Motorcycle Blog

After sitting out the last round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Cadwell Park last weekend, due to a wrist injury sustained in training the week previously, Hydrex Bike Animal Honda rider James Ellison will be back in action to take his place as a wild card entry at this weekend’s Hannspree World Superbike Championship meeting at Donington Park.

Up until Cadwell, the 27 year old from Kendal, who has been one of the revelations of the season on his return to BSB after four years, had scored points in every round aboard the Shaun Muir Racing 1000cc Honda Fireblade, and despite attempting to ride at Cadwell, he had to admit defeat when a ligament injury prevented his participation on the grounds of safety.

However, with a week’s rest being prescribed, he is fit and raring to go and is looking forward to the opportunity of racing on the world stage once again, especially after two years in MotoGP and a year in the American Superbike Championship. Ellison is no stranger to the World Superbike paddock, having won the European Superstock Championship in 2000 and 2001, before embarking on a season in World Supersport in 2002. His best results in World Superbikes came in 2004, the same year he won the British Superbike Cup, when he took his Jentin Yamaha to a fifth and sixth place finish at Brands Hatch.

James Ellison:  “I’m so looking forward to racing at Donington, it’s unreal! I was so frustrated at Cadwell but my wrist is fine and I have no concerns about it at all now. All it needed was a little bit of rest and now I’m raring to go. We had a good run in the BSB races at Donington and I’m hopeful we can give a good account of ourselves once again. We know our bike is good, we have got the electronics working a lot better and I’m really up for this one. Top ten would be a great result, but I’m hoping for a top six if I’m being honest and despite it being probably the strongest field of the year what with all the British wild cards, I’m feeling very confident.”

Shaun Muir (Team Owner):  “After the disappointment of Cadwell, we are all looking forward to James racing once again and I’m confident he can do us proud. He showed well at Donington back in May and although it’s going to be a lot tougher this weekend, I’m hopeful that James can get a couple of good results. It will be good for us also to see exactly where we as a team are in terms of progress this year and I think if we can score a couple of top tens, that would be a great achievement for us.”

The team still has a limited number of VIP Hospitality places available so anyone interested should contact Shaun Muir at shaunmuir@smr.uk.com by Wednesday 3rd September 2008.

First qualifying takes place on Friday 5th September, with second qualifying and Superpole on Saturday 6th September. Race one takes place on Sunday 7th September at 12.00 with race two at 15.30. The racing will be shown live on British Eurosport from 1030 to 1630.

Virgin Media Yamaha rider BJ Toal made his comeback to the Fuchs-Silkolene British Superbike Championship at Cadwell Park, Lincolnshire today (25 August).

Having broken his wrist after a heavy fall at Round 7 at Oulton Park, BJ felt that he was strong enough to get back in the saddle to make a late charge for his Championship campaign. BJ clearly struggled to get back to his true potential, qualifying in a very uncharacteristic 20th position, he had a lot of ground to make up to put his Virgin Media Yamaha in the points.

Although BJ made up a few places at the beginning of the race, he failed to make any real progress and tired quickly finding himself back in 20th position with a very sore wrist at the end of the 14 lap race BJ will continue to work on getting his wrist strong to make a comeback at Round 10 of the Fuchs-Silkolene British Supersport Championship at Croft on 12-14 September.

BJ Toal: “That’s not the kind of results that we are looking for. My wrist hasn’t felt too bad through practice and qualifying but it has really shown in my results. I’m really sore now and need some more time to get it strong. I’ll work on my fitness before Croft and hope to be back up in the mix of it all then.”

Rob McElnea, Team Principal: “BJ’s results are disappointing but at least we know that it is because he is still struggling with his wrist. I’m sure we will see a different BJ in a few weeks time when he’s had some more time to heal.”

Race Result 1. Plater (Yamaha), 2. Richards (Triumph), 3. Webb (Honda), 4. Kennaugh (Yamaha), 5. Westmoreland (Honda), 20. BJ Toal (Virgin Media Yamaha)

Championship Standings 1. Richards - 177, 2. Kennaugh - 140, 3. Lowry - 128, 4. Westmoreland - 92, 5. Brogan - 85, 11. BJ Toal - 40 points

Reliant on a good start from his fourth row qualifying position, Joe fought hard for the duration of the 14 lap race with TT Champion John McGuinness and a gaggle of Supersport regulars. It was all he could do to maintain his 13th placed position in the mammoth battle that ensued amongst the seasoned riders that surrounded him.

