The JG Speedfit round of the MCE British Superbike Championship proved to be a difficult weekend for the JG Speedfit Kawasaki team, with all three riders struggling throughout practice and qualifying. However working hard overnight, the team were able to turn it around on race day to be challenging for podiums and leave with two riders in the Showdown.

The three JG Speedfit Kawasaki riders, James Ellison, Leon Haslam and Peter Hickman came into the JG Speedfit round at Thruxton looking to build on their tally of four wins and five podiums. Unfortunately from opening practice the trio suffered with technical problems, leaving Pete in 12th, James 14th and Leon 15th after final practice.

Moving into qualifying James continued to struggle, securing a 23rd place starting position for the opening race. Leon similarly struggled, taking 15th whilst Pete was able to take a step forward, setting his fastest ever lap around Thruxton and just missing out progressing through to Superpole by 0.007s.

The opening race proved a dramatic affair, with it initially being red flagged after ten laps – meaning the riders would run the second attempt over twelve laps, using the same tyres from the first part. Enjoying a good start, James rode a fantastic race to claim a hard-earned fifth place whilst despite running comfortably in the top ten both Pete and Leon suffered as the tyres wore on, eventually taking 12th and 13th at the line.

Making further changes ahead of the second race, the team were able to turn their weekend around and it proved a stronger outing. Comfortably running in second place for the majority of the race, Leon again suffered from a lack of grip in the closing stages, slipping back to fifth. Equally unable to maintain their pace over the final few laps, Pete was still able to secure sixth whilst James took seventh place to rejoin the all-important top six in the Championship standings.


Happy to be back in a Showdown position, James Ellison said, 

“Obviously I’m not leaving here peaking with how we did, but looking at how badly we were struggling on Friday morning and even yesterday, it’s been a good day. I’ve got to say a massive thank you to the team for their incredible work. They haven’t stopped all weekend, trying to get the bike fixed as best as they could, changing so many things and thanks to that effort we were able to turn things around and actually leave here back in a Showdown position.

We know what we need to change for Brands Hatch so I’m confident we’ll be back to where we should be and we can get back onto the podium.”  

Struggling all weekend, Leon Haslam added 

“It’s been a disaster of a weekend really. From the off we’ve all struggled with the engine configuration and it’s meant we’ve been on the back foot the whole time. I knew we would do better in the races, and full credit to the team too as they were able to get us in a much better position today. The pace car destroyed our chances in that opening race, I felt we would be capable of a top five at least but unfortunately the additional laps on the tyre just meant we couldn’t maintain that pace.

The second race was better and I felt really comfortable sitting in second but with four laps to go the tyre just completely dropped off and we couldn’t stay there. It’s certainly frustrating, but after all the difficulties to have been challenging for the win with four laps to go in race two shows just how far we’ve come since first practice.”

Disappointed with the weekend, Peter Hickman said 

“It has been a really disappointing weekend for the whole team. I was probably the strongest of the three during practice but during the races I just couldn’t seem to catch a break. The opening part of that first race was going well and exactly how I thought it would, but with the red flag and the countback it meant by the time I started the re-run my tyre had already done 14 laps and I just wasn’t able to match my earlier pace.

The second race went better and the bike felt good but starting from 13th meant I had to use my tyre a little more to get towards the front and just slipped back to sixth on the last lap. It’s not great but it’s definitely more where we need to be so I’m happy.”

GBmoto Racing Team Principal Mark Smith-Halvorsen concluded, 

“This weekend was not a true reflection of where the JG Speedfit Kawasaki team, or our riders, should be. We struggled from the very opening practice with some technical problems, but the guys in the garage worked unbelievably to turn it around. To have all three riders in the top seven in race two and even challenging for a podium was a testament to the hard work they put in. It’s also great to have James back in a Showdown position too – he slipped out through no fault of his own at Snetterton, so to immediately come back in at the next round is brilliant.

Away from our results, the JG Speedfit round was a fantastic event and I hope our many guests enjoyed their day with the team. We now have two weeks to solve the problems we experienced this weekend, and I fully expect to see our three riders back challenging for podiums and race victories at Brands Hatch.”