Motourage

The HM Plant Honda team began their title defense in the best possible way as Shane “Shakey” Byrne lapped faster than the Brands Hatch Indy lap record to secure pole position on his return to the British Superbike Championship, just ahead of his teammate Ryuichi Kiyonari who took the second spot alongside Shakey.

Shane Byrne

The two HM Plant Honda Fireblades diced for the pole position with Kiyo first running under the lap record before Shakey went out for a final lap dash for the top spot, when he narrowly edged out the position by 0.080 seconds.

In the National Superstock 1000 Championship it was another pole position for HM Plant Honda as Jason O’Halloran topped the time sheet ahead of his race debut in the class.

Byrne said: “That was a great lap. I started Q3 on a used tire and did a 45.5s lap but then I saw what Kiyo had done and I couldn’t believe it, he needs to slow down a bit! I wanted a front row start but then I saw what Kiyo did and just went for it with a new tire. I went out and did a 45.1s and then I tried to get into the 44s but just couldn’t quite get there. That was a great session though and all credit to the HM Plant Honda team.”

Kiyo said: “That was a hard session as everyone was faster than before, but I pushed as hard as I could and was hoping for the pole position. I knew Shakey was going to be fast as we have been pushing each other all weekend. I need to find some more time tomorrow in warm up as it is so close on the circuit but I am feeling happy and want to get on the podium tomorrow for HM Plant Honda.”

Jason O’Halloran qualified on pole position for the opening round of the National Superstock 1000 Championship at Brands Hatch, posting the fastest time in the combined qualifying sessions.

Jason said: “The weekend has gone well and we have been consistently fast throughout the sessions. We have a good race pace and we know there are a few different changes we still would like to test in warm up tomorrow. I am happy that we will be starting from pole position and the lap was under the record pace so everything is good and I am ready to race now.”

Team Manager Havier Beltran concluded: “Today’s qualifying session was a fantastic start to our season; you can’t ask for more than the top two places on the grid in Superbike and then the pole position in the Superstock class. I think today has shown that all three riders have the potential to challenge for the titles, and it is still early days, but we couldn’t have asked for a better day. It has also shown the strength of the Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade as it has proved to be the fastest bike on track in two classes today. We know the Indy circuit will bring highs and lows as it always does, but so far it has all come together for the HM Plant Honda team and we are looking forward to race day.”

Australian Superbike Championship front runner Bryan Staring is heading to the UK for what he has described as the “chance of a lifetime” – a one-off ride with the HM Plant Honda Team in the Superstock 1000 class of the British Superbike Championship.

The 22-year-old Cougar Bourbon Honda Racing pilot has excelled in 2010, taking debut race and round wins in the national series and catching the eye of Honda counterparts in the UK who were searching for a replacement for their injured regular rider, Steve Plater.

Already familiar with the CBR1000, the Gold Coast-based rider is hoping to quickly adapt to what the new bike asks of him when he hits the Snetterton circuit this Friday through Sunday. He will race as teammate to fellow Aussie Josh Brookes who leads the championship.

“I am absolutely rapt with this chance and can’t thank Honda enough for looking after me and providing this opportunity,” said Staring. “I’ve set my sights on racing in the BSB (British Superbike Championship) in the past and this is a good chance to see how it all works and how competitive I can be. I’m not overly worried about the results, I’m more focused on learning the characteristics of the bike and the nature of the tires and the grip they provide.”

“The Superstock machine will be quite close to the specs of our Aussie Superbikes so I’m hoping to adapt quickly. Josh (Waters) and Wayne (Maxwell) have shown they can match it with some of the best overseas so I’m hoping I can come up to speed pretty quickly.

“I’ve never been to Snetterton before, the only UK race I have competed in was at Donington and that was in the pouring rain – this will be a clean slate, the weather looks set to be fine and I’m really looking forward to meeting the team and learning the ins and outs of the circuit.”

“We are always looking to develop and foster Australian talent at an international level, and Bryan certainly deserves this opportunity with a first rate team, added Honda Australia’s General Manager, Motorcycles, Tony Hinton.  “We are confident he will do very well in the UK and wish him success this weekend.”

The 2009 national Supersport champion, Staring  currently leads the ASBK championship by 4.5 points over Wayne Maxwell and 9.5 points over Josh Waters.

HM Plant Honda’s John McGuinness, Keith Amor and Michael Rutter took to the Isle of Man TT course again today for the second practice session, although lap times were affected by overnight rain which lingered for most of the morning and left some damp patches around the 37.73-mile mountain course. The mountain mist took a long time to clear, but eventually practice got underway at 6:20pm in clear and sunny conditions.