The Fuchs-Silkolene British Supersport race was shortened to a 14 lap race after an incident involving David Paton and James Dye that brought a race stoppage on the first lap. The race was re-run after a long interlude to enable James to be transferred from the circuit for further treatment.

Round 10 of the Fuchs-Silkolene British Supersport Championship takes place in three weeks time at Croft, North Yorkshire(12-14 September).

Joe Dickinson: ”I’m a bit frustrated if I’m honest, I had a really good race with McGuinness and the guys around me but McGuinness was so strong on the brakes, every time I got past him he just came back on me. The bike felt great but I just couldn’t get out of the pack to get to into the next bunch, we caught them up but ran out of time to make any inroads on them.”

Rob McElnea, Team Principal: ”It’s another frustrating race from Joe if I’m honest, we know that the package is capable of consistent top ten finishes, so to finish outside of the top 10 is a tough call for us. Let’s hope for more at Croft and showcase what we know we are capable of.”

Race Result
1. Plater (Yamaha), 2. Richards (Triumph), 3. Webb (Honda), 4. Kennaugh (Yamaha), 5. Westmoreland (Honda), 13. Joe Dickinson (Trucklinks Yamaha)

Championship Standings
1. Richards - 177, 2. Kennaugh - 140, 3. Lowry - 128, 4. Westmoreland - 92, 5. Brogan - 85. =17 Joe Dickinson - 16 points

Rob Mac Racing arrived at their home circuit of Cadwell Park high on the success of a podium at the last time out at Knockhill, Scotland.A new qualifying format greeted the riders for Round 9 at the picturesque Lincolnshire circuit. Adopting an F1-style Qualifying, three timed sessions whittled the grid down to the 20 fastest riders, then the 10 fastest who finally battled it out for the best time and final starting positions. Karl Harris qualified his Rob Mac Racing Yamaha YZF-R1 through to the final session with an eventual seventh grid position, heading up the fourth row on the three abreast grid format.

As the flag dropped for Race 1, Karl had a tough task ahead of him to get away with the leaders. In the opening laps the ‘Bomber’ was pushing hard to move up the race order when he lost the front end at the bottom of the infamous ‘Mountain’, bringing an abrupt end to the race and an injury to Karl’s left hand that needed injections to ease the pain.

The brave Sheffield lad proved his true grit and determination as he lined up for the start of Race 2. With blood seeping through his left glove from the crushed left little finger, Harris joked to the television crew that it was only a minor injury.

A good start put Karl in contention as he got away in 10th place quickly picking up places over the next few laps. With the front five pulling away from the remainder of the field, it was all Karl could to do to progress up to sixth place with a huge 3.5 second gap ahead of him. As he got his head down Harris banked his fastest lap of the race as he crossed the line having completed Lap 5.

Although he maintained his fast pace and race position for the next 5 laps, Karl was struck yet again by the bad luck that has blighted his season to date. Struggling with a dramatic loss of rear end grip, Karl visibly slowed on the track and lost over 4 seconds a lap, dropping places as his progress slipped through his hands.

As the flag dropped Karl nursed his bike home to finish in a very frustrating tenth position, picking up a handful of points to salvage his weekend.

The team now move on to Round 10 of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Croft, North Yorkshire on 12-14th September.

Karl Harris: I’ve shattered a few bones and the nail has come off my little finger on my left hand when I hit the barrier. I’ve had a few injections in it so I thought it would be fine for race two. I got a good start and felt ok for the opening laps, I made some really good progress but then I just lost all my rear grip. I was really struggling to keep it going but I was determined to finish the race.”

Rob McElena, Team Principal: “From the high’s of Knockhill we are back down to the lows. Karl made a mistake in Race 1 that really cost us any chance of a good result this weekend. We had a problem with the tyre spinning on the rim in the latter half of Race 2, which just about summed up our weekend for us. Once again we will pick ourselves up and move on to the race at Croft.”

Race 1 Result
1. Haslam (Honda), 2. Sykes (Suzuki), 3.Byrne (Ducati), 4. Camier (Ducati), 5. Crutchlow (Honda), DNF - Karl Harris (Rob Mac Racing Yamaha)

Race 2 Results
1. Haslam (Honda), 2. Sykes (Suzuki), 3. Byrne (Ducati), 4. Camier (Ducati), 5. Rutter (Ducati), 10. Karl Harris (Rob Mac Racing Yamaha)

Championship Standings
1. Byrne - 364, 2. Sykes - 254, 3. Haslam - 249, 4. Crutchlow - 236, 5. Camier - 205, 11) Karl Harris - 75

2008 Bennetts British Superbike Championship
Rounds 17 & 18 - Cadwell Park, Lincolnshire
24th/25th August

Hydrex Bike Animal Honda riders James Ellison and Guy Martin qualified in sixteenth and seventeenth place respectively following on today’s historic new F1 style knock-out qualifying at round nine of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship held at Cadwell Park today.

