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British Superbikes

Valentine’s BSB future

17 February 2009 by Gary Pinchin

Valentine’s BSB future

In this week’s MCN (Feb 18) we reveal the full story behind Crescent Suzuki’s one-man British Superbike team with Sylvain Guintoli and talk to team manager Jack Valentine about the new Suzuki...

Ulster GP backs British Supersport team

16 February 2009 by Gary Pinchin

Ulster GP backs British Supersport team

The Ulster Grand Prix has followed the precedent set by the North West 200 and backed a race team in the British championship. The Ulster Grand Prix Bikeweek Race team, will consist of three Yamaha R6...

Tom Grant gets Centurion Honda reprieve

16 February 2009 by Gary Pinchin

Tom Grant gets Centurion Honda reprieve

Tom Grant made his track debut for the Centurion Honda team this week when he joined regular rider Dan Cooper for the team’s three-day test in Calafat, Spain. 20-year-old, Grant from Melbourne, Derby...

Official GSE Racing history

13 February 2009 by Gary Pinchin

Official GSE Racing history

GSE Racing, the most successful British superbike race team of all time, has released a limited edition book, ‘From Diggers to Ducatis,’ charting the history of the team since its inception in...

BSB bikes under development

13 February 2009 by Gary Pinchin

BSB bikes under development

I’ve had the privilege to go behind the closed doors of some British Superbike team workshops this past couple of weeks, namely Relentless Suzuki, Cresent Suzuki, and Rob Mac Racing Yamaha and it’s...

Race tuning and the Yamaha R1 crossplane crank

12 February 2009 by Gary Pinchin

Race tuning and the Yamaha R1 crossplane crank

In the February 4 issue of MCN Rob Mac Racing’s technicians revealed their development plans for the new Yamaha R1. After reading the feature, an engineer (who asked not to be named but works for a...

Crescent Suzuki test at Calafat

12 February 2009 by Gary Pinchin

Crescent Suzuki test at Calafat

Crescent Suzuki continue to steal a march on their British Superbike rivals. While most of the teams continue to labour in the workshops, building new bikes, the Verwood-based  team have  just...

Dennis Hobbs rides for AIM Yamaha

06 February 2009 by Gary Pinchin

Dennis Hobbs rides for AIM Yamaha

Dennis Hobbs is back in British Supersport riding for Alastair Flanagan’s AIM Yamaha team. Hobbs missed most of the 2008 season after a high-speed crash at Thruxton in April left him with a badly...

Video: Rob McElnea interview

06 February 2009 by MCN

BSB team owner Rob McElnea has big plans for 2009 after signing Chris Walker, Graeme Gowland and Michael Rutter. Rob Mac is expecting several race wins from all three of his British Superbike riders on the new Yamaha R1.

No one-bike rule for BSB in 2009

03 February 2009 by Gary Pinchin

No one-bike rule for BSB in 2009

BSB won’t be adopting a one-bike per rider rule for 2009 according to Series Director Stuart Higgs. HM Plant Honda and Rob Mac Racing are two teams that have already committed to have only one bike...

Rob Mac Racing switch to K-Tech suspension

03 February 2009 by Gary Pinchin

Rob Mac Racing switch to K-Tech suspension

The Motorpoint Henderson Yamahas of Chris Walker and Graeme Gowland, and Michael Rutter’s North West 200 Coca Cola Zero will be equipped with K-Tech suspension in BSB this year. K-Tech is one of the...

Title-wining Triumph team to continue

03 February 2009 by Gary Pinchin

Title-wining Triumph team to continue

Last year’s British Supersport title-winning team are aiming to continue racing despite having lost their title sponsor Embassy Racing before the end of last season. Title-winner Glen Richards has...

Sylvain Guintoli clocks up the BSB track miles

03 February 2009 by Gary Pinchin

Sylvain Guintoli clocks up the BSB track miles

Crescent Suzuki team boss Jack Valentine says that their new BSB signing Sylvain Guintoli has already got track knowledge of all but four of this year’s BSB tracks, having done the laps in a Suzuki...

Paul Lewis returns ‘home’ for XR1200 series

30 January 2009 by Sarah Carnell

Paul Lewis returns ‘home’ for XR1200 series

Former GP500 Skoal Bandit Suzuki works rider and Daytona Twins winner Paul Lewis is at the London Motorcycle Show at ExCeL today promoting the new Harley-Davdison XR1200 series, which he is racing...

Fuchs Silkolene continue to back British Supersport

28 January 2009 by Gary Pinchin

Fuchs Silkolene continue to back British Supersport

The British Superbike series continues to buck the trend of gloom and doom of the global economic crisis with the announcement that the 2009 British Supersport Championship, will be sponsored for the...

Scott Smart in Superstock on a Ducati

28 January 2009 by Gary Pinchin

Scott Smart in Superstock on a Ducati

Former BSB rider Scott Smart is switching to the National superstock series, riding a  Ducati 1198S for Winchester-based dealers Moto Rapido. Smart, currently in Dubai, is flying home early to attend...

Crescent Suzuki ready to resume testing

27 January 2009 by Gary Pinchin

Crescent Suzuki ready to resume testing

Crescent Suzuki team boss Jack Valentine has quashed rumours suggesting the Verwood-based team is about to shut up shop. The rumours, the latest in a never-ending stream in these hard economic times,...

Croft future in doubt after appeal blow

26 January 2009 by Matthew Birt

Croft future in doubt after appeal blow

The Croft circuit has suffered a massive blow today after losing an appeal related to noise pollution at the historic racing venue. The future of the Darlington circuit is now uncertain after the...

