Magnificent 7 Brits give their thoughts on racing at home track
Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) : "For me it is great to be coming back to race at Silverstone, even more so as it is less than 40 miles from my house and there is a good coffee shop en-route! It also helps that we are coming here off the back of a solid weekend in Brno where we seemed to find some benefits in our setting on the ZX10-R. Hopefully we can carry this momentum forward for the rest of the season and especially here in front of my home crowd at Silverstone. In this case I will be even more satisfied."
Jonathan Rea (Honda World Superbike Team) : "There's something extra special about racing in front of your home crowd, so I'm really looking forward to riding at Silverstone. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to race later in the season because of injury and, although I was there to support the team, it was a frustrating weekend for me. There's still a lot to fight for in this year's championship and the Honda CBR is a much better package than the one we had last year. I've had some good success at Silverstone in the past - it's a fast and flowing circuit, which suits me and the bike, and we took a couple of podiums in 2010 so I can't wait for the weekend."
Leon Haslam (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) : "I'm really looking forward to Silverstone; it's always special to race in front of your home crowd. We've had a few issues, a couple of poor weekends and I've been racing at circuits that I haven't been that good at in the past; so I'm glad that's all behind me and we're going into Silverstone, my home race. Hopefully we'll get back to winning ways. I really enjoy Silverstone as a track. My dad has a race school there and, for me, it's a great venue to have a good, close race."
Chaz Davies (ParkinGO MTC Aprilia): "I'm looking forward to Silverstone. I feel that the race is well timed in the calendar for me, because I'm just starting to grasp Superbike racing. We've come a long way in the last four races in terms of experience in WSBK, so I hope to use everything I've learnt to best effect at Silverstone and put on a show for the home crowd. I have a lot of friends and family coming which is always good for a few tenths of a second!"
Leon Camier (FIXI Crescent Suzuki): "It's always great fun to compete at your home race, but I don't feel any extra pressure at Silverstone. I want to do well at all races, so racing at home is no different in that sense. John qualified the Suzuki on pole position last year, so we know the bike goes well there and it would be good to be on the front row - like I was last year. I can hear the fans on the warm-up and cooling down laps, but once the race is on, I am so concentrated that I don't hear a thing. I'm hoping for some good weather, a good crowd and some good results."
Eugene Laverty (Aprilia Racing Team) : "I'm fortunate to have a second home round this season after the disappointment of Donington back in May. The Silverstone circuit has been kind to me in recent years with a victory and two runner-up finishes so I'll be hoping for a repeat performance. We had a very strong weekend in Brno last time out up until race day where we encountered some problems but we're on a good path at the moment. We improved my riding position on the RSV4 at a test last week at Mugello which allowed me to feel more comfortable on corner exit. My confidence is high and I believe we can continue to move up the order".
Sam Lowes (Bogdanka PTR Honda) : "I'm feeling mega and really looking forward to Silverstone. I'm in good spirits and feel fit. I love Silverstone and I'm happy we go there at this time of the season trying to get back in winning ways and pushing hard for the championship. It's my home race and a track that I like so I think it will be a really good weekend for us. Silverstone is fast and flowing which suits my style and I know that PTR is working hard to give me a good bike. A home race means more pressure but I like that and we've shown at Donington that we can get the job done so I want to go to Silverstone and do the same thing."
