A nice little line-up for Shoei at the Dutch Moto GP recently – Kenan, Marc and brit Bradley Smith on the Assem Moto2 podium (photo Nico Schneider) Moto2 race in Assen was not to bad for Shoei. Bradley on 3rd, Kenan 2nd, and Marc on 1st. Congratulations.
All of our three riders fighting for the podium…
Hill in contemplative mood earlier in the season
By BSB desk
Image by Double Red
Shoei Man Tommy Hill is more confident going into this weekend’s British Superbike round at Snetterton than he has been all season after his first ever double win last time out at Knockhill where he dominated both races.
The Lingfield rider romped away from series leader Shane Byrne and reckons that the base setting he has for the YZF-R1 should suit the Norfolk circuit where he did a handful of laps in testing before crashing at Riches, damaging his elbow.
“We have a very strong base setting on the Swan Yamaha and I think that should be a place for us to start this weekend. It has been good for us; it took us to pole at Oulton Park and then a pole again and double win at Knockhill so we are hopefully not going to be far off from the start,” said Hill.
“I am just looking forward to getting out in practice and getting some laps in as I have done fewer than most of the other riders as when we were here for the test I had a crash and only did a handful of laps. The new track is going to be exciting that’s for sure and really for the first time this season everyone is in the same position with a completely new track.
“I definitely want to be back at the front collecting the points and the podium credits for the championship. My confidence is probably the highest it has been since before my crash at Oulton Park so it can’t come soon enough.”
McGuinness takes the chequered flag for the 17th time
By Phil Wain on the Isle of Man
Image by Stephen Davison/Pacemaker
Shoei man John McGuinness showed his undoubted class around the Isle of Man Mountain Course on Friday evening when he won a thrilling Senior TT race. The Honda TT Legends rider found himself seven seconds in arrears at the end of the first lap but he hunted race leader Guy Martin down, and with two stunning laps on laps three and four, he was able to go some 15 seconds clear.
He eventually came home for his 17th TT win and 33nd TT podium to round out another brilliant week on the Island but said that he hadn’t been pushed that hard for a big-bike win for some time.
With the race having been delayed by some five hours due to wet weather in the north of the Island, John was unusually down in fourtth position as they swept through Glen Helen for the first time and although he clawed his way back up to third at the end of the lap he was still seven seconds behind the pace setting Guy Martin.
However, being the quickest rider on the second lap allowed him to eat into Martin’s advantage and a superb first pit stop saw him draw level with Martin at Glen Helen on lap three. By the end of the lap, he’d gone into the lead for the first time and, with a brilliant lap of 131.248mph, the fastest of the race, he was 12 seconds clear of Bruce Anstey by the completion of lap four.
A third of the race was still to be completed though but John has been in this position many times before and he controlled his lead for the remainder of the race, eventually crossing the line just over 7 seconds ahead of Martin who eventually took second.
“I can’t remember being pushed that hard in a Superbike race here for some time and I certainly had to work for it. I didn’t have the greatest of practice laps on Thursday as I picked up a rear wheel puncture so it took me a lap or so to get dialled in to today’s race. I made the odd mistake here and there and went wide on a couple of occasions but by lap two I was beginning to get in the groove a bit which was a good job as I was quite a way adrift and really had to dig deep. The first pit stop was mega and I pushed really hard on laps three and four and that was where I won the race. It gave me that bit of breathing space I needed,” said McGuinness.
“The second pit stop gave me a bit more time over Guy and over the last two laps I didn’t let him get anywhere near me. To win my second Superbike race this week is superb and things couldn’t really have gone any better for me at TT2011. I’m really enjoying my riding at the minute and I don’t think I’ve ever ridden better. I’ve been fortunate to have been given some terrific equipment this year and I’ve just got to say thank you to everyone that’s involved with John McGuinness Racing. Today’s been my 17th TT win, my 33rd podium and my 51st finish and I’m dead, dead proud of what I’ve achieved this week.”
