| | Biker News - Regularly updated
Category: IOM TT - Manx Grand Prix
-
Triple British Supersport Champion and British Superbike podium finisher Karl Harris will make his road-racing debut at the 2012 Isle of Man TT Races fuelled by Monster Energy.
The Sheffield rider will contest all three 1000cc solo races for the Lancashire-based SMT Honda squad which has been one of the leading British Superbike Championship teams for the past six seasons.
32-year old Harris burst onto the racing scene as a teenager in the 1990s, when he rode for Team Great Britain in the Superteen Championship, the series that produced so many of the countries leading contenders. From there, Harris went on to win the 1999 European Superstock 1000cc Championship before spending a season in the World Supersport Championship.
However, it is perhaps his exploits in the British Championship for which he is better known. He was the dominant force in the highly competitive British Supersport Championship in the early 2000s before becoming a prominent front-runner in the Superbike class itself for the factory Suzuki, Honda and Yamaha teams.
Harris won three British Supersport Championships between 2001 and 2004, the first for Crescent Suzuki and the remaining two for Honda Racing, before progressing to the premier Superbike category in 2005 where he has remained ever since. His best season came in 2006 when he finished in 5th place overall recording 6 podiums. In total, Harris has notched up 12 BSB podiums and ended 2011 as part of the Splitlath Redmond Aprilia squad.
Robin Croft’s SMT team has also been formidable competitors in the BSB Championship, fielding riders including Michael Rutter, Chris Walker, James Ellison, Dan Linfoot, Jason O’Halloran and Harris himself. Their best season came in 2010 when Walker finished 10th overall in the Championship but arguably their finest moments came in the second half of the 2011 season when Ellison joined the team and took a succession of top eight finishes including a brilliant 3rd place at the final Brands Hatch round, when he got the better of Championship contenders Tommy Hill and John Hopkins.
SMT has changed its racing strategy for 2012 and with team owner Croft being a long-time supporter of the TT, as well as being associated with riders including Rutter, John McGuinness and Dave Dean, they’ve now decided to tackle the Mountain Course this year.
Commenting after his first visit to the Isle of Man to get an introduction to the track from TT rider liaison officers John Barton and Richard Quayle, Karl said:
"It's properly exciting. I've done a few laps now with Milky and the place is awesome but you've got it treat it with the respect it deserves. I've got a long association with Robin and the boys at SMT so it's great to do this for the first time with a team I know and trust. I've always wanted to do the TT just never had the opportunity so it is really something to look forward to. I've got a lot of work to do looking at on-board DVDs so it's going to be a learning process but it will be fun."
Robin Croft, Team Manager, SMT Racing, commented:
“I’m a great supporter of the TT Races and the event continues to go from strength to strength. We’re really looking forward to being part of the meeting and I’m sure that Karl is going to give a good account of himself on the Isle of Man.”
Paul Phillips, TT and Motorsport Manager, Isle of Man Government commented:
“Karl Harris is undoubtedly one of the most naturally talented riders on the British scene in the last ten years and I’m sure that with proper application he can build a great TT career for himself. He has all the attributes to make a great TT racer and I’m sure fans will look forward to seeing him on the Isle of Man this year.”
-
Exciting young Northern Ireland rider Lee Johnston will make his Mountain Circuit debut in June when he competes in the 2012 Isle of Man TT Races, fuelled by Monster Energy.
The former National Superstock 600cc Champion will contest the Dainese Superbike, Royal London 360 Superstock and PokerStars Senior TT races on a 1000cc Honda Fireblade for East Coast Racing. Moving to the 1000cc category for the first time in his career, Johnston’s appearance adds further spice to the entry list and reaffirms the status, and appeal, that the races hold once more.
Affectionately known as ‘The General’, the Maguiresbridge rider shot to stardom when he dominated the inaugural National Superstock 600cc Championship in 2008, finishing on the podium in 10 of the 12 rounds, also winning the race at Knockhill. He scored points in every round, never finishing lower than 7th, as he ran out eventual Champion by a commanding 41 points.
He made his real road-racing debut in 2008, contesting both of the Supersport races at the North West 200. Despite only being 19 at the time, Johnston made a major impression as he took 11th and 18th in the two races, defeating a number of more experienced riders including Adrian Archibald, Chris Palmer and Mats Nilsson.
On the back of winning the Superstock crown, Johnston moved up to the British Supersport 600cc Championship where he has ridden for the last three seasons. 2009 saw him finish 12th overall with three 5th place finishes for Raceways Yamaha and a year later he took 13th, aided by four top-ten finishes for Gearlink Kawasaki and Oxford TAG Triumph.
