Category: Superbikes

1. National Superstock race winner Davey Todd confirmed for TT Races debut with Cookstown Burrows Engineering Racing Team

   Posted on 12:00pm Saturday 2nd Dec 2017

   Former Pirelli National Superstock 600 Race winner Davey Todd will make his Mountain Course debut at the 2018 Isle of Man TT Races fuelled by Monster Energy, riding for the highly experienced and respected Cookstown Burrows Engineering Racing Team.
   
   The Saltburn rider will have a full complement of machinery for his maiden TT appearance, riding one of the latest generation GSXR Suzuki 1000 machines in the RST Superbike, PokerStars Senior and RL360 Quantum Superstock TT Races. 
   
   The 22-year old made his name in the National Superstock 600cc Championship, finishing in a strong sixth overall in 2016 after taking race wins at Oulton Park and Brands Hatch and a brace of fourths at Silverstone and Donington Park.
   
   2017 saw him take third place in the opening round at Donington Park but he then left the series to turn his attention to road racing where he immediately impressed. An excellent second place finish was secured in the Dundrod 150 National Race at the Ulster Grand Prix and he was on course for a sensational top six result in the second Ulster Grand Prix Supersport 600cc race before being forced to retire but not before he’d lapped at 125.503mph which more than demonstrated his road racing potential. 
   
   Todd had earlier made the established guard sit up and take note with a number of top five results at the Skerries 100 Road Races before going to the Armoy event and making headlines with a second place in one of the Supersport Races behind Irish Champion Derek McGee. He then took his 600cc machine to a superb third in the Superbike Race behind TT hero Michael Dunlop and McGee, beating William Dunlop in the process.
   
   Todd also impressed on his debut at Oliver’s Mount, Scarborough with a series of top ten results at the Barry Sheene Festival in July and the youngster has all the talent to succeed on the 37.73-mile Mountain Course in the years ahead.
   
   An enthusiastic Todd said: 
   
   "This is the opportunity I have been waiting for and I'm very grateful to John Burrows and his team for giving me this shot! I know I'm joining a very professional team with proven competitive machinery so I'm very excited about my prospects for next season.”
   
   " I'll be a newcomer to the TT Races but I'm preparing hard for the event and when I get there I'll aim to make progress quickly but stay safe.."

2. Birchall brothers honoured to receive medals at FIM awards ceremony

   Posted on 12:00pm Thursday 30th Nov 2017

   Team Birchall - TT sidecar winners and lap record holders - travelled to Andorra last Sunday to attend the 2017 FIM Awards ceremony. The Mitchells of Mansfield supported riders joined the other FIM World Champions at the event held at the Andorra Park Hotel in the Pyrenean Principality.
   
    The Birchalls, along with team-members James Brindley and Tom Mitchell, rubbed shoulders with 35 fellow FIM World Champions and members from the FIM Team World Championships. Swapping their leathers for dinner jackets, the boys enjoyed an evening to remember relaxing and sharing stories with motorcycling royalty such as Marc Marquez, Toni Cairoli and Jonathan Rea.
   
    Earlier in the day, the team had attended a fan signing session with the other world champions at the Centre de Congressos in Andorra before heading to the red-carpet and the awards ceremony where they picked up their medals for the 2017 FIM World Sidecar Championships.
   
    The ceremony capped an outstanding year that also saw the brothers win both Sidecar races at the Isle of Man TT Races fuelled by Monster Energy, breaking the outright sidecar lap record in the process.
   
    Ben Birchall: “What an amazing experience – I’m absolutely blown away by the whole weekend and how we were treated by the FIM during our time in Andorra. The country is incredible, its love for motorcycling is obvious and the awards couldn’t have been held in a more beautiful location. To attend such a prestigious event, surrounded by other world champions is something I’ll never forget. I feel honoured to be a world champion myself and the whole experience has only strengthened my desire to defend our title in the 2018 season.”
   
