After the heavy early morning snow had cleared the Guadix BSB test got underway at around 14.45pm yesterday. An hour later the track had virtually dried out and Guadix looked picture postcard perfect – the neatly manicured circuit, framed by...
Tom Tunstall is facing an agonising decision whether or not to switch to BSB Evo or stay in the BSB class. The former Privateer Cup Honda rider tried both configurations of engine at Cartagena and is sure which way to...
Relentless by TAS Suzuki pair Alastair Seeley and Michael Laverty showed their potential with some impressive laps times at the Cartagena BSB test, despite having about half the track time of their rivals. MCN asked them about their test: Michael...
Ian Lougher was testing at Cartagena with his own Black Horse Finance Kawasaki team. He’s riding on the roads with a brace of Kawasakis this year but is fielding Conor Cummins in National Superstock and 16-year old Manxman Dave Pearce...
Motorpoint Yamaha rider Neil Hodgson got his first chance to ride the ex-Airwaves factory R1 at Cartagena last week. He explained to MCN what the experience was like. “I couldn’t believe it when I was told we were getting the...
Tommy Hill was satisfied with his and the Worx Suzuki team’s progress at Cartagena, the first time they’ve been up against BSB rivals in pre-season testing. He finished the test with the same 1:33.5 time as his team-mate Yukio Kagayama,...
I got a bit of a shock this morning at 07.00am when I yanked open the shutters of my hotel window here at Guadix to see a white out! Yes, the terrible weather that hit Barcelona yesterday has found its...
Joe Dickinson and Graeme Gowland were both at the Barry Symmons-run Cartagena Pro Test with their ex-Eugene Laverty Parkalgar Hondas that they’ll race in British Supersport this year. 16-year old Manxman Dave Pearce looked impressive on the Ian Lougher-run Black...
Even if the weather was more Mallory than Malaga, there were some real revelations at Cartagena in the first real BSB pre-season test of 2010. First came the shock of seeing Rob McElnea’s team unloading two factory Yamahas out of...
Worx Suzuki pair Tommy Hill and Yukio Kagayama set the pace in four days of testing Cartagena, Spain. Hill was in sensational form, clocking a 1:33.5 on the final day to go 0.9s inside the unofficial lap record of 1:34.4...
Tommy Hill continues to set the pace on the Worx Suzuki in the first major BSB pre-season test at Cartagena. He posted a best lap of 1:34.5 to go three tenths quicker than James Ellison on the Swan Honda. Hill...
Motorpoint Yamaha duo Neil Hodgson and Dan Linfoot have got the works R1s that Leon Camier and James Ellison raced to a resounding 1-2 in the 2009 British Superbike championship. In a shock and secret last-minute deal, the team took...
Relentless by TAS Suzuki took the wraps off their 2010 BSB GSX-R1000 to reveal this sensational new skeletal paintjob. It’s not just the pain that’s different. There’s host of technical changes that they hope will propel new signing Michael Laverty...
BSB testing starts in earnest this week (Thursday, March 4) for some of the top teams at Cartagena, Spain. It’s a hectic four-day test, swiftly followed by another three at Guadix with the influx of even more BSB teams. The...
Privateer Cup champion Gary Mason has been using the winter break to good effect with a brutal martial arts training regime to prepare himself for the new season on the MSS Colchester Kawasaki. Mason has been training at the Ultimate...
Black Bear Harley-Davidson in Newmarket has put the finishing touches to the bike they will run for 38-year old Warren Scott in the Harley-Davidson XR1200 Trophy. The series features at selected BSB rounds this year and Scott said: “The big...
The Swan Honda team are preparing for their main pre-season test ahead of the opening round of the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship as the countdown to the start of the season continues. James Ellison and Stuart Easton will get...
Supermoto star Christian Iddon has signed to ride for sorrymate.com SMT Honda in BSB this year. Iddon, a nine-times British Supermoto champion and former factory Aprilia rider in the World Supermoto series, has just 10 road races under his belt...
Supermoto star Christian Iddon will make his BSB debut this year riding for the sorrymate.com SMT Honda team. He told MCN about his switch from supermoto to superbike. So you’ve got a BSB ride with SMT?How cool is that? It’s...
Warr’s Harley-Davidson, established on London’s Kings Road in 1924, has signed former MotoGP star Jeremy McWilliams to ride in the inaugural Harley-Davidson XR1200 Trophy race series at selected BSB rounds this year. Warr’s has already worked closely with McWilliams at...
