The 2015 MCE British Superbike Championship gets underway at Donington Park – let battle commence!
After six months of waiting, the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship will explode into life this weekend (4/5/6 April) for the opening round of the 2015 season at Donington Park.
Nearly 40 riders from across the world will line up in this year’s championship, with an unknown mix of upcoming young riders and rookies going up against the established guard.
– 2015 Championship to feature nearly 40 riders representing 12 nations (UK, Japan, Australia, Italy, Denmark, Sweden, Brazil, Czech Republic, Spain, South Africa)
– Seven of the world’s biggest manufacturers represented in 2015 (Kawasaki, BMW, Yamaha, Honda, Suzuki, Ducati, MV Agusta)
Clash of the champions
Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne (Sittingbourne) returns as the defending four-time champion, but starts the opening round still recovering from a heavy winter testing crash. The PBM Kawasaki rider underwent surgery just three weeks ago on broken bones in his hand and despite topping the recent official test, knows the two 20-lap races will be a tough way to start his campaign.
Byrne said: “We have done absolutely everything possible to be ready for this weekend. I have the last few days now to spend some more time in the hyperbaric chamber and possibly have some more laser therapy and whatever else to get it all under control.
“The test was extremely successful; I wasn’t sure how my hand was going to be as I haven’t done a lot of laps pre-season, so to come out and be fastest was good. I am hopefully going to get a fair bit by the first round. There will be guys who say they felt great and have never been fitter, but I would definitely be lying if I said that right now. Donington comes hard when you are fit and strong, so fingers crossed we will be another step faster.”
Byrne’s championship nemesis from 2014, Ryuichi Kiyonari (Louth) returns with the Buildbase BMW team and has his focus set on equalling his rival’s four titles. The Japanese ace had been setting the pace at the Donington Park official test before crashing out in the closing stages unhurt and heads to the event with confidence high after his double win at the track in 2014.
Kiyonari said: “I am very happy with how we finished the test last week because that was only our third test. I felt sore after the crash, but I will still be pushing hard this weekend and I am feeling confident. I think Donington Park is a good place to start the championship for me, the team and BMW as we had a double win there last year. We will be trying everything we can to keep pushing harder!”
World class grid lines-up to take on Shakey
The 2015 season marks the full-time debut of Australian Broc Parkes in the Milwaukee Yamaha squad alongside multiple title contender Josh Brookes. Parkes joins the MCE BSB grid from MotoGP, and has previously been a World Supersport Championship runner-up. He also scored MCE BSB podium finishes when he was a wild-card at Brands Hatch during the 2009 season.
Parkes said: “It is definitely going to be an experience for me at the first round as I haven’t raced with many of the riders. There are a lot of young riders who want to make a name for themselves and we know the first round will be the most difficult for us as we develop the new Yamaha. It is hard to know what to expect – but I normally race better, so come Monday I am hoping we will be ready.”
Australian Billy McConnell steps up to the Superbike class after lifting the Motorpoint British Supersport Championship with the Smiths Racing team last season and there is more international flavour in the shape of Robbin Harms (Denmark), Jakub Smrz (Czech) and Filip Backlund (Sweden).
The mighty Honda Racing return
Title-winners Honda Racing return for the 2015 campaign after their development season following their championship win with Alex Lowes in 2013. A three-strong rider line-up of Showdown contender Dan Linfoot (Knaresborough), Jason O’Halloran (Market Rasen) and racing’s fastest female Jenny Tinmouth (Ellesmere Port), means the team are back in force for the new campaign.
The established contenders
Race-winner James Ellison (Kendal) meanwhile returns with the JG Speedfit Kawasaki team, whilst Tommy Bridewell (Devizes) switches to the Tyco BMW team alongside Michael Laverty (Toomebridge) who returns from MotoGP.
Young pretenders set to make their mark
The young guns are ready to shake up the order and 21-year-old Danny Buchan (Essex) has already made an impression, ending the official test second fastest on the Be Wiser Kawasaki, the new team managed by 2011 champion Tommy Hill.
Buchan said: “We were chipping away at the test and the times were coming easily. I spoke to my crew chief at the end of the day and there is so much more still to come. It has been a good start and I have a great team behind me so we are really excited to see what we can do.”
