GSE Racing 2009

The reigning champion British Superbike team GSE Racing are today facing withdrawal from the British Superbike Championship of 2010 unless a sponsor is found before the end of the year.

Towards the end of the season the team announced that their partnership with Wrigley’s Airwaves would be coming to an end after the years finale.  Since that time no suitable replacement has been found leaving the team without the necessary funding to compete in the 2010 season.

Team Principle Darrell Healey said;

“It is with great regret that we have had to issue the team with their notice of redundancy, with a view to withdrawing from the British Superbike Championship at the end of 2009.  We have enjoyed tremendously our time racing in the most competitive domestic superbike series in the world, and therefore this decision was not taken lightly.  Alongside Yamaha, we will be doing all we can to try and secure a partner in the remaining time available, and greatly hope we an return to once again successfully defend our championship title.”

Team Manager Colin Wright added;

“Everyone at GSE Racing is incredibly saddened that we may no longer be able to compete in the British Superbike Championship. We enjoyed our most successful season ever in 2009. Leon Camier and James Ellison were the only two riders to have finished every race in the points (barring Leon’s exclusion at Cadwell) and we enjoyed numerous double race wins and double one two’s on our way to first and second in the Championship standings. We were very much looking forward to continuing this success on into 2010 as we entered our second year in partnership with Yamaha, but unfortunately it looks like this will now not be.

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank the whole team for their unrivalled dedication and hard work, our previous sponsors for their support, and of course the British Superbike fans.”

Stuart Easton - Brands Hatch 2009

For the second consecutive year, the British Superbike rider Stuart Easton won the Macau Grand Prix at the weekend starting from pole position.

Easton, riding the Hydrex IGT Honda Fireblade 1000cc machine, dominated the race from the off ahead of a challenging Connor Cummins on the PBM Kawasaki WSBK.

The Scottish youngster had pulled a lead of 6.172 seconds by lap 6 but by lap 10, Cummins began to challenge the Honda rider and decreased the gap to 3.078 seconds.

By the penultimate lap, Cummins was only 0.421 seconds behind the race leader, managing to make a pass on the Honda at Fisherman’s Bend but on the final lap, Easton outbreaked the Kawasaki rider as they approached Lisboa to retake the lead.

In third place was the second PBM Kawasaki ridden by Ian Hutchinson while John McGuinness, Michael Pearson and Steve Mercer all retired from the race.

Simon Andrews made his debut at the Macau Grand Prix, finishing in an impressive seventh place for the Team Of Paris-AXA Racing, behind his team-mate Michael Rutter who finished in sixth.

Here are the results;

1 1 Stuart EASTON GBR Hydrex IGT Honda 36:50.910 15 149.47 2:25.170
2 4 Conor CUMMINS IOM PBM Kawasaki WSBK Team 36:51.291 15 0.381 149.45 2:26.251
3 8 Ian HUTCHINSON GBR PBM Kawasaki WSBK Team 37:00.702 15 9.792 148.81 2:26.803
4 69 Gary JOHNSON GBR A.I.M. Racing 37:06.508 15 15.598 148.43 2:26.081
5 13 Rico PENZKOFER GER BMW Macau Racing Team 37:15.519 15 24.609 147.83 2:27.208
6 3 Michael RUTTER GBR Team of Paris – AXA Racing 37:22.761 15 31.851 147.35 2:27.235
7 12 Simon ANDREWS GBR Team of Paris – AXA Racing 37:25.237 15 34.327 147.19 2:28.352
8 33 Luis CARREIRA POR Benimoto Suzuki Cetelem 37:26.117 15 35.207 147.13 2:28.129
9 57 Jeremy TOYE USA Lee’s Cycles Racing 37:26.403 15 35.493 147.11 2:27.507
10 11 Stephen THOMPSON GBR Robinson Concrete Honda 37:34.767 15 43.857 146.56 2:28.569
11 6 Gerald MUTEAU FRA Team of Paris – AXA Racing 37:37.449 15 46.539 146.39 2:28.317
12 10 Mark MILLER USA Celtic Racing 37:42.208 15 51.298 146.08 2:28.223
13 34 Mike BARNES USA PBM Kawasaki WSBK Team 38:09.510 15 1:18.600 144.34 2:29.141
14 9 James McBRIDE GBR PAZZO/EAST Coast Racing 38:24.254 15 1:33.344 143.42 2:31.960
15 31 Horst SAIGER AUT BMW Macau Racing Team 38:25.379 15 1:34.469 143.35 2:31.058
16 37 James HILLIER GBR A.I.M. Racing 38:28.566 15 1:37.656 143.15 2:31.978
17 66 Mark BUCKLEY GBR Jentin Racing 38:31.525 15 1:40.615 142.97 2:31.804
18 15 James STORRAR GBR DMR Racing 38:32.104 15 1:41.194 142.93 2:32.013
19 5 SS Amaury BARATIN FRA Team of Paris – AXA Racing 36:52.569 14 1 LAP 139.40 2:35.584
20 35 SS CHEUNG Wai On HKG CHEUNG Wai On 36:55.852 14 1 LAP 139.20 2:36.267
21 32 SS Joao FERNANDES MAC Joao FERNANDES 37:19.683 14 1 LAP 137.71 2:36.748
22 18 SS SOU Sio Hong MAC Sonic Racing Performance 38:54.896 14 1 LAP 132.10 2:44.520
23 39 SS Jason BROOME HKG Jason BROOME 37:20.516 13 2 LAPS 127.83 2:48.900
24 19 SS Tiago MAGALHAES POR AG Racing 37:41.159 13 2 LAPS 126.66 2:39.152
25 70 SS IP Weng Keong MAC Sonic Racing Performance 39:07.582 12 3 LAPS 112.62 2:49.530
NOT CLASSIFIED
2 John McGUINNESS GBR Hydrex IGT Honda 18:10.518 7 D.N.F. 141.42 2:30.317
7 Thomas HINTERREITER AUT Yamaha Austria Racing Team 10:34.473 4 D.N.F. 138.90 2:31.525
36 Michael PEARSON GBR BTS Racing 8:26.925 3 D.N.F. 130.38 2:38.025
17 Steve MERCER GBR DMR Racing 5:08.914 2 D.N.F. 142.64 2:31.087
FASTEST LAP
1 Stuart EASTON Hydrex IGT Honda 2:25.170 5 151.76kph 94.30mph

