Motourage

Relentless Suzuki by TAS Racing is pleased to announce its rider line-up for the 2010 British Superbike Championship after Team Manager Philip Neill secured the signatures of reigning British Superstock Champion Alastair Seeley and fellow Northern Ireland rider Michael Laverty earlier this week.

Laverty needs little introduction, having secured the 2007 British Supersport title in Relentless Suzuki colors before spearheading the team’s maiden effort in the British Superbike Championship in 2008.

Seeley was something of a phenomenon during 2009, taking the British Superstock title with nine wins from nine starts on his GSX-R1000 Suzuki, before dipping his toe in the British Superbike pond as an end of season bonus.

Michael Laverty & Alastair Seeley

Both men will ride factory supported Relentless Suzuki Superbike machines with iconic Suzuki numbers – Seeley will run number 34 and Laverty number 7 for the 2010 season – and team manager Philip Neill is confident of immediate success.

Philip Neill:
“Not many teams can boast the services of two British champions, which we have secured in Michael Laverty and Alastair Seeley.  It’s fair to say our plans for this season have taken a little longer than normal to finalise as we did our best to consider the requirements of our sponsors.

“With this in mind, 2010 carries increased expectations from TAS Racing and its riders, but I am more than confident, we have chosen the correct line up in order to meet these requirements.

“As a team we will enter our third term in British Superbike, and having already secured both the British Supersport and Superstock Championships, we are now ready to challenge the front running teams for the Superbike title. We fully believe the Relentless Suzuki GSX-R1000 is the correct tool for the job and with one year’s development behind us already, we will hit the ground running when our testing program begins in Spain during early March.”

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MSS Colchester Kawasaki have used the winter break to show their British Superbike intentions with the addition of the latest spec WSBK Magneti Marelli electronics package.

Team owner Nick Morgan visited the Kawasaki World Superbike outfit of Paul Bird Motorsport to collect the valuable electronics systems, which the squad believes will help them bridge the gap to the best funded, factory-backed teams. The system has been extensively developed by PBM’s engineers Phil Borley and Stuart Bland, which gives the MSS Colchester a development short-cut with the new equipment. The Magneti Marelli Marvel system [Download product description pdf here] handles all on-board electronics to tackle both data collection and system management, with a myriad of data logging and fine tuning options available.

MSS Colchester team owner Nick Morgan (center) with 2010 riders Gary Mason and Simon Andrews

Electronics have become a big factor in modern racebike development and it has become apparent that big horsepower is not always enough if it cannot be controlled adequately, especially on tight, technical circuits such as some of those seen in the British Superbike Championship. The MSS Colchester squad now intend to utilize their new tools as well as special swing arms and chassis upgrades with extensive dyno and track development over the winter.

The official Kawasaki UK British Superbike entry recently announced their 2010 rider line-up of Simon Andrews and Gary Mason, both of which are excited to be using the new system.

Nick Morgan , MSS Colchester Kawasaki Team Owner:
“From a technical point of view we’re so excited to be using the latest spec World Superbike electronics and as motivation we know we now have the best kit available, so there’s no excuses! I can’t thank Birdy and his team enough for giving us such amazing hardware, especially as they have put in huge development time over the course of the year. The kit is straight off Broc Parkes machine which he used so effectively at Brands Hatch, so we know it works well there and that’s where we race!”

GSE Racing, who ran the Airwaves Yamaha and Airwaves Ducati teams and scored BSB championships with Troy Bayliss, Neil Hodgson,  Shane Byrne and Leon Camier will be forced to pull out of racing if it fails to land a title sponsor by the end of the month.  All team members have been notified, but the team is making one final push for a sponsorship deal.  Wrigley’s Airwaves made the announcement mid-season that they would not be continuing their motorcycle racing endeavors past 2009.

Airwaves Yamaha's James Ellison

Darrell Healey, Team Principal:
“It is with great regret that we have had to issue the team with their notice of redundancy, with a view to withdrawing from the British Superbike Championship at the end of 2009. We have enjoyed tremendously our time racing in the most competitive domestic Superbike series in the world, and therefore this decision was not taken lightly. Alongside Yamaha, we will be doing all we can to try and secure a partner in the remaining time available, and greatly hope we can return to once again successfully defend our Championship title.”