Quattro Plant Kawasaki’s 22-year-old Luke Mossey (Cambridge) and Team WD40 Kawasaki’s Taylor Mackenzie are also lining up ready to make their mark in their debut season after challenging in the Motorpoint British Supersport Championship.
TT stars set for first 2015 competition
The opening round of the season has also prompted some one-off appearances from TT contenders Ian Hutchinson (PBM Kawasaki) in the MCE BSB class and TV star and road race hero Guy Martin with the Smiths Racing Triumph team in the Motorpoint British Supersport Championship.
Global Media Coverage
The MCE BSB global media footprint reaches to all corners of the world with over 300 hours of UK TV coverage on British Eurosport (80 hours live) and free to air on ITV4. The championship’s worldwide coverage extends to Asia- Pacific and North America and Canada.
More, from a press release issued by Be Wiser Kawasaki:
2015 MCE British Superbike Team, Be Wiser Kawasaki
The Be Wiser Kawasaki team concluded their pre-season testing last week at Donington Park before the MCE British Superbike Championship gets underway this Easter weekend, 4th – 6th April at Donington Park, Leicestershire.
The riders Chris Walker and Danny Buchan had several days in Spain at Guadix and Cartagena and both got a chance to ride their new Kawasaki ZX-10R. The pair were able to complete several successful testing sessions and were consistently in the top six on the time sheets, plus they got the chance to work alongside their new team for the 2015 season.
They then headed to a very contrasting and extremely cold Donington Park last week for the official MCE British Superbike media day. Danny had a good day out on track ending up second quickest behind current British Champion Shane Byrne. Chris Walker was only out on track in the afternoon session and suffered some bad luck, with a few minor glitches, which resulted in him missing out on some valuable track time.
Danny Buchan – “Spain was really good for us and it was a good opportunity to get together as a new team and work closely to sort my new bike for the season. We managed to do several laps out there and this gave me a really good chance to find a good base set up on the Kawasaki.
It was freezing at Donington and also wet in the morning so we missed the first session as we didn’t want to risk any unnecessary damage the week before the season starts! I have totally had to change my riding style from the Superstock machine to the Superbike and the knowledge and experience that comes within the Be Wiser team gives me that confidence to do that and quickly. We still have several things to test and will be doing so at round one but I’m sure we can just get stronger and stronger and I really am looking forward to this season with the new team.”
Chris Walker – “Spain was a good opportunity for the team to get together and work together for this new venture. I am lucky as I have several members of my team that I have worked with for many years so it was nice to get back out on track on the Kawasaki.
We had a few issues at Donington so I was only able to compete a dozen laps throughout the day. I know Tommy and everyone within the team will ensure this problem is fixed before the first race this weekend. The Be Wiser Kawasaki team is working really well together and I am pleased to be a part of it and hope we can gain some strong results in the forthcoming season.”
Tommy Hill – Team Manager – “We seem to have had a very strong winter test. With Danny topping some of the sessions in Spain and both rider being competitive is very surreal for a new British Superbike team. To think only four months ago we didn’t even have a nut or bolt, to now getting some fantastic feedback from our team sponsors and the media for what we have done and the overall image of the Be Wiser Kawasaki Team.
So far we have shown we can be competitive this season but we also need to keep remembering this is going to be a tough year with an incredibly strong grid of over 35 riders. I will do everything I possibly can, within reason to support Chris and Danny and the entire team. I want to ensure I help provide them with the full package that we need to run at the sharp end. Once again a big thank you to all our team partners for supporting us in this new venture for the forthcoming season.”
More, from a press release issued by Milwaukee Yamaha:
Milwaukee Yamaha’s Brookes and Parkes set for season opener
The Milwaukee Yamaha team head to Donington Park this weekend (4/5/6 April) for the opening round of the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship with both Josh Brookes and Broc Parkes eager to get the season underway with the next generation YZF-R1s.
The Australian pairing have already been working at the recent pre-season tests on making initial steps forward with the much-anticipated new model, culminating in the official test at the circuit last week.
Brookes returns with the team ready to build on his previous title-contending experiences, whilst this will be a new challenge for former World Supersport title runner-up Parkes, who previously scored an impressive brace of podium finishes in 2009 as a wild-card at Brands Hatch.