Now segregated into three qualifying sessions, the pair made it into Q2 but couldn’t progress any further for various reasons.

Ellison, who has scored in every round of the Championship to date had been previously injured in a training accident and was suffering with torn ligaments in his right wrist meaning he spent a minimal amount of time on the Shaun Muir Racing Honda Fireblade and despite bravely battling on, had to settle for sixteenth at the end of the session.

Meanwhile Guy Martin showed a resurgence of short circuit form to qualify for Q2 and at one point was running on the verges of the final ten Q1 positions, but by the end of the session he had slipped to seventeenth and will line up on the sixth row of the grid.

However, Ellison will take no further part in the weekend’s proceedings as he has been declared unfit to race so will now concentrate on getting fit for the next round at Croft in three week’s time.

Ellison’s withdrawal now means that Martin is left to uphold honour whereby the rider from nearby Kirmington is hoping to impress at his local circuit.

In the Metzeler Superstock 1000cc category, Kieran Clarke qualified 21st for tomorrow’s race whereby he will be looking to add to his points tally from his last two outings.

James Ellison:  “I injured my hand when I was training in Spain last week and whereas I thought it would be OK, having ridden the bike around a demanding track as Cadwell, it’s proving to be a bit of a problem and it’s just getting worse and worse.  I wanted to get into the top ten and then I could have made a decision tomorrow.  But really the only way I can get ready for Croft is by resting it and hopefully it should be healed in around 7 to 10 days. I have to think about the rest of the season, and I’m chasing third in the Championship so I don’t really want to miss a round, it’s just really disappointing.  The guys in the team have worked so hard and I’m just disappointed for them too.”

Guy Martin:  “The weather hasn’t helped the job, I’ve still got loads of harvesting to do and my combine blew up last night!  I’m happy on the bike side of things though.  We’re at the point where we’re making just a little change each time and we’re getting faster each time so it’s building my confidence up with the team and with the bike.  We’re finding that the settings are more like a TT bike now.  I don’t think we’d be cheeky in asking for a couple of top ten places tomorrow, that would be mint.”

Shaun Muir (Team Owner):  “We have taken the decision to withdraw James so he won’t be riding tomorrow so I’m just disappointed really, especially for the team who have all worked so hard.  BSB is our priority so we need to consider the bigger picture and get James back up to full fitness in time for Croft. We need Guy to pull a rabbit out of the bag for us now so we’re looking for him to score a good result for us, like we are Kieran in the Superstock race.”

The first of the two 18-lap Bennetts British Superbike races gets underway at 1.45pm on Sunday with the second at 4.30pm.  The Metzeler Superstock 1000 race is scheduled for 5.20pm.  The British Eurosport 2 live broadcast window is 1.30pm to 6.30pm.

Superbike Qualifying
1, Tom Sykes (Suzuki) 1m27.495s, 2, Cal Crutchlow (Honda) 1m27.716s, 3, Shane Byrne (Ducati) 1m27.870s, 4, Leon Haslam (Honda) 1m27.917s, 5, Leon Camier (Ducati) 1m28.428s, 6, Michael Rutter (Ducati) 1m28.502s, 7, Karl Harris (Yamaha) 1m28.844s, 8, Atsushi Watanabe (Suzuki) 1m28.860s, 9, Simon Andrews (Yamaha) 1m29.000, 10, Michael Laverty (Suzuki) 1m29.228s. 16, James Ellison (Hydrex Bike Animal Honda) 1m30.514s, 17, Guy Martin (Hydrex Bike Animal Honda) 1m30.520s.

Round 2 - 18th/20th April - Thruxton, Hants
Round 3 - 3rd/5th May - Oulton Park, Cheshire
Round 1 - 10th/11th May - Brands Hatch GP, Kent
Round 4 - 24th/26th May - Donington Park, Leics
Round 5 - 13th/15th June - Snetterton, Norfolk
Round 6 - 27th/29th June - Mallory Park
Round 7 - 18th/20th July - Oulton Park, Cheshire
Round 8 - 8th/10th August - Knockhill, Fife
Round 9 - 23rd/25th August - Cadwell Park, Lincs
Round 10 - 12th/14th September - Croft, North Yorkshire
Round 11 - 26th/28th September, Silverstone, Northants
Round 12 - 10th/12th October - Brands Hatch Indy, Kent

Round nine of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship heads to the picturesque setting of Cadwell Park this August Bank Holiday weekend with Hydrex Bike Animal Honda riders James Ellison and Guy Martin looking forward to the event for various reasons.