Colin Wright, Team Manager
“Everyone at GSE Racing is incredibly saddened that we may no longer be able to compete in the British Superbike Championship. We enjoyed our most successful season ever in 2009. Leon Camier and James Ellison were the only two riders to have finished every race in the points (barring Leon’s exclusion at Cadwell) and we enjoyed numerous double race wins and double one two’s on our way to first and second in the Championship standings. We were very much looking forward to continuing this success on into 2010 as we entered our second year in partnership with Yamaha, but unfortunately it looks like this will now not be.  I would like to take this opportunity to thank the whole team for their unrivalled dedication and hard work, our previous sponsors for their support, and of course the British Superbike fans.”

Buildbase Kawasaki are pleased to announce their 2010 British Superbike line up with John Laverty being partnered by Adam Jenkinson.

Laverty, who celebrated the birth of his first child last week, is delighted to be staying with the team that he rocketed to being a podium contender with during 2009.

John Laverty will remain with Buildbase Kawasaki for the 2010 British Superbike Season

John Laverty:
“After the 2009 season finished there was no doubt in my mind where I should be for 2010. I have a great relationship with the team and I’m sure it will only get better for next season. With all the data from 2009 we should be challenging for podiums from the start.”

Adam joins the team for 2010 after a strong season in the National Superstock 1000cc saw him take numerous podiums and a win at Silverstone.

Adam Jenkinson joins the Buildbase team after a successful season with SMT Honda in the Superstock 100 series

Adam Jenkinson:
“After joining the team for the Sunflower meeting in October there was only one place I wanted to be for 2010 and here I am! Bring on 2010 and let’s see what we can do. It will be great to be in the team with John and I am sure we can work well together to achieve the right results.”

Stuart Hicken, Team Principal:
“We have a great line up for 2010 with John and Adam, both riders are full of confidence and after a good season in 2009 I’m sure we can push on in 2010 with some top results. Our thanks must go to Buildbase who have proved to be an excellent company to work with and we look forward to working together for many seasons to come. We are working very hard with our technical partners pre-season especially Cosworth who are providing the expertise for our engine development program. We will be completing initial testing in the UK before attending the official Bitubo Suspension test in Cartagena in February.”

John Laverty secured a top-ten finish in the MCE British Superbike Championship with 10th and 6th place finishes before missing out on a possible 4th place when crashing out on the penultimate lap of the final race of the season. Seven places higher than his 2008 overall position, Laverty showed excellent pace throughout the weekend, again making the final phase of qualifying. Starting from 10th, John got away well in the first race of the triple-race weekend, before the race was red flagged. A poor get-away in the restart saw John battle his way back through to finish 10th just 1.5 seconds behind 5thplace. In race 2, John got way much better and was involved in a race long battle with Josh Brookes eventually getting the better of him and finishing 6th. In race 3, after the second red flag of the weekend – this time on lap 1 – John got away but soon became entangled in a battle with Sylvain Guintolo and Ian Lowry for 4th. On the penultimate lap, John pushed hard into Brittens chicane where he unfortunately crashed out of the race. A tough way to end the 2009 season but filled with promise for 2010.

It was fifth place all round for Hydrex Honda at Silverstone on Sunday when all three members of the team finished inside the top five in their respective races. Stuart Easton again led the way with a brace of fourths in the two Superbike races although new recruit Tommy Hill wasn’t too far behind with a pair of fifths and the results meant that for the first time ever, the team had both their riders finish in the top five in both BSB races. Meanwhile, Tom Grant added to the solid haul of results with an excellent fifth in the British Supersport 600cc Championship race.

Hydrex Honda's (and Motourage fantasy league rider) Stuart Easton

Having taken his first win of the year at the previous round, Easton was hoping for more of the same to continue to eat into James Ellison’s advantage in the race for second overall but a problem with the front tyre in the first race meant he was unable to challenge and had to settle for fourth. The team made a number of adjustments for the second race and they certainly helped as Stuart was able to run a lot closer to the front despite coming under extreme pressure throughout the race.

In the final third of the race, new Champion Leon Camier found his way through although third place and another podium looked on the cards for Stuart, It wasn’t to be though as fellow Honda rider Josh Brookes made a determined move on the last corner on the last lap and it was enough to push Stuart back for his second fourth place of the day, the first time since Mallory Park in July that he hadn’t finished on the podium in at least one of the races.

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Sylvain Guintoli finished yesterday’s British Superbike races at Silverstone with 7th and 8th place results. The Worx Crescent Suzuki star made a terrific start to the day with the fourth-fastest time in the morning warm-up, but in the races, despite respectable lap times, Guintoli struggled to make the results he sought.

