COLLIER LOOKS AHEAD WITH OPTIMISM AFTER DEBUT WIN WITH EHA RACING

ZOEK RACING SNETTERTON

Snetterton played host to round four of the Ducati TriOptions Cup this week with Sean Neary finishing his first race in fourth place but retiring from race two with a technical issue.
His Zoek Racing team mate Craig Currie was 14th in race one and 13th in the second race.

After qualifying on pole position for the first race, Lymm rider Sean Neary didn’t get the best of starts and completed the first of two laps in race one on Saturday in third place. Phil Atkinson demoted him to fourth on lap three but Neary powered back past to reclaim third one lap later. But his progress was short lived as on lap six Atkinson went past again and although there was less than half a second separating the two riders the red flag brought the race to a halt on lap eight and a result declared on positions on lap seven.

Neary commented: “The race didn’t go our way today as it was cut short which didn’t do us any favours for a podium however we didn’t have the pace to win.”

Neary lined up on the front row for race two on Sunday morning but things didn’t quite go to plan as, although he was running in fourth place for the first few laps he was forced to retire at half race distance with a technical issue. He said: “As race weekends go it was pretty poor!!  A technical issue with the bike meant we didn’t finish race two. Not ideal but on the positive side it can always be worse! We will work hard and come back strong for Brands Hatch. Thanks to the team for all their hard work.”

With a non finish to his second race Neary has lost his series lead but is holding a strong second place on 108 points.

Meanwhile Newark rider Craig Currie went well during qualifying to start the first race from the middle of the second row. He held eighth place on lap one but began to drop back and completed the 10 lap affair in 14th place to pick up two championship points.

Starting race two on Sunday from the fifth row it was always going to be a challenge to get up into the top 10 but Currie made headway and completed the race in 13th place to secure another three championship points.

Snetterton was a positive weekend for the Nottinghamshire rider as he got his first points of the new season on board and has made good progress with the Ducati.

COLLIER TAKES MAIDEN SUPERSTOCK 1000cc WIN FOR EHA RACING & APRILIA 

Lintin claims best ever Superbike TT finish

Ivan Lintin claimed his best ever Superbike finish at the Isle of Man TT races when he took an excellent eighth place on the Dafabet Devitt Racing Kawasaki ZX-10R in Saturday’s six-lap race, also setting a new personal best lap of 128.672mph.

With good conditions all week on the island, the Lincolnshire rider had enjoyed a good week of practice on all bikes around the 37.73-mile Mountain Course with a lap of 126.821mph placing him 19th on the Superbike leaderboard.

However, both he and the team were confident of improving upon that in the race and, sure enough, an opening lap of 127.218mph saw the 33-year old cross the line in 15th place. The hot weather of practice week had given way to cooler, cloudier conditions and it suited Ivan well as a second lap of 128.176mph enabled him to jump up to 11th place.

A superb pit stop by the team got him back out in double quick time and by the end of lap three, half race distance, he moved up into the top ten as he held onto tenth place. Another 128mph+ lap on lap four, 128.114mph, saw him climb further up the leaderboard into an excellent seventh place and another good pit stop meant he consolidated his position.

The final two laps looked like they would see Ivan finish in seventh but although a flying lap in excess of 130mph by Martin Jessopp on lap six pushed him back to seventh, the Bardney rider set a new personal best lap of 128.672mph to secure a brilliant eighth place, bettering the tenth he took in the 2016 Senior race.

Ivan Lintin: “I’m over the moon with eighth place today and also with my personal best lap so it couldn’t have gone any better really. I got settled into the race and caught Sam West and Shaun Anderson in the early stages, opening up a bit of a gap over the both of them and I had no issues at all during the race. I saw a pitboard at Sulby which said ‘+10’ so when Sam came back past me on the final lap, I thought it was him that was behind me and not Martin so I could have maybe pushed a bit harder on the final lap and be sitting here now with seventh. I’m really happy with eighth though and it’s a great start to the week.”

Ben Constable, Team Co-owner: “In all honesty, we weren’t expecting a top ten finish today with the competition being so intense so to be sitting here now with an eighth place is simply superb. Ivan’s been riding well all week, getting plenty of laps in on each machine, and we felt confident of giving a good account of ourselves today.”

“Ivan put together a really consistent race, and with three 128mph+ laps, he moved up the leaderboard all race and with two mega pit stops by the team, we got ourselves into the top ten. It’s been a big team effort and Ivan put it all together in the race and although we missed out on seventh by just a few seconds, we’re all delighted with eighth.”