Donington Park

The owner of the Donington Park circuit Tom Wheatcroft, has died at the age of 87 after suffering a long illness it has been confirmed.

The official statement read;

TOM WHEATCROFT 1922 – 2009

Donington Park is mourning the loss of the owner of the estate and circuit, Tom Wheatcroft.

The Leicester businessman succumbed to a long illness, passing peacefully away at his family home at 10.30 on the morning of Saturday 31 October.

Tom, as he was affectionately known throughout the sporting world, was first attracted to motor sport and Grand Prix racing as a schoolboy when he cycled from his Leicester home to watch the great races of the 1930 era of the circuit.

After military service, he returned to Leicestershire, soon owning and prospering a highly successful building and property development company.

Tom continued his enjoyment of racing, never missing a British Grand Prix and visiting others overseas, and at the same time supporting local drivers, and fostering the career of the highly talented Roger Williamson, taking him into Grand Prix racing.

He also owned a growing collection of racing cars, and in 1971 bought part of the Donington Park estate, opening there the world renowned Donington Collection of Grand Prix cars.

After a lengthy, often bitter and very costly, planning hearing, he was given consent to re-build and re-open the Donington Park circuit, which had lain derelict after military use during the Second World War.

Racing returned in 1977 and soon the circuit was hosting major events, bringing the world’s best motorcycle racers into action and then various FIA Championships for Formula 2, World Sports Cars and European Touring Cars.

Tom celebrated his 65^th birthday by securing the British Motorcycle Grand Prix ran for the first of 23 times on his circuit in 1987 – it was voted the best in the world, and then in 1993, and he achieved his dream, when at short notice, his circuit staged the award winning FIA Formula One World Championship Grand Prix of Europe.

Tom continued to take an active interest in the circuit and it development, under the direction of lease holders Donington Ventures Leisure Limited, through to his passing.

His contribution to the sport has been immeasurable, and the word ‘legend’ hardly does justice to the man who was Donington Park – Tom Wheatcroft.

Yukio Kagayama

World Superbike rider Yukio Kagayama is returning to the British Superbike Championship in 2010 for the Worx Crescent Suzuki team.

The Japanese rider made the switch to WSB in 2005 after two seasons with the Rizla Suzuki team while the current BSB rider for the Worx team Sylvain Guintoli is making a surprise move in the opposite direction after confirming that he will be riding alongside Leon Haslam at the Alstare WSB team.

The Worx Crescent team manager Jack Valentine said;

“To have Yukio back in the UK is great news.  He is still a class act and was incredibly popular with UK fans during his two year stint in the series last time. He is as determined as ever and will be back here with one goal in mind – to challenge for the title.

