BIRCHALL BROTHERS MAGNY COURS Ben and Tom Birchall completed the final race in the FIM World Sidecar championship in third place at Magny Cours in France and at the end of the incident packed 2010 campaign to find themselves in an overall position of third in the championship. It was always going to be an uphill battle for the Mitchells of Mansfield supported brothers as they had not ridden the Magny Cours circuit before and they spent free practice learning their way around the course while at the same time running in a new engine. “We were on the back foot,” said Ben. “The weather was against us in free practice as it was damp so we couldn’t really learn anything except which way the track went.” First qualifying threw up a number of technical problems which further limited their track time but these were rectified for the final session and the brothers recorded a series of fast laps to start their final race from third place on the grid.” “We were the quickest team through the first and second sectors but not quite so quick towards the end of the lap. But our final lap proved to be our fastest so we were able to secure third place on the grid.” The race itself was held prior to the Bol d’Or, the French round of the World Endurance championship and when the Sidecar event got underway the Birchall brothers moved straight up into second place behind Swiss pairing Markus Schlosser and Thomas Hofer. But their progress was halted by the red flag after just two laps. At the restart the positions remained the same but once again the red flag came out for another incident. With all the delays track time was running short and officials had no alternative but to just permit a five lap dash to the flag so they could prepare the circuit for the main event, the 24 hour World Endurance event, which was scheduled to run shortly after the sidecar race. The riders began their dash from the same grid positions as before but although Ben and Tom began to reel in the two leading outfits they simply ran out of time and crossed the finish line in third place. “If we could have found a good set up straight away and the race had run over the full distance then I was confident we could have secured a top result,” said Ben. “But it wasn’t to be and considering all the problems we have encountered this year with the crash in Croatia and the extent of our injuries we are happy enough to finish third in the world championship this time. “Everyone at Birchall Racing would like to congratulate Pekka Paivarinta on securing his second world title and it goes without saying that a special congratulation must go to his passenger Adolph Hanni who has put so much time and effort into his sport over the past 21 years. We are delighted he has finally achieved his dream of being world sidecar champion, the title couldn’t have gone to a more deserving home. “We would like to thank everyone involved in our team plus family, friends and sponsors for the considerable amount of effort they have put in this year. It has been the hardest world championship campaign we have had to contest to date but the experience has made us even more determined to come out fighting and regain our world crown next year.” It’s a quick turnaround for the Birchall Brothers as they travel to Anglesey in Wales for round six of the Battle of Britain sidecar championship which takes place over the weekend (September 18/19). Ben and Tom are currently running in third place on 202 points behind Alan Schofield (222) and Tim Reeves (268) and with 25 points up for grabs in each of the three races they will be determined to claim as many as possible to edge nearer to their rivals. More, from a press release issued by Ryan Farquhar’s publicist: Farquhar completes Irish season with hat-trick at Killalane Dungannon’s Ryan Farquhar ended the Irish road racing season on Sunday with a superb hat-trick at the Killalane road races, which took place on the outskirts of Dublin. The KMR Kawasaki rider took the spoils in the Open, Grand Final and Supersport 600cc races, a win in the latter also seeing him add that particular title to the Senior Road Race Championship he’d wrapped up earlier in the year. However, the day was marred by the tragic death of Victor Gilmore, a rider whom Ryan had ridden against on the public roads for many years, a sad end to a difficult year in Ireland. On the racing side of things, it was another highly successful day for Ryan as he dominated proceedings around the 3.6-mile circuit although the Dunlop brothers, Michael and William, again made him work hard for his wins. The day got off to the perfect start though in the 6-lap Open race and Ryan was able to lead from start to finish, to eventually come home over