Worx Crescent Suzuki's Sylvain Guintoli

Sylvain Guintoli “The first race wasn’t so bad, I definitely had the pace to be running top-five. I enjoyed racing with Tommy Hill and John Laverty, and I was lining up to make a pass on Hill when – I can’t believe this – a large bug splattered my visor in one of the turns, totally obscuring my vision. By the time I had the tear-off sorted, instead of passing Tommy, I’d been passed by John. So that was 7th instead of 5th.  In that second race, I lost too much time at the start. There was some contact in the first turn and that dropped me right down. But no excuses – make a good start and these thing don’t happen to you. I’m quite frustrated as it’s not all coming together as it should. I need to make good starts and I need to get on the pace a lot quicker – these are not endurance races.”

Jack Valentine, team manager
“There’s not too much to say about today. We’ve been conscious of not pressuring Sylvain and allowing him to get his feel back for racing. He has a few issues to sort through, and the job for us now is to work on these.  We’re off to Oulton Park for the final round of the championship and there Sylvain at last has previous experience of the track – and it’s a track where he’s tasted success. With two podium finishes there we’ve also good data to work from, so we expect to be in a much stronger position to help him back to the form which we know he’s capable of.”

MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship in association with Pirelli, Silverstone
Race one results:
1. Leon Camier (Airwaves Yamaha)
2. James Ellison (Airwaves Yamaha) 0.244s
3. James Brookes (HM Plant Honda) 8.837s
4. Stuart Easton (Hydrex Honda) 9.164s
5. Tommy Hill (Hydrex Honda) 18.278s
6. John Laverty (Buildbase Kawasaki) 18.787s
7. Sylvain Guintoli (Worx Crescent Suzuki) 18.33s
8. Ian Lowry (Relentless Suzuki by TAS) 22.408s
9. Simon Andrews (MSS Colchester Kawasaki) 22.921s
10. Julien Da Costa (MSS Colchester Kawasaki) 24.682s

Race two result:
1. James Ellison (Airwaves Yamaha)
2. Leon Camier (Airwaves Yamaha) 1.200s
3. Josh Brookes (HM Plant Honda) 3.783s
4. Stuart Easton (Hydrex Honda) 3.974s
5. Tommy Hill (Hydrex Honda) 9.774s
6. Julien Da Costa (MSS Colchester Kawasaki) 11.099s
7. Simon Andrews (MSS Colchester Kawasaki) 14.340s
8. Sylvain Guintoli (Worx Crescent Suzuki) 16.148s
9. Ian Lowry (Relentless Suzuki by TAS) 21.434s
10. Alastair Seeley (Relentless Suzuki by TAS Evo) 23.963s

The racing season may be getting ready to wind down, but the action is still heating up.  The MotoGP circus lands in the US for the second and final time of the season for the Red Bull Indianapolis GP.  If you’re lucky enough to be heading to Indianapolis this weekend, don’t miss the legendary Indy Mile flat track races next door at the Indianapolis Fairgrounds.  Round 9 of the British Superbike championship heads to Cadwell Park, and there are regional events to be found no matter where you live in the US.

This week’s motorcycle racing event calendar.

Aug 29-30
MotoGP Round 12
Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix
Indianapolis Speedway, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
http://www.motogp.com/en/events/Indianapolis/2009

Aug 29-30
AMA Flat Track Round 11
Indy Mile
Indianapolis State Fairgrounds, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
http://amaproracing.com/ft/events/event.cfm?eid=2009020970

Aug 29-30
British Superbike, Round9
Cadwell Park, Tathwell, Lincolnshire, UK
http://www.britishsuperbike.com/events/cadwell-park.aspx

Aug 29
AMA Hot Shoe Nationals Round 8
Gas City Short Track
Gas City I-69 Speedway, Gas City, Indiana, USA
http://amaproracing.com/ft/events/event.cfm?eid=2009030935&hs=true

Aug 28-30
CCS/ASRA Summer Cyclefest
Summit Point Motorsports Park, Summit Point, West Virginia, USA
http://www.ccsracing.us/venues/summit.html

Aug 28-30
SRA Sidecar Racing, Round 9-10
Summit Point Motorsports Park, Summit Point, West Virginia, USA
http://www.sidecarracers.com

August 29-30
WMRRA Sprint Races
Pacific Raceways, Kent, Washington, USA
http://www.pacificraceways.com

ON TV

Mon, Aug 24
Isle of Man TT, Senior TT Race – 9-10pm, SPEED

Tue, Aug 25
Isle of Man TT, Senior TT Race –
12-1am, SPEED
4-5am, SPEED
2-3pm,SPEED

MotoGP 125, Brno, Chech Republic – 12-1pm, SPEED

Sat, Aug 29
AMA Pro Motocross 450s, Southwick – 10-11pm, SPEED

Sun, Aug 30
MotoGP Indianapolis Grand Prix – 3-4pm, FOX

Today’s Motourage video of the day is Gearlink Kawasaki’s Chris Martin flying over the barriers at Hawthorn bend during the Fuchs-Silkolene British Supersport race this past weekend at Brands Hatch.  The crash resulted in little more than a broken ankle.  A painful injury, but it obviously could have been much much worse.