Our decision to run two riders in 2010 is also good news for the BSB Championship, for Suzuki and for all of our partners.”

James Ellison - Airwaves Yamaha 2009

This weekend sees the final round of the British Superbike Championship of 2009 taking place at Oulton Park with crowned champion Leon Camier aiming for another victory.

This weekends triple-header consists of one race on the Saturday with two further races on the Sunday at the Cheshire circuit.

The second Airwaves Yamaha rider James Ellison, will be aiming for maximum points to become runner-up in the championship against rival Hydrex Honda rider Stuart Easton.  Ellison has a 51 point advantage over Easton but if he fails to finish in the points at this round Easton will take the second place.

Although the pressure has eased off slightly for Camier, he feels that this weekend will see his team-mate riding his socks off and also expects to be challenged by the HM Plant Honda rider Josh Brookes.

Camier said;

“These past couple of weeks have been pretty hectic so I’ve not had a chance to sit down and really let the Championship sink in. But it does feel as though the pressure is off to some extent. The motivation to win is as strong as ever, although I know it’s not going to be easy. My teammate James is going to be fast straight away, as will Josh Brookes. The GSE Racing team has been incredible all year, so I know they’ll give me the best possible package once again.”

Ellison said;

“I’m so excited about this weekend, but also disappointed it’s the final round. The past three race meetings have gone better and better for me. We’ve made small changes here and there, and now the Airwaves Yamaha is really working for me. It’s a shame we couldn’t have got to this point earlier, but the Championship now belongs to Leon and all I can do is go out there, top Practice, and try and win all three races.”

Not only is it the end of the BSB series this weekend but also the end of the five-year partnership between the GSE Racing team and sponsors Wrigley’s Airwaves

Alastair Seeley will be on a full Relentless Suzuki by TAS this weekend after making his British Superbike debut at the last round at Silverstone.  The machine he rode at the Northampton circuit however, was the Suzuki specified to the newly introduced ‘Evo’ regulations, to be used in 2010, whereas this time out he will be riding the same machine as ridden by Ian Lowry and Atsushi Watanabe this season.

On the final lap of race two, the Airwaves Yamaha of Camier began to smoke while he was leading the race and he was shown the black flag with an orange spot, meaning that he must leave the circuit immediately.  Camier believed the flag meant that he had to leave the circuit within one lap, seeing him stripped of his race win and the victory going to team-mate James Ellison instead.

At the Croft round of the championship in September, the British rider was given a quick lesson by the track marshal’s just to make certain that he knew what the flags meant, watch the clip below.

Relentless Suzuki by TAS 2009

After his impressive ride at the Silverstone British Superbike round last weekend, Alastair Seeley will be back on the Relentless Suzuki by TAS for the seasons finale at Oulton Park.

The 2009 National Supestock Champion, made his debut in the British Superbike series aboard the new Evo specification GSX-R1000 for the Relentless Suzuki by TAS. The specifically built 2010 machine featured a Superstock engine fitted into the full British Superbike spec. rolling chassis, with a Yoshimura EM Pro kit ECU.

Seeley retired from race one due to a bolt breaking on the rear shock absorber but scored a tenth place in race two on his first outing in BSB, with team owner Philip Neill saying;

“The job is done with the Evo bike,” team owner Philip Neill said. “Alastair proved a point that the new rules will work. Let’s park that now and see what he can do on the Superbike.”

The Irish man has now been offered the opportunity to impress the team boss on the same bike ridden by Ian Lowry and Atsushi Watanabe at the Northamptonshire circuit.

Leon Camier - British Superbike Champion 2009

After securing the British Superbike Championship last weekend for the Airwaves Yamaha team, Leon Camier is to take part in this weekends World Superbike Championship at Magny Cours, alongside Max Biaggi on the Aprilia RSV4.

The BSB Champion is being temporarily released from his contract with the GSE Racing team to take up the opportunity of a ride in the World Superbike series before once again returning to finish the BSB Championship at Oulton Park.

Camier previously took part in the British round of the World Superbikes series this year where he finished 13th in race one and secured a 6th place in race two, whilst riding as a wild-card.

Camier said;

“I would like to thank Aprilia for giving me such an amazing opportunity, and also GSE Racing for being so supportive. This year has been incredible. To follow my BSB Championship win with a ride on-board a proven race winning machine in World Superbikes, is awesome.

It’s going to be a tough challenge for sure. There’ll be no time for testing beforehand, and I’ve never ridden at Magny Cours, but I’m really looking forward to it.”

