2011 British Superbike...

[ghinzani]

Congratulations to Tommy Hill today, and to John Hopkins. To win the championship on the final lap by the width of a wheel... how many passes on that final tour? I thought Hopkins was dead and buried with three laps to go. Simply amazing riding by the pair of them.

[chunder]

Just like Supersport, in all honesty they both deserve to win.

But that electric failure will haunt Denning and Les Pearson as much as Chris Walkers blown engine in 2000 or 99 whenever it was. Bad tiem for that to happen and makes not going out in the warm up seem especially stupid!

[ghinzani]

Originally Posted by chunder

and makes not going out in the warm up seem especially stupid!

agree

[gomick]

Is there a vid of the last lap between Hill & Hopkins?

[cg7aa]

My word, has there ever been a series of races that was this tense all the way through? It was unbearable and I was sitting on my sofa!

I thought Imola 2002 was extraordinary but this was something else. How both riders (and teams) didn't collapse under the enormous mental strain (outwardly at least) is beyond me; you could see the enormous pressure both riders were under just looking at their body language during the post race 2 interviews.

Hill said he had bent his brake lever (can't remember which side) battling with Kirkham in race 2 and had also caught in boot in the rear wheel (yikes!) then of course there was the electrical failure for Hopkins. Does anyone know why they elected not to run in the warm-up session? Was the bike not ready or was Hopper saving his finger?

Hopkins looked utterly utterly dejected at the end, I wonder if he had a MotoGP seat riding on him winning the championship?

Byrne's win on a bike which is somewhat outclassed was quite impressive. Brookes' off at the exit of paddock hill in race 2 was quite hairy, there seems to have been quite a number of violent off during the weekend but with riders getting away with it - always good to see.

[cg7aa]

I'm tempted to get the Supersport season review DVD when it comes out. The fight between Wilson and Seeley was just as tense and dramatic as that between Hopkins and Hill. You've gotta hand it to Seeley and TAS though, to come back from a DNF in race 1 to win takes some guts. Wilson made hay early in the season but once Seeley got in his stride, the Kawasaki began to look somewhat outpaced; not by much but by just enough. Wilson always seemed to be riding out of his skin to stay in contention.

Chunder, do you know why there are so many Triumphs running in supersport? It can't simply be a case of the bike being more affordable to race and run, can it?

[chunder]

It is I think cg, they are not standard and are more readily available with quite a few teams running more than 2 or three bikes.

The Honda is totally uncompetive in BSS, so most use Yams, Suzuki Kawa or Triumph