COLLIER TAKES SUPERSTOCK 1000cc DOUBLE WIN AT BRANDS HATCH

Joe Collier’s double race victory aboard the EHA Racing/In Competition Aprilia RSV4 RF was the highlight of the weekend for the EHA Racing squad on the Superstock 1000 side of the garage – with Andy Reid reduced to spectator status at the Brands Hatch GP circuit, having sustaining a fractured wrist at Knockhill a fortnight earlier.

Collier led the championship standings on Saturday night with his perfect 30-point haul, that included 5 bonus points for his double-race win. But having posted his first non-finish in Sunday’s third race, when he crashed out on the opening lap, he left the Kent venue holding second place overall in the series standings, just 13 points off the lead.

Collier’s performance on Saturday was nothing short of outstanding, taking into consideration, that he was taken out by another rider during qualifying, which left his bike very second hand and in need of major repair by his crew, with Joe battered and bruised and carrying a suspected broken thumb.

Joe Collier:
“Saturday was eventful to say the least, but to come back and take two wins after what happened in qualifying is testament to the work put in by Ian Newton and everyone in the EHA Racing/In Competition team.

“In both races I battled through from outside the top three, but was confident that if I found my own rhythm and looked after my tyre I could attack in the closing stages. In race one we came from eight place to the win and in race two, we also had to fight hard. Tom Neave did his best to stop me getting past with a few hard moves, but I wasn’t settling for anything less than the win and those extra five bonus points for the double victory.

“Apologies to the team for the mistake in Sunday’s third race. I made a bad start and was trying not to lose time out of turn two. I was just too eager on the throttle. It’s disappointing, but we are still well there is the championship standings and can go to Thruxton, knowing we have enough in the package to challenge for the win.”

Gail Allingham – Team Manager:
“Joe rode superbly on Saturday in both races, taking into consideration that the team were left to rebuild his bike and he was nursing a thumb injury, as well as being more a little second hand. Sunday's incident was unfortunate but with the nature of the aftermath, we are just glad Joe didn't get seriously injured. He's done both himself and the whole EHA Racing team proud and we can now look forward to Thruxton, where we will be back to a two rider strong team, with Andy Reid set to re-enter the fray. Thanks as always to our sponsors and those family and friends who turned up to support us this weekend."

ZOEK RACING BRANDS HATCH GP

The two Zoek Racing riders Sean Neary and Craig Currie were at Brands Hatch last weekend for round five of the Ducati TriOptions Cup where Neary rode to a brace of podium finishes, a second place in the first race on Saturday and third on Sunday while Currie was unlucky for his Ducati to suffer a technical issue in the first race but he bounced back to finish race two in 13th position.

Neary from Lymm in Cheshire completed his qualifying in third place and began the first race on Saturday from a front row grid position. He passed Josh Day on the opening lap and settled into second place behind Rob Guiver. Although he was within 0.2s from his rival in the early stages he was unable to pass him and completed the 12 lap affair in second place.

Starting the second race on Sunday from the front row once again, this time he didn’t make the most of his start and completed the first lap in fourth place. He was racing ahead of a group of five riders all challenging him for fourth place but he didn’t intend to give up his place without a fight. On lap eight he was holding fourth but challenging Day for third place with three riders in close company behind him. On the final lap he finally made his move and snatched third place from Day and very nearly took second. As they crossed the finish line Neary took third place but was just 66 thousandths of a second away from Lewis Rollo in second place.

Neary said: “Phew that was close! I had a problem in the early laps as I thought I had oil on the foot peg so dropped back a bit, but then I realised it was ok and pulled it together. By then of course it was too late but we gave it a go and we got a couple of podiums so I can’t complain.”

Currie from Newark began the first race from a third row grid position and was circulating in 13th place for a while. He was elevated to 12th on lap four when a rider ahead returned to the pits after receiving a ride through penalty for a jump start but Currie encountered a problem with the brakes and retired to the pits at two thirds race distance.

Starting the second race on Sunday from the sixth row The Nottinghamshire rider was down in 17th place on the first lap. On lap two he passed Danny Huskinson and was elevated to 15th when Paul Slade crashed out ahead of him. He then overtook Michael Tustin on lap four and chased after Dave Mackay passing him on lap six to take up 13th place.

Tustin also overtook Mackay and then snatched 13th place from Currie but Joe Morphett crashed out of the race gifting 13th place back to Currie once again which he held to the chequered flag to secure three championship points and equal his best finish of the current campaign.

Maxton Suspension on a Manx Norton

You know the old paddock saying: “The older I get the faster I was…”

In my case, because of Maxton, something has gone badly wrong because the older I get, the faster I am riding!

