The event will showcase a myriad of British Supercross Champions of the past along with the supercross stars of the future, promising an exciting evening of racing and entertainment not only in the pro classes but right through to the youth and amateur rounds, at what has to be the best indoor venue in the country.

Top of the list for ex champ’s will be Mike Brown who has had an incredible career in America and right here in the UK with numerous Motocross and Supercross titles to his credit.

Defending British Open champion Gordon Crockard will be fired up for his debut race on TAS Relentless Suzuki. In addition to Brownie and Crockstar former British Motocross Champ Stephen Sword will be sure to attack the Dirt Wurx built O2 Supercross course with vigour in his first British Supercross event on the mighty Buildbase CCM 450.

In addition to the decorated champions listed above this weekend will see a host of star riders compete many for the first time on new machinery including former schoolboy world champion Steven Clarke. Clarke will make London his debut ride for the new Maxxis Hooper Suzuki team.

Scotland’s Motocross Grand Prix star Shaun Simpson will fire up his brand new LS Honda 450 and take on all comers in the SX1 and British Supercross Championship for his British fans in a rare appearance on home soil. Also making a debut ride for a new team will be Belfast blinder Martin Barr who took the British Supercross Championship main event at Belfast back in October. Barr will move from the TAS Relentless team to Proppa.com KTM for London.

Welshman and newly crowned German Supercross champ Ashley Greedy is set to make his debut ride for LPE Maxxis Henderson Kawasaki alongside Belfast SX2 winner Adam Chatfield. Alex Snow will ride his first British Supercross event of the year aboard his new steed a Lanes Kawasaki. Londoner and German Supercross star Jack Brunell will round out the Kawasaki onslaught on his Rabbit Racing KX250F.

The man at the head of the pack in the big SX1 class is Tom Church on the Buildbase CCM. Church surprised many at Belfast with his Supercross skills and now looks to be in control of the SX1 championship with the absence of Belfast SX1 winner Evgeni Bobryshev. South Africa’s Neville Bradshaw fresh off a California training session is sure to be in the thick of things on his return to Honda with MVRD along with fellow South African Sean Mitchell.

A fantastic evening is promised at the O2 with the gorgeus Monster Energy Girls adding glamour to the action packed occasion.

Tickets for the Future West ACU British Supercross Championship at the O2 in London on February 5th are availabe from Ticketmaster on 0844 8000 400

The smarmy councillors of Westminster barely listened to campaigners before refusing to budge at an arranged meeting followed on TV. These idiots believe that they have won the day, but there is more to come.

This is an excerpt from the campaigners No To The Bike Parking Tax website:

There are only two ways to legitimately quash a Local Government scheme such as this. By Act of Parliament, or via the High Court. Cllr Chalkley’s decision to make the scheme permanent has opened a window for us to launch a full legal challenge via Judicial Review, for which we have to raise a minimum of £50,000 due to the need for a highly competent Public Law specialist legal team.

The alternative of doing nothing, as many of you already are aware, is that a host of other less-financially well-off as Westminster, will start to sign up to a version of the scheme. Our supporters the Tax Payers Alliance have calculated that, if they roll this bike tax out nationally, the motorcycle community will be laying out a staggering £93,000,000 per annum…

You can read the full post and get involved with the fight against bike tax here.

James Ellison - Airwaves Yamaha - Mallory Park 2009

It was an incident filled race one at Mallory Park yesterday with the Airwaves Yamaha men, James Ellison winning race one and Leon Camier taking race two.

Race One

James Ellison won the first race of the seventh round of the British Superbike Championship yesterday after the race was red-flagged with seven laps remaining.

Chris Walker on the Motorpoint/Henderson Yamaha was the initial leader after Leon Camier, on the second Airwaves Yamaha,  was almost caught-up with Richard Cooper on the Team Co-Ordit Yamaha, who went down in front of him, bringing Camier to a virtual halt and down into twenty-third place.

On lap 4, Walker was passed by MSS Colchester Kawasaki rider Simon Andrews, who within two laps had created a gap of 1.5 seconds before once again battling with Tommy Hill on the Worx Crescent Suzuki and Walker.

Andrews led for the majority of the race and looked certain of his first win until disaster happened on lap 22, while Hill was behind in second and Walker in third.

Josh Brookes on the HM Plant Honda, was running in fourth position when he suddenly appeared up the inside, going into Shaw’s hairpin, passing Walker and then lost control as he passed Hill, sliding across the track directly in front of Hill and side-swiping Andrews off his bike from the lead.  Unable to avoid the incident in front of them, Chris Walker, Tommy Hill, Karl Harris and John Laverty all went down bringing out the red flag.

