2010
Triumph Triple
BSB
2009
BSB
2008
BSB
Non-Championship
2007
Superstock
NG Road Racing
Non-Championship
2006
Superstock
NG Road Racing
Non-Championship
British Superbikes - 2009 Race Reports
Brands Hatch - 10, 11 and 13 April 2009 - Round 1
Oulton Park - 2, 3 and 4 May 2009 - Round 2
Galleries: Photos by Carsten Evans - Photos by Paul Korkus
Donington Park - 23, 24 and 25 May 2009 - Round 3
Thruxton - 29, 30 and 31 May 2009 - Round 4
Snetterton - 19, 20 and 21 June 2009 - Round 5
After having to miss the last two rounds due to technical difficuties, it was good to be back with Vic and the MV.
Snetterton is a very fast circuit and it is quite difficult to get the set up right. Vic struggled in practice and qualifying with the suspension and unfortunately James was not on hand to help.
The pace this season was a lot quicker than last and this caused many teams to scratch their heads for a good set-up. The Team worked hard all weekend to improve the set up and Vic managed to finish both races in the top twenty, a result with which we were all pleased.
Now it's off to Knockhill in sunny Scotland for Round 6.
Knockhill - 3, 4 and 5 July 2009 - Round 6
Unfortunately, due to technical issues, we were not able to attend the Knockhill round but we should be back on track at Mallory Park.
Mallory Park - 17, 18 and 19 July 2009 - Round 7
Mallory was to be the first race for Michael on the MV after only riding it once before. We were treating Mallory as a test to get some good setup and and for Michael to familiarise himself with the bike.
Michael's aim was to get down into the 59's which he achieved in the second race. The testing went well and he was getting consistently quicker every session. He qualified and was looking forward to getting up to race pace.
The first race finished prematurely when Michael pulled in, thinking that moisture (from spots of rain on the far side of the track) on his visor was an overheating engine. The temperature on the guage was reading 103 which is not uncommon for the MV but not what Michael was used to. Before we could get the bike back out, the race was red flagged and not restarted.
In race two, Michael was getting more comfortable with the bike and was putting in some decent lap times when he pulled in to the pits to check his brake reservoir which was shaking a lot. But it was found to be ok and he was about to rejoin the race when again the race got red flagged was not restarted.
We left Mallory confident that the bikes had run without major problems and that Michael was feeling more and more at home on the bike.
Now on to one of our favorite circuits, Brands Hatch for a triple header.
Galleries: Photos by Carsten Evans
Brands Hatch - 7, 8 and 9 August 2009 - Round 8
Brands was a triple header and we were all hoping that Michael would be able to get plenty of time on the bike. But it turned out to be a difficult round for us, with one small problem starting a knock-on effect that was to spoil all three races.
Again our aim was simple: to get Michael to complete as many miles as he could without problems. This was not to be, because a small bolt locating the alternator sheared off. This caused trouble all weekend and ultimately caused three DNF's even though the team worked through the night to sort the problem, and James making the journey from Bristol on Saturday afternoon with parts to repair the bike.
The plus side of the weekend was that Michael was again went quicker in every session and the Team remain upbeat about the next round at Cadwell Park in a few weeks time.
Galleries: Photos by Turn One Photography
Cadwell Park - 29, 30 and 31 August 2009 - Round 9
Cadwell Park in Lincolnshire is one of the rider's favorite circuits, and is also a spectacular spectators track with the awsome mountain section always waiting for its next victim.
Michael was confident that Cadwell, as one of his favorite circuits, was going to be a place where it was all going to come together for him and the team. Things started well with Michael getting into a good rhythm around the narrow fast track. But when Michael tried to push harder nothing seemed to happen. A trip to the dyno showed that the bike had lost 15bhp somewhere. Alarm bells started to ring and the bike was stripped and checked for obvious problems but nothing was found and the engine sounded ok. It was decided to continue with the races albeit with a distinct lack of power.
The first race saw Michael pull in after a handful of laps, as he was unable to keep up with the pack in front and he was aware that the front runners would soon be on him and trying to pass - which could have been dangerous with a slow bike and such a narrow track.
Between the races, the bike was stripped again and the electrics checked. A few connections were found to be loose and these were refitted and the bike instantly sounded a lot crisper. With no time to have the bike re-dynoed it was decided to enter race two and see if the problem had been found.
Michael has been struggling to get the MV off the line and this seems to be an inherent problem with the bike. On this occassion the bike stalled on the line, but Michael managed to restart it and by half a lap was catching the rider in front. Things at last were looking better! Then after a few laps we saw Michael pull off the track onto the grass with a blown engine.
When the bike was returned to the garage it was found to be a major engine failure, which we have not had very often.
So a disappointing outing. Let's hope we can get the engine rebuilt and tested for Croft in a few weeks time.
Croft - 11, 12 and 13 September 2009 - Round 10
Unfortunately we could not attend Croft, as we were unable to get some parts on time. James had worked incredibly hard to get both bikes ready for Croft. Unfortunately we were unable to get parts from the factory due to their annual shutdown. So now we will have to wait untill Silverstone.
Silverstone - 25, 26 and 27 September 2009 - Round 11
After the disappointment of having to miss out Croft, we were all eager to go to Silverstone and get back on track. We had a new set of forks for the number 1 bike and Michael was feeling confident he could put in a good performance.
Race one and Michael had a bad start and ended up chasing the rest of the field down the start straight, but he was soon pulling up places and after a solid ride finished 21st out of 30 starters.
Race two was red flagged after a few laps due to an engine letting go on the racing line. The race was eventually started about half an hour late. Michael had a better start and had another good solid race, this time finishing in 19th place.
All in all a very good weekend for all the Team and now it's on to the last round at Oulton for more of the same.
Galleries: Photos by Turn One Photography - Photos by Carsten Evans - Photos by Carsten Evans
Oulton Park - 9, 10 and 11 October 2009 - Round 12
Galleries: Photos by Carsten Evans - Photos by Turn One Photography
