Tommy Hill didn't enjoy the sweltering Snetterton weather as much as the fans in attendance after his Yamaha suffered from overheating problems. The reigning champion overcame the issue to win race one, becoming the first repeat winner of 2012, but when it returned in race two he was forced to retire, allowing Josh Brookes to move a point ahead of him in the standings.
“There were six different winners from the first six races so to be the first one to win two is a good feeling”, he commented. “The new rules without the traction control mean you have to ride harder but at the same time you don't want to push too hard although you know the other guys will be pushing hard too. I knew it would be tough, especially towards the end of the race. When Josh came passed me I was worried that there might be a pack waiting to do the same. I had an issue with water coming up in my face during the race but we got through it. In the second race I had the same issue and I managed to get close to Michael (Laverty) and then I just had to pull in. It is so frustrating as we had made some good changes between races and I think we could have had a good race so I do feel pretty gutted. I suppose that is because it is my passion and I really wanted a double podium today.”
“It has been a weekend of ups and downs; race one was fantastic and now we will regroup and prepare for Knockhill where the Swan Yamaha team will come out fighting.”
Teammate Noriyuki Haga's day followed a similar pattern with the highlight coming early in the piece. The Japanese rider pipped Alex Lowes on the line to take fourth before crashing out of a similar position in the second race. As a result, Haga is 11 points adrift of the showdown places and knows he must improve next time out at Knockhill.
“I am happy with the result we had in race one with fourth but I also at the same time feel a little disappointed because I still couldn't find the right feeling with the Swan Yamaha and that made it tough. We had worked hard on the suspension during the weekend to get a good feeling from the tyre but we didn't quite solve it for the first race. We made some changes for race two and the Swan Yamaha was feeling much better, but my crash was just a stupid mistake and I was disappointed as I lost the chance to get a podium finish. I have to apologise to the team and now I am looking forward to getting some better results at Knockhill.”