    Tom Birchall: “What an incredible event held in such a beautiful country. I want to say a massive thank you to the FIM for including us in the celebrations. It was awesome to be there with other riders such as Marc Marquez and Jonny Rea – as bike fans ourselves it was an honour and a privilege to be included in such company.
   
    “With the capacity changes over the past couple of years in the Sidecar World Championships, I really think the FIM have made the right decisions and the championship is stronger than ever - we’ll be back next year to hopefully retain the crown. I want to say a massive thank you to all our sponsors, friends, family and supporters, without whom this wouldn’t be possible. 2017 was our best yet, but lets see if we can go even better next year.”
   

3. Solid performance by Jake Gagne in race two to wrap up the season

   Posted on 10:00pm Saturday 4th Nov 2017

   The Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team wraps up the 2017 FIM Superbike World Championship with a solid performance by Jake Gagne, who was twelfth again at the end of the 17-lap, final encounter of the season at the Losail International Circuit. Gagne’s team mate Davide Giugliano was declared unfit to race following an outbreak of gastroenteritis.

   Gagne got a good launch from 17^th place on the grid and – after a few laps – he got up to speed on board his Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP2 machine and made his way into the top-15. In the first half of the race, the 24-year-old American lapped consistently in the 1’59secs – a pace which helped him consolidate twelfth position as the laps went by. Gagne then rode a lonely second part of the final encounter to equal yesterday’s race one result, albeit with a smaller gap to the top.

   The Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team will begin preparations for the 2018 FIM Superbike World Championship with a private test on November 22-24 at ‘Circuito de Jerez’ in Spain.

4. Twelfth place for Gagne in race one at Losail

   Posted on 10:00pm Friday 3rd Nov 2017

   Jake Gagne has taken fifth place in today’s 17-lap, opening race of the 2017 WorldSBK season finale at the Losail International Circuit in Qatar, equalling his best finish in the series scored in his previous appearance at Magny-Cours a month ago. His Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team mate Davide Giugliano was forced to an early retirement at the end of lap six.

   Gagne got a decent launch from eighteenth place on the grid and had a competitive opening lap, as he made his way past some rivals to enter the top-15. As the race progressed, the 24-year-old from San Diego battled with Guarnoni for eleventh position before consolidating twelth place in the latter stages of the encounter.

   Giugliano got a good launch from the fifteenth slot of the grid and was able to move up two places as the World Superbike field entered turn one. The 28-year-old Italian then started to lose ground and was passed by his team mate Gagne, before making his way back to the pits and pull out of the race.

   The final race of the 2017 FIM Superbike World Championship will get underway tomorrow at 21:00 local time (GMT +3), with Giugliano and Gagne again 15^th and 18^th, respectively, on the starting grid.

5. Soomer and WilSport Racedays Honda win the 2017 ESS Cup

   Posted on 12:00pm Friday 27th Oct 2017

   Hannes Soomer and the WilSport Racedays Honda Team have won the 2017 edition of the FIM European Supersport Cup after a thrilling season finale at ‘Circuito de Jerez’ in southern Spain last Sunday. The 19-year-old Estonian rider entered the final round of the season with an 8-point advantage over his nearest rival Rob Hartog, and defended his leadership in the 19-lap World Supersport Spanish race by finishing 15th and claiming the title by the slimmest of margins – one point. 

   Born on the 17th of February 1998 in Estonia’s capital city of Tallin, Soomer stepped foot on the international motorcycle racing scene by joining the WorldSBK’s former one-make, entry-level series – the European Junior Cup – at the early age of 15 in 2013. On board Honda machinery, Hannes built up a copious amount of experience around the European tracks of the World Superbike calendar, while proving to be one of the most talented and mature young talents in the championship.

   His results and performances led to the decision by former EJC Series Director Gerry Bryce to sign Soomer to compete on board a Honda CBR600RR machine in the FIM Europe Supersport Cup with team WilSport Racedays Honda. Soomer, on the Ten Kate Racing Products-prepared machine, made a stellar debut at Aragón last April where he was 9th overall. His consistency throughout the season allowed him to clinch the well-deserved trophy as the final event of 2017 drew to a close.