Motourage

MSS Colchester Kawasaki team boss Nick Morgan claims his squad have never looked sharper as they prepare for the intense cauldron of the Brands Hatch MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship opener this Easter weekend.

Team riders Simon Andrews and Gary Mason look to put the long off-season behind them after a positive test at the circuit last week. Andrews also has the added benefit of high-level track time with the Paul Bird Motorsport squad testing at Valencia this week. The Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R Superbike has been redeveloped over the winter with the important addition of a World Superbike spec Magneti Marelli engine management system.

MSS Colchester Kawasaki riders Simon Andrews and Gary Mason are ready to make serious runs for the BSB crown

MSS Colchester Kawasaki Team Owner, Nick Morgan, said, “We know this is potentially the most difficult season of British Superbikes yet, but we also believe that our riders are the strongest team we’ve ever put together. Both riders are mentally and physically strong, and our race machine is the most developed it’s ever been. We’ve never looked sharper so we definitely have all the ingredients for success!”

The team have retained 2009 sensation Simon Andrews who finished last season in sixth place and have added the super-keen, super-fit Gary Mason, who won last year’s Privateer Cup, for riders without full manufacturer support. The riders have been preparing all winter with fitness and never ending focus as they ready themselves to muscle round the 200mph, 200bhp Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R Superbikes. Andrews has spent the winter climbing and skiing in the Alps while Mason has carried out a brutal martial arts fitness regime, seeing him train and spar with cage fighter Vaughan Lee at the Ultimate Training Centre in Erdington, Birmingham.

At the corresponding round last year, Andrews had a poor qualifying performance leaving him on row four, but he battled through to 5th at one point finally settling for a 7th and an 11th. Ironically, he had an all-race tussle with new rider Gary Mason in the first race with Mason coming out on top. This ride was especially impressive given that Gary was riding a three-year-old machine in the Privateer class.

Gary Mason commented, “Brands has always been a good track for me. I’ve had some good results, so fingers crossed, we can continue the form, and it’s so important we come away with two strong finishes. Nick is now my new crew chief so I’ll have great support from the off.”

Simon added, “I feel so ready for Brands now.  The WSB test at Valencia was great for saddle time, and with a year on the bike I feel I should now be pushing for good results at every circuit. It’s been a long winter; now it’s time to race.”

Although the team and riders have never been in better shape, they know that this year is potentially the most competitive season of British Superbikes ever, with several top names returning, including double World Superbike Champion Neil Hodgson and Japanese ace Ryuichi Kiyonari, who has taken the BSB crown twice. Other top riders to look out for include Australian Josh Brookes and last year’s series runner-up and third placed men James Ellison and Stuart Easton, who find themselves as team mates for 2010.

The MSS Colchester Kawasaki sponsor line-up for 2010 includes: Kawasaki Motors UK, Mac Tools, Maxxis Tires, Hornee Jeans, Confused.com, Colchester Kawasaki, Rock Oil, B & C Express (Arrow Exhaust, Renthal and Tsubaki), NGK Spark Plugs Ltd, Goodridge, Skidmarx, Pro Bolt, MotoXclean, Icom, Talking Headsets, Brupac, TRW, Samco, Barrus, Touch 4, Colourlink, Sound Sense, Clinton Enterprises, Blackhorse Finance, JBL/Harman Kardon, Pipercross, GB Racing, Valta Moto.

Pembrey in South Wales will host the opening rounds of the UK F1 Sidecar Championship, thought by many sport insiders to be the best field since the late 1980s. A top-quality field of F1 sidecars, the like of which hasn’t been seen since the 1986 Silverstone Grand Prix, will be heading down to the former Spitfire base to set their mark on the opening stages of the Battle of Britain.

The 2009 FIM Superside World Champion Birchall Brothers are among the teams competing in UK and international competition

The current World Champions, Ben & Tom Birchall and former triple World Champions Tim & Tristan Reeves would be favorites to clean up under normal circumstances, but some interesting rule changes mean the odds may be about to be turned on their heads. The new World Championship rule amendments have forced teams to make the switch to standard engines as opposed to the highly tuned motors they have been able to run previously, and Tim Reeves estimates that the change costs as much as one second per lap. Coincidentally, one second per lap was about the advantage they had over the best of the National teams in previous seasons, so a seven or eight outfit scrap at the head of the field now looks to be on the cards.

The action gets underway on Saturday April 10, and culminates with the Eurosport televised races on Sunday April 11. Pembrey is located just off the A484 near Llanellli in South Wales, within easy reach of the M4 motorway.

The CTR team look to make their mark on the British circuits in 2010

Cheshire-based CTR Sidecar racing will also be running in the event and hoping to be pushing for a podium result. Strong pre-season testing at Mallory Park and Anglesey have left the team ready to make their mark on the map for the opening round.

Craig Chaplow CTR Driver:
“Pembrey is a special place for Dan and me, as we made our European debut there two years ago, but the thought of 30 F1 sidecars heading into a tight 180 degree hairpin gets the blood flowing, and we will have to ride hard to make our mark.”