McGuinness made it a Superbike double on the island this afternoon
By David Miller
Image by Tony Goldsmith
Shoei man John McGuinness has bagged his 17th career TT victory on the Isle of Man this evening, taking the Senior TT win and once again denying Guy Martin with Supersport race one winner Bruce Anstey in third place.
McGuinness took the lead on lap two and never looked back while Relentless Suzuki’s Martin had a scrap on his hands with Anstey for the runner-up spot, losing it briefly on the run into the second pit-stops but the rhythm-less Anstey couldn’t keep up the pressure.
As it has been all week, McGuinness was away first down the Glencrutchery Road wearing the number one plate followed by team-mate Keith Amor and Martin, and it was the Lincolnshire man who led as they went through Geln Helen for the first time with a 0.33s lead over Gary Johnson and Anstey as McGuinness found himself relegated to fourth on a section he is usually fastest.
Martin set an outrageous pace, upping the gap to 2.55s over Anstey in second at Ballaugh while Johnson and McGuinness were within a second of each other for third and Michael Dunlop fighting with brother William for fifth.
Such was the Suzuki man’s pace, he was nearly five seconds clear at the Bungalow but McGuinness was catching Anstey while Johnson made fourth his own, dropping M-Lop while Amor started to come back into the top five.
Martin set a 131.038mph lap as they crossed the line for lap two but Anstey had stabilised the gap to just under five seconds while McGuinness had cut the Kiwi’s advantage to a little over 1.5s as Johnson and M-Lop began to drop back.
Anstey and McGuinness lapped at a very similar pace for the whole of lap two and had reduced Martin’s lead to four seconds as they came into the pits for the first round of stops but a slow refuel from Anstey saw McGuinness snatch second as they headed towards St Ninians for a third time.
It took the Lancashire man until Ramsey to pass Martin and he headed up the Mountain with a 0.06s lead which was the same at the Bungalow. However, McGuinness got the hammer down on his way down the Mountain and he started lap four with a 2.56s lead while Anstey began to cut Martin’s advantage for second. Amor had also got a wriggle on and was just a second behind M-Lop for fifth but it emerged the Ballymoney man had run straight on at Ballacraine.
McGuinness then showed his class and consistency, increasing his lead as they completed lap four as Anstey contined to close in on Martin while Amor, M-Lop and now Cameron Donald were all in the mix for fourth place.
As the second round of pitstops began, McGuinness registered a lap of 131.248 while Anstey finally passed Martin on corrected time but lost it again on the re-fuel and went through Glen Helen five seconds down on Martin.
From there, McGuinness rode to his pitboards, keeping Martin and Anstey well in control while the fight for fourth was between Amor and Donald. The pair swapped places on lap six but the Australian was back in front as they took the chequered flag.
M-Lop finished in sixth place ahead of yesterday’s Supersport race winner Johnson. W-Lop was eighth, James Hillier ninth and Michael Rutter rounded out the top ten. Newcomer Simon Andrews finished in 11th place with a fastest lap of 125.174mph.
Newcomer Simon Andrews in action yesterday
By Edgar Jessop in The Railway
Image by www.iomtt.com
Wednesday evening saw a number of the major contenders run into trouble - Michael Dunlop stopped at Ginger Hall, Ryan Farquhar pulled in at Sulby for a spot of overheating before proceeding, John McGuinness stopped at the Mountain Box and Ian Lougher retired at the Creg.
McGuinness tried some different tyre compounds and suspension settings last night on the Superbike which didn’t work so he’s going to go back to Tuesday’s settings tonight. He went out on the stocker but the clutch was slipping so pulled in straightaway, then went out on the 600 but that started misfiring at Ramsey so he pulled in at the Bunglow before carrying on (hence the 96mph lap). By the time he got back to the pits, the clutch had been sorted on the stocker so he went back out and did 123mph+.
