2009 has been an up and down year for 26 year old Maidstone based bike racer Steve Mercer. It started with a familiar tale of woe; the Superstock ride he thought he had in place for the season fell through, and he has been off the short circuit race scene all year as a result.

But he also had a ride lined up on the roads with The Peoples Bike, a team funded by members of the public paying £50 to have their photo on the bike fairing. The idea worked remarkably well and funded a well sorted Superstock spec Suzuki GSXR1000 to go to Olivers Mount three times, as well as the Isle of Man TT, the Ulster GP and the Southern 100. Steve has paid them back with some excellent performances, winning the best newcomer award at the TT in the Superstock and Superbike races, and the Southern 100, where he finished 11th in a quality field.

He performed similarly well at the Ulster GP putting in some seriously fast laps (126mph) on his first visit to the 9 mile triangular circuit. Again he was fastest newcomer.

He finished off the UK season by returning to Olivers Mount where he feels things clicked again and went another notch faster. Although he couldn’t live with the top 5 Superbikes, he was dicing for 6th place with some of the big names of the roads like Gary Johnson and Ian Lougher.

The season finished in China at the Macau GP. He was riding the same R1 as last year for Team DMR – run by Ian Duffus and Brian Morrison. Although the bike was the same, Steve found he was going 5 secs a lap quicker than last year, and was threatening the top 10 come race day. Unfortunately an over-used clutch let him down during the race and he was forced to retire, but the bonus of being featured on MCNs back page, pictured rubbing the wall with his shoulder, has given him some much deserved profile. It proves that he is riding with loads of confidence and feel, and despite riding as close to the limit as anyone, he has not crashed all year.

Steve feels he is ready to do a full-on Superbike ride justice in 2010. He’s got the pace, confidence and knowledge, all he needs is the bike. If anyone fancies sponsoring Steve or offering him a ride, please get in touch .

http://www.thepeoplesbike.com