New look for 2009 British Superbike Championship calendar Intriguing mix of top British and International riders ready for action at the UK’s leading circuits There is a new, exciting look about the 2009 British Superbike calendar announced today by the series promoters and organisers MotorSport Vision, which takes place across twelve events at ten leading UK circuits. The action, which sees the GSE team defending their crown with riders Leon Camier and James Ellison onboard factory-backed Yamahas, begins on the Brands Hatch Indy circuit over the Easter weekend. This opening meeting has been extended to four days, allowing for additional testing and extensive support race action ahead of the Holiday Monday feature races. The big break with tradition is that the Kent circuit will not host the final round of the series. Instead, that will be held at Oulton Park over the weekend of 9/10/11 October. The Cheshire circuit is hugely popular with fans and riders and will provide a spectacular setting for the 2009 finale. Brands Hatch will host its second round on the full Grand Prix circuit over the weekend of 7-8-9 August, with the circuit aiming to continue the festival type atmosphere that has been enjoyed there in mid-summer with the World championship. This round will feature major on and off-track content and entertainment of which further details will be announced by the circuit operators very soon. Around these meetings, there is early season Holiday Monday action at Oulton Park on 4 May, and then Donington Park on 25 May, with little respite before the teams take on the challenges of the high-speed Thruxton circuit in Hampshire on 31 May. Knockhill again hosts the Scottish round of the championship on 5 July, with Mallory Park holding the seventh round two weeks later. Cadwell Park will again stage its ‘party in the park’ on August Bank Holiday weekend, ahead of the late season action at Croft on 13 September, and the penultimate round at Silverstone on 27 September. The championship continues to feature factory-supported teams from leading manufacturers, with Australians Glen Richards and Josh Brookes spearheading the HM Plant Honda bid to recapture the crown, while former MotoGP star Frenchman Sylvain Guintoli continues the international flavour as he rides for Crescent Suzuki. Simon Andrews, together with Julien Da Costa, races for MSS Colchester Kawasaki while Chris Walker returns from WSB to ride for Rob Mac Yamaha. Japanese rider Atsushi Watanabe returns for a second term in the championship with Relentless Suzuki joining young gun Ian Lowry. “We believe that we have the most competitive domestic Superbike championship in the world with the calibre of riders and machines already entered and the new look calendar adds spice, with variation and a range of circuits that fully test the capabilities of all competitors,” explained Series Director Stuart Higgs. The 2009 British Superbike Championship calendar is as follows: Round #, Date, Venue Round 1 April 10/11/12/13 Brands Hatch Indy Round 2 May 2/3/4 Oulton Park Round 3 May 23/24/25 Donington Park Round 4 May 29/30/31 Thruxton Round 5 June 19/20/21 Snetterton Round 6 July 3/4/5 Knockhill Round 7 July 17/18/19 Mallory Park Round 8 August 7/8/9 Brands Hatch GP Round 9 August 29/30/31 Cadwell Park Round 10 September 11/12/13 Croft Round 11 September 25/26/27 Silverstone Round 12 October 9/10/11 Oulton Park