This statement needs clarifying. I don’t mean that I passed my equally ancient mates in a parade with a bit more style but, on the few occasions that I still take part in an actual race, my speeds are increasing – and dramatically too.

I used to get round the Darley Moor circuit on both my current Manx Norton and my previous G.50 at around 69mph. Now, with the same ancient – and still not very talented – rider on the same Manx, in an identical state of tune, my fastest time was a shade under 75mph. That’s a truly ridiculous 8% improvement!

But the increase in speed is actually not the most important part of the story. The Manx will be my final ever race bike and so it had to be something special. Patrick Walker, of Works Racing Motorcycles (http://www.worksracing.co.uk) did an incredible job of building a tribute to the 1961 Ecurie Sportive/Mike Hailwood Norton. You can read the whole story here – (https://www.ridersdomain.com/magazine/motorcycle-features/mellings-motorcycle-world/a-true-modern-classic-mellings-ecurie-sportive-manx-norton)

The engine is wonderful, the gearbox a joy and the bike looks stunning. However, the problem still remained that the bike handled like a Manx – precision handling, yes, but with all the traditional Norton stiffness and lack of user friendliness when the bike was being ridden hard. What I wanted was the laser accurate handling of a Manx but with the soft, forgiving, “I’m-on-your-side” nature of a G.50.

So, off I went to Maxton…

The first mountain to climb is the: “Does my bum look big in these leathers?” question which Richard will definitely ask you. Unless you are going to be honest with your weight then even Maxton won’t be able to help. In my case, I am a genuine, 13stone 3lbs (84kgs) – give or take a chocolate éclair or two either way!

You also need to be equally honest regarding your riding style. If you really do slide your classic into a corner on the front wheel, with the back end hanging out Marc Marquez style, then Richard can give you the suspension you need.

But if you are smooth and traditionally classicy, then you need to give Richard this information too. At Maxton, there is not one just one fix for every rider!

Inside my standard looking, Manx fork sliders are Maxton damper cartridges lifted directly from their race winning TT and British Superbike suspension. These are infinitely adjustable in terms of compression and re-bound damping and every other parameter imaginable. Unlike Norton forks, these work like silk throughout their whole travel.

Now the bike is completely stable under hard braking – and with a 9” (230mm) Oldani front brake the bike really does stop - and yet is ultra-sensitive on every type of corner and surface from GP tracks like Spa to not so GP tracks such as Darley.

In all conditions, I can feel precisely what the front wheel is doing.

The rear is controlled by a pair of pressurised Maxton gas shocks and the best thing I can say about them is that I never know they are there. Bumps are smoothed out and the bike drives out of corners without a hint of wheel spin but, best of all, the ride has all the sensitivity and friendliness of my G.50.

Now, all that I need is for Richard to make me 30 years younger and I’d be back to some serious racing!

Here’s a film of the bike in action at the legendary Spa circuit in Belgium so you can see the results of Maxton’s efforts in action:

Team MTR Race Report Brands Hatch

Welcome to TeamMTR’s latest newsletter. After the disappointment of Round 4 at Snetterton, Mike and the team were looking forward to getting back into the points at Round 5 of the Ducati TriOptions Cup at Brands Hatch GP.

Race 1

Due to last years lack of laps at the famous Brands Hatch GP circuit, Mike and the team faced a big task of trying to setup the teams Ducati round the 2.5 mile circuit. The main aim was to beat last years lap times, and Mike managed this in the first practice session, indicating the basic setup of the bike was going the right direction.

After qualifying in a satisfactory 17th, Mike and the team made a couple of setup changed to try and bridge the gap to the top 15 and try and earn some Championship points. After a good start, it was clear to see that the teams gearing gamble didn’t really pay off, and Mike struggled to maintain the required race pace for a points scoring finish. Mike crossed the line in P16, just missing out on a points scoring finish.

Race 2

After Saturdays frustrating Race 1, the team made some more setup changes, again in a bid to bridge the gap to the top riders in the final race of the weekend. Mike made another good start, and immediately felt the positive changes that had been made to the bike overnight. This allowed Mike to push hard, and gained much confidence throughout the race, meaning the lap times tumbled rapidly. Mike crossed the line in a very respectable 12th position, and well within the points for the first time at Brands Hatch GP. The pace Mike showed in the last 4 laps would’ve been good enough to place him well within the top 10, but once again, a difficult starting position made it difficult to progress through this extremely tough class.

