Motourage

Relentless by TAS Suzuki will take the positives from a tough weekend at Thruxton during the second round of the 2010 British Superbike Championship today after overcoming practice crashes by both team riders.

Michael Laverty – 10th & 6th – and Alastair Seeley – 12th & 9th – battled courageously after qualifying crashes and a number of minor problems during both races, to score solid points that keeps them both in the top-10 and at the sharp-end in the Championship table as Seeley currently slots into fifth and Laverty 10th.

Relentless Suzuki's Alastair Seeley spent the weekend trying to find the correct setup and only managed 12th and 9th-place finishes

Laverty’s 10th place in race one, from row five on the grid, whilst riding around a serious rear tire problem, was a terrific performance, but his second race top-six finish could so easily have been a debut podium – losing out by 0.6sec at the checkered flag, this time from the third row of the grid.

Seeley took a gamble with set-up in race one and the series rookie battled to 12th place. For the second outing he reverted to his qualifying set-up, and although he found Thruxton a tough proposition on his full Superbike debut, ninth place keeps him well in the Championship hunt.

Michael Laverty:
“After the tire problem in race one, 10th place was a decent result considering the circumstances. Race two was much better, although I took a bit long to pass Alastair and my brother John, but my pace over the last 10 laps was the same as the leaders. With a good starting position today I could have challenged for the win, but again I can take a lot of positives from race day. We have the pace but just not the luck yet. We will regroup before Oulton with a test planned and come back even stronger. I would like to thank the whole team for their efforts this weekend; they have had to work so hard and endure a lot of setbacks.”

Alastair Seeley:
“I tried a different set-up for the first race but it didn’t work for me, so we reverted back to the old set-up for race two. It all hooked up a lot better and instead of the tire going off at half distance, we were right on the money until it deteriorated about four laps from the end. The track control works overtime around here and it’s a tough circuit to perfect your set-up on. At least we got more points in the bag and remain top-five in the Championship. Thanks to all the boys in the team as it’s been a tough weekend with all the travel problems and burning the midnight oil fixing bikes.”

Philip Neill – BSB Team Principal:
“It’s been a tough weekend for the whole team for a number of reasons, but we will take the positives from Thruxton. We haven’t come away with the results we had hoped for after a strong start on Friday, where the both boys posted top-three times, but we scored solid points today.
Both riders started the weekend with a lot of confidence but their crashes during practice set them back a bit and we also had our fair share of little problems – not least an all-night session for the boys to rebuild Michael’s bike after it’s excursion over the infamous Thruxton kerbs. With flights cancelled, Alastair also had a long drive to the circuit from Northern Ireland at the last minute, which isn’t ideal preparation, but something that couldn’t be avoided.
Michael needs a lot of credit for his efforts this weekend: He rode around a chatter problem in race one due to an out-of-balance tire, which in turn affected his grid position for race two. From the halfway point on in the second outing he showed us just why he is regarded as one of the most talented riders in the Championship, narrowly missing out on the podium.
Alastair had a Baptism of Fire on his first Superbike ride here, but it is a daunting circuit for even the most experienced riders and bike set-up is very specific. Maybe we fell into the trap of trying to find the perfect set-up but we have learned from it. I’m glad Thruxton is over and we can now focus on Oulton Park in two weeks’ time.”

Race 1:
1. Tommy Hill (Worx Crescent Suzuki)
2. Josh Brookes (HM Plant Honda) +0.818s
3. Yukio Kagayama (Worx Crescent Suzuki) +1.185s
4. Stuart Easton (Swan Honda) +1.510s
5. Michael Rutter (Ridersmotorcycles.com Ducati) +5.670s
6. Martin Jessopp (Ridersmotorcycles.com Ducati) +7.490s
7. John Laverty (Buildbase Kawasaki) +9.154s
8. Gary Mason (MSS Colchester Kawasaki) +9.300s
9. Ryuichi Kiyonari (HM Plant Honda) +9.493s
10. Michael Laverty (Relentless Suzuki by TAS) +17.014s
12.  Alastair Seeley (Relentless Suzuki by TAS)

Race 2 Results:
1. Josh Brookes (HM Plant Honda)
2. Tommy Hill (Worx Crescent Suzuki) +0.391s
3. Stuart Easton (Swan Honda) +17.112s
4. Ryuichi Kiyonari (HM Plant Honda) +7.146s
5. Martin Jessopp (Ridersmotorcycles.com Ducati) +7.263s
6. Michael Laverty (Relentless Suzuki by TAS) +7.789s
7. Michael Rutter (Ridersmotorcycles.com Ducati) +8.241s
8. John Laverty (Buildbase Kawasaki) +10.378s
9. Alastair Seeley (Relentless Suzuki by TAS) +12.218s
10. Gary Mason (MSS Colchester Kawasaki) +12.240s

Relentless Suzuki’s BSB rookie Alastair Seeley posted the third-fastest time in today’s Roll for Pole qualifying at Brands Hatch, giving the current British Superstock champion a debut front row starting position for the opening race on the 2010 British Superbike calendar.