nine seconds clear of Michael Dunlop, but this would prove to be his most comfortable race of the day. The Supersport 600cc class had seen Ryan some 3 seconds down on the Dunlops in practice and he wasn’t too hopeful of being in with a chance of the win but he dug deep in the race, which was re-started after Gilmore’s sad accident. Ryan went head to head with the Dunlops throughout the race and there was nothing between the trio during the entire 5 laps. Positions changed with frequent regularity but, aided by a new lap record, 110.930mph, it was Ryan who came out on top, his winning margin over Michael Dunlop just 0.075s. The Grand Final saw Ryan again embroiled in a battle with Michael and although he led every lap, his Honda rival was stuck to his back wheel throughout. The lap record was repeatedly broken but Ryan was again able to use all his skill and experience to hold off his rival and he again saw the chequered flag first with Dunlop only 0.074s adrift on this occasion. The 125cc/Moto 450 race then took place but the red flag soon came out and the remainder of the meeting was cancelled. Speaking later, Ryan said: “On the racing front it’s been a good weekend for me and the team but Victor’s accident has not only put a dampener on this weekend it’s also put a huge dampener on the sport in general once more. He was a popular rider, someone who I knew well and who I’d competed against for many years. He knew the risks as well as all of us but he loved what he did and my heart goes out to all his family, friends and team.” “In the first Open race, I just got my head down and it was a fairly comfortable win but the other two races were anything but and Michael especially was putting me under a lot of pressure. I was way off the pace on the 600 in practice and didn’t think I stood a chance of winning the Championship but I rode as hard as I possibly could and literally rode the wheels off the bike so it was really satisfying to come out on top. I led the Grand Final from the start but knew Michael was right on my back wheel so I again had to ride as hard as I could to keep him at bay. To finish with a hat-trick and more Championship success is great and I’ve also been told that I’ve now equalled Joey Dunlop’s total of road race wins in Ireland – NW200, Ulster GP and Nationals – and that’s another record that I’m hugely proud of. I’ve got to say a big thank you to everyone connected to the team, particularly Kawasaki UK for all their continued support, but I’d just like to again extend my sympathy to everyone who was close to Victor – he’ll be sadly missed.” Ryan now heads to Oliver’s Mount, Scarborough where he’ll be competing in the International Gold Cup races this weekend, September 18-19. More, from a press release issued by Yamaha Racing: Yamaha rider Loris Baz leaves a big impression in the British Superbike Championship 17yr old European Superstock rider Loris Baz took on a big challenge last weekend, taking advantage of opportunities within the Yamaha Racing fraternity he stepped up to ride the Motorpoint Yamaha R1 in the British Superbike Championship in place of injured rider Andrew Pitt. The 2008 European Superstock 600 champion, currently 6th in the Superstock 1000 World Cup on a close to production R1, got straight down to business at the Croft circuit, the youngest rider on the grid adapted quickly and impressed the Motorpoint Team by qualifying eighth on the grid for a second row start for the two races on Sunday. Undaunted by the high level of competition the young Frenchman fought hard to take a well earned seventh place finish at the line in race one. Race two saw Baz initially dropping to 22nd after getting caught up in a first corner battle and getting hit by another rider. He fought back to climb nine places but was unable to finish the race after crashing out on a slow corner. “This was an incredible weekend for me,” said Loris Baz. “The crowds, the pace, the riders, the whole atmosphere was amazing. The first race couldn’t have gone better for me but in the second race I got hit by Kagayama and nearly fall off the bike. Thankfully I stayed onboard and fought my way through to 13th position but then I pushed too hard at the slow corner and crashed. I am sorry for the team for the crash. I wanted to get a good result for them but tried a little too much. Hopefully I can get another chance to race at BSB and make amends!” “Loris definitely exceeded our expectations, qualifying on the second row and finishing 7th for a 17 year old complete rookie to the bike and the track was amazing,” said Motorpoint Yamaha Team Manager Rob McElnea. “He got caught up in a battle for the first corner in the second race and came off worse, from 22nd position