Croft double for Rutter

Michael Rutter made the most of a mistake by leader Yukio Kagayama to take the win in race one at Croft on Sunday August 15, before overcoming a three bike battle to complete the British Superbikes double with a win in race two.

From the start of race one, Suzuki-mounted Kagayama took the lead and maintained it until the closing stages. Behind him a battle raged between Scott Smart, James Haydon and John Reynolds. Michael Rutter, meanwhile, was slowly moving his way up from sixth place on the first lap. He managed to close the gap on the leader, and when Kagayama appeared to miss a gear on the final lap, Rutter was able to sweep past.

In race two Scott Smart took the early lead, followed by Kagayama, Rutter and Reynolds. On lap four Kagayama exited with a huge highside, leaving a leading trio to battle for the win. All three had led the race by the final lap, but it was Michael Rutter who was in the right place as the trio completed the final lap.

Rutter’s double moves him to 50 points behind championship leader John Reynolds, with the next round at Cadwell Park on August 28-30.

And it was a bad weekend for MonsterMob’s Sean Emmett, when team boss Paul Bird announced that his contract will not be renewed at the end of this year, and them team are likely to run Honda FireBlades in 2005.

Discuss the Croft round of the British Superbike championship here, and Have Your Say.