BSB Knockhill 09: Camier Doubles

Lanky Leon Camier crushed the opposition with a double victory at Knockhill in the British Superbike championship meeting, extending his lead in the title race.

Stuart Easton nicked a couple of podiums at his home track on the Hydrex Honda, taking 2nd and 3rd places in two races. The Hydrex squad are doing brilliantly this year with the little Scotsman, making the far bigger HM Plant Honda team look like muppets.

Leading HM Plant muppet was Josh Brookes, looking seriously quick as he grabbed 3rd and 2nd places. The Aussie's rehabilitation from breaking Sylvain Guintoli's leg (accidentally of course) is continuing apace. He's really getting to grips with the bike and the twisty British tracks.

Brookesy's immensely popular team-mate and countryman, Glen Richards, was far less lucky. He made one of his very rare errors in qualifying, clipped another bike on the run to the hairpin and ended up with a broken femur. Luckily for the former British Superstock and Supersport champ, it was an uncomplicated break, and he could be racing again in 6 to 8 weeks. Get well soon.

The racing wasn't great, but it never is a Knockhill. It's great for spectators, with loads of elevation changes giving plenty of good viewing spots. However, it's far too tight for Superbikes, with a lap time of something like 49 seconds. There are hardly any places to overtake, as Brookes found out when he finished 3rd to Easton in the first race after shadowing the little Borders man for pretty much the entire 30 laps.

Still, Camier was stunning, while Easton and Brookesy were by far the best of the rest.

MotoGP, WSBK, BSB End of May Weekend Roundup

There was a whole lot of racing going on at the weekend. Here are a few of the highlights.

125cc GP: Bradley Smith took his 2nd victory at Mugello. At first, he was quick but crashed a lot, then he was quick but didn't race that hard, now he seems to be both quick and a hard racer. Also, Scott Redding, who is at least a foot taller this year than last, did well to finish the race at all. He had a massive highside but somehow landed back on the bike. A great race.

250cc GP: Mattia Pasini won a truly stunning wet race. He was in 3rd place when the guys in front had a bit of an incident. Marco "Afro" Simoncelli hit Alvaro "Raving psycho" Bautista, and the two rivals went on a terrifying gravel trap excursion at 100mph. Simoncelli came off best (and got an official warning), and had a major last lap battle with Pasini, but it was the less lanky, non-Afro Italian who won the race on his hideous pink Aprilia. Bautista settled for 3rd after a massive moment where he basically did a Scott Redding, having a huge almost-crash but landing back on the bike. Brilliant stuff.

MotoGP: Casey Stoner took the win, and it was very impressive. It was one of those bike-swap races that should be ridiculous but are really utter genius. Marco Melandri was going brilliantly in the wet, but the rebadged Kwak was a pile of garbage in the dry. Jorge Lorenzo finished a brilliant 2nd with Valentino Rossi 3rd, losing at Mugello for the first time in 7 years. Time to retire, you old git! (Kidding, obviously.)

WSBK: Ben Spies took a record 7th pole position in a row and did the double too. The racing wasn't all that great, not helped by the atrocious camerawork that mainly had us looking at a wide shot of about 27 bikes in front of the distant mountains, wondering who was in which position. Michel Fabrizio had a decent day, as did Johnny Rea. Leon Haslam nearly had a decent 2nd race, but spoiled it by crashing out of 4th place half way round the last lap. Oops.

BSB: Leon Camier continues to destroy the opposition. He's just outrageously fast on that Yamaha, and is pretty much doing a Ben Spies in the British Superbike series. His team-mate James Ellison did well to follow his team leader home, while comic book supervillain Josh Brookes took a brilliant 3rd place in race 2, still protesting his innocence in the Guintoli crash.

BSB Donington: GSE Yams Tops on Chaotic Day

The GSE Yamaha riders shared the victories at Donington Park in the British Superbike Championship, but it was a day of controversy.

On the way to the grid for race one, HM Plant Honda's number 2 Aussie Josh Brookes crashed into Worx Suzuki star Sylvain Guintoli at the Melbourne Loop.  Guintoli, who has starred in BSB this year and was one of the title favourites, was carted off with a badly broken leg, both tibia and fibula being fractured. Brookes protested his innocence, claiming brake failure. However, analysis of the data showed that the brakes had not failed. While Guintoli had been trundling round to the grid, Brookes had been at virtually full race pace. He grabbed the brakes, then started to pump them, then hit the hapless Frenchman.

