Team Suzuki Press Office – July 22.
Richard Cooper – 1st Superstock 1000
Bennetts Suzuki’s Richard Cooper took victory in today’s Superstock 1000 race at Brands Hatch, taking maximum points from the two-part race at round six of the MCE British Superbike Championship.
Cooper had qualified on pole, and was leading the first half of the race when the red flags came out after 10 laps. It was restarted as an eight-lap sprint, with Cooper picking-up where he left off to cross the line first.
After the pitstop, Cooper slotted into second place as the race restarted, but hit the front on lap four. From there he was never headed as the red-flags were again brought out, this time for rain on lap 12.
It means Cooper took maximum points to get his championship challenge back on track, with another opportunity available in tomorrow’s 16-lap race.
Richard Cooper:
“I’m a little bit disappointed to be honest because I wanted to win by more. I was feeling good and had a comfortable lead, so I was actually a bit disappointed when the red flags came out in the first part. They were a bit closer after the stoppage but I could keep them behind me. After the pitstop we had a bit of an issue with the rear brake setup, which made it a bit more difficult at the front, but I think we could have gone the distance even though the flags came out again. But it’s good, I’m feeling good and the bike’s working well, and we were running at lap record pace. Tomorrow’s a sprint race and I’m feeling confident, so fingers crossed the weather’s kind. The plan’s to get away and hopefully lead from the front, and have another good race.”
Steve Hicken – Team Manager:
“It’s good to get back onto the top step today. We had a run of bad luck but the potential in Cooper and the GSX-R were never in question, so we’re happy to be back on track and leading races from the front again, and with pole and the win in both halves of today’s race, it couldn’t have gone much better. We had a bit of an issue in the second half with the rear brake after changing the wheel, but fair play to Cooper because he got on with the job and still managed to hold everybody off for the win. Everything’s working well and we know that when it is, we can race for wins, so hopefully we’ll have another one to add to it tomorrow.”
Superstock 1000 race result: 1. Richard Cooper (Bennetts Suzuki GSX-R1000), 2. Danny Buchan, 3. Chrissy Rouse.
