Brands Hatch - Indy Circuit

This should have been the opening round of a spectacular season, with some big names from overseas joining the series this year, including Nori Haga, Freddy Foray and not forgetting Josh Brooks. However, it was spectacular for other reasons.


Bad weather and bad luck made Easter Monday a bit of a wash out, with fuel being spilled on the track during the Supersport Race causing the race to be red flagged and then abandoned, also causing the cancellation of the second SuperBike race as well.


Steve's shot into the lead with some wise BSB choices, and Bel's dropped down for similar reasons, only exactly opposite....


I've already put this on Facebook, but if you're not on it, or haven't read it, give it a go here.


James East is a young motorcycle racer from Royston, in Cambridgeshire. He is currently riding a 600cc Kawasaki in the British SuperSport Cup. This is a national series and is one of the support races for British SuperBikes.
James is riding for MackRory Racing http://www.mackroryracing.co.uk/

and https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mackrory-racing-ltd/326225530734082. A team owned and run by Steve Bennett of MackRory Demolition. They are on a really tight budget. At the moment Steve is providing the motorbike, fuel, tyres, etc., but James needs to find some more money to be able to compete for a whole season.
To give you an idea of costs, Steve has laid out in the region of £30,000, just for one bike, and the team are trying to run two bikes. This outlay doesn’t include anything else that’s required to race, such as the team truck, race entry fees, fuel, tyres, crash damage (which hopefully won’t be too much), engine repairs (they had an engine let-go at Brands Hatch), etc.
For the first race (at Brands Hatch) James qualified 21st (4th in Class). In the first race he finished 11th (2nd in class) and in the second race he finished 10th (2nd in class). He’s currently leading the BSS Cup. This is MackRory’ Racing’s best result to date, and they are really hoping to build on this throughout the year.
James needs to raise £10,000 to be able to compete for the whole season, so he has started the James East 100 Club. He is asking 100 people (or companies or groups) to donate £100 (or more) each. You will get your name (or whatever name you want to display) added to his 100 Club wall, which is in the centre of the MackRory Racing Hospitality suite.
I would like The Silver Knights Bike Club to become a member of James’s 100 Club, but I don’t think the money should come from club funds, therefore if you would like to be part of this, please contact me or Noddy to donate any amount you would like (your donation will remain anonymous if you prefer) to the 100 Club so that we can help James and get The SKBC name on the board.
James has huge potential, he is currently being mentored by two times World SuperBike Champion Troy Corser, who has seen some talent in James. Look at Cal Crutchlow, Scott Redding, Bradley Smith, Danny Kent, Danny Web, et al, and just imagine, if and when James gets there too you’ll be able to say “I helped him get there”.

MotoGP Losail

Has Rossi lost it? He says the bike's still not doing what he wants, but who knows. The next few races will show. Foggy (on Twitter) reckons if the bike doesn't improve Rossi won't finish the season, and what with racing a Ferrari in a couple of weeks.......


Well done Cal. Not only equalling his best race finishing, but beating his extremely experienced team mate.


Anyone got any money on Marquez hurting someone before the end of the season, he's already had a good shot at sticking Luthi into the wall. There hasn't been anything said or done by MotoGP yet, but Luthi was so unhappy he actually hit Marquez on the slowing down lap... watch this space.


Bel's still leading, so I'm already starting to loose interest.


BSB from Brands Hatch coming soon.

Round 2 2012 - Imola WSB

Looks like BMW and Leon might be getting their act together this year. And Kawasaki and To Sykes. And Checa is continuing his act from last year.


Bel's leapt into the lead, followed by someone who didn't give me their name on their team sheet, followed by Sophie Pickle Wilson.


It's getting exciting already.


Thoughts and prayers (if you like) must go to Joan Lascorz who had  a crash on Monday whilst testing, he hit the barrier and has a broken spine. Although not yet confirmed by anyone, someone has announced on Twitter that he is now paralysed from the neck down.

Round 1 2012

So, here we are again. Hasn't it been a long winter?


Round one was from Philip Island and could have been better for the Brits. Haslam broke his leg, but still raced to points (and beat Melandri in the second race), Davies broke his wrist and didn't race, Laverty (Irish but nearly a Brit) broke a finger, but still raced to some points, and Hopper (not a Brit but has dual nationality anyway) broke his amputated finger and didn't race. All these accidents were in testing.


Races
Checa showed yet again why he is the current World Champion, even though he jumped over the high-side at about 110mph, he was leading at the time and managed to get out in Race 2 to win it. Biaggi showed his class as well by winning the first race (somewhat fortuitisly after Checa's crash) and finished 2nd in the second race after his own near crash, finishing lap one bog last.


History shows that the world champion (in the last 20 of 24 years) has won one of the opening races of the season. Let's hope that's going to change this year and one, or all of the Brits can turn it around.


As for the SKBC Fantasy racing history shows us nothing. Bel's winning at the moment but it's only been one round.....

