The British Superbike Championship travels to Silverstone in Buckinghamshire this weekend for the penultimate round of the season and holding a 16-point lead, Worx Crescent Suzuki's Tommy Hill knows that a good set of results will be the best preparation for the big finale at Oulton Park in two weeks time.
With two wins and two second places in the past two rounds, Hill says he can't be complacent though; he can't expect an easy ride in any race between now and the year end - and especially not at Silverstone as the meeting marks Hill's debut on the new GP circuit.
"It's a circuit that's completely different to most other British tracks," Hill explained. "Where Croft was typical - bumpy and narrow - Silverstone's actually still bumpy but it's about four times wider and over a mile and half longer! It asks for a whole new skills set both of the rider and the bike.
"I got to ride the circuit for the first time last week, whereas some of my rivals were racing here earlier this season. But the test was all positive. As ever, I'll need to get my head down and be consistent - consistently winning! That's the reality of the job at this end of the season," Hill concluded.
Team Manager Jack Valentine added, "We had a good test here last week. Both Tommy and Yukio Kagayama got on well with the circuit and the bikes' set-ups seem to work well here, too. We've built a new-spec motor especially for this round, which will make for more speed on the straights, and we're very happy with that as well.
"We're mindful there will be plenty of pressure this weekend. Our rivals are in the position of having to give maximum effort this weekend if they are still to be in with a chance of the title come Oulton Park. I can see it's going to be one hell of a round with a lot of lads going 110%, so although Tommy has a 16-point lead he's still going to have to get stuck in and lead those guys to the line if he's going to be in the best possible position for Oulton Park.
"And all this on a big wide track, with a long 3.6 mile lap. As ever, anything can happen. This is probably going to be the most significant weekend of the championship, it's going to be tense and tough, but we're ready for it."
Main Photo: Tommy Hill