According to the regulation, only the riders that are still racing can be counted the moment the red flag is shown, therefore, the front six runners that were involved in the accident had crashed and were not racing.

James Ellison, who had been sitting in seventh position was therefore handed the win much too the surprise of Simon Andrews who felt that the race should have been his.

Leon Camier, who had clawed his way back up the grid and finished in second place followed by Graeme Gowland on the Motorpoint/Henderson Yamaha, who was on the podium for the first time in third place.

Michael Rutter on the SMT Honda took fourth ahead of Julien De Costa on the MSS Colchester Kawasaki and Cup rider Gary Mason on the Quay Garage Honda.

Steve Brogan, replacing the injured Glen Richards for  the HM Plant Honda team, finished in seventh followed by Ian Lowry on the Relentless Suzuki in eighth, David Johnson on the Team Maxxis Yamaha in ninth and Tristan Palmer on the Buildbase Kawasaki completing the top ten.

Stuart Easton retired from the race after suffering problems on the Hydrex Honda along with Aaron Zanotti on the Red Viper Honda and Michael Howarth on the STP-JHS MV Agusta.

Here are the results;

1. James Ellison GBR Airwaves Yamaha 21mins 01.786secs 22 laps
2. Leon Camier GBR Airwaves Yamaha +4.345secs
3. Graeme Gowland GBR Motorpoint/Henderson Yamaha +7.401secs
4. Michael Rutter GBR SMT Honda +9.701secs
5. Julien Da Costa FRA MSS Colchester Kawasaki +12.870secs
6. Gary Mason GBR Quay Honda +13.504secs Cup
7. Steve Brogan GBR HM Plant Honda +15.617secs
8. Ian Lowry GBR Relentless TAS Suzuki +17.531secs
9. David Johnson AUS Team Maxxis Adept Yamaha +18.568secs
10. Tristan Palmer GBR Buildbase Kawasaki +20.443secs
11. Tommy Bridewell GBR Team NB Suzuki +20.614secs Cup
12. Peter Hickman GBR Ultimate Yamaha +22.413secs Cup
13. Tom Tunstall GBR Hardinge Doodson Honda +28.248secs Cup
14. Atsushi Watanabe JPN Relentless TAS Suzuki +32.548secs
15. Kenny Gilbertson GBR Jx Fuelcards Kawasaki +32.825secs Cup

16. Martin Jessopp GBR Riders Racing Honda +1 lap Cup

Not classified:

17. Simon Andrews GBR MSS Colchester Kawasaki 22 laps completed
18. Josh Brookes AUS HM Plant Honda 22 laps completed
19. Chris Walker GBR Motorpoint/Henderson Yamaha 22 laps completed
20. Tommy Hill GBR Worx Crescent Suzuki 22 laps completed
21. Karl Harris GBR Hydrex Honda 22 laps completed
22. John Laverty IRL Buildbase Kawasaki 22 laps completed
23. Stuart Easton GBR Hydrex Honda 12 laps completed
24. Aaron Zanotti GBR Red Viper Honda 10 laps completed
25. Michael Howarth GBR STP-JHS MV Agusta 7 laps completed
26. Richard Cooper GBR Co-ordit Yamaha 0 laps completed Cup

Race Two

The second race of the day was red flagged after just sixteen laps as standing water on the track at Gerrards corner made riding conditions treacherous.

It was Leon Camier on the Airwaves Yamaha that took the victory in the second race of the day, ahead of team-mate James Ellison in second and Chris Walker on the Motorpoint/Henderson Yamaha in third.

Walker took the lead as the race got underway followed by Tommy Hill on the Worx Crescent Suzuki and Cup rider Richard Cooper on the Co-Ordit Yamaha.  Cooper passed Hill on the inside heading into the chicane followed by Camier, as Walker got his head down and pulled away from the pack.

Cooper then began chasing down Walker and passed as Camier started to put the pressure on the Motorpoint rider, passing him briefly but losing it until lap 8, when he made the move stick.

Camier passed Cooper on lap 9 and sped off into the distance as his team-mate first passed Walker and then Cooper to grab the second step of the podium.

Walker passed Cooper on lap 14 as they went into the hairpin with John Laverty moving up into fourth on the following lap as the red flag was raised and the race stopped.

