SCOTLAND’S KNOCKHILL SET FOR MCE BRITISH SUPERBIKE INVASION
Britain’s biggest motorsport Championship heads north of the border this weekend (27/28/29 June) for the annual event in Scotland with fans set to descend on Knockhill circuit near Fife as the MCE British Superbike bravehearts do battle at the series’ fourth round.
Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne heads the title fight as the former champion continues his quest to smash the record books and secure an unprecedented fourth title. The Kent-based contender scored a double victory at the 1.27-mile Knockhill circuit in 2013 and is striving to stay ahead of his title rivals.
Byrne said: “We are really comfortable with the Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki and last year we had two wins at Knockhill so the aim is obviously to do the same again. I never tend to rely on what has happened in previous years, but if we do our job and work hard then we will be pushing again. There have been some great, fun races between myself and Josh (Brookes) already and I would like to think this weekend will be the same. However, I think the nature of the circuit at Knockhill means there will be more riders in the mix too. My objective is the same as always and that is to try to win both races.”
Australian Josh Brookes is ready to take the challenge to Byrne this weekend. The Oulton Park race winner crashed out whilst pushing to the limit at the most recent Snetterton round, but has vowed to strike back in Scotland onboard the Milwaukee Yamaha.
Brookes said: “I am fine after the Snetterton crash so it is business as usual. I think it so down to me and then how Shakey rides. I don’t have expectations because if you look at the form from last year, everything has moved on so much. I was expecting us to be neck-and-neck though, and that’s how we have been. I am going to use my head a little bit more. At Snetterton I could have waited until the end of the race to try and make the move and it might have worked. But then I suppose if you look at Oulton Park I made it straight away and then won the race so it all depends on the situation. I have watched the last race back and think perhaps I should have waited, but if the chance is there and I see it this weekend, I will go for it.”
The home support will be for the second Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki of Stuart Easton as the rider from Hawick bids for his first podium of the season at his local circuit. Easton has scored a best result of fourth in 2014 but the reigning Motorpoint British Supersport champion is hungry for success.
Easton said: “I look forward to Knockhill as it is my one and only home round and we are going into this weekend looking for a vast improvement on Snetterton. It is still early days in the championship, but we want to get back to having consistent results like we did at the first two rounds before we stumbled a bit at Snetterton. This is where we want to get everything back on track and there is no reason why we can’t, hopefully we can give the Scottish supporters something to celebrate.”
The battle will intensify this weekend following the last round at Snetterton when in race two, the top ten featured riders from six different nationalities, representing six different manufacturers.
The packed grid includes some new line-ups for this weekend with Jon Kirkham joining Halsall Biker Gear Kawasaki, Peter Hickman making his return with RAF Reserves Honda and MCE BSB’s youngest point scorer Harry Hartley switching to Tsingtao Kawasaki.
For more information visit www.britishsuperbike.com
More, from a press release issued by Team WD-40:
Big weekend ahead for Team WD40 in Scotland
Team WD-40 had an absolutely brilliant time last Saturday at the ‘Stauff Family Fun Day’ in Sheffield. Time to have fun and meet all the Staff and their families from Stauff UK, John Morris and his Team really put on an awesome day which we were glad to be part of. Everything from Rodeo Bull to Falconry flying, Our Superbike simulator game and oh yes a few beers and good food were had by all. A huge thank you to Stauff UK for inviting us to join in !
We are really looking forward to the next round of the ‘MCE British Superbike Championship’, as Knockhill in Scotland is the home round for both our Superstock riders Tarran Mackenzie and Ben Young.
The Mackenzie family have played a huge part in the history and development of Knockhill over the years and Tarran’s Father Niall is proud of what the little Scottish Circuit has achieved.
Playing a regular part in the activities of Knockhill with their Track Days Niall has played host to all 3 Team WD-40 riders at one time or another this season. A few weeks ago Ben Young got to reacquaint himself with his home circuit after spending the majority of his racing career in the US on one of Niall’s track day hire bikes before his little break back in Canada. last week saw Tarran, his brother Taylor and our Superbike rider Barry Burrell thrashing around for the day on Niall’s poor little 600’s completing enough laps to wear a grove around the mountain side circuit.