Buildbase Kawasaki completed their first official test of 2010 in Cartagena, Spain, with their official race suspension partner Bitubo. John Laverty returned to action following a strong first season aboard the Kawasaki ZX10-R along with new superbike team mate Adam...
James Edmeades (26) reckons the V-twin KTM RC8R will not be disgraced when it comes to racing it against the four-cylinder bikes in the all-new BSB Evo class in British Superbike races. He spoke to MCN about the forthcoming season:...
Chris Burns (31) and his teenage bother Joe (17) line up on identical Aprilia RSV4 Factory bikes run by Splitlath Racing in BSB Evo this year. For Chris it's a chance to rebuild his career after a succession of disappointing...
Steve Brogan is riding BMW S1000RR for Jentin Racing-BMW Motorrad in the new BSB Evo class. The deal was announced officially today, (Wednesday, Feb 24) but as early as October last year, Brogan (29) had decided he wanted to race...
Chris Burns and his teenage brother Joe with ride a pair of Splitlath Racing Aprilia RSV4 Factory superbikes in the new BSB Evo class this year. For Chris, now 31, it’s a lifeline to rebuild his career. For Joe, 17,...
The KTM RC8R that James Edmeades will race in BSB Evo this year will be relying on the same bolt-on bits from the Power Parts catalogue that any KTM owner can buy -according to Redline KTM dealership owner Tim Walker....
BMW Motorrad has teamed up with Jentin Racing for an assault on the National Superstock and British Superbike EVO class Championships with the S1000RR superbike. Jentin Racing-BMW Motorrad will run Richard Cooper in the Metzeler 1000 Superstock national championship, while...
Finn Pauli Pekkanen is the latest rider to announce his plans to race in the BSB Evo class. He’s aiming to run his own Suzuki in the championship that now boasts nine starters with other teams on the verge on...
Michael Dunlop will race a Honda Fireblade in this year’s superstock races supplied by Manchester Honda dealer Hunts Motorcycles. As well as the international road races, the Ballymoney rider is also hoping to take in several National Superstock Championship rounds....
HM Plant Honda's Josh Brookes will be back on track next weekend at the opening round of the World Superbike Championship at Phillip Island, after receiving a call to deputise for the injured Broc Parkes on the Echo-CRS Honda. Parkes...
James Ellison has raised his game in the past year and reckons that that even though he finished runner-up in the series, we've far from seen the best of him. Here's what he learned from last season in British Superbikes: ...
MCN catches up with MSS Kawasaki rider Simon Andrews to find out what he's been up to in the off season... What have you been up to this winter?Living in the Alps. Sounds exotic but I’ve been half way up...
Michael Howarth will be spearheading the Magic Bullet Two Wheel Racing team’s effort in the new BSB Evo class riding a GSX-R1000 Suzuki. Howarth, who is 29 and hails from Manchester, took part in the BSB last year and said:...
The Worx Crescent Suzuki team today successfully completed a three-day shakedown test at the Portimao Circuit in southern Portugal, in preparation for the 2010 British Superbikes Championship. The test was blighted by rain on the first and third days but...
Team Symitry IT North with rider Shaun Horsman are busy preparing for a renewed assault on the 2010 British 125GP championship which is set to commence at Brands Hatch over the Easter weekend. Horsman, from Bolton will benefit from the continued...
BSB Evo kicks off this year. It’s a series within the MCE British Superbike Championship and is for superbikes with more standard ‘superstock’ tune engines and control ECUs. The series organisers are trialling the class this year with a view...
Worx Suzuki team boss Jack Valentine has spoken out in favour of the new BSB point scoring system. This year’s series is split into a regular season of nine races and a three –round showdown between the top six points...
It is 10 years since Karl Harris won the European Superstock title. It’s 15 years since the team that helped him win that title, GR Racing, was formed. And now Harris is back with GR Racing duo Brent Gladwin and...
Moto Rapido Ducati have completed their rider line-up for the 2010 with the signing of Brighton youngster Leon Hunt who will race in the Metzeler National Superstock 1000 class. The 21-year old, who has moved up from the Superstock 600...
Swan Honda team owner Shaun Muir unveiled his new-look team of Stuart Easton and James Ellison at the Carole Nash MCN Motorcycle Show in London on Sunday. We asked him to evaluate his own riders. What do you see in...
