Excellent 12th place for Lintin and RC Express in Supersport TT

Ivan Lintin and the RC Express Racing team bounced back from their Isle of Man Superbike TT race retirement to record an excellent 12th place finish in Monday evening’s Supersport encounter.

Riding the ZX-6R Kawasaki, the team were having their first outing in the class, one where Lintin has previously excelled and he didn’t disappoint in the four lap race. Starting from number 17, Ivan’s opening lap of 122.055mph placed him in 16th place and with a near identical lap second time around, he moved up two places to 14th.

With an excellent pit stop, Ivan was well placed for the second half of the race whilst he was also receiving good signals around the course, particularly from Tom Parrish at Sulby. Indeed, going into the fourth and final lap, he’d jumped up to 11th although his gap over David Johnson was only 1.8s.

The Australian really flew on the last lap though and although Ivan also posted his best lap of the race at 123.068mph, he had to settle for 12th place. It was yet another silver replica for the Bardney resident and the result has got the team’s campaign firmly up and running.

Ivan Lintin: “It’s good to get a finish under our belt for both myself and the team and we’re happy with the 12th place finish. I knew David was going to be strong so my plan for the race was to try and keep him in sight the whole way through and I thought if I could do that, I wouldn’t be far off the top ten. I managed to do it until the last lap when he edged away from me but I was really happy with how I rode during the race and how the bike performed. It was a good twelfth place particularly as not many riders dropped out and it gives us a great boost for the rest of the week.”

Ben Constable, Team Co-Owner: “What can I say, the bike was mint, the pit stop was mint and Ivan was mint! As a team, it was our first ever 600cc race and we’ve been learning all the time as we know how temperamental Supersport bikes can be. The bike never missed a beat and Ivan put in a great ride in what was a mega-competitive field. When you look at all the TT winners and podium finishers ahead of him, he was in some great company. We’ll look to see if we can improve the bike for the second race but we’re looking forward to the Superstock race now and are confident of another good result.”

Electrical fault forces Reeves out of opening Sidecar TT race

Lintin takes Lightweight TT win for RC Express Racing

For the second year in succession, Bristol-based RC Express Racing took victory in the Lightweight TT race with Ivan Lintin following in the footsteps of Dean Harrison’s success twelve months ago. Lintin took his maiden TT win by 3.8s from James Hillier in a new race record time. The Bardney resident was also inside the old lap record at 120.845mph.

With perfect conditions all round the Mountain Course, Ivan slotted into second place at the first timing point at Glen Helen but with an opening lap speed of 119.078mph, he took over at the head of the field with Ryan Farquhar two seconds behind and James Hillier a further half second back.

All three riders pitted for fuel at the end of the lap, with others going straight through, and it temporarily shuffled the order but by the end of the lap, Ivan was leading by 3.9s from Hillier with Farquhar now out. The front two went head to head over the final lap and although fellow Kawasaki rider Hillier claimed the lap record at 120.848mph, Ivan’s lap time was only 0.031s slower and he got the verdict for not only his first TT victory but also his first TT podium.

Ivan was then out later in the day in the Senior race where he was back on the ZX-10R Kawasaki but the race was red flagged on the second lap due to an incident when he was lying in 20th place after a lap of 125.624mph. However, the team opted out of the 4-lap re-start.

Ivan Lintin: "I honestly don't know what to say, I'm speechless for a change! The race went well and I got P1 early on but the gap started to come down a bit so I just thought about what Danny (Horne) said - make the dream happen. That's all I was thinking of so when James started to push, I dug that bit deeper and almost 121mph is tramping on a bit on a Twin. When I did the Manx about six years ago, I did 116mph on a 600 and wondered how I'd ever go quicker so it's staggering given it's a shopping bike! I'm just made up - I'm a TT winner!"

Ben Constable, Team Co-Owner: “I’m over the moon and our secret intention was to try and retain our Lightweight title – and we’ve done it! We can’t fault Ivan’s performance at all and it was quite simply a mega race from him whilst Adam Nowell put a great bike together. Ivan’s  had a great week all round and we’ve all worked really well as a team so a big thanks to Danny, Jon and Jordan for all their hard work. It’s been a great week and the response we’ve had has been superb too so we’re all delighted.”

Reeves targeting Isle of Man TT glory

Driving under the AOS/Team E-Aide Motorsport banner, Reeves is reunited this year with passenger Patrick Farrance for the first time since 2009 and with the Cumbrian having taken three wins with Dave Molyneux in the intervening period, the duo have a great chance of success. The pairing took a podium on Reeves’ debut in 2008 and with the Kent driver now having stood on the rostrum a total of five times, including the win in the opening race of 2013, there’ll be one of the favourites for honours in both of this year’s three-lap races.