I don’t think any more words are necessary for this video.

BRITISH SUPERBIKES
BRANDS HATCH GP
AUGUST 7-9, 2009

Friday

09.00 – 09.20 Relentless British 125GP Free Practice 1

09.30 – 10.10 Fuchs-Silkolene British Supersport Free Practice 1

10.20 – 11.10 MCE BRITISH SUPERBIKES in association with PIRELLI Free Practice 1

11.20 – 11.50 Metzeler National Superstock 600 Free Practice

12.00 – 12.25 Metzeler National Superstock 1000 Free Practice

12.35 – 13.00 International Classic Grand Prix UEM Cup Qualifying 1

13.45 – 14.05 Relentless British 125GP Free Practice 2

14.15 – 15.05 MCE BRITISH SUPERBIKES in association with PIRELLI Free Practice 2

15.15 – 15.55 Fuchs-Silkolene British Supersport Free Practice 2

16.05 – 16.30 Metzeler National Superstock 600 Qualifying 1

16.40 – 17.10 Metzeler National Superstock 1000 Qualifying 1

17.20 – 17.45 International Classic Grand Prix UEM Cup Qualifying 2

17.50 – 18.15 Focused Events KTM RC8 Super Cup Free Practice

Saturday

09.00 – 09.25 Focused Events KTM RC8 Super Cup Qualifying

09.30 – 09.55 Relentless British 125GP Qualifying 1

10.00 – 10.25 MCE BRITISH SUPERBIKES in association with PIRELLI Free Practice 3

10.35 – 11.10 Fuchs-Silkolene British Supersport Qualifying 1

11.20 – 11.45 Metzeler National Superstock 1000 Qualifying 2

11.55 – 12.20 Metzeler National Superstock 600 Qualifying 2

12.30 – 12.55 SWAN COMBI 50 ROLL FOR POLE Q1 – LIVE

13.02 – 13.17 MCE BRITISH SUPERBIKES in association with PIRELLI Q2 – LIVE

13.24 – 13.34 QUALIFYING Q3

13.45 Front Row Press Conference at the THINK! Unit

13.50 – 14.10 Agostini MV/Yamaha, 250/350/500 Honda Classic Bikes/Riders 1st track session

14.20 – 14.55 Fuchs-Silkolene British Supersport Qualifying 2

15.05 – 15.30 Relentless British 125GP Qualifying 2

15.45 Metzeler National Superstock 600 Shoot Out 8 laps

16.20 International Classic Grand Prix UEM Cup 10 laps

17.00 MCE BRITISH SUPERBIKES in association with PIRELLI 18 laps

17.45 Focused Events KTM RC8 Super Cup 12 laps

Sunday

09.00 – 09.10 Focused Events KTM RC8 Super Cup Warm up

09.15 – 09.30 MCE BRITISH SUPERBIKES in association with PIRELLI Warm up

09.35 – 09.45 Relentless British 125GP Warm up

09.55 – 10.05 Metzeler National Superstock 1000 Warm up

10.10 – 10.20 Fuchs-Silkolene British Supersport Warm up

10.30 – 10.40 Metzeler National Superstock 600 Warm up

10.50 – 11.30 Pit Walk + Air and Track Displays

11.45 Focused Events KTM RC8 Super Cup 12 laps

12.10 – 12.40 Agostini MV/Yamaha, 250/350/500 Honda Classic Bikes/Riders

+ Troy Corser BMW S1000RR

2nd track session

12.50 Red Devils Parachute Drop

13.00 MCE BRITISH SUPERBIKES in association with PIRELLI 20 laps

13.45 Relentless British 125GP 14 laps

14.30 Metzeler National Superstock 1000 16 laps

15.15 Fuchs-Silkolene British Supersport 18 laps

15.45 – 16.10 Agostini MV/Yamaha, 250/350/500 Honda + Classic Bikes/Riders 3rd track session

16.30 MCE BRITISH SUPERBIKES in association with PIRELLI 20 laps

17.15 Metzeler National Superstock 600 14 laps