While also racing in the Ducati TriOptions Cup, TeamMTR Ducati were able to enter a local club meeting at Mallory Park racing in the EMRA Club Championship. Although the weather was extremely unkind, Mike competed in 6 races throughout the day, and grabbed 2 x wins, 2 x 3rd place, a 4th and 6th place finishes. Although these races are purely used as valuable track time, its always nice to be back at the front and competing for wins against some very competent riders.

Conclusion

After an extremely positive outing at both Brands Hatch GP and the EMRA Mallory Park meeting, both Mike and the team feel as though they have made big progress with the bike setup, and are really looking forward to getting out on track for Round 6 of the TriOptions Cup. Although the race results seem a little frustrating, it’s clear to see that the team are consistently improving over a race weekend.

After comparing results from the Brands Hatch GP race meeting in 2017, Mikes lap times were over 3.5 seconds faster in 2018, showing the huge progress made in just 12 months.

Jordan and Herbertson excel at Ulster GP

The Dafabet Devitt Racing pairing of Paul Jordan and Dominic Herbertson both took excellent results at Saturday’s Ulster Grand Prix with both riders claiming two top eight finishes, the best of which was Jordan’s excellent fourth place in the Superbike race.

Weather conditions played havoc with some of the schedule – and resulted in two of their races being cancelled – but both riders not only took the aforementioned results but also posted new personal best laps of the 7.4-mile circuit, Jordan’s lap of 131.148mph a superb effort and the undoubted highlight.

With Thursday evening’s Superbike race being cancelled due to fading light, it was Saturday’s six-lap Superstock race that saw Paul and Dominic first in action and both riders ran inside the top ten throughout the race.

Seventh at the end of lap one, Northern Ireland’s Jordan set a new personal best lap of 131.148mph – his first ever 130mph+ lap of the 7.4-mile circuit – on lap two and two laps later he moved up to sixth as he overhauled the factory Tyco BMW of David Johnson. The race was stopped shortly afterwards though and so Paul took a deserved sixth whilst Dominic, who himself lapped at 128.800mph, finished in a fine eighth place.

The feature seven-lap Superbike race was then next for the two riders but it was only a lap and a bit old when it was stopped after Davey Todd crashed at Deer’s Leap. It was restarted after a short delay with Paul completing the first lap in sixth place and Hexham’s Herbertson in tenth. Lap two saw some rain began to fall on the top part of the circuit but Paul was excelling once more on the Kawasaki ZX-10R and moved up to fourth with Herbertson also improving two places.

As the riders went into lap three, the weather conditions unfortunately worsened and the red flag came out to bring the race to a premature end. The result was eventually declared at the end of the second lap with Paul being awarded a superb fourth and Dominic a fine eighth.

Not long after, the rain got heavier and the mist thicker leaving race organisers with little option other than to cancel the remaining three races, one of which would have seen both riders back out on track for the second Superbike race.

Paul Jordan: “It’s been a really successful meeting for me and to lap in excess of 131mph and get a fourth place finish in a Superbike race is brilliant! My personal goal this week was to break the 130mph barrier and although I had to adapt to the bike, I was able to do that very quickly thanks to the team. We gelled straightaway so when I was out on track, I was able to do my own thing and just concentrate on putting the laps in. I was pleased with sixth and even more pleased with fourth where I felt I had a bit of advantage with the treaded tyres. I’ve really enjoyed riding the ZX-10R and the team have been brilliant so it’s been a great meeting.”

Dominic Herbertson: “I was extremely grateful to be given the opportunity for the Ulster Grand Prix and hopefully I’ve done the team proud with my results. It’s obviously been a shame the weather resulted in two of our races being cancelled but I’ve got to be pleased with seventh and eighth place finishes and I was delighted to set my personal best lap. We had no testing prior to arriving here and the Kawasaki ZX-10R is very different to the BMW I normally ride but I got more and more comfortable with each and every lap and I learnt a lot. The bike handled perfectly and the team did an outstanding job so it’s been a great experience for me.”

Ben Constable, Team Co-owner: “Neither of the boys had done any testing on the bikes due to the time constraints we had and the first time they sat on the bike was when they headed down the Flying Kilo on their first practice lap! They were on the pace straightaway though and improved in each session, going on to set personal best laps in the race which shows how well they were riding and how well the Kawasaki ZX-10R was working. It’s unfortunate that the weather meant half of our races got cancelled but in the ones we had, both riders took two top eight finishes and that’s a great effort from them and everyone connected with the team.”

COLLIER PODIUM & TOP SIX FINISHES HELP MAINTAIN TITLE ASPIRATIONS

Joe Collier remains in Pirelli National 1000cc Superstock Championship contention after three top-six finishes [5-3-6] over the weekend aboard the In Competition prepared EHA Racing RSV4 RF at Silverstone. He is now just 6.5 points adrift of the series lead with just two meetings left on the 2018 calendar.