Reeves will again campaign a DMR Honda this year, although this time the chassis has had a number of modifications to suit his specific requirements with considerable input in the design coming from Molyneux, former World Champion and TT winner Steve Abbott and Bill and Dean Ryde from Metmachex.

AOS, along with Be Wiser Insurance, currently back Ricky Stevens and Ryan Charlwood in the British F1 Sidecar Championship and have added their weight to Reeves’ effort whilst John Brown of Hunts Motorcycles, who has had a successful partnership with Michael Dunlop at the TT, will be supplying the CBR 600cc Honda engines. These will be prepared by Mark Woodage of MJW Specialists.

Reeves and Farrance recently conducted their first shakedown test of the new outfit at Silverstone, where they were immediately running under the circuit lap record, with further test sessions planned at Aintree and Mallory Park this weekend prior to the opening TT practice session on Saturday 30th May.

Tim Reeves: “I’ve got the perfect package for this year’s TT and with E-Aide Motorsport and the added support of AOS, Hunts Motorcycles, H&S Contractors and Sure Mobile, I’ll be going into the races in the best possible position. It’s an all-new outfit whilst I’m back with Patrick for the first time in six years and everything clicked straightaway at Silverstone. Six years is a long time but it was if it was yesterday as Patrick and I were at home immediately. He’s a class act so I’m delighted to have him back on board whilst the outfit felt really good and was flying.”

“With the additional test sessions this weekend, I’ll be raring to go come the 30th May. I’m delighted to welcome Stuart Wakley from AOS, John Brown from Hunts Motorcycles and Sarah Jarvis from Sure IOM to the team and with the continued support of Glennis and Mickey Toms of E-Aide Motorsport and all my other loyal sponsors, I’m really fired up this year’s TT – I can’t wait to get going.”

Stuart Wakley, Managing Director, AOS: “Having dipped our toe into the TT water last year, we had a few offers to assist people at this year’s event but, for us, there was only one stand out candidate and that was Tim. He’s helped us tremendously with our F1 effort and always been available for advice and support. It will help push the AOS brand forward and, hopefully, gain us more coverage and with Tim being a contender for the race wins, we’re looking forward to this year’s event with great anticipation and excitement. The whole team will be on the island to lend their support to Tim and Patrick and we’d love nothing more than to get our first TT win.”

Sarah Jarvis, Marketing Manager, Sure IOM: “We’re absolutely delighted to be supporting Tim and Patrick at the 2015 Isle of Man TT. We’re trying really hard to raise the profile of sidecar racing through our sponsorship of the races and who better to be involved with than the reigning World Champion. We’ve worked with Patrick before and know him well and we’re really excited about his and Tim’s prospects this year so, hopefully, they can be victorious this year.”

McWilliams and Farquhar give KMR Kawasaki another 1-2 at the North West 200

Farquhar led in the early stages but there was literally nothing in it with Ryan, Jeremy and Jamie Hamilton continually swapping the lead as they slipstreamed each other at speeds close to 150mph. Each rider took it in turns to lead and on the third lap, Jeremy and Ryan somehow managed to give each other the thumbs up on the high speed run from Station Corner to University.

Going into the final lap, Ryan was in the lead once more but it was still anyone’s race and all three riders had their turn in the lead approaching University. Hamilton made a mistake though and dropped back meaning it was a straight fight between the two team-mates for the second half of the lap.

Jeremy hit the front going into the Mather’s Cross chicane and immediately opened up a small cushion which he was ultimately able to maintain despite a moment on the entry and exit of the Metropole. Ryan gave it his all along the coast road but it wasn’t quite enough and he crossed the line in second for a reversal of the result on Thursday evening.

Ryan Farquhar: “It’s fantastic to see one of my bikes on the top step again and that's waht matters most. After Thursday’s race, I knew Jeremy would be strong again so for us to have another 1-2 makes me equally happy. It’s great for the sponsors and everyone connected with KMR Kawasaki and fair play to Jeremy. He’s such a professional and such a great rider, it’s a pleasure and a privilege to have him in the team.”

“I had a wee problem on Thursday with the bike jumping out of gear and it meant I was using second gear in a few places today instead of first but there’s no excuses from me. I rode as hard as I could and the better man beat me on the day. It’s been a superb North West 200 for the team but we won’t be sitting on our laurels and will be working hard now to make sure we have the best possible chance at the TT.”

International success for Cookstown/Burrows Engineering Racing

LAST season Cookstown/Burrows Engineering Racing scored an international win at the Ulster Grand Prix and at the first international road race of 2015, the North West 200, the team's Jamie Hamilton was twice on the rostrum after two outstanding Supertwins performances.