Following on from successive podium finishes in the past two rounds, 27 year old Ellison from Kendal in Cumbria currently lies in sixth place in the title chase being the only rider to score in each of the sixteen races to date although he has yet to win a race.

However, with improvements to the Shaun Muir Racing Fireblade ongoing, Ellison is confident that a victory is just around the corner and he’ll be hoping to box that off in front of what traditionally is the championship’s biggest crowd of the season with over 35,000 fans packing the Lincolnshire track.
  
James Ellison:  “I like Cadwell Park, we went to test there a couple of months back but we had a problem with the bike so didn’t really get to grips with the place.  It looks like it’s a bit safer than when I was last there four years ago and the Mountain is just awesome so I’m looking forward to that one and just looking for that win which is just so close.”

Meanwhile team mate Guy Martin is in desperate need of some luck in which to turn his fortunes around this season.

After the Ulster Grand Prix washout last weekend, the genial 26 year old from nearby Kirmington is hoping that his local track will be the place he finally gets a result after a season of frustration, epitomised last time out at Knockhill when running inside the top ten only for the race to be stopped and for him to miss out in the restart.

The twisty and undulating nature of the historic track will suit Martin and he’s very much looking forward to the challenge as well as entering into the spirit by taking part in Sunday evening’s CJ Fund Charity Cycle Race.

Guy Martin: “I’m looking forward to Cadwell with it being my local track, but it’s got a chicane in it, and I don’t like chicanes.  I’ll just take it as it comes and I’ll just enjoy riding my bike and hopefully we can get a good result.”

Also in action will be Heanor’s Kieran Clarke who will be looking to add to his points tally that he scored at Oulton Park and Knockhill in the Metzeler 1000cc Superstock Championship since joining the team in mid season.

Kieran Clarke: “I’ve had some good finishes at Cadwell Park and was top seven on the Superbike there so hopefully we can go well.  It’s a real riders course and one of my favourite circuits so hopefully we can get knuckled down, get some nice weather and get a bit of success there.  I ought to be knocking on the podium door with the experience I have got and once I get a couple more races under my belt I should be up there.”

After Cadwell, the team will start making preparations for James’ wild card entry at round eleven of the World Superbike Championship at the Donington Park round over the weekend of September 5/6/7th.

Etchilhampton rider Tommy Bridewell scored his first win in three long years when he took a sensational victory in today’s Castle Combe Grand National meeting in front of a bumper local crowd.

Riding the 1000cc Naturally Best Suzuki the 19-year-old Wiltshire rider followed up a battling fourth place in the opening leg with a fantastic victory in race two to send the local crowd home happy.

Battling with rear suspension problems throughout the weekend and still struggling with a leg injury sustained in Italy earlier this year, Bridewell was confident lining up for the 15-lap feature race. 

Despite a mediocre start, Bridewell closed in on the leading bunch as he set his sights on victory in the latter stages.  Lying in third place with three laps to go, Bridewell made his move on race leader Victor Cox and second placed Barry Burrell and took the lead whereby he held on to the chequered flag amidst emotional scenes to box off a very popular win.

“I wasn’t sure that I could have pulled this off today as we really struggled with the rear suspension and also I’m still struggling with my leg injury.  But I really wanted this win so badly and I said to myself half way through the race ‘I’ve got to win this’, so I set about closing the leaders down and I knew that once I had them within my sights I could do it.  This is a new chapter in the Bridewell story and it’s fantastic that I’ve had all my friends and family around to share this success and now that I’ve won this race I plan on going and winning a load more.”

For Wayside Racing team owner Marcus Bridewell, who had to make a dash back to the team headquarters to get a replacement tyre at the last minute, it marked a sensational return to Castle Combe for his son.  A couple of years ago eldest son Ollie just missed out on the Castle Combe title but Marcus was obviously delighted for Tom to lift the crown this year.  “We really struggled to set the bike up and at one point in time we nearly thought about putting it in the back of the van and going home.  But we’re Bridewells and we don’t give up so we did the best we could and it’s paid off for us.  It goes without saying that this one’s for Ollie and I’d also like to thank Rodney Gooch and his team at Castle Combe circuit who have been simply magnificent.”

An announcement regarding Tommy’s next race will made imminently once all details have been finalised.

