Swan Yamaha’s Tommy Hill won the seventh round of the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship 2011 race at Oulton Park, after the second race was postponed due to the treacherous weather conditions.

In the race Hill got off to a flying start from second on the grid as he settled into third place and was instantly putting the pressure on title rivals Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne and John Hopkins ahead of him. On the fifth lap Hill stole third place but as Hopkins crashed out of the lead that elevated Hill to second place. He was then able to put a move on Byrne to take the lead and then following a short Safety Car intervention he edged out an advantage to take his first win at the Cheshire track. Michael Laverty meanwhile was running down the order on the opening lap after a problem with his launch control at the start but he worked his way up to finish some solid points in sixth place on the second Swan Yamaha.

Team Manager Gary Ekerold concluded: “Today it was very difficult in those conditions however the team adapted better than we have had previously in similar situations and both riders had the pace to challenge for our first 1-2 finish of the season. It was great for Tommy to win and Michael would have been up there too I believe had it not been for a problem. It was disappointing to have the second race cancelled but now we look forward to Brands Hatch and the triple-header round we will now have at Cadwell Park.”