Tribute to British Supersport's Guy Sanders

Guy Sanders’ close friend and former manager James Jackson has sent us a tribute to the fatally injured rising star, who passed away due to injuries sustained at Mondello Park a week ago.

It was forwarded to us by Guy’s father Derek, and has the full blessing of Guy’s 2007 team Gearlink Racing.

Guy’s family have asked to us to pass on funeral details when appropriate, the date due to be July 10, 2007 at Cobham in Surrey.

Guy Sanders

Guy’s presence was second to none. The commitment and enthusiasm that he applied to his own life drove everyone around him to also go on and achieve more. His infectious sense of humour and mischievous way of life touched all who met him.

Guy’s frequent discussions with his dad were the stuff legends are made of and kept us all amused, though it was blatantly obvious to all just how much he loved his family: Derek, Carole and brother Adam, a love he somehow managed to extend to everyone.
 
The new news that he was to ride Michael Rutter’s works Kawasaki Superbike at Knockhill next week filled us all with the joy that he had now achieved his 2007 goals: having reached top-ten and moving further forward in Supersport he was now to race Superbikes.  Guy’s passing will leave a void that we will all struggle to fill.
 
Guy was bitten with the racing bug shortly after being bought an Aprilia RS50,- to get him into school at the age of 16, a photo of him in full-on knee-down roundabout-action (in his school trousers) still adorns his bedroom, and it didn’t take long for Derek to be “persuaded” to acquire a Superteen machine.

2002 was his debut year when, together with his dad, they toured the country making friends and learning the ropes, already impressing teams with his passion and commitment.

Joining with Kenny Gilbertson in Kev Spurr’s Team S&S led to a fantastic year in 2003 with some hard fought battles between Guy, Kenny and Jimmy Rose, a minor mishap resulted in Guy being unable to compete in the final round.  This led to his losing championship lead and finishing third. 
 
Never afraid of taking on a new challenge 2004 found Guy with Team JJR competing in the Virgin Yamaha R6 cup and despite never having ridden a four stroke before, his spirited riding – including podiums and race wins – saw him finish third in the championship at his first attempt. 

In 2005 Guy stepped up to the British Superstock Championship, riding on Team JJR’s Kawasaki ZX10 he was soon on the pace.  Faced with fully adjustable suspension and proper sticky tyres for the first time, hard work plus Guy’s natural talent shone through to a podium finish.  Just reward for all his efforts. 

Armed with a brace of new ZX10’s for 2006, Team JJR and Guy were now faced with the task of developing a totally new model into a race winner.  A real challenge. 

And Guy proved he was up to it, with a win at the final round at Brands Hatch topping off a year that included two European Superstock wild card rides, a collaboration with the factory TW2 / MSS squad for the final four rounds, and finally a Supersport ride on Team Buff’s Kawasaki 600. 
 
Now bitten with the 600 bug, in 2007 Guy teamed up with his ex-Superteen mate James Hillier and into Team Gearlink Kawasaki. Guy was instantly pushing towards the front of the field.

A superb ride to fourth place at Oulton Park proved he could ride with the best, and he topped the time sheets in wet practice sessions last week at Mondello Park.
 
What happened at Mondello was a tragic accident, but we know he died doing what he wanted to do. And he felt no pain. He will be sadly missed and never forgotten.
 
Guy was the James Dean of racing. No 42 forever.