Barry Burrell “I had such fun with Tarran and Taylor last week on the ZX6 road bikes, it got a little competitive out there but all huge smiles. After the efforts and results at the last round at Snetterton scoring my first points of 2014 I am really looking forward to build on that at Knockhill ”
Tarran Mackenzie said “I was so disappointed when my engine broke in 2013 and I could not actually race at Knockhill, Team WD-40 took the championship lead away from me. This year I am with the Team and the little Kawasaki 600 and I are really getting on well, fingers crossed she has not let me down yet so I am looking forward to a great weekends racing “
Ben Young said “I got to ride a few laps of Knockhill earlier in the Year thanks to Niall and really enjoyed the day. My family are all from just down the road and my Parents, Sister and Girlfriend are flying in from Canada. After our improvements at Snetterton and the disappointment of the crash in the race I am looking to make more improvements at my home track”
Brent Gladwin Team WD-40’s manager, said: “The boys have had a little fun at the circuit this year already and its going to be a big Family weekend for the Team and riders. We also have a huge number of VIP guests from Stauff UK’s Aberdeen office, so us Yorkshire lads are going to be out numbered. I know Tarran, Ben and Barry will do their best to make us proud and we are all looking forward to a fun weekend ”.
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More, from a press release issued by Milwaukee Yamaha:
KNOCKHILL NEXT FOR MILWAUKEE YAMAHA TEAM THIS WEEKEND
The Milwaukee Yamaha team are gearing up for the fourth round of the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship at Knockhill this weekend with both Josh Brookes and Tommy Bridewell ready to push for a return to the podium in Scotland.
Brookes ended his run of podium finishes with a crash in race two at Snetterton, but the Australian is hungry to close the points deficit this weekend and is ready to come out fighting for the victories. Bridewell scored his first podium of the season at Snetterton with a hard-fought third place in race two and is equally determined for a repeat performance in the two races this weekend.
Brookes said: “I am fine after the Snetterton crash so it is business as usual. I think it’s down to me and then how Shakey rides. I don’t have expectations because if you look at the form from last year, everything has moved on so much. I was expecting us to be neck and neck though and that’s how we have been. I am going to use my head a little bit more this weekend. At Snetterton I could have waited until the end of the race to try and make the move and it might have worked. But then I suppose if you look at Oulton Park I made it straight away and then won the race so it all depends on the situation. I have watched the last race back a couple of times and think perhaps I should have waited, but if the chance is there and I see it this weekend, I will go for it.”
Bridewell said: “It was nice to get on the podium at Snetterton and get that done for sure. At the moment I still feel we are missing that last little bit, but we have made massive improvements now. I was riding so hard at Snetterton and I have been watching the races back to see where we are missing that last bit because we need to be fighting for podiums. I am confident I can ride to my absolute limit and if I can do that then we shouldn’t be far away. We have been building confidence and there is no reason why we can’t challenge again.”
For more information visit www.milwaukeeyamaha.com
More, from a press release issued by FFX Yamaha:
FFX YAMAHA’S HUTCHINSON AND REID READY FOR SCOTLAND
The FFX Yamaha team head north of the border this weekend for the fourth round of the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship at Knockhill with both Ian Hutchinson and Andy Reid determined to build on their strong performances from the previous round at Snetterton.
Hutchinson celebrated a double point-scoring finishing for the team at Snetterton, narrowly missing out on the top ten, and the TT record-breaker is ready to fight back again this weekend in a bid to add to his points tally.
In the Pirelli National Superstock 600 Championship Andy Reid locks out the top of the overall standings after his second place at Snetterton and he is fired up to go one better in Scotland this weekend.
Hutchinson said: “After Snetterton I am looking forward to Knockhill. The biggest thing is free practice and to do the laps and really get into it like we started to do at the previous round. The Snetterton races were the first two I can say I have properly done this year and we have a good setting now to work with which made the difference. I hope that we can do the same at Knockhill and be pushing for the top ten again there, but the lap times will be so close. We need to have a better qualifying like we did at Snetterton as that gave us less work to do in the race as we were further up the grid. The last round was a great feeling to score those results so we want to keep that up now!”
Reid said: “Every time I go out on the bike and race I want to win. At Snetterton that second place gave me a cushion in the standings and that meant some big points in the bag which we need to keep adding to so we can extend our lead. Saying that though every time you finish second and don’t win the race it makes you more motivated to go out and win the next one. I am looking forward to getting on track and getting my elbows out that’s for sure!”