The Swan Yamaha team begin their assault on the 2011 MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship at Brands Hatch this weekend as Tommy Hill and Michael Laverty prepare to make their race debut with the Guisborough-based team.

In pre-season testing Hill set a new lap record at Cartagena whilst Laverty went on to top the times at the most recent test at Snetterton and now both riders are feeling confident ahead of the four-day Easter opening round.

Hill said:

"I just want to get to Brands Hatch now after what has really been six weeks off. We set a new lap record at Cartagena and we felt confident after those tests. It was disappointing for me that I missed out at Snetterton with a crash, but it doesn't take long to get back into it on the Indy circuit. Once we have the first day on Good Friday to blow the cobwebs away we just need to be consistent and score some good points. That was the approach I had last season and I came away with a first and second place plus the championship lead so who knows what can happen. I just need to push on at my home circuit, get the best results I can for the Swan Yamaha team and then prepare for Oulton Park the following weekend."


Laverty said:

"The first races at Brands Hatch are going to be strange as the Indy circuit can throw a curveball you don't expect. I think though that after the pre-season testing we are in the position to challenge for the wins and get the job done. It has been a longer build up to this season and the anticipation really has been building for these first races and everyone just wants to get out and race now. We have been fast in testing so I hope that people are looking at us and thinking we are going to be up there at Brands Hatch. The pressure doesn't matter to me; myself and Tommy have proved we have the pace - we just need to make sure we don't get complacent and translate our testing performance into strong results."

Team manager Shaun Muir concluded:

"The team have done a lot of hard work over the winter and we have been immensely impressed with the new Yamahas. Tommy and Michael have been consistently fast throughout pre-season testing and now we look forward to his weekend and translating that into results for everyone involved at Swan Yamaha."