Michael was one of the first riders to tackle the course, taking the HM Plant Honda CBR1000 Superstock bike through to post the third fastest time on his opening lap. Having checked out the course for damp patches, Michael was more confident on his second lap and headed the leaderboard. But as the track dried out, the times began to tumble, and he ended his evening in third place with a lap time of 18:2.91 – 125.429mph, which is his fastest -ever lap around the Mountain course in all the years he has been competing on the Island.

Keith Amor improved his position from Monday evening, powering his HM Plant Honda Superbike through to fifth overall on the night with a time of 17m 57.63 – 126.043mph.

Teammate and multi-TT winner John McGuinness erred on the side of caution in the tricky conditions to end his evening in seventh place, a tad slower than Monday’s session, with a time of 18:01.9 – 125.546mph.

Keith said, “I really didn’t think we would be out tonight. But it turned into a beautiful evening and although a bit damp in places, it was fine. Last night was my first time on the bike, and the first night of practice here at the TT is more about me enjoying myself and not frightening myself. I didn’t frighten myself and just rode around to get used to the bike – which is awesome – and get myself settled into it. But tonight I got my head down and went for a quicker time. But of course it’s how fast you go on Saturday in the race that matters, not how fast you go on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday or Friday.”

John commented, “Last night the times were just unbelievable. Everything felt pretty good and under control. My first lap was 125mph and the second 127mph, which is incredible on the first night of practice. The course is in pretty good shape, there was a bit of dust about but it wasn’t as bad as we expected. We were worrying about the bad winter over here and there would perhaps be more bumps but it’s exactly the same and the resurfacing they have done through the Black Dub and through Kirk Michael is really good. Tonight it was wet in places and I was not comfortable to go for a really fast lap in those conditions. The weather forecast is good for tomorrow and the rest of the week so we can work towards improving our lap times then.”

Michael said, “I am really enjoying myself, love the HM Plant Honda Fireblade and it’s going really well for me. I have posted quicker lap times than ever before here, which is great news and now we are promised some good weather so I am really looking forward to Wednesday evening’s practice session.”

Havier Beltran, HM Plant Honda Team Manager concluded, “The conditions here have not been ideal for us so far. The track was dirty on the first night and last night it was quite wet at Glen Helen and also towards the end of the course. The HM Plant Honda riders quite sensibly are not prepared to push it in those conditions, but with the weather set to improve from Wednesday onwards we can get on with tire choice and set-up in preparation for racing on Saturday.”

HM Plant Honda’s Steve Plater and John McGuinness have experienced some highs and lows during this week’s practices for Saturday’s North West 200 races, with both riders securing leading positions in the practice timesheets but also with Steve Plater sustaining a broken arm leaving him unable to compete on Saturday.

Steve and teammate John entered today’s Superbike practice session in first and second positions respectively following Tuesday evening’s practice. However on the second lap of his outing, Steve crashed at the last corner, Quarry Hill [See Course Map], when he lost the front end of the bike and slid heavily into the safety fencing.

HM Plant Honda's Steve Plater suffered a broken left arm in a serious crash at Quarry Hill

Steve was immediately attended to by marshals and medics on the course and taken to Coleraine hospital where he underwent a full examination. It was quickly evident that his head, main body and legs were fine and that the main injury was to his left arm.

X-rays have confirmed that Steve has a broken left arm at the mid forearm point – with clean breaks to both the ulna and radius bones – and he will need an operation to have both bones plated. Steve’s arm has been plastered and he will remain in hospital overnight as a precautionary measure, ahead of his operation tomorrow.

Steve is fortunate to have come away from his high speed crash with relatively minor injuries and this is testament to the FIM approved safety bales which absorbed the majority of the impact, the quality of Steve’s leathers and helmet and also his quick thinking, as when he knew he was sliding towards the curb he picked his legs up to minimize any further injury.

Steve remembers the whole accident and, although in pain, was talking to paramedics and HM Plant Honda’s team manager, Harvey Beltran, before being taken to hospital by ambulance – in fact the first thing he said was to ask Harvey to call his wife, Vicky.

John McGuinness will line up on the front row of the starting grid for Saturday's North West 200

Although being incredibly disappointed to be missing Saturday’s North West 200 races, Steve would like to thank everyone for the numerous good wishes already received. And, in his true determined spirit, Steve plans to watch Saturday’s races from the pits and is already focusing on what he needs to do get back on the seat of his HM Plant Honda CBR1000 as quickly as possible in order to retain his current lead in the British Superstock Championship.

In the meantime, John McGuinness will line up on the grid for an action packed day of North West 200 racing, with two Superbike races, two Supersport races on the CBR600RR and one Superstock race.

Honda (UK) and the HM Plant Honda team have announced their continued commitment to the British Superbike Championship, Isle of Man TT and North West 200 road races for 2010.