In sixth place was Michael Rutter on the SMT Honda followed by Karl Harris on the Hydrex Honda in seventh, Tommy Hill on the Worx Crescent Suzuki in eighth, Steve Brogan on the HM Plant Honda in ninth and Julian Da Costa on the MSS Colchester Kawasaki completing the top ten riders.

Josh Brookes, HM Plant Honda rider, did not take part in race two after suffering a broken thumb in the race one accident.

Brookes has since received a two-race ban from the British Superbike Championship after being found guilty of reckless riding.  The Honda rider has also received a one race, suspended for two events.

Worthy of a ban or just a racing incident, I’m not sure, what do you think?

Here are the results;

1. Leon Camier GBR Airwaves Yamaha 15mins 34.550secs 15 laps
2. James Ellison GBR Airwaves Yamaha +2.032
3. Chris Walker GBR Motorpoint/Henderson Yamaha +3.738secs
4. John Laverty IRL Buildbase Kawasaki +4.385secs
5. Richard Cooper GBR Co-ordit Yamaha +5.134secs Cup
6. Michael Rutter GBR SMT Honda +6.504secs
7. Karl Harris GBR Hydrex Honda +8.580secs
8. Tommy Hill GBR Worx Crescent Suzuki +18.674secs
9. Steve Brogan GBR HM Plant Honda +27.661secs
10. Julien Da Costa FRA MSS Colchester Kawasaki +27.904secs
11. David Johnson AUS Team Maxxis Adept Yamaha +36.805secs
12. Tristan Palmer GBR Buildbase Kawasaki +37.624secs
13. Graeme Gowland GBR Motorpoint/Henderson Yamaha +44.808secs
14. Peter Hickman GBR Ultimate Yamaha +50.870secs Cup
15. Simon Andrews GBR MSS Colchester Kawasaki +52.800secs

16. Kenny Gilbertson GBR Jx Fuelcards Kawasaki +55.625secs Cup
17. Tom Tunstall GBR Hardinge Doodson Honda +57.119secs Cup
18. Gary Mason GBR Quay Honda +59.479secs Cup
19. Atsushi Watanabe JPN Relentless TAS Suzuki +1 lap
20. Ian Lowry GBR Relentless TAS Suzuki +1 lap
21. Aaron Zanotti GBR Red Viper Honda +1 lap
22. Martin Jessopp GBR Riders Racing Honda +1 lap Cup
23. Michael Howarth GBR STP-JHS MV Agusta +2 laps

Not classified:

24. Stuart Easton GBR Hydrex Honda 8 laps completed

Non-Starters

Tommy Bridewell GBR Team NB Suzuki Cup
Josh Brookes AUS HM Plant Honda

Simon Bland

Simon Bland is a 22-year-old young man from Grimsby, who’s dream has now become reality after he has begun his racing career in the E.M.R.A. series.

Bland is currently riding a Suzuki GSXR600 K1 and is being sponsored by www.proppa.com this season.  He is hoping to eventually get into bigger and better clubs but for this he needs further sponsorship deals.

Here is Simon’s race report for round 3 at Mallory Park on the 17th May;

” The on/off weather was to make it a hard day having changed tyres for the fourth time I qualified in 11th for the F600 race as the worst rain of the day hit the circuit.

The first Formula 600 race was after dinner so had to change the wheels again on my sponsored GSXR600.  Starting from 11th, I got a fairly good start and got up to about 6th going into Gerrads but then got slightly duffed-up going into Edwinas and lost a couple of places but got my head down and set after 6th and 7th again.  I was just catching them after 5 laps when out come the red flag after Wayne Arden and Gary Sutton crashed ending the race.  With those two out of contention I finished a half decent 6th, not the way I wanted it to end but I’ll take the points.

For the second race, yet again, I have to change the tyres on my GSXR600 to wets.   Starting 6th I got an average start but was swallowed up going into Gerrads, losing five or six places.   I had to then try and push hard to get some places back but my rear wet would not grip at all and having nearly high-sided out of the Esses I just settled for bringing it home finishing in 11th.

My third race, the 600 novice race, and  having set my qualifying time in wet and the roadstock boys having dry qualifying, their times were better and it showed, I was back in 14th on a drying track fitted with wet tyres.   I knew I would have a better chance than on a totally wet track.  I got a good start and moved up to about 10th but  going into Edwinas there was a lot of action as Jody Lees went across the grass before the bike and rider slid back onto the track.   I hit another rider who had got out of shape while other riders went straight down the run-off road.  I was running about 8th after that but the lead group had gone having not being slowed down at Edwinas.  I got into a grove, did my best and pushed my hardest to get as far forward as I could, I picked-off three riders for 5th but the 4th and 3rd placed men were long gone.  I just kept pushing but did not have enough laps to catch them, finally finishing in 5th place.

