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British Superbike championship review 2002
By Dan Moakes April 18 2003
After a two-way Ducati battle in 2001, between John Reynolds and Steve Hislop, the British Superbike championship became far more open this year, thanks in part to the updated regulations.
Rather than let the V-twin Ducati 998s run away from the rest, the organisers chose to allow the four-cylinder opposition to enlarge engine capacity from 750cc to 1000cc; this opportunity was grasped by both Suzuki and Yamaha. Defending champion Reynolds crossed over to the former team, intent on developing the GSX-R into a race-winning prospect, but giving the advantage to his rival in the interim.

39-year-old Steve Hislop remained with Paul Bird’s MonsterMob Ducati team, and finally retook the title he had last held in 1995. He was not without strong competition and this came, for the most part, from Sean Emmett and Michael Rutter, also on Ducati TestaStrettas. Emmett started the year on the same bike he had ridden for Rêve Racing in 2001, but was now with IFC Racing. This team were due to update to the latest machine during the season, but after the Knockhill races they were forced to withdraw altogether. Sean’s useful title prospects were knocked by this development. He switched to the Virgin Yamaha team but, at that stage, their best rider was lying in seventh position overall, behind five Ducatis and a Suzuki. Rutter, meanwhile, was leading Team Renegade Ducati’s effort, and he became Hislop’s closest on-track threat in the latter stages.

Ultimately, Hizzy’s season saw him run up five pole positions and eight victories, both figures matched by Rutter, but with a staggering thirteen fastest laps to boot. If evidence were needed to prove Ducati’s continued superiority, it was provided by a total of twelve poles from thirteen, twenty-three wins from twenty-six, and twenty-two fastest laps. The way Hislop triumphed over Rutter and Emmett was with his consistent race pace, allowing for a couple of off days, that saw him onto the podium on eighteen occasions, with further top six results. Rutter was second only twice, to Hislop’s seven, and the momentum was firmly with the Scot right from the Silverstone season-opener.

In addition to Hislop, Emmett and Rutter, the initial Ducati line-up included a second IFC machine, piloted by Paul Brown, and Shane Byrne was on the other Renegade bike. Dean Ellison ran a 996 for D&B Racing, and this team also entered Brown on his late return after the IFC problems. Rizla Suzuki paired Reynolds with Karl Harris (later substituted by Giovanni Bussei and then David Jefferies when injured), and Crescent ETI fielded John Crawford on their lead bike (with Jefferies and Ross McCulloch filling in under similar circumstances). Virgin Yamaha ran Steve Plater and former GP winner Simon Crafar, adding Emmett later on. Hawk Kawasaki led the 750 class, with Glen Richards and Mark Burr in the saddle, and a number of privateer teams fielded GSX-Rs and Honda FireBlades.

The first five double-headers saw Ducati supreme, with four wins for Hislop, three for Emmett, two for Rutter and one for Byrne. The Donington Park meeting was a good one for the Renegade duo, with Byrne taking a début victory in partially damp conditions, and Rutter leading a one-two in a very wet second race. Elsewhere it had looked like evolving into a Hislop-Emmett title chase, but the four-cylinders remained in the mix, with Reynolds second three times, and Plater consistently in the top six.

Then, at Brands Hatch, Suzuki and Reynolds broke through for their first win, and the champion followed this up with pole at Rockingham. The remainder of the season proved a rocky ride for ‘JR’, with only two more podium visits and a few no-scores mixed in, but there remained grounds for optimism. After the GSX’s lone victory there followed a run of ten more for Ducati. Emmett took just one of these, but was almost always on the podium, including a pair of thirds in his first Yamaha outing. Hislop took advantage with four wins, whilst Rutter had three and Byrne added two more. Knockhill had seen Brown score a best result of second.

However, races 21 and 22, at Oulton Park, marked a big leap forward for the Yamaha R1. What had been a difficult bike to handle initially was now going pretty well, and Plater duly recorded its first win in the second race of the meeting. He added a second victory at Mallory Park, and Emmett kept his title hopes alive by taking his Yamaha to second in both races there. Crafar had reached the podium for only the second time at Oulton.

Emmett’s slender hopes disappeared at the Donington finale, when he appeared to push too hard, and Hislop was able to let a resurgent Rutter win the last three races, including the second at Mallory, and still comfortably take out the crown. In the process, the Scot managed a pole lap at Donington that improved on Valentino Rossi’s for the British Grand Prix, and he proved that experience remains at least as valuable as youthful enthusiasm.

The final table saw the 1000cc bikes with a near-stranglehold on the top positions, the first six being Hislop, Rutter, Emmett, Byrne, Plater and Reynolds. Almost 100 points behind the Suzuki man, but ahead of several works bikes, came the impressive Glen Richards on the ZX-7RR Kawasaki. This machine was far from being the most up-to-date racer, but the Australian was a top six regular in the second half of the season, and put himself among the Ducatis with two fourths at the close of the season. He even claimed fastest lap for the first race at Donington, and looks like a talent for the future.

In 2003, we will hopefully see the Ducati riders challenged even more by what should be a strong field.

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