James Ellison will be Stuart Easton’s team-mate at Swan Honda in BSB this year. The worst kept secret in the history of the series was confirmed today (Sunday) at the Carole Nash MCN Motorcycle Show in London. Ellison finished runner-up...
Karl Harris’s career has been saved at the 11th hour with an Aprilia RSV4 ride in the National Superstock championship. Harris had a difficult 2009 season after being sacked late in the year, even though he was still running fifth...
These are exclusive first pictures of the new Swan Honda livery that Stuart Easton will race with in 2010. Easton will have a team-mate but exactly who that is will not be revealed until the team’s official launch this Sunday...
Team owner Shaun Muir unveiled his new-look Swan Honda outfit this week exclusively for MCN readers. So after we got the photo shoot done that appears in MCN today (Wednesday, Febraury 3) we sat down to discuss the merits of...
The MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship has a radical, not to mention complicated, new championship points structure for 2010. It’s all been done with one aim in mind – to spice up the championship in the closing stages of the...
Dakota Mamola, the 15-year-old son of MotoGP legend Randy Mamola, will contest at least nine rounds of the 2010 British GP125 championship. The Barcelona-based Californian will race for Team KRP, which gets support from Bradley Smith, who became Britain’s most...
MotorSport Vision has carried out a major resurfacing project at Brands Hatch, improving the quality of the track surface for competitors, trackday participants and driving experience guests on over half of the Indy circuit. A particularly cold winter has led...
MSS Colchester Kawasaki have signed Howie Mainwaring to race a ZX-10R in the National Superstock Championship. Twenty-two year old Mainwaring has raced in the BSB and Superstock series for many years and the team believe he will be a front...
Reigning British GP125 ACU Academy Cup champion Tim Hastings will step up to the National Superstock 600 Championship as one of Kawasaki’s Team Green Junior Superstock riders. As part of their Team Green initiative in Junior Superstock, 17-year old Hastings...
Louth-based Peter Hickman is to remain with the Northamptonshire-based Ultimate Racing team and will make the step up from the British Superbike Cup series to contest the full British Superbike championship in 2010. Last season Hickman completed his season as...
Roads star Gary Johnson will race an AIM Suzuki in the new BSB Evo class this year as well as in the three major international road races at the North West 200, TT and Ulster Grand Prix. Johnson said: "It...
It’s one of those things you never thought possible. The exit of Barn Corner at Cadwell - with proper run-off. While everyone has been wrapped up, concentrating on who’s riding what in 2010 and how the new rules will affect...
MCN talked to the team’s two crew chiefs Adrian Gorst (with Ryuichi Kiyonari in 2010) and Chris Pike (in Brookes’ corner this year) to find out what they think about their rider’s chances in 2010 - and how the 2010...
Honda Racing, based in Louth since 1990 (and home to the HM Plant Honda team), is Britain’s most successful racing team. Don’t believe it? Check out the stats! 57 - WSB race wins between 1994 and 2002 (with direct HRC...
Michael Laverty has signed to ride for the Relentless by TAS Suzuki team in BSB this year. He joins National Superstock champion Alastair Seeley in the all-Irish team line-up. Laverty won the 2007 British Supersport title with the Relentless Suzuki...
4. Biggest disappointment Sylvain Guintoli - on so many levels. First off, the French ace was sidelined by the Donington crash. Up to that point Guintoli looked capable of giving Camier a good run for the title. Then when he...
5. Biggest under-achievers There’s no denying Chris Walker and the Motorpoint Yamaha team failed to live up to the promise shown in testing. Apart from a solitary third place in the second Donington race Walker never really showed the kind...
Two. The Guintoli incident at Donington Park. The seven-rider pile-up at Mallory Park. Both triggered by HM Plant Honda’s Josh Brookes. At Donington he t-boned Guintoli at the Melbourne Loop on the sighting lap and the Frenchman suffered a compound...
7. Most promising rider Ian Lowry clinched fifth place in the points chase to cap an impressive rookie year on the Relentless Suzuki. Lowry didn’t just have to learn how to ride a 200bhp superbike, or get his head around...
8. Best race Stuart Easton had a pretty fantastic season, taking the privateer Hydrex Honda to third in the championship. He had chalked up his first ever BSB race win at Croft but that was after series leader Camier had...