I was fairly happy with my results, and would like to say a big thank you to all the support and to proppa.com, autodesigns, Mark Hill and Chris Gunster.

sb racing 171

Cadwell Park

The SMT Honda rider, Tom Grant, suffered an horrific accident last time out at Knockhill, when in race two, he was hit by falling rider, David Johnson.

Johnson lost control of his Honda and ploughed into the side of Grant heading into the first corner, surprisingly, Grant suffered no broken bones but his arm was crushed resulting in surgery to reduce pressure on his swelling hand.

Team owner Robin Croft said after the race,

“What can I say, bad luck strikes again for SMT Honda!  Qualifying went really well for us and we had a good bike set-up for both wet and dry and Tom did a great job to get 12th on the grid.  In the first race, he had ninth place in the bag but he started to get a bit of arm pump in the last few laps and he was unable to stop a couple of riders getting by.  Nevertheless, 11th was still our best finish of the year and it added more points to our total.

Race two was a different affair but although Tom didn’t get a great start he was up inside the points when he got taken out.  Tom was riding well but simply got hit by a fallen rider and he didn’t know what hit him.  He’s in a lot of pain right now and although x-rays have shown nothing is broken, his arm got crushed by the impact and his hand was swollen up so he’s gone to hospital for an operation to relieve the pressure.  At this moment in time, it looks unlikely that we’ll be at Cadwell Park but we’ll have to see.  The bike is working well and we’ve got a good, young rider in Tom so let’s hope we can be back out on the grid soon.”

In April the team’s original rider, Adam Jenkinson had a huge accident at Thruxton, resulting in the rider breaking his right wrist.

He underwent surgery at Southampton hospital where he had a metal brace fitted to the outside of his wrist in preparation for an operation the next day before having it set in a cast.

He has been out of action since the accident and Grant has been riding for the team as a replacement until Jenkinson is fit enough to return.

Cal Crutchlow, the HM Plant Honda rider who is currently second in the Bennetts British Superbike Championship, passed his motorcylce test at the beginning of the month.

Crutchlow wanted to pass the test before the second European Driving License Directive comes into effect in October 2008. The new license will introduce new elements to motorcylce testing and training which are to include, new manoeuvres such as, the slalom, figure of eight, hazard avoidance and cornering skills.

With the prospect of facing longer waiting lists for tests and possibly more expensive training, there is expected to be a glut of would-be motorcyclists taking their tests before October 2008.

Crutchlow said,

“I’ve got such a busy schedule with racing and other events, but I knew I had to get my Direct Access course and test done sooner rather than later. I was so worried during the build-up to the actual test – doing the theory test and then doing the CBT on a little CG125 learner machine. I had to wear a fluorescent bib and said ‘you are joking?’ – it was like being a novice racer again, but I did what I was told and wore it. I was pleased to get my CBT at the beginning of the week, I mean, what if I had failed that as a Superbike rider!?

I can see why people love riding on the roads. It’s an exhilarating way to travel, although it’s completely different to riding on the track and you have to be so aware of potential dangers, rather than going as fast as you can and trying to win a race! I also had to get used to the road-style ‘one-down, five-up’ gearbox, and not the other way round which I’m used to with my race-style gearbox, but I only fluffed a few gear changes, thankfully only at low speed !”

Just as well Cal passed his test on the Friday, as he was the first person in the UK to pick up keys to the brand new CB1000R, which was launched on Friday by Honda dealers.

The SMT Honda team are on the search for a replacement rider for the next round of the British Superbike Championship at Mallory Park.

The replacement is needed for the injured Adam Jenkinson who broke both of his wrists in the second race of the opening round at Thruxton.

Tom Grant raced in his place for the Honda team at Oulton and Donington Park and Marshall Neill took to the track for the last round at Snetterton, but as yet there is no rider reported to be racing at Mallory Park.

Shane Byrne on the Airwaves Ducati, started the race on pole position but was out-started by Leon Haslam and Michael Rutter as Cal Crutchlow shot ahead to lead at the end of lap 1.

It is Crutchlow’s first season with the HM Plant Honda team and he was battling with his teammate, Haslam early on in the race but managed to keep his place until Byrne’s moved up into second place and started his challenge for the lead. Byrne made his pass at Seagrove on the thirteenth lap and held the lead comfortably winning with a two second gap.