In Thursday evening's first Supertwins race, the exuberant Hamilton finished third behind Ryan Farquhar and Jeremy McWilliams while in Saturday's race, when McWilliams beat Farquhar to the chequered flag, Hamilton was again third but much more involved in the battle for victory on the Cookstown/Burrows Engineering Kawasaki 650.

Team owner John Burrows said: "In Thursday's race Jamie was a distant third, our bike just didn't have the same performance capabilities as the bikes of Farquhar and McWilliams. However, the team worked hard on the Friday making changes, and with the expert help of Nigel Watt at the Coleraine Dynoshop, Jamie had a much more potent weapon for Saturday's race.
"He led Saturday's race on a number of occasions but had to settle for third after making a mistake at Magherabuoy on the last lap. However, Jamie and the whole team are delighted to have taken two rostrum results in such esteemed company.
"At the start of this year I had doubts about the competitiveness of our Supertwin but Jamie persuaded me to persevere with it and now we are getting there with the bike's development and we are now really looking forward to the Supertwins race at the TT.
"By the time that race comes along I believe our machine's development will have progressed even further. As seen at the North West, our bike was lacking a little bit in the acceleration department, forcing Jamie to make up ground on the brakes, which proved to be his downfall on the last lap of Saturday's race at Magherabuoy. Hopefully, in the run-up to the TT, we can find that extra torque we need to get the bike fired out of corners better - top speed is not a problem."

Hamilton commented: "Two rostrum finishes is good work although I'm a little disappointed that I didn't get to fight for the win on the last lap along the Coast Road in Saturday's race. I just got into Magherabuoy too hot and that let McWilliams and Farquhar get away. Thanks to all the team and Nigel Watt for their hard work on Friday, the Kawasaki was a different bike on Saturday and I can't wait to race it at the TT."

Hamilton had mixed fortunes in the Supersport and Superbike classes. In Thursday night's Supersport 600 race he held John McGuinness at bay to take ninth place on the Cookstown/Burrows Engineering Honda CBR. The chance of a second top ten Supersport result disappeared on Saturday after the Honda suffered a clutch failure.
In the Superbike race Jamie was right out of luck when the normally ultra reliable Suzuki 1000 was sidelined in the early stages by a fuel pump malfunction.

Everyone at Cookstown/Burrows Engineering Racing would like to send their best wishes to all those injured at the North West with special consideration going to Stephen Thompson who of course rode for the team in 2013.

RC Express Racing all set for Isle of Man TT

Bristol-based RC Express Racing are heading into next week’s Isle of Man TT Races in confident mood with rider Ivan Lintin having had the ideal preparation for the event.

The team missed the recent North West 200 meeting and, instead, had three days of testing in perfect conditions at Croft, Oulton Park and Cadwell Park with 30-year old Lintin putting in plenty of laps on all four of the Kawasakis – the Superbike, Superstock, Supersport and Lightweight.

With an earlier successful outing at Oliver’s Mount, Scarborough reigning TT Privateer’s Champion Lintin is all set for his first TT with the team and ready to build upon his recent, and impressive, results and lap speeds.

2014 saw the Lincolnshire rider lap at close to 126mph on a Superstock bike in the Senior race and also place seventh with a 124mph+ lap in the Supersport class. With a best finish of fourth in the 2013 Lightweight race, he’s ideally placed to move up another level in 2015 and firmly challenge the factory teams.

RC Express Racing did exactly that twelve months ago when they proved their pedigree with then rider Dean Harrison claiming a brilliant win in the Lightweight race, an equally impressive second in the Superstock race and a maiden 130mph+ lap in the Senior.

Ivan Lintin: "I'm really looking forward to the TT and now it's here I can't wait to get going. I was a little bit disappointed to miss the North West 200 but as it turned out, I got three really good days testing in with some good weather and made some really good progress with all of the bikes. There's no pressure on me from Roy or Ben and whilst I'd love to get on the podium in the Lightweight, my main aim is to keep progressing, improve on what I did last year and enjoy myself. Hopefully, the weather will be good for first practice and I can get 2 or 3 laps on the Twin just to settle everything in and then get out on the big bikes on Monday."

Ben Constable, Team Co-owner: “We’re all ready to go and are really excited about this year’s TT. We never got to the North West 200 but I think we learnt more at Croft, Cadwell and Oulton and got plenty of track time with all of the bikes. Ivan put in plenty of laps, especially on the Superstock and Twin, whilst the 600 is a completely different bike now to what Ivan rode at Scarborough. We’ve had the ideal preparation and are looking in good shape with Ivan really relaxed and ready to go.”