we saw some real determination battling through to 13th before a bit too much youth full exuberance let him down!” More, from a press release issued by Racing for a Wish: BIG SCARE IN UTAH, GOOD SHOWING IN JERSEY Nasty High Side at Miller on 200HP BMW Racing for a Wish and Gerry Signorelli were at Miller Motorsports Park for the Masters of the Mountains Round #6 two weeks ago, then at New Jersey Motorsports Park for the USGPRU East Round #5 last weekend. The team went to Utah hoping to clinch the Open Superstock and the Open Superbike Championships, but Signorelli high sided and crashed in the opening race in an aggressive first lap. He was knocked unconscious and had to be taken to be medically examined. He was cleared to race the next day, but had to borrow a motorcycle as the BMW Motorcycles of Utah S1000RR was too damaged to be raced. Being on somebody else’s bike and still injured, Gerry rode a clean couple of races in the Open Superbike and King of the Mountains GTO classes. He was able to clinch the Open Superbike Championship with one round to go, and by taking fourth in the GTO class, still leads the series by six points heading into the last race. The final race will be on Oct. 10th, at Miller’s Full Course. The team will have a goal to clinch the KoM title as well as the Open Superstock class to finish the year three for three, which would be impressive for Signorelli’s first year on the Pirelli shod S1000RR. This past weekend in New Jersey went well as the team was surrounded by an impressive group of racers from the East region. Signorelli only had two 15-minute sessions to learn the track before qualifying and racing. To add to that, Sunday morning rained and forced the team to change to rain tires quickly, and guess on a setup that would work for the race. Gerry and the Bob Fier Racing Moriwaki MD250H Powered by Honda had a good showing. Signorelli finished in 5th in the rain soaked 125GP race, and 4th in the drying Moto3 race. These solid finishes have placed Gerry and the Bob Fier Racing MD250H in the top three national standings in the 125GP class, and the top five in the Moto3 class. The National Final is set to be held at Miller Motorsports Park Full Course on October 11th. “I really want to thank Kory Cowan of Intermountain Racer Supply and Dave Purcell for helping me get back on a bike at the Masters of the Mountain race after a big crash! The crash put me in a bad jam, but they helped us get through the weekend with good success after facing a bit of adversity”, thanked Gerry Signorelli. Racing for a Wish is a motorcycle road racing program that benefits the Make-A-Wish Foundation as it supports Gerry Signorelli’s development towards becoming an internationally competitive racer. Racing for a Wish markets sponsors’ brands in the thrilling world of motorsports. The Make-A-Wish Foundation grants wishes to children under the age of eighteen with life threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength, and joy. Fifteen percent of sponsorsʼ cash contributions goes directly to the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Colorado so they may continue granting wishes for deserving and inspiring kids. Along with a financial contribution, Racing for a Wish reaches out to communities to raise awareness of the charity’s great cause. Sponsorship opportunities are flexible and tailored to fit each business’/individual’s needs while targeting an ideal audience in an effective manner. More, from a press release issued by BMW Motorrad Team S1000RR Competition Javier Forés claims victory in Spanish Championship of Stock Extreme with Team Motorrad and BMW 14/9/2010 – Fores, Motorrad and BMW gets the first Spanish National title After only five of the seven disputed races, Javier Fores was crowned Champion of Spain in Stock Extreme riding the BMW Motorrad Team S1000RR Competition in the circuit of Albacete. The curriculum of the Valencian´s rider so far this championship is flawless: 5 poles, 5 fastest laps and five victories, getting several records of track and a total of 125 points that have powered to be the winner of the highest category of the championship. Starting from pole position, Javier Fores did not want to lose the opportunity to get another victory, always thinking from race to race and not in the championship, and that followed the withdrawal, due to technical problems , in the Ducati of his arch rival, Javier del Amor, had struggled with Barragán until last lap. An exciting race s ince Llombai, due to a fall suffered in training, was not 100% physically and Barragan had prevented in this race one of the usual Fores´ breaks . The infighting over the last 3 laps had provided several advancements to the checkers flag