Last season saw him join East Coast Racing where he was teammate to TT winner Gary Johnson on Honda machinery and the season got off to a brilliant start with 4th and 6th at the opening round. He was a consistent top 8 finisher for the first two thirds of the season, taking four top-six finishes in total before the team withdrew from the championship.
He also made his return to the public roads where, despite the inclement weather, he took a superb 9th place in the solitary Supersport race held at the North West 200, just one tenth of a second behind Guy Martin.
Now 23, Johnston is eagerly looking forward to his TT debut in June and commented:
“I’ve already been over to the Isle of Man and done a good recce of the course with the rider liaison officers which has really whetted my appetite but I can’t wait to get on the track for real at the end of May. Coming from Northern Ireland, TT has always been on my radar and I’m delighted to be getting the chance to race on this iconic course.
”Paul Phillips, TT and Motorsport Manager, Isle of Man Government commented:
“Lee already has a proven road racing and circuits CV and he looks like he’s going to be a star on the Isle of Man for many years to come. It’s great to see another leading circuit rider committing to road racing and he typifies the breed of talented young riders that are now opting for the roads.”
-
The Honda TT Legends team has signed an agreement with Motul, Europe’s leading motorcycle lubricants company. Motul will support the team as it contests the World Endurance Championship, the Isle of Man TT and the Northwest 200 aboard the 20th anniversary Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade.
The team will use the lubricant specialist’s Motul 300V Racing Kit Oil, which has been specifically developed for the Fireblade in conjunction with Honda Racing Corporation and uses new Ester technology for maximum power output and engine performance.
Motul already has significant links with the endurance championship through its support of other leading teams and uses the demanding discipline for extensive research and product development. The company also acts as the official lubricant supplier for the Isle of Man TT and, having crowned over 50 world champion titles, is hoping to add a TT victory to its list of triumphs.
The Honda TT Legends rider line-up of John McGuinness, Cameron Donald, Gary Johnson and Simon Andrews will compete in EWC, while McGuinness and Andrews will form a two-man squad for the TT and the NW200.
Neil Tuxworth, Honda TT Legends team manager
We are really pleased to announce the agreement with Motul. The company has valuable expertise in EWC, so this is an ideal collaboration as the team enters its all-important second year of competition. As an official partner at the TT, Motul is also ideally placed to support the team on the Isle of Man. We are looking forward to seeing the results of the relationship.
Hervé Amelot, Motul managing director
We are delighted to reinforce our links with motorcycling through our support of Honda Motor Europe’s endurance and road racing programme. The Honda TT Legends team has assembled an excellent rider line-up for 2012 and, in light of our role as official lubricant supplier to the Isle of Man TT, what better line-up is there to be involved with than the fastest man around that course and the 2011 fastest newcomer?
-
The re-introduction of the Lightweight TT into the 2012 Isle of Man TT Races, this time under the guise of Supertwin machines, has seen an excellent response with over 60 entries submitted as entries closed. As well as being high in quantity, the race is also set to be high in quality with six former TT race winners in the line-up.
KMR Kawasaki’s Ryan Farquhar is an early favourite for honours, given his track record and the fact he’s been a major flag bearer of the class. He will be bidding for TT win number three but can expect tough opposition from a number of riders, not least his new team-mate Michael Rutter. In another terrific coup for the race, the Midlands based Rutter, a double TT winner himself, will ride a Farquhar-prepared ER6 Kawasaki. This will be his only appearance in the Supertwin class in 2012, and he will certainly be a potential race winner.
Another early contender for the race win will be Northern Ireland favourite Michael Dunlop. Winner of the 2011 Royal London 360 Superstock Race, Michael Dunlop has announced he too will contest the new 3-lap race on an ER6 while brother William, who will be chasing his first TT podium, has also entered with an ER6.
Cameron Donald and Ian Lougher are two more TT winners who have confirmed their entry in the class on the Kawasaki machines, the Australian riding for the DP Coldplaning team and the veteran Welshman in the colours of Stewart Smith Racing.
Indeed, the Kawasaki is the most popular choice of machine with James Hillier riding another bike prepared by Farquhar although he will run it in his regular Bournemouth Pr1mo Kawasaki livery. Last year’s fastest newcomer, Simon Andrews, 3 times TT winner Adrian Archibald and Irish road race aces John Burrows and Davy Morgan can also be expected to feature on the leaderboard on their ER6 bikes.
Although Kawasaki’s dominate the entry, Suzuki will have a strong presence with their hopes resting with Dan Kneen and Ben Wylie. The young duo not only have a great chance of spoiling Kawasaki’s hopes, but also claiming their first TT podium in Friday’s 3-lap race.
