Malcolm
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JG SPEEDFIT KAWASAKI READY TO CONTINUE WINNING STREAK AT BRANDS HATCH!
With wins at Silverstone and Oulton Park, the JG Speedfit Kawasaki team head to the Brands Hatch Indy circuit this weekend for round three of the MCE British Superbike Championship eager to continue their winning streak.
Having taken two wins and two podiums from four races, along with both pole positions of 2016, the JG Speedfit Kawasaki trio of James Ellison, Leon Haslam and Peter Hickman head to Brands Hatch Indy this weekend confident of a strong showing. With the Kent circuit being the closest to title sponsor JG Speedfit and Principal Sponsor Global Reach Partners, the team can expect strong support from local fans.
The corresponding round in 2015 proved to be the most successful weekend of the year for the team, with James securing pole position, both race wins and a new lap record. Being just 1.2 miles long, the Brands Hatch Indy configuration is one of the shortest circuits on the calendar, and with few passing spots a strong qualifying position is vital to good race.
This weekend is part of a busy few weeks for the GBmoto Racing run team. Following a successful showing at the North West 200 Road Race last week, the team come straight to Brands Hatch before leaving to compete in the Isle of Man TT next week.
As one of his strongest circuits, James Ellison is excited to be heading back to Brands Hatch Indy,
“Brands Hatch is always a special event and I’ve had some really good results there, particularly around the shorter Indy track. My very first race with the GBmoto team here in 2014 saw us secure a double podium and then last year we had a perfect weekend! With the circuit being so short, it’s vital to get a strong qualifying position and with the times being as close as they have been this year I think it’s going to be an interesting Saturday afternoon.
We took a massive step forward at Oulton, which really helped to improve my feeling with the new ZX-10R, and it now feels like my bike so I’m really looking forward to this weekend. It’s always busy at Brands and the shorter circuit means they can pretty much see the whole race which makes for an incredible atmosphere!”
Having not ridden at Brands Hatch in eight years, Leon Haslam is looking forward to heading back
“I’m really looking forward to it, I’ve not ridden at Brands Hatch in years and the Indy circuit is going to be very different to what I’m used to! It’s going to be a tough weekend, obviously Shakey has a special relationship with Brands Hatch but James is equally as impressive round here – as we saw last year. We’re yet to get a fully dry round, so fingers crossed this weekend we do as we’ll then be able to focus solely on race set up rather than having to adapt to changing conditions every session.
The atmosphere is always amazing, so I’m excited to be racing back at Brands. I’ve never won on the Indy circuit before but the team has won at both rounds so far and although we’re still developing it, the ZX-10R is a strong package so hopefully I can change that this weekend!”
After impressing last weekend at the North West 200, Peter Hickman heads to Brands Hatch eager to make up for a challenging Oulton Park,
“It’s certainly very busy at the moment – this is actually the first time I’ll be switching between disciplines on back to back weekends, but after a couple of difficult BSB races at Oulton Park I’m looking forward to getting out at Brands Hatch and making up for it. It’s always been a bit of a tough track for me, I’ve had some great results there but also a bit of bad luck.
The bike and team is working really well though so I’m confident of a good showing. Things are so close at the front that qualifying will be one of the most important parts of the weekend, particularly as there aren’t many passing spots. That said, we won’t be changing tactics and will still be focusing on race set up, ready for Sunday!”
GBmoto Racing Team Principal Mark Smith-Halvorsen concluded,
“We’ve had a very good start to our 2016 British Superbike Championship campaign, having won at both Silverstone and Oulton. Historically, the Brands Hatch Indy track been a strong event for us too so I’m confident we can continue that form this weekend. It’s going to be a busy weekend on and off track for the team, with Brands being the closest circuit for both JG Speedfit and Global Reach Partners we’ll have lots of guests and support from fans, so will be doing everything we can to give them something to cheer about!”
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18-05-2016, 04:03 PM |
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