Emmett wins second race at Thruxton.

By Adam Arnold

Sean Emmett led from the start and fended off hot opposition from second placed Michael Rutter and third placed Gregorio Lavilla to win the second race from British Superbikes at Thruxton. Scott Smart held off cup contender James Ellison to take fourth.

06 Jun 2004

By Adam Arnold

Emmett led the field into the first corner, closely followed by Dean Thomas, Reynolds and Rutter.
Thomas lost the rear of his Sendo Ducati during the first lap, putting him out of the remainder of the race. Luckily Thomas walked away from the accident unhurt.

However the same cannot be said for championship leader John Reynolds, who fell after touching the rear tyre of Gregorio Lavilla on lap five. As a result of this accident he has broken his collar bone, an injury that he sustained last season also and put him out of racing for a few rounds. It is unclear at the moment the extent of the damage, so it is impossible to say how long it will be before he is back on a bike.

These two departures left the racing up to Emmett, Rutter, Lavilla, Smart, Mason and championship cup contender James Ellison. This was the order until Rutter took Emmett on lap ten, with Lavilla and Smart following him through. Lavilla then made a move on Rutter taking first, and all of this in a single corner.

This battle enabled championship cup contender Ellison to claw back the gap the leaders had made over the rest of the field. By lap thirteen Ellison had closed and taken the now fourth placed Smart to his position. Emmett then made a move on Lavilla in a bid for second behind Rutter. Emmett was ahead when both riders run wide going into the chicane before the start finish straight. Both riders went off the track and rejoined the track ahead of fourth placed Ellison.

On lap sixteen the front five came up against a slower rider who wasn't aware of the leaders approaching. All five of the leaders were side by side as they past the back marker. Lavilla, who felt he had been held up, waved an angry fist as he past. Ellison used this to great advantage and found himself in third. Smart had now moved into fourth with Lavilla close behind. Emmett still held the lead with Rutter in second.

In the dying stages Smart and Lavilla moved ahead of Ellison, but Smart then came under attack from Lavilla, the MotoGP rider taking the position on the second from last lap. The final lap saw a three way battle between Smart, Lavilla and Ellison for third place, with Lavilla winning the drag over the line ahead of Smart and then Ellison.

Race two top ten
1. Sean Emmett Monstermob Ducati
2. Michael Rutter HM Honda
3. Gregorio Lavilla Rizla Suzuki
4. Scott Smart Hawk Kawasaki
5. James Ellison* Jentin Yamaha
6. Tommy Hill Virgin Yamaha
7. Kieran Clarke Colin Appleyard Yamaha
8. Ryuichi Kiyonari HM Honda
9. Craig Coxhell Vitrans Honda
10. James Buckingham* Quay Garage Suzuki