Padgett's Motorcycles Ian Hutchinson goes to Silverstone this weekend in an impressive seventh place overall in the Fuchs-Silkolene British Supersport championship standings after only take part in half of the BSB season with the possibility of taking fifth or sixth before the season ends.
Hutchinson didn’t join the category until the fifth round due to a deal that was in place at the end of 2008 for both road and short circuits falling through leaving him stranded without a ride.  He then spoke to a few teams but was only able to obtain a road deal with Clive Padgett’s due to him already having signed four riders for the short circuits who understandably didn’t want to overstretch his resources at that time.
Hutchinson said: “I had been keeping in touch with the BSB watching it on TV up to the TT.  I was watching the times people were doing and the times were fast, there is a very strong depth of field in the class.  I am well in touch with the four riders that are dicing for the championship.  I really like the class and I like riding all the bikes on the road but it’s a good class on the short circuits, I like the depth of field and the style of riding, it gets good credibility.”
“The first round I was going to was Snetterton I was a bit apprehensive and looking forward to it, but I didn’t want to end up 15th and look rubbish.  I qualified on the second row, got good results.  I now have done six races and I’ve not been off the first or second row in qualifying,  my worst race result was eighth at Cadwell which was down to choosing a soft tyre that didn’t last the race.”
Even thought Hutchinson could take fifth in the championship standings his main focus is to stand on the podium for again and even take a win in the final two rounds.  Hutchinson can easily adapt his riding style between the two extreme types of racing and the variety of bikes he uses, this was proven with his success at the TT this year in which he won the Superstock and a Supersport race followed by a fourth place in the Superbike category.
Hutchinson said: “We achieved what we wanted in the Supersport and Superstock, we didn’t in the Superbike.  I wasn’t riding in the British championship before the TT so only had one meeting before at the Northwest.  One practice session was damp, one was interrupted and the other was cancelled so we didn't get much testing.  At the TT we couldn't find a setting that worked on the Superbike.
When asked what he has left to do in his career he said: “I’ve won a race at every International meeting, won a British Supersport race and Superstock races, won at Scarborough and Darley.  I’d like to have a go at British Superbikes at some point but I would like to be constantly winning more races in the 600 class before that.”
“I am still to win Macau, I’ve been going over there for three years I would like to win that but think at some point that will just come.  It’s the kind of place that if everything is right one year it happens for you and obviously the Superbike race at the TT, we are getting closer.”