NEXT STOP SILVERSTONE AS MCE BRITISH SUPERBIKE TITLE FIGHT INTENSIFIES The MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship hits Silverstone for the penultimate round this weekend (4/5/6 October) as the raging war between the Title Fighters intensifies with just a single point separating Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne and Alex Lowes. The Showdown started in dramatic fashion at Assen with Lowes claiming a sensational victory before an incident in race two with Byrne meant he was excluded from the result; but now the pair are ready to renew their rivalry this weekend at the Northamptonshire circuit. Shakey said: “Assen obviously didn’t go completely according to plan, but myself and Alex are all cool. We have had some great races this season and we definitely have a few more to come before this season is done and dusted! I have been working hard since Assen with physio and training because I want to come out fighting as I am not giving up on that fourth title! The person I have to focus on is Alex; he is the closest one to me in the points which means he is the one I need to beat first. That is my plan at Silverstone and if I can do that and we work hard, then fingers crossed we can go to Brands Hatch still leading.” Lowes added: “I am feeling pretty good for Silverstone and that is what we are focused on now. I am still feeling confident because we have shown the pace of the Samsung Honda at the past three rounds. We have won the last six races on track and that shows how strong we have been and if we keep working hard we shouldn’t be too far away from trying to do it again at Silverstone. We also can’t take it for granted because the races are sure to be close and I think we will have some tough battles again. Myself and Shakey have had some great races this season and we know it will be close again at Silverstone. I can’t wait!” The first Showdown round at Assen saw James Ellison fire himself ahead of Josh Brookes by three points in the standings and the Milwaukee Yamaha rider currently holds third place, 21 points adrift of Byrne with 125 points still available before the champion is crowned at Brands Hatch. Ellison arrives this weekend with confidence high following the team’s recent appearance at the MotoGP support race at the circuit and determined to close the deficit, however Brookes is also ready to up his game ahead of the two races at Silverstone. Brookes said: “I am putting things in place before Silverstone to be in a better position so that the weekends we have had recently don’t reoccur. I am preparing myself so that I am in a better position so we can try and perform to the level we need to. Assen was absolutely a missed opportunity but I can’t fix the damage now because it is done and we just need to come back stronger for the final two rounds because anything can happen.” Ryuichi Kiyonari on the second Samsung Honda and Buildbase BMW’s James Westmoreland complete the line up of Title Fighters as five teams representing five different manufacturers battle for the 2013 title. For more information please visit www.britishsuperbike.com More, from a press release issued by Milwaukee Yamaha: MILWAUKEE YAMAHA AIMING FOR SILVERSTONE SHOWDOWN SUCCESS The Milwaukee Yamaha team head to Silverstone this weekend for the penultimate round of the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship feeling confident of a strong performance; James Ellison is bidding to close the deficit in the standings at a track he recent celebrated victories at the MotoGP support race. Ellison showed podium pace at the opening Showdown round at Assen; claiming a podium finish in race two which was later promoted to the victory after the disappointment of a retirement in the opener. Ellison arrives at the Northamptonshire circuit this weekend 21 points adrift, but confident that the team start the event in the strongest possible position having competed in the Silverstone 200 race earlier this month. Tommy Bridewell is gearing up for his second round with Milwaukee Yamaha and after scoring a front row position in qualifying and a podium finish on his debut at Assen, he is eager to build on his opening performance. Ellison said: “We go to Silverstone treating the event in the same way as any other so far this season. We have had great pace but on paper our results don’t look as good because of the DNFs, but if that’s all the bad luck out of the way then that is good especially now for the Showdown. At Assen we had a problem in race one and then it equalled out by having the extra points in race two. I think now that has made us want the results more; we were lucky that we had the recent event at MotoGP because we start the weekend ahead in terms of track time and that is a massive opportunity. I am really happy ahead of Silverstone and we need to win every race now but we are ready to roll.” Bridewell said: “I am looking forward to Silverstone and working with the Milwaukee Yamaha team again. This weekend I am ready to go to the circuit with less nerves than I did at Assen and I already feel more relaxed now I have some laps under my belt and some experience on the bike. We showed at Assen that we could run the pace and I can’t see why we can’t go to Silverstone and do the same and fight for a top position. At Assen we had a podium in race one, and yes I was a bit eager in race two, but now my main objective is to be strong in the two races at Silverstone and do the best job I can for Milwaukee Yamaha.” For more information visit www.milwaukeeyamaha.com More, from a press release issued by Motodex Spearmint Rhino BMW Team: MotoDex Spearmint Rhino BMW steps-up to British Superbike Championship THE MotoDex Spearmint Rhino BMW team is to make the step-up to the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship for the final two rounds of the 2013 season. Rider Stefan Cappella and the Bavaria-based team will line up on the British Superbike grid for the final rounds at Silverstone and Brands Hatch in preparation for a full season in the world’s leading domestic series in 2014. The news comes just a few weeks after the Motodex team headed by Tony Dexter announced a new partnership with the world famous Spearmint Rhino Gentlemen’s Clubs, and follows a hectic season. Cappella and the team have made several appearances in the Pirelli National Superstock 1000 Championship this year, but were forced to miss a handful of rounds after Dexter’s home and base in Germany were devastated by floods in June. As he has battled to rebuild his home and performance motorcycle parts business as well as run his team, Tony Dexter had always been looking to make the move to Superbikes or Supersport in 2014. “It was very much the direction I was looking to take the team next year, so when we were given the opportunity to move to the Superbike class for the remainder of the season it didn’t take a lot of thinking about,” he said. “With the support from sponsors like Alpha Racing we are now working hard to get the bike ready for action at Silverstone. We are a new team and we want to use these last two rounds to identify any shortfalls we may have running at this top level so we can work to get in the best possible position for 2014 when we plan to run Stef and another rider on our BMW S1000RR. “We have Martin Szlagowski, Jeremy McWilliams’ former crew chief working with us from now and it’s a very exciting time for everyone. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank everyone involved with Motodex Spearmint Rhino BMW for their hard work and patience over the last four months.” For Cappella, the move is a big step but one which he relishes. “I’m massively excited at the opportunity to enter the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship for the last two rounds of the year. It’s obviously a huge step having only done the latter part of the year in Superstock, and only really making appearance once or twice in the years previous. “I know it going to be tough, but my team are fantastic and with Tony’s enthusiasm and love for racing I’d be ecstatic wherever we went. I’m going to Silverstone not expecting any big results and no pressure is ever on me, but we will be trying our best and I’m really looking forward to it.” For further information on Spearmint Rhino visit: www.spearmintrhino.com For more information on Motodex visit the website: www.motodex.eu