9. Best bike Without a doubt the Airwaves Yamaha R1 was the bike to beat in BSB 2009. It may have been down on power compared to its rivals and was very physical to ride but for Leon Camier got...
1 Airwaves YamahaGSE Racing showed why they gained factory Yamaha backing when they finished 1-2 in the series. They started the year with virtually stock bikes but quickly switched to full factory R1s as the hardware became available and their...
Ryuichi Kiyonari is back with HM Plant Honda for the 2010 BSB season, alongside Australian Josh Brookes. Kiyo won back-to-back BSB titles in 2006 and 2007 but never enjoyed the same success in WSB, spending two years with the Dutch...
The new CAME Yamaha team, previously known as Raceways Yamaha, have announced that James Westmoreland will be joining Billy McConnell in the 2010 British Supersport series. Westmoreland strengthens the team’s line-up following two seasons in the championship; he finished third...
BSB Cup Champion Gary Mason lines-up alongside Simon Andrews on the MSS Colchester Kawasaki in BSB next year. Mason got the nod ahead of Chris Walker and Karl Harris – both arguably with more experience. After a spell of racing...
At the end of a disappointing 2009 season Motorpoint Yamaha team boss Rob McElnea was on the verge of winding up his team. As a last-ditch effort he asked rival team GSE Racing’s James Ellison to test their bike -...
Last year Dan Linfoot was Rob McElnea’s supersport runner. Mid-season injuries ruled him out of the title race on the Node 4 R6 so McElnea switched him to one of the team’s superbike R1s for the end of season races....
Neil Hodgson, along with new Motorpoint Yamaha team-mate Dan Linfoot spent three days at Almeria last week, testing the R1s they will race in BSB next year. MCN asked Hodgson for his views on the test: First off, how’s the...
Simon Andrews is back with MSS Colchester Kawasaki in BSB next year. He admits he talked to lots of teams before committing to Nick Morgan’s team for a second season but now he’s back and looking forward to the new...
Neil Hodgson and Dan Linfoot were both upbeat after their three-day test on the Motorpoint Yamaha R1 at Almeria. For Hodgson is was his first time back on a bike after recent remedial surgery to repair the damage to his...
2009 British Supersport Cup Champion, Sam Lowes has signed to ride for Gary Stubbington's Southampton-based GNS Honda Racing in British Supersport alongside Paul Jordan from Magherafelt. Lowes, 19 years old from Lincoln, said: "I'm delighted to be joining GNS Racing...
Chris Burns returns to National Superstock 1000 in 2010 riding with the Splitlath Motorsport squad. The former WCM MotoGP rider will partner younger brother Joe to lead the Welsh outfit's two-pronged attack on the fiercely competitive series onboard the stunning...
There will be a second Cadwell Park BSB championship round next year, replacing Donington Park, according to the revised 2010 calendar released today by MSVR. Donington Park has not been included in the 2010 calendar because the circuit operating companies...
Yukio Kagayama was back in front of the British public last week at the NEC, his first major public engagement since signing for the Worx Suzuki team to race in BSB next year. And he’s promising some of his typical...
Tommy Hill met up with his new team-mate Yukio Kagayama on Thursday at the NEC Show and said he’s looking forward to race in the same team as the Japanese star next year. “I’m hoping we can push each other....
Graeme Gowland is hoping to remain racing in Britain for a second season – despite an impressive two races on the British-built FTR Moto2 in the final two Spanish championships rounds of the year. Gowland (23) finished a confidence-boosting fourth...
The future is not looking at all good for GSE Racing. Despite dominating this year’s British Superbikes season, with Leon Camier and James Ellison finishing one-two in the points on their factory Yamahas, the team has not been able to...
Superstock champion Alasitair Seeley has been confirmed as a Relentless by TAS Suzuki rider for 2010 – but what’s now clear yet is whether he’ll race a full BSB bike or ride an Evo-spec bike as the third member of...
Adam Jenkinson gets a second crack at BSB, having signed to ride for Buildbase Kawasaki. His first crack at the top level with SMT Honda in 2008 didn’t last long. A monster crash – thanks to a locked gearbox -...
For the first time in his career John Laverty gets a chance to do two successive seasons with the same team. And in a sport where confience in your bike and crew is everything – that’s an important factor to...
