Crescent Suzuki World Superbike and Team Manager Jack Valentine will part company at the end of this year’s eni FIM Superbike World Championship season. Valentine joined the Crescent Suzuki British Superbike team in late 2007 as Team Manager, bringing with him over three-decades of professional motorcycle sport experience, including managing his own company, Valmoto Ltd and being in-charge of V&M Racing and the FPR (Foggy Petronas) WSBK Teams. The likable Valentine immediately made an impression on the Crescent team with his straight-talking, no-nonsense management style and helped to nurture the talents of riders such as Tom Sykes, Sylvain Guintoli and Tommy Hill – who came so close to securing a maiden title in 2010 under Valentine’s leadership. Last season Valentine was instrumental in bringing former MotoGP ace John Hopkins to the Crescent Suzuki BSB set-up. Along with team-mate Jon Kirkham, the pair raced to many victories and podiums throughout the season, before Hopkins finished second in the championship after missing out on the title in the season’s final race by just 0.006 seconds! This year Valentine has led the FIXI backed Crescent Suzuki Superbike team into the world series for its first season as a full-time squad in that championship. He has again used his experience garnered from previous WSB campaigns to guide the team of Hopkins and former BSB champion Leon Camier, as well as a whole crew of mechanics – most of whom were new to the demands of world championship racing – into a podium challenging outfit within its first season. Valentine has been a firm favourite with riders, management and fans alike and has brought a wealth of experience that all who have worked with him have benefitted from. Suzuki Motor Corporation, all members of the World Superbike team, title sponsor FIXI, the staff at Crescent and the team’s other sponsors and partners would like to wish Valentine and his family well in the future and to thank him for over five years of hard work, passion, inspiration and fun he has given the whole team and everyone associated with Crescent Suzuki WSBK. Team Principal Paul Denning will now take over the day-to-day running of the Crescent World Superbike team as it prepares for the 2013 season. An announcement regarding the rider line-up for next year will be made soon, as will further plans for Crescent Suzuki’s second full season in the World Superbike arena. Jack Valentine – Team Manager: “I have enjoyed my five years with the Crescent Suzuki Superbike team and it has been great to work with all the people involved throughout that time and I am obviously sad to be leaving. It has been very good to work with Suzuki, as they have been really supportive of the project during my time here and I want to wish them every success in the future. The whole crew has been great throughout my time in charge and we have had some good times together. I am pleased to be leaving the team in a positive position in World Superbikes and one that I hope they can capitalise on, because after all the hard-work in getting to this position they need to reap the rewards that are due to them. I want to thank all the people that have been involved and made this such a memorable journey for me, there are too many to list, but they will know who they are, I have made some good friends in my five years here and I am sure those relationships will continue. I want to wish the team all the best for 2013 and beyond and I look forward to hopefully taking them on in the future!” Paul Denning – Team Principal: “On behalf of all at Crescent and our colleagues at Suzuki Japan and here in Europe, we’d like to thank Jack for five years of hard-work, his passion for racing and some very enjoyable times. Jack joined the team for the start of the 2008 season and immediately made a huge difference to the atmosphere and team spirit within the whole squad. He has achieved a good amount of success in his time here and came desperately close to winning two BSB championships in 2010 and 2011 with Tommy Hill and John Hopkins respectively. “Jack has always retained a positive and professional attitude, which has not only helped the team in some difficult moments, but enhanced the spirit in some exciting times. I wish him well and hope our paths cross again. He’ll always be a friend of the team and Crescent Suzuki.”