Iberian signs with CD Racing for 2011 campaign

Portuguese rider Luis Carreira is set to have his best ever year of racing at the Isle of Man TT Races, fuelled by Monster Energy, with confirmation that he has signed for the Ulster based CD Racing for the 2011 event.

The 34-year old will have a full complement of machinery at his disposal and plans to contest the Dainese Superbike and Pokerstars Senior Races on one of the all-new ZX-10R Kawasaki’s prepared by MSS Kawasaki, the UK’s factory Kawasaki outfit. He’ll also be Kawasaki-mounted for the Royal London Superstock Race whilst he’ll be on board a Yamaha YZF-R6 for the two Monster Energy Supersport Races.

Four-times Portuguese Stocksport1000 Champion, Carreira came to the attention of the TT organisers after some excellent performances at the Macau Grand Prix, where he’s recorded a number of top ten finishes, the highlight being a superb 4th at the 2008 event and since making his Mountain Course debut in 2009, he’s gone from strength to strength.

The sixth fastest newcomer ever with a lap of 122.062mph, Carreira took two bronze replicas and had a best finish of 18th in his debut year, returning with his own team again in 2010. Last year saw him pick up his first silver replica for 17th place in the Superstock race where he also recorded his best ever lap of the Mountain Circuit with a speed of 124.754mph, which makes him currently the 32nd fastest rider of all time. He also finished in 22nd in the Superbike Race winning another bronze replica for his efforts.

Small in stature but big in talent, Carreira, who started racing in 1998, has also contested his home round of the World Superbike Championship, appearing as a wildcard at Portimao in 2008.

Team boss and Former racer Chris Dowd, meanwhile, is renowned for having one of the most professional teams within the paddock and has had a whole host of star names ride for him in the past including Adrian Archibald, Richard Quayle, Nigel Beattie and, more recently, William Dunlop, all of whom have tasted success on the CD Racing machine.

Chris Dowd confirmed how excited he is at having Luis riding for the team and said:

“Everyone in the team is really excited to be bringing Luis on board. He has massive potential to make a real impression on the top 10 at this year’s TT and we will be putting everything we can into him to achieve that. We are grateful for the ongoing support from our loyal sponsors as well as the essential assistance from Nick Morgan at MSS Kawasaki.”

TT Rider Liaison Officer and former winner Richard ‘Milky’ Quayle feels that the Portuguese rider is one of the riders to watch in 2011. Commenting on the news he said:

“Luis now has two good years under his belt at the TT. He’s a really talented rider who has applied himself well and I think that signing for an established, experienced team will see him move up to the next level on the Mountain Course.”

Luis Carreira commented:

“I am really looking forward to returning to the Isle of Man and I’d also like to thank Chris for this opportunity. We have some good bikes and I think that we can do a good job. I can promise everyone that I will work hard to be able to reward everyone with good results in all races. Lastly I want to thank team Benimoto for their honesty and the support that they gave me with this decision.”