Joe took third place in race two on Saturday Collier’s third placed podium, in the second leg of Saturday’s two-part 48 lap race, was the highlight of the meeting for the 23-year-old Aprilia mounted racer, but he should also be commended for riding round a technical issue in Sunday’s feature race outing, where he picked up 10 very valuable championship points in sixth place.

Speaking afterwards Collier said: “I’m a little disappointed as I think we could have done a lot more in that third race on Sunday but had to ride round a slight clutch problem. I knew on the sighting lap that we had a problem and just nursed it home the best I could. The podium finish was satisfying on Saturday and with the final two rounds at tracks I very much enjoy – Oulton Park and Brands Hatch GP – I’m still confident we can challenge both Billy and Keith for the title. Thanks as always to the EHA team for a big effort. We are still very much in this!”

His team-mate for the weekend was regular team crew chief Johnny Blackshaw, who stood in for the injured Andrew Reid and produced a commendable tenth placed finish in Sunday’s feature race, aboard the second of the In Competition prepared EHA Racing RSV4 RF machines.

Johnny Blackshaw did a superb job in his one-off ride aboard the EHA Racing Aprilia “That was mega,” smiled 26-year old Blackshaw. “I forgot how cut and thrust British championship racing was, but got a quick reminder on Saturday in the two part race. Once I got up to speed I really enjoyed it and as well as having a great time riding the RSV4 RF this weekend, I’ve also been able to identify some areas of improvement for the team going forward, which was always a major goal.”

Blackshaw also posted twelfth and thirteenth placed finishes during Saturday's two-part race aboard the In Competition prepared EHA Racing Aprilia RSV4 RF.

Team Manager Gail Allingham added: “Joe had a small problem in Sunday’s feature race, but rode through it to grab some valuable championship points. He’s been consistent all weekend and while we didn’t challenge for the wins here at Silverstone; as he has also explained, we are still well in the championship hunt. Both Billy and Keith are strong favourites and should be, with the experience they have in British championship competition, but Joe as a series rookie is doing a fantastic job, and will keep them both honest right until the final day at Brands Hatch on the EHA Racing Aprilia. Thanks to all our sponsors for making the trip this weekend; we hope you enjoyed the racing action and the team hospitality.”

ZOEK RACING SILVERSTONE

The two Zoek Racing riders, Sean Neary and Craig Currie were racing at Silverstone last weekend in the penultimate round of the Ducati TriOptions Cup where Neary from Lymm in Cheshire secured a sixth and third place and Currie from Newark an 11th and 12th place in the two races.

The racing was transferred to the short National circuit at the Northamptonshire venue because of problems with the International track normally used. This was because of the problems encountered two weeks ago which caused the MotoGP round to be cancelled.

Neary completed his qualifying in fifth position and began the first 15 lap affair from a second row grid position. But he was unable to match the pace of the leaders and completed the race in sixth position.

After some considerable changes to the bike overnight Neary once again started the race from the second row and maintained sixth position on the opening lap. But then he made his move forward and took up third place on lap two. Try as he may he was unable to make a pass on Lewis Rollo and although he remained within touching distance he crossed the finish line in third place just over a second behind his rival.

He said: “I cannot thank the lads in the team enough and Lee Jackson for their help in getting the bike sorted for me which gave me a podium finish in the second race. Massive changes were made to the bike overnight and it was so much better. It was a gamble but it paid off. I was gutted on Saturday as our team deserves better but I always give 100%. Thanks go to Zoek and our amazing sponsors for their support. I must also congratulate Rob Guiver for sealing the title today. I've shared a good few podiums with this lad over the last few years and for him to come back from a career ending smash last year to win it this year is unreal.”

Meanwhile Craig Currie was in good form at Silverstone and began Saturday’s race from a fourth row grid position. He rode well to claim 12th place at the flag to pick up another four championship points.

Starting Sunday’s race from the fourth row once again Currie made up places to 11th on the opening lap and soon became embroiled in a battle for position with Paul Slade and David Shoubridge. He passed Shoubridge on lap eight and began to pull away from Slade one lap later. He looked set to finish the race in 10th position but didn’t reckon on Michael Tustin homing in on him at a fast rate of knots.

With three laps to go Tustin overtook him and Currie was left to cross the finish line in 11th position to pick up five championship points bringing his total to 22.

The final round of the current campaign is at Assen in the Netherlands over the weekend of September 28-30 when both riders will be seeking some good results to end their season on a high note