HM Plant trio get fighter-pilot experience

26 January 2009 by Gary Pinchin

HM Plant trio get fighter-pilot experience

HM Plant Honda riders John McGuinness, Steve Plater and Glen Richards, swapped two wheels for two wings to get airborne with some of the UK’s flying aces and experience life as a fighter pilot, with...

It’s official – BSB gets younger!

26 January 2009 by Gary Pinchin

It’s official – BSB gets younger!

BSB is getting younger and to prove it here’s the official rider lists with dates of birth and actual ages as of Jan 13th this month, supplied by the series organisers at MCN’s request. The chart...

Higgs: ‘BSB TV is good – and well targeted’

24 January 2009 by Gary Pinchin

Higgs: ‘BSB TV is good – and well targeted’

This week’s MCN interview with MSVR boss Jonathan Palmer, discussing how British Superbikes might be affected by the current economic situation, brought a swift reaction from his right-hand man and...

Jon Kirkham with BSB Jentin Yamaha team

23 January 2009 by Gary Pinchin

Jon Kirkham with BSB Jentin Yamaha team

The Lloyds British Jentin Yamaha team has confirmed it will run Jon Kirkham in BSB this year on a new Yamaha R1. The 24-year-old rider certainly impressed many team managers during his campaign last...

Jentin Racing 2009

22 January 2009 by Anonymous

Anyone know what is happening at Jentin/Lloyds British for 2009? After finishing best Yamaha of 2008 with Simon Andrews, it’s all gone a bit quiet for 2009, lets hope Bernie and the boys are back with a new Young Gun now that Andrews has moved to Kawasaki.

BSB well-placed to weather the storm

21 January 2009 by Gary Pinchin

BSB well-placed to weather the storm

“Is Jonathan Palmer completely delusional? He’s lost his best riders. The top guys left are all old. The teams are struggling like any other businesses. “Yet he’s predicting crowds will only drop off...

Crescent sell 2008 BSB Suzuki GSX-R1000s

20 January 2009 by Gary Pinchin

Crescent sell 2008 BSB Suzuki GSX-R1000s

Crescent Suzuki’s 2008 BSB GSX-R1000s raced by Tom Sykes and Atsushi Watanabe 2008 are up for sale. Suzuki GSX-R1000s for sale With the all-new K9 now under development, all last year’s kit –...

Croft future in doubt

19 January 2009 by Gary Pinchin

Croft future in doubt

The future of racing at Croft circuit near Darlington is in doubt after last week’s High Court judgement awarded three local residents around £150,000 in compensation for noise issues. The circuit,...

Tom Tunstall gets ex-WSB Hondas

19 January 2009 by Gary Pinchin

BSB privateer Tom Tunstall and the Hardinge Doodson Motorsport Team are sticking with Honda machinery in BSB this year but have upgraded to a new Honda sourced from the World Superbike Paul Bird Motorsport Vent-Axia VK team. Tunstall has sights set on success in the Daily Star Superbike Cup Championship and said: “I’m very happy with our preparations for 2009. “he new bike looks great and...

Honda boss dismisses HM Plant quit rumours

16 January 2009 by Gary Pinchin

Honda boss dismisses HM Plant quit rumours

Honda’s BSB team boss Neil Tuxworth dismissed rumours that Newcastle-based construction company HM Plant has pulled the plug on their sponsorship for 2009. Tuxworth said: “I don’t know where all these...

HM Plant Honda cut back to one bike per rider

16 January 2009 by Gary Pinchin

HM Plant Honda cut back to one bike per rider

HM Plant Honda team boss Neil Tuxworth has confirmed that the team will cut back to one bike per rider in 2009 for new BSB signings Glen Richards and Josh Brookes as part of a cost-cutting programme...

BSB Calendar- Why Brands?

15 January 2009 by iancol

Just seen the calendar for 2009. The series starts on the Brands Hatch Indy circuit. Why is this circuit used now that it’s too short for today’s fastest bikes? Last year, there was more than one race result jeopardised by the front runners catching up with back markers.

Two-man MV Agusta team in BSB

14 January 2009 by Gary Pinchin

Two-man MV Agusta team in BSB

There may not be any Ducatis in this year’s British Superbike championship but at least there will be two Italian bikes. The STP Motorsport team will field a two-man MV Agusta team in British...

GSE Racing’s Yamaha R1s arrive

14 January 2009 by Gary Pinchin

GSE Racing’s Yamaha R1s arrive

Two of GSE Racing’s four Yamaha R1s which they’ll race in the 2009 BSB series arrived this week and MCN were there to capture the moment. This is the first time since the team was established in 1997...

BSB boss Palmer talks title sponsorship

13 January 2009 by Gary Pinchin

BSB boss Palmer talks title sponsorship

MSVR boss Jonathan Palmer was shocked to see today’s press release from Bennetts, announcing they were no longer the BSB title. He said: I’m surprised they put that release out. Bennetts’ option to...

Bennetts quit BSB

13 January 2009 by Gary Pinchin

Bennetts quit BSB

As we intimated only hours ago, Bennetts has announced today it will no longer be the title sponsor of the British Superbike championship. The insurance company has backed the championship for the...

BSB without title sponsor?

13 January 2009 by Gary Pinchin

BSB without title sponsor?

The absence of Bennetts branding on the official British Superbike website has led to speculation that negotiations between the insurance company and BSB series promoters MSVR have broken down. BSB...

Karl Harris training hard

09 January 2009 by Gary Pinchin

Karl Harris training hard

Hydrex Honda boss Shaun Muir has written strict fitness and dietry controls into the contract of new signing Karl Harris. Harris has always previously used boxing as a method of training but his new...