Martyn Jessop will team up with Michael Rutter in an all-new BSB Ducati team backed by Riders (owned by Jessop’s father, Phil), Bathams Brewery and Black Horse Finance. The bikes will be up-rated versions of the 2008 1098RS vee-twins raced...
Martyn Jessop will team up with Michael Rutter in an all-new BSB Ducati team backed by Riders (owned by Jessop’s father, Phil), Bathams Brewery and Black Horse Finance. The bikes will be up-rated versions of the 2008 1098RS vee-twins raced...
Former Australian Supersport Champion and Superbike runner-up Jason O’Halloran is spearheading the TAG Triumph British Supersport title bid in 2010. Making it an all-Australian line-up in the south Derbyshire-based team, O’Halloran will be partnered by Triumph factory test rider and...
The 2010 Triumph Triple Challenge will increase its association with BSB with five out of nine rounds of this unique and challenging series hosted on the national stage. The series features all competitors on race-prepared Daytona 675s – and to...
There are still a lot of unanswered questions about who goes where in next year’s BSB series. Here’s the latest list of confirmed entries – plus those still looking for rides and teams looking for riders. Confirmed Riders Ducati - Michael...
Buildbase Kawasaki team owner Stuart Hicken has signed Superstock rider Adam Jenkinson will join John Laverty in the Buildbase Kawasaki team for next year’s British Superbike campaign. Jenkinson’s 2009 Superstock performances that took him to fourth in the championship caught...
Michael Rutter will race a Ducati in BSB next year – teamed up with Martyn Jessop on a pair of 1098RS F08s with backing from West Country motorcycle dealership Riders, Bathams Brewery and Black Horse Finance. The F08’s are the...
Former World and British Superbike Champion Neil Hodgson is the guest for the North Yorkshire Road Racing Supporters Club chat show, tonight, Tuesday 24th November. Hodgson will be discussing with Larry ‘Scoop’ Carter his racing career spanning BSB, World Superbike,...
Neil Hodgson talks to MCN about signing for Rob MacRacing... http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid771491905http://www.brightcove.com/channel.jsp?channel=711881422 // By use of this code snippet, I agree to the Brightcove Publisher T and C // found at http://corp.brightcove.com/legal/terms_publisher.cfm. var config = new Array(); /* * feel free...
BSB runner-up James Ellison has put the British-based Yamaha Phase One Endurance on pole position for tomorrow's Qatar 8 Hour - the final round of the World Endurance Championship. He clocked 2:01.002 on superpole lap, while Hugo Marchand - riding...
Moto Rapido Ducati will make a step up to the MCE British Superbike Championship next season with a two-rider team. Current racer Scott Smart will return to the main class after a successful year in the Metzeler National Superstock 1000...
TT lap record holder John McGuinness and British Supersport champion Steve Plater will take part in the Braintree Bonanza Indoor Shorttrack meeting on 27th December. Plater, 2009 Senior TT Winner & British Supersport Champion, is no stranger to Shorttrack, having...
Neil Hodgson has signed to ride for Motorpoint Yamaha to race in BSB next year.The deal was finalised last week and Hodgson jetted in from his home on the Isle of Man to sign the contract at McElnea’s HQ in...
Tommy Hill lines up with Yukio Kagayama in the Worx Suzuki BSB team next year.Hill was at Crescent Suzuki in Verwood last Thursday to sign his 2010 contract with the team and told MCN: “I had a lot of interest...
What a turnaround. One minute Rob McElnea is ready to close down his race shop after their most disappointing season ever. The next he’s arguably bagged the biggest coup in BSB by signing former WSB and BSB champion Neil Hodgson....
Dan Linfoot will be Neil Hodgson’s team-mate in next year’s Motorpoint Yamaha team, leaving the team’s 2009 rider Chris Walker and Graeme Gowland both looking for pastures new. Linfoot was bowled over by the thought of lining up alongside Hodgson....
BMW Motorrad UK plans to run a two-man team in next year’s National Superstock championship but is looking to form a partnership with a well-established outfit in the BSB paddock, rather than run the team themselves. BMW UK’s Scott Grimsdall...
Pat McDougall will race Phil Reed’s ex-Karl Harris Yamaha R1 in BSB next year. Discussions started after McDougal rode successfully for Reed’s East Caost Racing team at the Silverstone British Endurance Championship round in September. McDougal said: "It's a fantastic...