The duo of Ryuichi Kiyonari and Josh Brookes will compete on the CBR1000RR in the British Superbike class, with the 2009 British Supersport Champion, Steve Plater, moving to the British Superstock Championship.

Plater, the 2009 Senior TT Winner, will also line up on the TT and NW200 grids alongside 15-times TT legend John McGuinness, for a second season.

Building on their long-term relationship since 2004, Honda (UK) Racing and HM Plant will be looking to continue their successful partnership and performance for the seventh consecutive year, in what is considered the strongest domestic motorcycle racing championship in the world.

Steve Martindale, General Manager of Honda (UK) Motorcycles:
“I’m pleased to confirm Honda’s commitment to the British Superbike Championship for 2010 and also the team’s continued relationship with HM Plant. The British Superbike Championship is very strong and the high standard of rider talent and racing can be seen at every round.”

John Jones, HM Plant Chairman:
“We have been delighted with our relationship with Honda and the exposure achieved from the HM Plant Honda team partnership over the last six years and look forward to that continuing with some great and exciting racing in 2010.”

Honda (UK) Racing will also continue its long-standing relationship and support of Clive Padgett’s Honda squad in 2010. Former HM Plant Honda BSB racer Glen Richards will compete in both the Superstock and Supersport classes, with John McGuinness alongside Glen in the Superstock Championship and Ian Hutchinson also in the Supersport series on the CBR600RR.

Honda (UK) Racing has a long and successful history in both British and world motorcycle racing championships, taking the World Superbike Championship title in 1997, 2000 and 2002 before wrapping up the British Superbike title in 2006 and 2007 as HM Plant Honda with Ryuichi Kiyonari. The team has also won many other events, including British Supersport titles with Karl Harris and many North West 200 and Isle of Man races, most notably with TT legend John McGuinness.

The British Superbike Championship is the most hard-fought domestic motorcycle racing championship in the world, attracting sponsors and riders from across the globe. The championship’s profile has risen over the last few seasons as television ratings and attendance at the tracks have increased.

Ryuichi Kiyonari

HM Plant Honda’s Josh Brookes will be back in the seat of his CBR1000RR Superbike at this weekend’s 10th round of the British Superbike Championship at Croft, paired with the former HM Plant Honda double BSB Champion Ryuichi Kiyonari who is making a sensational return to the championship just for this weekend.

The 26-year-old Japanese rider will ride for the HM Plant Honda team, with whom he won the title in 2006 and 2007, in place of the injured Glen Richards who is still recovering from a broken leg.

Kiyo has been racing for multiple world champions Ten Kate Honda, in the World Superbike Championship for the past two seasons, and the ride is a one-off as Glen is expected to return to the Honda squad at the following round at Silverstone,

The former MotoGP rider has an impressive pedigree at the 2.125-mile North Yorkshire track, the home round for Honda team sponsor, HM Plant, winning four times – once in each of 2005 and 2006 and then taking the double ahead of his teammate Jonathan Rea in 2007.

Commenting on his forthcoming BSB outing, Kiyo said, “I’m really excited to be riding for the HM Plant Honda team again. I’m also very happy to race in BSB and especially at Croft. I love this circuit and won both races when I last raced there in 2007.”

Having missed two rounds of the championship due to injury and also a penalty at Mallory Park, Josh Brookes is fired up to get back and make the most of the remaining three rounds of the season. Josh commented, “I’m totally fired up and ready to go. I had a day riding a standard road bike around Croft last week to learn the circuit which will help me a lot this coming weekend. Before going there I had it in my mind that I wouldn’t like the track, but having now ridden it I really like it and the flowing nature, so can’t wait for the event now to get back into my stride and put me and HM Plant Honda ‘Blade back up with the front runners.”

Team-mate Glen, who was due to return to his seat at Croft, commented, “I rode a lot of laps of Croft last week with Josh on a standard road bike and whilst I could ride round there all day, I really don’t feel my leg is fit to race yet so it would be foolish to come back too soon and risk further injury, but I’ll certainly be back at Silverstone.”

World Superbike racer and fellow Aussie Karl Muggeridge stood in for Glen at the previous two rounds of Brands Hatch and Cadwell Park, but the HM Plant Honda team didn’t want to stand in the way of Karl’s opportunity to race at this weekend’s Bol D’or endurance race, therefore employing the services of the familiar Kiyo.

Havier Beltran, HM Plant Honda Team Manager said, “We only needed a rider for one race weekend. Kiyo was free, has a great history at Croft and also knows the Honda Fireblade Superbike well, so he was the perfect choice. Kiyo is also experienced with bike set-up and development so we’ll also be utilising those skills this weekend as well.”