Team-mate Keith Amor will sit out this evening’s session after bashing the AC joint in his shoulder. The Scot had a slow-speed off at Quarterbridge. He Tweeted: “The specialist has seen me and said have a day off and I can ride on friday so fingers crossed!”
William Dunlop was delighted to have posted his best ever lap of the Mountain Course – 125.872mph – but admitted ‘It was a great lap and everything felt really comfortable but I’m not quite sure where I’m going to find the other 5mph from!”
Brother Michael admitted to be suffering a number of handling issues with the new ZX-10 Superbike but when asked how he was going to overcome them, his answer was simple ‘ “keep it flat out.”
McGuinness, Gary Johnson and Keith Amor tried a new tyre combination but all three went slower.
Newcomer Simon Andrews almost broke the 120mph barrier on his third night of practice, with a best lap of 119.485mph, and was delighted with his progress. “That was a wicked lap and real good fun. The BMW is handling like a dream and it’s a real pleasure to ride but we keep running out of petrol on the second lap. It died out of both the Creg and Governors so we need to sort that out. The only problem I had was with the low sun and that makes it tricky to see where you’re going.” Straight down the sliproad at Signpost, Si…
Conor Cummins is heading for Jurby airfield today to see if he can cure his Superbike’s ‘problem’ with some straight-line testing.
Klaus Klaffenbock and Daniel Sayle were quickest in the sidecar class but Sayle reported there was a considerable amount of Manx wildlife out on the course – “There’s birds flying around and all sorts, I saw some geese on the track at one point!”
John Holden, whose Suzuki engine was running too lean on Tuesday evening, went too far the other way on Wednesday and found it to be running too rich.
Byrne on the grid before race two. The eyes have it…
By David Miller
Image by Double Red
HM Plant Honda’s Shane Byrne says he is pleased with his win and podium in yesterday’s Thruxton British Superbike races given it was the first time he had ridden the bike in the wet and added he could have gone faster in the second race.
The two-time champion, who increased his series lead over John Hopkins at the Hampshire circuit, had serious vision problems in the first outing where he was mugged by Michael Rutter into the last corner but no such issues in the second which he won by a country mile.
“That was the first time I had ridden the HM Plant Honda Fireblade in the wet conditions and I have to say it was great. I had some real vision problems with my visor and to be honest I couldn’t read my pit board and I only knew it was the last lap because I saw the flag on the start line,” said the Kent man.
“I thought ‘oh no it’s the last lap’ and I couldn’t have pushed it any harder. I had a good battle with Michael (Rutter). Race two was a bit easier as I started from pole rather than the back of the grid! After the first race I was desperate to get to the front and just ride my own race.
“I was smoother and the bike was on rails so I couldn’t have been happier. The track was quite grippy and once I got to the front I was comfortable and in a rhythm. I think I could have even gone faster if I pushed a bit but it has been a great weekend and all credit to the team. I can’t wait for Knockhill now.”
By David Miller at Thruxton
Image by Double Red
MSS Colchester Kawasaki’s Alex Lowes has dedicated his debut British Superbike pole position to Shoei Man Stuart Easton, the man for whom he is standing in this weekend.
Lowes blasted to his and the team’s first ever pole at Thruxton this afternoon as Easton recovers from a successful operation to pin his broken legs and pelvis in Belfast’s Royal Victoria Hospital.
“It is just an awesome feeling, mega. In each of the sessions, I was able to go faster and that really is a testament to the work that had been put in on the bike by Stuart,” said Lowes.
“This is for Stuart – we all want to get him back out there on track as soon as possible. This will give him a lift, as he has done all of the development work on the bike to make this possible and it will do the whole team good.
“It has not been easy since his crash for the team, seeing one of your own badly injured, as they are like a big family. Now I have to a good job for all of them in these races.”
Long-time Shoei guy Shane Byrne has said it felt good to get back to winning ways on his return to the British Superbike Championship, wrapping up the race-one victory at Brands Hatch before dicing for the win again in the second outing.
Shakey's looking comfortable on the podium...
