Vivaldi firmly in the points.

Italian owned Vivaldi racing had more to celebrate at Knockhill than just the recent World Cup outcome, running two of the Suzuki GSX-R1000 K6's in full Italian flag livery as a mark of respect for the victorious Italian World Cup side, the team entered the weekend in a buoyant mood and hauled in the points.

Italian owned Vivaldi racing had more to celebrate at Knockhill than just the recent World Cup outcome, running two of the Suzuki GSX-R1000 K6's in full Italian flag livery as a mark of respect for the victorious Italian World Cup side, the team entered the weekend in a buoyant mood and hauled in the points.

Round Eight of the 2006 Bennetts British Superbike Championship was to prove to be one of the most successful of the season to date for Vivaldi Racing. Scott Smart headed the Vivaldi results with his strongest race weekend since he claimed the top step of the podium at Donington Park back in April. Gutsy performances earned Smart two top ten finishes under the Scottish sun. A determined ride gave Smart a seventh place finish in race two, after scoring 10th in the first, from his starting position of 12th on the grid.

"In the second race I just went for it and ended up at the front of the group, finishing in seventh less than a 10th of a second off sixth," said Smart, "The bikes are working good and the engine is more powerful, we are moving forward."

Ben Wilson and Ollie Bridewell hit the high time again, both riders improved upon their qualifying positions of 16th and 20th. Wilson picked up a brace of point scoring finishes with 12th and 11th places around the undulating 1.3-mile circuit. Bridewell was not to be left out of the scoring theme, ending his weekend in the points for the first time in six rounds with a 14th place in race two from the fifth row of the grid.

Wilson commented, "I struggled with the strength in my shoulder in both races. After getting away with Scott and the chasing pack I started to drop back mid-race and ended with a 12th and 11th. I wasn't too happy with my results but under the circumstances I am pleased for the team."

Ollie Bridewell was reasonably pleased with his results, "I didn't go too bad in race two in all fairness. I had a good start and got my head down. I was about 17th from the start and managed to catch Ben and some of the others. I ended up 14th, and I'm happy with that having not been in the points for quite a few rounds now. I'm pleased to get the Vivaldi Superbike back in the points and look for a better result at Oulton."

British Supersport contender, Tommy Bridewell, picked his way through the field to an impressive 12th place having been forced to start his race from the pit lane. Tommy's number one bike developed an oil leak during the warm up laps, and he was forced to transfer to his second machine just before the lights went out. The Wiltshire youngster went on to ride a mature race and score four more valuable championship points for his season campaign.

"Today's race didn't go too bad. We had a problem with my number one bike and I had to start from pit lane on my spare one. It was a bit of a pain cause I felt really comfortable and confident on that bike," said Tommy, "I was three seconds off the last place going off the line so I had to catch and pass them and ended up twelfth place. So it ended up a very good ride, hopefully we can sort out qualifying and get on the podium this season."

The team will now head to Oulton park for the second time this season to contend the ninth round of the 2006 Championships that takes place next weekend, 21 - 23 July 2006.

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