Josh Brookes
“At the moment I can see that the first round is going to be really close as at the test there were a lot of riders able to run very similar lap times, but that is the typical nature of Donington – we have seen in the past in qualifying that everyone is really close together.
“At the moment we have to focus on Donington and what we learnt from the test last week and have that as a priority for the first round. After that we can look at the rest of the season, get some more time on the new bike and use the experience to move forward and keep improving.”
Broc Parkes
“The test with everyone else was good to see where we were at and I think it was a pretty good indication. I was hoping to be in the top ten at the test and I was just outside of it, but not too far on the times. In general I think we will come back with a good plan for the first race.
“It is definitely going to be an experience for me at the first round as I haven’t raced with many of the riders. There are a lot of young riders who want to make a name for themselves and we know the first round will be the most difficult for us. It is hard to know what to expect – but I am normally more of a racer, so I am hoping that we will be ready on race day.”
Team Manager Mick Shanley
“As a team we have discussed the first round quite a bit because we have to remember that this is a completely new bike for this season and we have a big development plan this season. The first few rounds are almost like extra testing for us and we have to patient. The weather at the recent test at Donington Park made it more difficult, but we left there with a clear direction on what we needed to work on and achieve this weekend. We have a good focus and with Josh and Broc we have a strong line-up to move forward.”
More, from a press release issued by Paul Bird Motorsport:
Busy Easter Weekend Ahead For Paul Bird Motorsport
The PBM Kawasaki Team heads for Donington Park this Easter weekend with a three rider squad in the quest for an unprecedented tenth domestic title in the 2015 MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship.
Having clinched a record-breaking fourth title last year, Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne remains with the Penrith based team for a fourth successive year where he’ll once again be accompanied by Stuart Easton who won the MCE BSB Rider’s Cup. They will be joined by the team’s specialist roads rider Ian Hutchinson on a third Kawasaki ZX-10R Ninja for the opening rounds.
Having been signed straight after last year’s campaign, both quadruple MCE BSB champion Byrne and double British Supersport champion Easton are looking to make great starts to their respective season for Paul Bird’s team and both were well on the pace at last week’s test at Donington Park, whereby Shakey was fastest.
The 38-year-old Londoner showed no ill effects following injuring his hand in a previous test in Spain and starts the season as one of the favourites given his two titles, a narrow second place as well as a third in the series standings in the past four years. Byrne also holds the record for the number of wins having been top scorer for a second successive season and whose tally now stands at 61 MCE BSB victories.
31-year-old Easton meanwhile showed great form towards the end of last season and over the last four rounds, the Scotsman from Hawick outscored all his rivals apart from team-mate Byrne and runner-up Ryuichi Kiyonari to eventually finish in seventh place in the standings, collecting the BSB Rider’s Cup as best of the non-Showdown contenders.
Also in action for the PBM Kawasaki Team at Donington Park will be 35-year-old Yorkshireman Ian Hutchinson who was signed in autumn by the team to contest the major road races including the North West 200, the Isle of Man TT Races and the Ulster Grand Prix where the rider from Bingley has a combined total of 15 wins.
Meanwhile on four wheels, Frankie Bird, Paul’s 15-year-old son, makes his debut in the opening round of the Kick Start Energy Ginetta Junior Championship which takes place at Brands Hatch. Frankie has shown good pace during pre-season testing in the R&J Motorsport car and hopes to be at the cutting edge of the 26-car grid which supports the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship.
Paul Bird, Team Owner “Here we go again! Having the most successful team and rider in the history of the series means we are very much the ones to beat but it’s not going to be easy. All three riders are raring to go and will be out to perform at their very best this weekend. I’m expecting Shakey and Stuart to be strong and Hutchy will also do the first three MCE BSB rounds with us to prepare for the TT. It’s a busy weekend for me too as I have to be in two places at once. I’m combining visits to both Brands Hatch, where Frankie is making his racing debut, as well as Donington. I’ve every confidence that he will do well so we are hoping for a successful weekend on both two wheels and four.”
The opening round of the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship takes place at Donington Park this Easter weekend of April 4/6th. For more information, please visit www.britishsuperbike.com and www.pbmuk.net.