 2010 on the Brands Hatch Indy circuit.
Tommy Hill took the first race win at the Kent circuit after following Japanese rider Ryuichi Kiyonari clear of the field and pouncing when Kyonari made a minor mistake after 22 laps. Several riders were fighting for the third spot on the podium, with James Ellison taking it from Alastair Seeley, Josh Brookes, Stuart Easton and Michael Rutter. The new Superbike Evo class was led by Steve Brogan on the Jentin Racing BMW.
The second race saw a victory for James Ellison, who got away from the start. Second went to race one winner Hill, followed by Alastair Seeley. Michael Laverty, Stuart Easton, Michael Rutter and John Laverty took the next few spots, with Steve Brogan again heading the Evo class.
Ryuichi Kiyonari was one of the main retirements in the second race, along with Josh Brookes and Yukio Kagayama. Returned former WSB champion Neil Hodgson failed to start either race after a big crash in the morning warm-up.
Sebastien Vettel – image by rarye on Flickr (CC Licence).
In Formula One, Sunday saw a fantastic one-two victory for the Red Bull-Renault team, with Sebastien Vettel winning after passing team-mate and polesitter Mark Webber into the first turn and holding his advantage for the entire race (aside from during a pitstop). Nico Rosberg took third place in a race which saw Mercedes team-mate Michael Schumacher retire with mechanical problems. Robert Kubica and Adrian Sutil took fourth and fifth, while Lewis Hamilton (6th), Felipe Massa (7th) and Jeson Button (8th) recovered from qualifying nightmares. Fernando Alonso also looked set to salvage something despite a downshift problem with his gearbox until his engine finally let go in the final few laps.
In World Rallying, business as normal saw a win from Sebastien Loeb ahead of Jari-Matti Latvala, and Petter Solberg continuing a great season so far with third ahead of the works Citroen of Dani Sordo. Mikko Hirvonen rolled in to finish 20th after a nightmare off on day 2. Former Formula One champ Kimi Raikkonen picked up his first WRC points with 8th.
In British Touring Cars, Fabrizio Gionvanardi picked up 2 out of 3 wins in the Vauxhall Vectra, heading Jason Plato (Chevrolet Cruze) and Mat Jackson (BMW 320si) in the first race, and Matt Neal (Honda Civic) and Paul O’Neill (Honda Integra) in the second. The third and final race went to the BMW of Steven Kane, taking his maiden win from Mat Jackson and Jason Plato.
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