Meanwhile, a number of leading privateers have, as hoped, embraced the new class with Ian Mackman, Ian Pattinson, Paul Shoesmith, Russ Mountford, Rob Barber, Stephen Thompson, Dean Harrison and the returning Olie Linsdell all entering. TT Rider Liaison Officer John Barton will also contest the race whilst newcomer Jamie Hamilton will be the third orange and black KMR Kawasaki lining up on Glencrutchery Road. Winner of the corresponding race at last year’s Manx Grand Prix, Dave Moffit, is also amongst the entry.
Paul Phillips, TT and Motorsport Development Manager, Isle of Man Government commented:
“We’re really pleased with the quality of the line-up, which is exactly what we’d hoped for when we announced the race. We’ve had great response from teams and riders and this race already looks like being one of the highlights of this year’s event.”
-
Both Honda World Superbike Team riders, Jonathan Rea and Hiroshi Aoyama, took two top ten finishes in today's opening round of the 2012 World Superbike championship at Phillip Island in Australia.
With the race victories going to Max Biaggi and Carlos Checa, Rea took seventh and fourth places in the two 22-lap outings, while his team-mate Aoyama finished eighth and ninth.
Starting from the outside of the second row, 25-year-old Rea enjoyed good starts to both outings. In race one, however, a lack of rear grip had dropped him back to seventh at the flag, while in race two, he held second place for much of the race after a set-up change improved grip levels. However, with just two laps to go, he slipped behind Biaggi and then lost out to fellow Brit Tom Sykes on the final straight.
After problems in qualifying, World Superbike rookie Aoyama, started from 16th on the grid. Opting for the softer rear tyre in both races, the Japanese rider fought through to the top ten in race one, while a small set-up change allowed him to make it a double in his debut SBK outing.
Jonathan Rea – 7th and 4th
We’ve still got a bagful of points to go on to Imola with but we wanted to be on the podium in both races. I honestly feel like we got a bad tyre in race one and in race two we didn’t want to run in the same situation, so we were thinking about changing the tyre, but all our logic and race runs throughout the weekend told us to keep this [harder] tyre in the heat. Directly, I had more grip – OK, the temperature was even hotter, which would go against our logic – but the tyre felt like it should feel and I was able to ride strong and consistent until probably five laps to go when durability fell off and I was going backwards. I felt fresh and strong in both races and the guys have worked well all weekend. We had a little crash on Saturday and the boys worked so good with the one-bike rule to get us back out there. You have to think that this circuit is a bit unique with the tyre character, how long you’re on the side and the heat generated in the tyre. Now we move on to some tracks that are good for us and there’s a lot of work to do back at base. The guys need to find some speed, so that’s on the agenda; I’ve just done a de-brief and everything feels OK. I want to say thanks to everyone for all their help this weekend – it feels good to get to the start of the season fit and healthy and I’m looking forward to round two now.
Hiroshi Aoyama – 8th and 9th
I think it’s not so bad for my first Superbike weekend. We had a not-so-easy start on Friday when I had one crash and we had a lot of problems. That didn’t help us to go much faster and we tried many things but couldn’t improve. In the races we managed to finish in the top ten with eighth and ninth and I want to say thanks to all the guys who worked for me. It was a tough weekend but ended up not too bad. I’m looking forward to the next race in Imola – of course I’ve never ridden there, so it’s going to be tough for Friday. We have month to improve the bike a little bit and, if I can find a better feeling, I can push a little bit more and this is what I am looking for. Anyway, considering the situation now, it’s not so bad!
Riders' comments are available to view on video at the following link:
2012 World Superbike championship, round one
Phillip Island, Australia – 4.445km, 22 laps
Race 1 results:
1 Max Biaggi (ITA) Aprilia 34m13.963s
2 Marco Melandri (ITA) BMW +7.104s
3 Sylvain Guintoli (FRA) Ducati +7.378s
4 Tom Sykes (GBR) Kawasaki +12.189s
5 Jakub Smrz (CZE) Ducati +16.424s
6 Michel Fabrizio (ITA) BMW +20.200s
7 Jonathan Rea (GBR) Honda World Superbike Team +20.223s
8 Hiroshi Aoyama (JPN) Honda World Superbike Team +24.108s
Race 2 results:
1 Carlos Checa (ESP) Ducati 34m26.728s
2 Max Biaggi (ITA) Aprilia +5.707s
3 Tom Sykes (GBR) Kawasaki +12.521s
4 Jonathan Rea (GBR) Honda World Superbike +12.665s
5 Leon Haslam (GBR) BMW +18.179s
6 Marco Melandri (ITA) BMW +18.831s
9 Hiroshi Aoyama (JPN) Honda World Superbike Team +19.554s
Championship points after one of 14 rounds:
1 Biaggi 45, 2 Melandri 30, 3 Sykes 29, 4 Checa 25, 5 Rea 22, 6 Guintoli 16, 9 Aoyama 15
Next round: Imola, Italy – 30 March - 1 April
|