Alastair Seeley

Team-mate Michael Laverty was also well to the fore all weekend in free practice and qualifying, eventually posting the seventh fastest time, taking an equally impressive row two start for the Easter Monday season opener.

Such was the pace in qualifying today at Brands Hatch on the Indy Circuit, the top five riders all dipped inside the BSB pole time from 2009.

Alastair Seeley
“It was a good start for us today and everything was working well with our GSX–R Superbike. We are just making baby steps at the minute, but to give credit to the team, the bike was never a million miles away when we got here, as I showed by going fastest in the wet. All the data from last year has been invaluable although I could have done without the little slip off on day one – but I suppose that’s what happens at this level. I enjoyed the Roll for Poll qualifying especially the third session when I got a clear track and a new tire in and was able to pull the pin. It’s also been encouraging to see P1 on the pit board at times over the weekend, but tomorrow I’m just looking for solid finishes and some points on the board.”

Michael Laverty
“We’ve had to overcome an intermittent electrical problem with the bike cutting out which is frustrating, although I’m not too worried about qualifying seventh as we have a good race set-up. We have been good and strong all weekend but in Roll for Pole Q3 I got a less than perfect tire, which I had to come in and change. I jumped from 10th to 7th right at the end with one clean lap; if I’d been able to get another couple I know I could have shaved some more time off. Hopefully we will have the problem sorted for tomorrow and we can make the best of all the hard work.”

Philip Neill – BSB Team Principal
“No matter what happens tomorrow I think we have now established ourselves among the pre-season favorites in BSB. It was interesting to read all the pre-season hype, and to be honest, not being listed suited us just fine. We have gone about our business quietly and confidently today and while we probably slipped under the radar, we have also been very consistent from Friday. Alastair started the weekend off in fine style going almost a second quicker than anyone in the wet on his Relentless by TAS Suzuki, and both he and Michael have been well to the fore in all sessions which have produced a mixture of conditions. That’s also very satisfying. Both of our riders should be equally pleased with their work today and Suzuki has also proved the strength of the GSX–R package with two riders on the front row and four in the top eight. In saying that, the real test starts tomorrow, but both guys are good starters and we will be looking for top six finishes.”

Cameron Donald and Bruce Anstey with teammate Alastair Seeley at last year's NW200

Relentless Suzuki by TAS Racing’s Cameron Donald and Bruce Anstey will open their 2010 accounts over the Easter weekend in Northern Ireland.

Both riders will make their first UK and Ireland appearance in the Irish Superbike Championship at the Good Friday/Easter Saturday meeting at Bishopscourt, before taking in the Easter Monday ISB event at Kirkistown.

Philip Neill – Team Principal:
“It’s obviously going to be a busy weekend for both Bruce and Cameron over Easter, but I’m pleased that we have been given the opportunity to run them in a race situation at two good local circuits. Testing is one thing but it’s always good to get some racing miles under your belt – I’m a big believer in that at this stage of the year. This will give both boys the chance to try out the GSX-R1000 Superbikes that they will be running at the North West 200 in May.

“I’m also pleased we can continue to support our local races when the calendar allows and also give something back to our loyal fan base. Hopefully there will be further opportunities to race in Ireland this year for Relentless Suzuki.”

Further announcements on testing and race schedules for Relentless Suzuki’s road racing duo will be announced in the coming weeks.

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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Ian Lowry

The Relentless Suzuki team will be looking to capitalize on their recent success when the action kicks off later today at Croft for round 10 of the 2009 BSB series.

Despite recent media speculation, 2009 National Superstock Champion Alastair Seeley will remain in the Superstock class this weekend, riding his all conquering 2009 GSX–R1000. With only three races remaining in the series, Seeley is still on course for an unprecedented season-long clean sweep – having already won the opening nine races of 2009.

Relentless Suzuki by TAS Racing will remain fully committed to Ian Lowry and Atsushi Watanabe in the British Superbike class for the final three meetings.

Ulsterman Lowry, proved his pedigree at Cadwell Park with a fine fourth place in the opening race at the ‘mountain circuit’ and is confident of building on that result this weekend at Croft.

Ian Lowry
“I’m looking forward to this weekend, especially as I’m now back to full fitness and feeling really good. Croft is one of my favourite circuits and I’ve had a lot of success there in my Supersport days. Our Superbike package is getting stronger as the season goes on, thanks to our team at Relentless Suzuki, so I’m confident of another successful weekend on my GSX–R1000.”

Philip Neill – Team Principal
“Alastair will continue with the Superstock class at Croft on the 2009 GSX–R1000. It was never in our plans to run a third rider in the Superbike class during 2009 as we are fully committed to Ian and Atsu; and, if Alastair could make it 12 from 12 in the ’stock class it would be a phenomenal achievement for Suzuki, Relentless and all our loyal sponsors.

“As I say, our attention and priority must remain with our current riders in BSB, but Alastair will now take in the final seven races in the Irish Superbike class, as winning that championship is also a realistic goal.

“He has been competing in selected ISB rounds on his Superstock machine so far this year, but he will be furnished with a Superbike for the final two rounds in October at the end of season Sunflower Trophy races. Our full line-up for that meeting will be announced in the coming weeks.”