The two-time champion, who partners reigning BSB king Ryuichi Kiyonari, cruised away in race one but had a great scrap with Tommy Hill in the second leg which almost saw him run off the track with a handful of laps to go.
“I didn’t have any excuses if I didn’t have a result today riding for the championship-winning team! It was a hectic race and I got a good start and then Michael’s crash happened in slow motion right in front of me and I was lucky that I managed to miss him,” said Byrne.
“That incident then bunched us all up and then I had a fight with Stuart Easton but I knew I had to get passed him as soon as possible. It’s fantastic to have won the first race of the season.
“I felt good again in the second race and I had another good start so I was happy with that! I was able to lead for a few laps and I was pushing but then Tommy came past me and I wanted to get back to the front. I had been losing to Tommy a bit coming out of Clearways and then with three laps to go I got a better drive out of the corner.
“As we approached Paddock Hill Bend I thought ‘I can make this’ then I realised ‘no you can’t’ so I had to scrub off some speed which lost me the place. It was one of those things, but to come away from here with a first and a third ahead of Oulton Park next weekend is a good start to the season and all credit has to go to the HM Plant Honda team.”
Thanks to David Miller at Bike Sport News for the content and the guys at Double Red for the images.
Swan Yamaha have concluded two successful tests in Spain as the team ended
on a high at Cartagena with Tommy Hill setting a blistering time to be the only
rider to break into the 1m:32s barrier as Michael Laverty came close to equalling
his team-mate’s performance.
Tommy Hill setting a blistering time to to break into the 1m:32s
Laverty had initially set the pace on the opening day as the team continued to
build on the progress made earlier in the week at Calafat. On day two Hill was
the rst rider to dip into the 1m:33s lap times before their final session of the
test yesterday when he became the only rider to break into the 1m:32s barrier.
The team now leave the track and return to the UK in a con dent mood ahead
of further tests in the UK prior to the opening round at Brands Hatch.
Hill said: “What a great fi nal day. I had been doing some race simulations with
some longer stints on track and was comfortably running in the 1m:33s region
so I was happy with that. I wanted to see if we could go faster so in our final
session, we put in a new tyre and did the 1m:32s which was an awesome way
for us to end the test. It showed we can do consistent runs, but when we need
to we can put in a fast lap when it counts. We have made some real improvements
over the last few days and there is still more to come when we get back
to the workshop and strip the bikes down. We can then have a look through
the data and then plan for our next tests in the UK. I have to thank the whole of
the Swan Yamaha team for all of their e orts over the last week as we really
achieved what we needed to in Spain.”
Everyone at Shoei wishes Tommy a great season ahead…
Suzuki racers Alvaro Bautista and Toni Elias took to the track this week for official MotoGP testing.
Bautista wearing new Shoei in Sepang
Former 125cc world champion, Bautista, is the sole Rizla Suzuki rider this year as he embarks on his second season in the elite class. The Spaniard, using a new design on his Shoei X-Spirit II for this test, was suffering from flu for the second consecutive test but remains positive.
Alvaro Bautista, Rizla Suzuki: “It seems like at this moment the bike has better durability than the rider! This has been bad luck to get sick at two consecutive tests – I feel very drained but I am confident that I will be ok tomorrow after maybe 12 hours sleep! But there was also some positive points today – my best lap was with race distance already completed on the tyres, so for sure I can go quicker with new tyres but today my condition was not the best for a ‘qualifying’ style lap. I’m frustrated but happy – we have improved the Suzuki quite a lot since the end of 2010.”
Reigning Moto2 champion, Elias, is still getting reacquainted with MotoGP power on his LCR Honda RC212V after a season onboard a 600cc. The Spaniard suffered a bout of flu during the test session held at the track earlier in the month, but is now healthy, upbeat and motivated at the task ahead.
Toni Elias, LCR Honda: “We still have a lot of work to do because I am struggling to find the right setting for me but this is normal as I am continuing my adaptation to the RCV.”
The three day test concludes today (February 24, 2011).