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…
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.
Shoei man Tommy Hill is not letting the fact he is once again the British Superbike Championship series leader following two sterling rides at Brands Hatch, saying there is a long way to go before the trophy is lifted.
Tommy recovers from injury to show a promising start.
Hill came back from a 160mph off-track excursion along the Brabham Straight as he avoided fallen team-mate Michael Laverty to finish second in race one and then bagged his first win of 2011, crossing the line ahead of Ryuichi Kiyonari in the second race.
“It has been a long four days as it has been the most I have ridden for a while! Last week I was concerned about my elbow and I had a lot of treatment throughout the week to be ready which has paid off. It is fantastic to be leading the championship but it is only round one and it is early days still,” said the Lingfield man.
“The bike has been working well and we couldn’t have asked for a better start today. We are now looking forward to Oulton Park and getting the bike to work around what is a completely different track. Hopefully we can get there and come away with a very similar result.”
Thanks to David Miller at Bike Sport News for the content and the guys at Double Red for the images.
Shoei racer Tommy Hill is asking his fans to design a helmet colour scheme for him.
Go to Tommy’s new Facebook page where, posted on his wall, you’ll find a blank version of the design he wore throughout 2010 on a Shoei X-Spirit 2 where the British Superbike title narrowly evaded him.
- Get your crayons out and colour Hill’s Shoei
Simply get out the crayons or use computer wizardry and then post your design back on Tommy’s Facebook wall; the Swan Yamaha Rider will then pick the best design before Christmas and the winner will receive five Tommy Hill 2011 calendars and perhaps even see their design in action on British Superbike grid next year.
So, what are you waiting for?
Tommy Hill will once again be wearing Shoei helmets for the 2011 British Superbike Championship.
Having led the 2010 championship for the majority of the season, Tommy will be gunning for the title that eluded him with his new team, Swan Yamaha.
Another memorable moment for Tommy in 2010 was the release of his first replica Shoei on the popular XR1100; a reflection of his loyalty to the Japanese brand and his popularity with race fans.
- Tommy Hill with his replica Shoei
On continuing his Shoei relationship for the fifth consecutive year, Tommy Hill said: “I’ve been working hard to prepare for the coming season and I’m very pleased to have secured a continued relationship with the premium helmet brand Shoei.
“Feridax, the importers of Shoei helmets in the UK for over forty years, and I both really wanted to continue our relationship and maintain our success of the Tommy Hill replica; which for me is an interesting project to be part of.
“To be using the Shoei X-Spirit 2 again for 2011 is all part of the confidence you need as a rider; to be using what I feel is the best helmet on the market is just what I need.”
Feridax Sales Director, Steve Clifford, quoted: “We are delighted to announce that we will be continuing our support for Tommy with his efforts to secure the 2011 BSB Championship title.
“We felt it important to continue our relationship to show our respect for the amazing courage and skill that Tommy displayed throughout the season to become a main contender for the 2010 British Superbike championship – these are the personal values that we admire and wish our brand to be associated with.
“We’re looking forward to an exciting season ahead with Tommy and we are especially excited about the new Tommy-designed ‘Hill Replica’ that is now available for 2011.”
British riders to wear Shoya Tomizawa’s number and mascot at next BSB round
The late Shoya Tomizawa
Shoya Tomizawa, who tragically died as a result of the injuries he sustained in the Moto2 race on Sunday 5th September at Misano, will be honoured by the complete team of Shoei supported British Superbike riders, including championship leader Tommy Hill, by sporting Tomizawa’s No.48 and his cartoon mascot at the next BSB round at Silverstone on September 24th to 26th.
Feridax, the UK distributor for Shoei Helmets, will be making a significant donation to the memorial fund which has been set up in Tomizowa’s name. Any members of the public wishing to donate can also do so by visiting the Shoei race service at the final two rounds of BSB.
A unique Tomizawa XR-1100 will be signed by all the Shoei BSB riders and auctioned off at the final BSB round at Oulton Park 8th to 10th October, with the proceeds of the auction going to the memorial fund.
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May 1996, Performance Bikes
- Shoei Classic Ad PB May 1996
In the first of a series looking back at Shoei adverts from over the years, we bring you this beauty from the May 1996 issue of Performance Bikes.
Chequered flag riding kit in lurid colours, the star rider is none other than Trevor Franklin; then PB road test editor and now MCN’s resident, erm, legend.
So why use an image (with some sort of arty smudged border) of a portly road tester for an advert placed in his own mag? The simple reason is that top class racers of the 90s were overpaid, charisma-lacking style-dodgers that didn’t look as good on a bike as the journos. Actually, that’s a load of rubbish; why didn’t we use a picture of Norick Abe? Why?!
‘Poster Boy’ Trevor Franklin continues to enjoy the Absorbing Performance of a Shoei in the pages of Motorcycle News, currently exploiting protection, comfort and venting of the new XR1100 painted, once again, in his own design.
Bring back the chequers, we say.