Byrne said “We’ve come a long way to get running, and Cal was really going for it but I got through and it all worked out. The team has done a great job, but we had to look at what everyone else was doing and then do it for ourselves.”

Crutchlow said “Shane was keeping me on it – I just kept plugging away but when he came past, I couldn’t match him but it was a good race.”

Rutter who had started on the front row of the grid for the first time in two years, was on the podium to take third place and said “Brilliant, I couldn’t dream of this. It is like Christmas again.”

Karl Harris passed both Rutter and Byrne on the first lap only to have to retire at the end of lap two with a mechanical fault.

In fourth place was Leon Haslam who had slowed down towards the end of the race with tyre concerns and Byrne’s teammate Leon Camier, took the fifth slot.

Here are the results for Race 1;

1 – Shane Byrne-Ducati – Airwaves Ducati -25:33.9
2 – Cal Crutchlow-Honda – HM Plant Honda -25:36.2
3 – Michael Rutter-Ducati – North West 200 Ducati -25:37.5
4 – Leon Haslam-Honda – HM Plant Honda -25:44.9
5 – Leon Camier-Ducati – Airwaves Ducati -25:52.6
6 – Tom Sykes-Suzuki – Rizla Suzuki -25:53.0
7 – James Ellison-Honda – Hydrex Bike Animal Honda -25:53.3
8 – Simon Andrews-Yamaha – Jentin Racing / Lloyds British -25:56.3
9 – Stuart Easton-Kawasaki – MSS Discovery Kawasaki -25:56.6
10 – Michael Laverty-Suzuki – Relentless Suzuki by TAS -25:57.8
11 – Sean Emmett-Yamaha – AIM Racing -26:11.0
12 – John Laverty-Ducati – Buildbase NW200 Ducati -26:11.3
13 – Tristan Palmer-Honda – Tena for Men Honda -26:12.4
14 – Billy Mcconnell-Kawasaki – MSS Discovery Kawasaki-26:12.547
15 – Guy Martin-Honda – Hydrex Bike Animal Honda-26:14.175
16 – Scott Smart-Kawasaki – Hawk Racing -26:19.249
17 – Atsushi Watanabe-Suzuki – Rizla Suzuki -26:19.9
18 – Chris Burns-MV Agusta – STP Superbike -26:20.4
19 – David Johnson-Honda – Team MAXXIS -26:24.0
20 – Steve Mercer-Yamaha – Bob Farnham Tuning / Sondel -26:24.1
21 – Dean Ellison-Yamaha – Co-ordit Racing -26:30.7
22 – Aaron Zanotti-Honda – Red Viper Racing -26:31.3
23 – Malcolm Ashley-Kawasaki – ARP / MAR -26:32.2
24 – James Buckingham-Honda – Quay Garage -26:34.5
25 – Martin Jessopp-Honda – Riders Racing -26:40.0
26 – Tom Tunstall-Honda – Hardinge – Ice Valley Motorsport -26:50.1
27 – Leon Morris-Ducati – Team Trimrite Brookspeed-25:41.231
28 – Luke Quigley-Suzuki – PDM Racing-25:41.957
29 – Michael Howarth-Honda – Tena for Men Honda -25:54.365

Not Classified

- Adam Jenkinson – Honda – SMT Honda
- Brian Mccormack – Honda – MAC Racing
- Karl Harris – Yamaha – Team Yamaha

Race 2

In the second race, Leon Haslam took the initiative from the start after the problems in the first race and got ahead of Byrne and Karl Harris.

Byrne took the lead on lap four with Crutchlow slipping into the second place position taken from Rutter. Tom Sykes and Leon Haslam were battling it out for fourth ahead of Harris.

On lap seven, there was contact between Sykes and Haslam at around 140mph, which sent Sykes high-siding off his Rizla Suzuki which bounced across the track before smashing into Karl Harris.

The race was red flagged immediately and the medical services rushed to Harris who amazing didn’t suffer any serious injuries and later said “I don’t feel too bad apart from very sore knees and ankles. I look like I’ve been boxing in Las Vegas rather than racing a motorbike. I’ll be back in the next round intent on the results I should have had here.” Karl also suffered facial injuries in the crash.