Leon Camier - 2009 British Superbike Champion

The 23-year-old Airwaves Yamaha rider Leon Camier, claimed the British Superbike Championship title at Silverstone yesterday after taking the victory in race one.

Race One

After starting on pole position, Leon Camier dropped back to fifth position as the race got underway, behind Stuart Easton on the Hydrex Honda, Josh Brookes on the HM Plant Honda and his team-mate James Ellison.

By the end of the first lap, Ellison had passed both Easton and Brookes to take the lead, while Camier got on with the job in hand, taking first Brookes and then taking advantage of Easton as he ran wide on lap 4 before chasing Ellison, who was now 1.2 seconds ahead.

With 16 laps of the race still to go, the Airwaves Yamaha swapped the lead a couple of times before Camier took the lead on the penultimate lap, passing Ellison on the inside at the Priory left-hander.

Camier held the lead and took the championship by 0.244 seconds and was presented with a #1 for his bike on his return to the pits.

James Ellison finished in second place followed by Josh Brookes in third and Stuart Easton in fourth.  In fifth place was Tommy Hill on the second Hydrex Honda, John Laverty on the Buildbase Kawasaki was in sixth, Sylvain Guintoli on the Worx Crescent Suzuki in seventh, Ian Lowry on the Relentless by TAS Suzuki in eighth, Simon Andrews on MSS Colchester Kawasaki in ninth and his team-mate Julian Da Costa in tenth.

Michael Rutter on the Bathams Ducati was out of the race on lap 4 after developing technical problems with his machine while Karl Harris didn’t even make the start as a mechanical problem occurred before the race.

The British Superbike Cup winner was Tommy Bridewell on the NB Suzuki after finishing in twelfth place while Cup champion Gary Mason finished in fourteenth for the Quay Garage Honda team.

Here are the results;

1. Leon Camier GBR Airwaves Yamaha 20 laps
2. James Ellison GBR Airwaves Yamaha 0.244sec
3. Josh Brookes AUS HM Plant Honda 8.827sec
4. Stuart Easton GBR Hydrex Honda 9.164sec
5. Tommy Hill GBR Hydrex Honda 18.278sec
6. John Laverty IRL Buildbase Kawasaki 18.787sec
7. Sylvain Guintoli FRA Worx Crescent Suzuki 18.933sec
8. Ian Lowry GBR Relentless TAS Suzuki 22.408sec
9. Simon Andrews GBR MSS Colchester Kawasaki 22.921sec
10. Julien Da Costa FRA MSS Colchester Kawasaki 24.682sec
11. Graeme Gowland GBR Motorpoint/Henderson Yamaha 30.923sec
12. Tommy Bridewell GBR Team NB Suzuki 31.473sec Cup
13. Glen Richards AUS HM Plant Honda 35.532sec
14. Gary Mason GBR Quay Honda 37.551sec Cup
15. Peter Hickman GBR Ultimate Yamaha 38.199sec Cup
16. Richard Cooper GBR Co-ordit Yamaha 38.780sec Cup
17. Tom Tunstall GBR Hardinge Doodson Honda 40.462sec Cup
18. Dan Linfoot GBR Rob Mac Racing Yamaha 56.937sec
19. Atsushi Watanabe JPN Relentless TAS Suzuki 1min 1.468sec
20. Martin Jessopp GBR Riders Racing Honda 1 lap Cup
21. Michael Howarth GBR STP-JHS MV Agusta 1 lap

DNF:
Alastair Seeley GBR Relentless TAS Suzuki 18 laps Evo
Tristan Palmer GBR Buildbase Kawasaki 18 laps
Howie Mainwaring GBR Team Maxxis Yamaha 11 laps
David Haire GBR JX Fuelcard Kawasaki 10 lap Cup
Chris Walker GBR Motorpoint/Henderson Yamaha 9 laps
David Johnson AUS Jentin Yamaha 7 laps
Aaron Zanotti GBR Red Viper Honda 7 laps
Michael Rutter GBR Bathams Ducati 4 laps
Karl Harris GBR SMT Honda 0 laps

Race Two

In the second race of the day it was yet again an Airwaves Yamaha on the top step of the podium but this time it was the turn of James Ellison.

Race two was red flagged before the end of lap one after a huge oil spillage caused chaos for the mid-pack riders on the approach to Abbey corner.

At the restart, which reduced the race to 18 laps, it was once again Stuart Easton on the Hydrex Honda that led the pack, ahead of Josh Brookes, Ellison and Camier.