The Final Race

So, we've had some highs and some proper lows, but it's all over. Stoner is MotoGP World Champion, mainly because he only failed to finish on the podium once, and that was also the only race that he failed to finish, thanks to Valentino Rossi.


Bradl is Moto2 World Champion, and deservedly so, although you'd have to think that if Marquez hadn't had his crash in practice in Malaysia, and had raced in the last race it might have been a different outcome. That said Bradl did the hard work, turned up, raced and won - and won well.


Terol walked the 125's, in a manner of speaking. He only seemed to have stiff competition in the last few races, when he actually started worrying about the championship. Even the last race of the year was a steady ride, with Terol running 6th, until his lap board informed him that Zarco had crashed, and then he put the pedal down and finished 2nd, after battling Vinales for 1st. A shame for Zarco, but for a rookie to finish 2nd in the championship is something to be really proud of, and is a name to look out for in the future.


World Superbikes went to Carlos Checa who just dominated. Much to his regret though he failed to turn up to Noddy's party in Portimao, so his life is much the poorer for that.


World Supersport is Chaz Davis. The fact that he's welsh shouldn't be held against him. Allegedly he's riding Cal Crutchlow's Championship winning bike from two years ago, although I suspect it's a bit like Trigger's broom, and we'd be hard pressed to find anything that Cal actually used. But, as always, the facts should never be allowed to spoil a good story.


BSB went to Tommy Hill. I don't think anything else can be added to what's already been said about the last lap of the last race of the year. 


As for the most important championship of all.....The Silver Knights Fantasy Racing Championship of the World (and Battlesbridge). The winner is...










not me. Bollocks.


Read the results yourself. I've lost interest.


See you next year.

Malaysian GP

Ciao Marco.

WSB Portimao & MotoGP Philip Island

WorldSuperbikes - Portimao, Portugal.

Lets start with WorldSuperbikes. I was there, where were you? Troy McLure had a retirement party, Noddy, Bel, Fluffy, Barry & Ez attended, as did Troy Corser, and much to his great joy he was introduced to Noddy who was described as a "great guy", well there's a first time for everything. Perhaps this means something else in Australian...

Leon: "I'm taller than you!".

Bel: "I really love you!".

Noddy: "I really love me!".

The Autodromo Nacional Algarve is a good spectator circuit, almost on par with Brands Hatch. Praia da Rocha, where we stayed, is lovely, sunny and warm, and apart from the bar Irish Eye, cheap. Happy hour generally started at about 9am, and went on till 9pm so a pint with breakfast seemed a sensible idea.

And there was some racing. And we were on telly, did you see us???

Noddy/Jamie: "I used to race."

Noddy/Jamie: "So did I."

Noddy/Jamie: "Let's talk about me."

Noddy/Jamie: "No, let's talk about me."

Noddy: "I really love me."

Unfortunately next year the last round is at Magny Cour, and Portimao is in September, so the plan at the moment is to go to Portimao and watch the last round on television. Sun, sea and s..beer in October can't be bad.

Noddy: "I used to race."

Troy: "So did I."

Noddy: "I'm a great guy."

Troy: "Really, keep you hands where I can see them!"

MotoGP Philip Island

Ten bikes finished the race. If I'd stuck a sticker on my bike that said "Prototype" I could have scored points, avoiding the sticky subject of actually qualifying within 107% of the Pole man. But Stoner proved that he is a worthy World Champion despite Jorge not being able to ride, all that did was bring the Championship result forwards, it seemed inevitable. A lot of people are now saying that Casey is the best rider in the World because Rossi can't ride the Ducati. I think this belittles his achievement this year, Casey has beaten Danni Pedrosa, Andrea Dovizioso and Marco Simoncelli, all of whom have had the same spec bike for the whole season, and it was his first year on the bike, the same cannot be said for any of the other HRC riders.

And did you see him drifting the bike? He has blurred the lines between sport and art.

Moto2 was interesting, with rat-faced little tosser Marquez deciding he didn't need to acknowledge the chequered flag at the end of qualifying by continuing to ride round flat-out. Despite every other rider riding slowly. He then, flat-out, rode into the back of an unsuspecting Ratapak Willairot, sending both of them to the hospital and just about writing off both bikes. He was put at the back of the grid for the race (38th) and then the young, handsome and debonair Spaniard showed that he is, and will continue to be, a riding god by finishing 3rd.

It did pose an interesting question. If this had been a different rider, let's say Marco Simoncelli (picking someone completely at random), would the punishment have been the same, or would he have been taken out at dawn and shot.

As for the race, apart from Marquez it was fairly standard, with Bradl unable to finish with a win, but we still have two championships left to be decided, or three if you include the SKBC Fantasy racing championship. Mathematically it's possible for Bel to be beaten, but unless I cheat (which is still a strong possibility) it's seems unlikely.

Next race is Sepang MotoGP, and Marquez is struggling to qualify. Could the championship be decided here.....

Noddy: "So what do you think of Josh Brooks?"

Sylvain: "I fink he eez a 'great guy', if you know what I mean!"