On the re-start, Tom Sykes led the pack on his spare bike but was soon passed by Crutchlow who held onto the position until the end. He said “When I led in the first race, it was the first time that I had led a Superbike race so to win next time was unexpected, though it is something that I have worked hard for through the close season. The team have done a fantastic job for me and I was able to control the second race from the front – winning is great, fantastic, but when I signed for HM Plant Honda, I knew that I was joining a championship winning team, and there is no reason why we cannot push for that.”

Byrne finished in second place, which means that he is now jointly leading the championship with Crutchlow on 45 points each.

Rutter took third again in race two, which is the first time he has had a double podium finish since Knockhill in 2005, and is now in third position on points in the championship.

Here are the results for Race 2

1 – Cal Crutchlow – Honda – HM Plant Honda – 19:05.302
2 – Shane Byrne – Ducati – Airwaves Ducati – 19:07.109
3 – Michael Rutter – Ducati – North West 200 Ducati – 19:07.438
4 – Leon Camier – Ducati – Airwaves Ducati – 19:13.244
5 – Michael Laverty – Suzuki – Relentless Suzuki by TAS – 19:17.165
6 – Stuart Easton – Kawasaki – MSS Discovery Kawasaki – 19:17.763
7 – James Ellison – Honda – Hydrex Bike Animal Honda – 19:18.934
8 – Tom Sykes – Suzuki – Rizla Suzuki – 19:24.061
9 – Guy Martin – Honda – Hydrex Bike Animal Honda – 19:28.697
10 – Billy McConnell – Kawasaki – MSS Discovery Kawasaki – 19:29.201
11 – John Laverty – Ducati – Buildbase NW200 Ducati – 19:29.734
12 – Scott Smart – Kawasaki – Hawk Racing – 19:30.262
13 – Tristan Palmer – Honda – Tena for Men Honda – 19:30.331
14 – Atsushi Watanabe – Suzuki – Rizla Suzuki – 19:30.448
15 – Dean Ellison – Yamaha – Co-ordit Racing – 19:40.814
16 – Martin Jessopp – Honda – Riders Racing – 19:46.820
17 – Malcolm Ashley – Kawasaki – ARP / MAR – 19:50.272
18 – Tom Tunstall – Honda – Hardinge – Ice Valley Motorsport – 19:51.858
19 – Aaron Zanotti – Honda – Red Viper Racing – 19:58.053
20 – James Buckingham – Honda – Quay Garage – 20:03.510
21 – Leon Morris – Ducati – Team Trimrite Brookspeed – 20:07.356
22 – Michael Howarth – Honda – Tena for Men Honda – 20:08.008
23 – Brian Mccormack – Honda – MAC Racing – 19:08.934

Not Classified

- David Johnson – Honda – Team MAXXIS
- Luke Quigley – Suzuki – PDM Racing
- Leon Haslam – Honda – HM Plant Honda
- Steve Mercer – Yamaha – Bob Farnham Tuning / Sondel
- Sean Emmett – Yamaha – AIM Racing
- Chris Burns – MV Agusta – STP Superbike

Tom Sykes, managed to complete 92 laps on the final day of testing with his fastest time being 1minute and 13.6 seconds although he was concentrating more on refining his chassis throughout the session which he thinks will pay off once the season starts.

Atsushi Watanabe, Sykes team-mate and two times Japanese Champion, completed a total of 95 laps on the final day and was just a tenth of a second slower than Sykes, impressive as he is still trying to get to grips with the European style circuit.

The overall Team Manager, Jack Valentine seemed pleased with the progress made during the testing and said “Considering we have really been concentrating on setting the bike up and not chasing fast lap times I’m pleased with the progress both riders have made, especially Atsushi. He has worked very hard with his crew chief to achieve the lap time he put in today. Tom feels he still has something in reserve and is a little sore from his high side a couple of days ago. I’m now looking forward to the official British Superbike Test at Snetterton over the Easter Weekend. I feel we have a capable motorcycle that can will races.

Leon Haslam was the fastest man on the track on the Honda with a time of 1:12.8 followed by Cal Crutchlow in second place on the other Honda in 1:12.9. They were followed by the two Rizla Suzuki riders.

The official British Superbike testing at Snetterton takes place on 22nd-24th March.

The team will be launching from the foundation of the Team Howarth Racing of 2007.  Michael Howarth the rider for the Howarth Team in 2007 had a massive crash in qualifying at Brands Hatch in early 2007 and Palmer who was competing in the AMA Superbike series flew back from Daytona as a replacement.

Palmer went onto to take the cup, 53 points clear of the nearest rival James Buckingham and is one of the few riders to have competed in both British Superbikes and AMA.