fall where Javier Fores finally got its long-awaited triumph. This victory brings with it the first National Championship for Team Racing and BMW Motorrad, which has invested heavily this year with the S1000RR in category Stock Extreme, next to the Michelin brand and getting the championship of Spain. Enrique Rocamora, who started from 7th place on the grid was on a great race ranking for much of his its fifth position and touching the podium since the fourth inclusive, until lap 16 where he gave out two places and ended 6th. A good result for Elche, but with mixed feelings about not getting more points for their struggle for the final podium overall. Yet Rocamora had provided 10 fundamental points for winning the c onstructor´s championship for the BMW brand as a leader and getting 191 points total. Alberto Lopez performed this weekend a great job during the qualifying session on Saturday and thanks to the good development of their S1000RR got the 5th position on the grid, just behind teammate Forés. The race made him overcome poor start from the thirteenth position gaining 5 possition in less than three laps until the Cantabrian suffered a fall on the fifth lap that ended a weekend of hard work. Undoubtedly Berto is showing excellent progress and in the last two races of the championship fighting to get the deserved podium for which he has been working throughout the season. Javier Fores will be back in action before the sixth round of the CEV, on the same circuit where he was crownded champion, but this time to contest the title of European Champion of Extreme Stock, in a single race, El Valenciano wants to double this season and on October 24th will see him in action on the track of Albacete. The next race on the CEV will be held on November 14 at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo de Cheste. More, from a press release issued by Team Tuned: Young Riders Shine in New Jersey Motorcycle Race Team Tuned Race Review – September 11-12, 2010 Race Event Team Tuned Motorcycle Racing’s riders Bruce Degrilla Jr and Cody Sousa-Saints were accompanied by Andrew Decosta and Khyren Wilson as they travelled to Millville, New Jersey last week. These four riders represented Bermuda in the USGPRU/CCS race event held at the New Jersey Motorsports Park in Millville, New Jersey. All four riders currently compete within the GP125 Classification in the Bermuda Motorcycle Racing Club’s National Championship Series. Bruce, Andrew and Cody are currently the top 3 riders in the GP125 championship whilst this is Khyren’s rookie season in the classification.The riders competed in 6 scheduled race events over the 2 day event held at the Lightning Course at the New Jersey Motorsports Park. Day 1 – Overview Bruce, Cody, Andrew and Khyren signed up for 3 races in the CCS Championship which commenced on Saturday, September 11, 2010. The riders rode Honda Moriwaki 250cc four-strokes in all their races for the events. Bruce and Cody recently raced in the Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix whilst this event was both Andrew and Khyren’s first rides on the Moriwaki race machines. The first two races held on Saturday were the GTL and 125GP classes: Race Results GTL * Andrew Decosta – 4th * Bruce Degrilla Jr. – 6th * Cody Sousa-Saints – 7th * Khyren Wilson – 11th 125 GP * Andrew Decosta – 1st * Cody Sousa-Saints – 4th * Bruce Degrilla Jr. – 5th * Khyren Wilson – 7th At the end of the day the USGPRU held qualifying sessions for their 3 race events: 125, Moto3 and MD250H classifications. All four riders took part in these qualifying events to secure their grid spots for the second set of races scheduled on September 12, 2010. Day 2 – Overview The second day of the two day race event had a twist of fortune for all the riders. The skies opened up and it rained heavily all morning. Bruce, Cody, Andrew and Khyren were scheduled to compete in the final race of the CCS classes as well as their 3 races in the USPGRU. The bikes were mounted with rain tires sourced from both Dunlop and Bridgestone for the riders as there was very limited resources available. All the riders were given 1 practice session in the rain prior to the races beginning. Unfortunately Andrew, Bruce and Cody all experienced crashes in the rain. Andrew’s crash forced him to miss out on the first race of the day whilst his bike was being repaired for the 3 afternoon races. Bruce and Cody both experience crashes whilst competing in practice and a race respectively. All three riders were on hurt and continued participating in the races throughout the day. Race results for the final 4 races are below: Race Results Lightweight GP * Khyren Wilson – 4th * Bruce Degrilla Jr. – 5th * Cody Sousa-Saints – DNF * Andrew Decosta – DNS 125 * Andrew Decosta – 4th * Cody Sousa-Saints – 11th * Khyren Wilson – 12th * Bruce Degrilla Jr. – DNS Moto 3 * Andrew Decosta – 3rd * Bruce Degrilla Jr. – 6th * Cody Sousa-Saints – 7th * Khyren Wilson – 8th MD250 H * Andrew Decosta – 3rd * Cody Sousa-Saints – 5th * Khyren Wilson – 7th * Bruce Degrilla Jr. – DNF Note: DNF: Did not Finish; DNS: Did Not Start Overall Bruce, Cody, Andrew and Khyren steadily progressed over the race weekend improving on their adaptation to the Moriwaki 250H as well as the New Jersey Motorsports Park Circuit. The group had a total of 10 top 5 finishes including 3 podiums and a race win. Bruce and Cody improved drastically in comparison with their results at the Indianapolis Grand Prix. Finishing in the top 5 and being within two seconds of the fastest lap times set by the race winners has shown great strides in their growth in the sport. We would like to thank all of our sponsors for their dedication and support of our program: Capital G, Zurich, CellularONE, Bermuda Custom Mechanical, Autobahn Accessories, Tuff Dogs and Sub Zero. If you are interested in supporting our youth development program feel free to contact us at [email protected] for more details. Follow Team Tuned on Facebook with live race updates, race reports, photo galleries and more! More, from a press release issued by Simon Low’s publicist: Cruel break for Low at Croft Twickenham’s Simon Low suffered a cruel break to two of the metatarsal bones in his left foot at the latest round of the British 125cc Championship at Croft and the injury was, sadly, enough to rule the TeamShop4bikers/Dutch-2-UK Racing rider out of the weekend’s two races. Keen to build on his impressive ride last time out at Cadwell Park, the weekend had been progressing well for the 22-year old but he crashed out mid-way through the final qualifying session on Saturday and although he was hopeful of riding on Sunday, the foot swelled up overnight and, unable to pass the medical examination, withdrawing from the race was, unfortunately, the only option. It was Simon’s first time competing at the North Yorkshire circuit and, as expected, he found the going tough in Friday’s free practice sessions, although it was a broken crank and suspension problems, along with the mixed weather conditions, that slowed his progress, not his lack of circuit knowledge. However, his pace gradually quickened as the day wore on and he ended up posting 26th place and feeling a lot more comfortable going in to Saturday’s qualifying sessions. Indeed, despite the wet weather on Saturday morning he progressed to 22nd as his knowledge of the bumpy 2.12-mile circuit increased with each and every lap and was confident of climbing further up the grid in the afternoon’s final qualifying session. Sure enough, a lap of 1m32.081s, easily his best of the weekend, saw him jump up to 15th place but on his 9th lap, mid-way through the session, he high-sided on the exit of the Complex suffering the aformentioned broken metatarsals and, ultimately, his weekend was over. Speaking later, the 22-year old commented: “It’s been a disappointing, and painful, weekend, just as it looked like we were making good progress. I was feeling really confident coming in to the meeting after the ride at Cadwell and although we had a few bike issues on Friday morning, which held me back a little, my pace was getting better with each and every session. It was a good track and the back part was especially good to ride but it was so, so bumpy and it took me a while to get the suspension working how I wanted it to as, initially, the front end kept feeling as if it was going to wash out. The wet weather meant we’d been having to alter set-up quite a bit too but the guys at K-Tech helped us out and in the final qualifying session, everything was coming together well with the bike handling a lot better over the bumps.” “However, just as I’d started to make an impression on the top 15, exactly where I wanted to be, I hit a damp patch coming out of the Complex and as I got on the power, the back end came round and spat me over the highside. I jumped up straightaway but as I got to the side of the track I could hear the bones crunching so knew something wasn’t quite right. I really wanted to race on Sunday but the medical test showed I wasn’t fit to do so and I reluctantly had to sit it out. It’s so frustrating and disappointing but that’s how racing goes sometimes so I’ll just get my head down and do everything I can to be fit in time for the next round.” Simon now has a two-week break before the next round at Silverstone on September 24-26 where he will be hoping to be close to full fitness and able to challenge for the points once more.