Camier made a move to pass Ellison as the pair headed to the Bridge/Priory turns, firing Ellison up and regaining his position at the final chicane.  Ellison then moved into second place after passing Brookes at Abbey on lap 2 as Camier followed a lap later.

Camier managed to get in front of his team-mate again on lap 3 before chasing down Easton.  This time however, as he tried to outbrake the Hydrex Honda rider entering Abbey, he went wide and was forced onto the grass, dropping him back to ninth place with 14 laps left to run.

Within two laps, Camier has muscled his way back to sixth place as Ellison snatched the lead from Easton through Maggots.  With 9 laps to go, Camier passed Tommy Hill to take fourth place, 2.1 seconds behind his team-mate and then hunted down Brookes to take third and then second as he passed Easton on lap 15.

Ellison took the lead, 1.2 seconds ahead of his team-mate and leaving him with a 51 point advantage of the runner-up spot in the championship over Easton.

Josh Brookes finished in third place followed by Stuart Easton in fourth, Tommy Hill in fifth, Julien Da Costa in sixth, Simon Andrews in seventh, Sylvain Guintoli in eighth, Ian Lowry in ninth and Alastair Seeley in tenth.

Here are the results;

1. James Ellison GBR Airwaves Yamaha 18 laps
2. Leon Camier GBR Airwaves Yamaha 1.200sec
3. Josh Brookes AUS HM Plant Honda 2.583sec
4. Stuart Easton GBR Hydrex Honda 3.974sec
5. Tommy Hill GBR Hydrex Honda 9.774sec
6. Julien Da Costa FRA MSS Colchester Kawasaki 11.099sec
7. Simon Andrews GBR MSS Colchester Kawasaki 14.340sec
8. Sylvain Guintoli FRA Worx Crescent Suzuki 16.148sec
9. Ian Lowry GBR Relentless TAS Suzuki 21.434sec
10. Alastair Seeley GBR Relentless TAS Suzuki 23.963sec Evo
11. Chris Walker GBR Motorpoint/Henderson Yamaha 24.269sec
12. Tommy Bridewell GBR Team NB Suzuki 24.362sec Cup
13. Peter Hickman GBR Ultimate Yamaha 27.693sec Cup
14. Karl Harris GBR SMT Honda 28.296sec
15. Michael Rutter GBR Bathams Ducati 32.883sec
16. Tom Tunstall GBR Hardinge Doodson Honda 45.709sec Cup
17. Martin Jessopp GBR Riders Racing Honda 55.170sec Cup
18. Aaron Zanotti GBR Red Viper Honda 1 lap
19. Michael Howarth GBR STP-JHS MV Agusta 1 lap

DNF:
John Laverty IRL Buildbase Kawasaki 13 laps
Gary Mason GBR Quay Honda 10 laps Cup
Graeme Gowland GBR Motorpoint/Henderson Yamaha 10 laps
David Haire GBR JX Fuelcard Kawasaki 5 laps Cup
Dan Linfoot GBR Rob Mac Racing Yamaha 2 laps

Leon Camier - Airwaves Yamaha 2009

This weekend the riders and teams of the British Superbike Championship head to Silverstone for the penultimate round of the 2009 series.

The Airwaves Yamaha team rider Leon Camier, has a 99.5 point advantage over his team-mate James Ellison, meaning that if he finishes ahead of Ellison in the first race of the day the title is his.

Ellison will need to keep his eyes open for the Scottish rider Stuart Easton on the Hydrex Honda, who is only 32 points behind the Yamaha rider and could be a real threat for the runner-up spot in the championship especially since getting a taste of winning at the last round at Croft.

According to reports, the 2009 National Superstock champion Alastair Seeley, will be on board the new Evo specification GSX-R1000 for the Relentless Suzuki by TAS at the weekends meeting, making his BSB debut.

The specifically built 2010 machine has a Superstock engine fitted into the full British Superike spec rolling chassis, featuring a Yoshimura EM Pro kit ECU.  Last weekend Seeley not only raced the bike at the Anglesey round of the Irish National Superbike Championship, but claimed the victory as well as setting a lap record.

With the announcement that MotoGP will once again be returning to the Silverstone circuit, there is to be a host of GP legends at the event this weekend to meet fans and sign autographs.

Randy Mamola will be joining Steve Parish, Jeremy McWilliams, Niall MacKenzie and Rob McElnea for a question and answer session hosted by Toby Moody , along with current British 125cc MotoGP rider Bradley Smith.