Castle Combe Grand National Result

1, Tommy Bridewell
2, Victor Cox
3, Barry Burrell

Following on torrential rainfall, organisers were left with a difficult decision to cancel today’s Ulster Grand Prix at the Dundrod circuit in Northern Ireland.

Despite early hopes of the weather improving and the organisers delaying proceedings until just after lunch, Clerk of the Course Noel Johnstone confirmed that despite his best efforts to try and postpone racing until tomorrow, it wasn’t possible and announced the cancellation of this year’s races.

It meant disappointment for Hydrex Bike Animal Honda rider Guy Martin who has had a less than successful season this year and the Ulster GP was his last hope of the big win on the roads.

“I’ve never seen so much water in my life.  There’s nobody to blame apart from the good old British summer.  The organisers did as much as they could to get the races on but it was never going to happen.  I’m bitterly disappointed for myself as this would have been a good chance to have boxed off a big win this year, but I’m equally disappointed for the fans who turned out in their thousands and got absolutely drenched hoping to see some action.  It wasn’t very good weather for bikes, but it was most certainly good weather for ducks” said Guy, a point echoed by team owner Shaun Muir.

“It’s disappointing all round after all the hard work that has gone in by both the team and the organisers but there was absolutely nothing we could do because it was impossible to race in those conditions.  You have got to feel sorry for Guy who was really up for this race after winning here for the past couple of years and I feel he could have had a big result here.  It’s been a bad weekend but hopefully we can all bounce back from this and we now need to concentrate on the job in hand at Cadwell next weekend.”

Martin, along with team mate James Ellison will be in action at the ninth round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Cadwell Park over the August bank holiday weekend with Guy threatening to put in a late entry in the CJ Fund cycle race on Sunday evening!

Following on from his successful Ulster Grand Prix meeting last year, Hydrex Bike Animal Honda rider Guy Martin was hoping to get back in the swing of things after a less than successful season but once again, the great British summer had other ideas.

After a bright start to the day, gradually the clouds rolled in and by the time practice was due to get underway at 1.30pm this afternoon, the heavy rain which blighted last year’s event on the Dundrod circuit returned with a vengeance causing organisers to delay proceedings.

After nearly two hours, still the heavy rain fall continued leaving them with no option but to postpone the practice sessions in the hope that better weather arrives tomorrow whereby practice is due to get underway at 11am with racing at the Dundrod 150 meeting scheduled for 2pm.

“It’s been a nightmare for everyone concerned today” said Guy. “It’s been frustrating just sitting around but what else can you do when the weather is so bad? We have a bit of a problem in as much as I understand the MCUI rules state that you can’t practice and race on the same day but I think they may have to waive that tomorrow otherwise we won’t get a race. The weather’s not great for the rest of the week so we need to get racing when we can and not mess around.”

Having qualified his Yamaha YZF-R6 on the last spot of the third row of the grid in 12th position, Joe was confident of a strong top ten race finish.

Despite the mixed weather conditions the race was declared dry. With the black clouds looming over the hills it was doubtful that the race would it’s full distance before the rain set in again.

Joe looked to struggle with his start, dropping back to 20th place but the youngster from Clowne in Derbyshire immediately knew that he had problems with his brakes. With a handful of laps to confirm his worst fears, Joe did his best to regain the feeling in his front brake by pumping the lever. Although he made a little progress Joe felt the problem was getting worse and was forced to retire on Lap 9.

Round 9 of the Fuchs-Silkolene British Supersport Championship takes place in two weeks time at Cadwell Park on Bank Holiday weekend (Aug 23-25).

Joe Dickinson: “From the opening lap I knew I had a big problem with the front brake and pumping the lever didn’t appear to make any real difference. Myself and the team are devastated. If this problem had appeared earlier on in the weekend we could have fixed it but everything worked perfectly in warm-up this morning. The brakes have never missed a beat all season until today. I’m frustrated as we had made some progress and could have finished in the top ten today. Let’s hope the team’s home round at Cadwell will bring more luck.”

Rob McElnea, Team Principal: “Joe suffered with bad luck today, we were hoping for a strong result off the back of the progress that we made at Oulton. It’s our home round next so we will have to wait a few weeks to see if Joe is going to pick up that strong finish he’s on the verge of earning.”

Race Results
1. Lowry (Suzuki), 2. Westmoreland (Honda), 3. Richards (Triumph), 4. Webb (Honda), 5. Kennaugh (Yamaha), DNF - Joe Dickinson (Truck Links Yamaha)

Championship Standings
1) Richards - 157, 2) Kennaugh - 127, 3)Lowry - 120, 4) Westmoreland - 81, 5) Brogan - 75, 20) Dickinson 13