Airwaves Ducati Return With Impressive Start At Silverstone - August 19th 2005

Airwaves Ducati riders Leon Haslam and Gregorio Lavilla warmed up for the ninth round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship by finishing in 1st and 3rd places respectively following two free practice sessions at Silverstone today. The pairing continued where they'd left off following recent testing at the Northamptonshire circuit and will be aiming for front row qualifying positions tomorrow. The second session proved to be the quicker of the two, following heavy rain disrupting morning practice, and the riders went about their business impressively. Leon recorded a 1.27.664s and Gregorio registered a 1.28.057s with both riders hopeful of finding more from the bike for tomorrow's qualifying session.

Airwaves Ducati Team Manager, Colin Wright, said: "We're naturally pleased with the way things have gone today but we need to ensure our level doesn't drop and we continue to progress tomorrow. We're hopeful for qualifying and I'd certainly take today's results on Sunday! We worked a little on our wet settings this morning and then proved that both riders are looking good with our afternoon times".

Gregorio was happy with the start to the weekend: "The rain affected things greatly today. The conditions this morning were tricky and this afternoon the track was still a little damp and caused a few problems. On the whole, the bike feels good and we've improved a little on testing but I think I can get more from the bike and will be looking to go faster tomorrow. I need to particularly work on the last chicane and then hopefully I will gain my best qualifying position of the year".

Leon was pleased to top the time sheets again: "It was tricky to really push today but I'm pleased with this afternoon in particular. There are a couple of things I want to try tomorrow and I'm hopeful that I can shave a bit more time off today. If I can manage that I'm hopeful of a front row start following tomorrow's qualifying session".

The ninth round of the Championship continues with two 50-minute qualifying sessions tomorrow followed by two 22-lappers on Sunday.

Practice times:
1. 1: Leon Haslam (Ducati) 1:27.664
2. 2: Glen Richards (Kawasaki) +0.309
3. 3: Gregorio Lavilla (Ducati) +0.393
4. 4: Karl Harris (Honda) +0.534
5. 5: Ryuchi Kiyonari (Honda) +0.705
6. 6: Steve Plater (Honda) +0.895
7. 7: Gary Mason (Honda) 0.917
8. 8: Tommy Hill (Yamaha) +0.918
9. 9: Dean Thomas (Kawasaki) +1.084
10. 10: Michael Rutter (Honda) +1.207
11. 11: John Reynolds (Suzuki) +1.207