“I don’t want to make any predictions and we’re not expecting the world from Ivan but we’re obviously not going to make up the numbers either! He might be seen by some to be an unknown quantity but whilst there’s no pressure on him, we know what he’s capable of and we’re quietly confident of some good results this year. I’d just like to add a massive thank you to Danny and Adam for preparing the bikes, Mark at B&C Express, Shane at Tor Trucks and Nick at MSS for pulling out all the stops for us these last few weeks.”

Hat-trick for Farquhar at Tandragee

Back on a 1000cc machine for the first time since 2012, Ryan qualified fourth for the Superbike class and with bad weather forecast for Saturday, the 5-lap Open race was brought forward to Friday evening. With changes to the set-up of the machine on the warm-up lap, Ryan was feeling a lot more happier with his ZX-10R Kawasaki Superstock machine and a good start saw him locked in battle with Jamie Hamilton and William Dunlop.

When Dunlop hit the front, Ryan slotted into his slipstream and the two continued to exchange the lead as they circulated close together. Going into the final lap though, Ryan was in front and he held on for a superb win, 0.4s clear of Dunlop with his best lap being just over 107mph.

As expected, Saturday dawned wet and cold and Ryan opted out of the Superbike and Supertwin – where he’d qualified on pole – races due to the forthcoming North West 200 and Isle of Man TT Races. However, he did contest the Moto 3/450/400 and Classic races, taking a hard fought win over Ian Morrell in the former and a comfortable win on Roger Winfield’s 500cc Paton in the latter.

Fellow team-member Connor Behan also had a good meeting finishing fourth on his 600cc machine in Saturday’s Superbike race and qualifying fourth in the Supertwin race. Team-mate Jeremy McWilliams, making his debut at the 5.3-mile circuit, qualified eighth and went on to take a good third in the Classic race.

Ryan Farquhar: “Everything’s gone really well this weekend and I was over the moon with the Superbike result on Friday evening. Having been away from the class for so long, it was great to mark my comeback with a win and although I was having a few set-up issues in practice, the two warm-up laps before the race allowed me to make further changes and when we came under starters orders I was really up for it. I knew on the first lap William was up for it too and we had a great battle so I was chuffed to bits to get the better of him in what was a great race.”

“I had no problems with riding in the conditions on Saturday but with the North West and TT coming up, going out on the big bike and Supertwin would simply have given me too much work to do in terms of getting the bikes ready. As it was I took out the Paton and the little 450 and whilst the former was a relatively straightforward win, the latter was anything but as Ian pushed me really hard. His 400 had more top end than my 450 and I’d say it was the hardest I’ve ever had to ride in the wet to win a race!”

“I’ve made a lot of changes to the Supertwin, going down a completely different route, and it was flying in practice so I can’t wait to ride it at the North West and TT. I’ve learnt a lot with the Stocker both here and at Scarborough too so, hopefully, I can transfer what I now know to the Superbike and we’ll be on the pace at the North West and TT right from the word go.”

Reeves and Cluze take another British Championship win

With Tim having his first outing at the Cheshire venue on an F1 bike since 2010 and Gregory having only his second visit to the undulating circuit, it certainly didn’t show and a perfect qualifying session on Sunday evening saw them continually set the fastest lap of the session. Indeed, with a time of 1m43.291s, they were not only half a second quicker than nearest rivals Ricky Stevens/Ryan Charlwood, they were also half a second inside the class lap record.

Duly lining up in pole position for Bank Holiday Monday’s 14-lap race, a strong opening lap from the Anglo-French duo saw them cross the line just over a second clear of Tony Brown/Sam Christie. By lap five, the gap had extended to over three seconds as they continued to lap in the 1m42-43s bracket on their LCR Kawasaki and by the end of the race, their winning margin over Sean Hegarty/James Neave was a commanding 10.379s.

They also set a new class lap record at 1m42.571s and although they won’t be contesting the full series, the win moves them onto 45 points and up to fifth place overall in the Championship table.

Tim Reeves: “It’s the first time I’ve ridden Oulton on the big bike for five years and I’d forgotten two things – one, how physically demanding the circuit is but two, what a great circuit it is to drive on. It’s proper old school and it’s a shame there aren’t more tracks like it but it really is hard work as there’s no time for a rest anywhere. You can't lose concentration for a split second and have to really focus hard. The circuit’s quite bumpy too so the outfit is quite a handful as it wants to jump all over the place and it was certainly 14 hard laps. It was a great race though and really enjoyable so it’s great to take another win for Team E-Aide Motorsport and all my loyal sponsors.”

Tim will now turn his attentions to the Formula Two outfit as he builds up his preparations for the Isle of Man TT with passenger Patrick Farrance. The duo will take part in next weekend’s British F2 Championship round at Silverstone before having a further test session at Aintree.

Third successive top six finish for Jenkinson and NEI Yamaha