Clearly, Brookes made an honest mistake. He would not have pumped the brakes if he thought they were working properly. I'd imagine that the major speed difference between himself and Guinters tricked his senses into thinking he wasn't slowing down at all, along with the cold brakes giving poor feedback through the lever, so he tried to pump the brakes up and meanwhile torpedoed the Suzuki.

The stewards seem to have taken the view that it was Brookesy's fault, but an honest error, as they have given him a one race ban, suspended for three races. Interviewed on TV before the stewards' decision, the Aussie was gutted, revealing that a similar thing had happened to him while racing Down Under. It's just a shame that a relatively small error has led to Guintoli being out for a couple of months.

Race 1 saw Leon Camier on the GSE Airwaves Yamaha make a poor start, but fight through to a fairly straightforward victory. It was a great race, with loads of passing for position. In the end, Camier's team-mate James Ellison secured 2nd place, with young Scotsman Stuart Easton grabbing 3rd.

Race 2 wasn't so great for Camier. The lanky Englishman's bike conked out at the Melbourne Loop. He managed to restart pretty much dead last, and massacred the slower riders to finish 12th. His team-mate, ex-MotoGP rider James Ellison took his first BSB win, and it was a pretty dominant one, albeit with Camier and Guintoli out of the picture. This time, Easton took 2nd on the Hydrex Honda, with Chris Walker 3rd on the Rob Mac Yamaha.

Leon Camier now holds a big lead in the championship, with 117 points to Ellison's 89. The human giraffe looks a stick-on for the title, so long as he stays in one piece. The only question is whether he'll stay in BSB next year or bag a decent WSBK ride!

All in all it was a great day's racing, but overshadowed by Guintoli's injury. Get well soon, Sylvain.

BSB Oulton: Camier Cruises to Double Victory

Oulton Park is a fine racetrack. As the name suggests, it is set in parkland, surrounded by forests and a lake. The tarmac twists and turns upwards and downwards, with so many blind corners that a guide dog would come in handy. Leon Camier stamped his authority all over the championship by taking both the wins in the British Superbike meeting.

Camier started from the front, having snatched pole position in the dying seconds of the qualifying session. The tall, laconic Englishman didn't make good starts, but was typically unflappable as he picked off his rivals, even surviving a scare on the grid for race two when an official claimed to have spotted fluid leaking from his Airwaves And Thanks To GSE Group And Jewson For Getting Me Here Yamaha (I think that's what he calls it).

The bike is still running with a tarted up road bike engine, with the full-on WSBK spec motor not appearing until team-boss Colin Wright takes an oxy-acetylene torch to the padlock on the GSE chequebook, probably when they reach a fast, non-twisty track where the extra 15 to 20 horse will be direly needed. You certainly wouldn't want to be going down the back straight at Snetterton 20 horse down on your rivals.

The fact that the youngster dominated the race meeting on a wheezing bike, despite being one of the biggest riders out there (either 6'2" or 6'3" depending on who you listen to, with about a foot of that being taken up by his giraffe-like neck) shows just how well he is riding. I had thought he would take a while to get back into the 4-cylinder groove after a year on V-twin Ducatis, but I was wrong about that. The new Yamaha R1's "bag of spanners" firing order gives it the best of both worlds, and it seems to suit Leon perfectly. I had picked Glen Richards for the title, and although the Aussie's consistency should help towards the end of the season, Camier is now looking like the favourite as he racks up the points early on.

Small Scotsman Stuart Easton took the lead early on in both races like some kind of mildly-overgrown Dani Pedrosa, but dropped down to fourth in the first race, and retired with electrical gremlins in race two. The Borders boy is certainly paying back the support of his fans, who have long claimed that he could do great things on a great bike.

His Hydrex Honda team-mate, Karl "Bomber" Harris had a better day. The Yorkshire bruiser had his personal trainer on the grid, presumably to stop him lying down and snaffling chocolate cakes before the races. It seemed to do the trick. Karl had horrible luck this time last year, but stayed on the bike and raced hard to climb onto the second step of the podium in both races. It was also a great result for Hydrex Honda, who have really rubbed the formerly factory HM Plant Honda team's nose in it.

Popular Frenchman Sylvain Guintoli was hugely impressive on his first race visit to Oulton, taking his Worx Suzuki to a pair of third places. Everyone agrees that this is a difficult track to learn, and nothing remotely like the MotoGP tracks that Sylvain is used to. Add to that the fact that the Suzuki is generally considered to shine on high speed tracks, and you have an excellent start to the season. Guintoli even came out with a bizarre story, claiming that he knew he would do well because he dreamed that his team boss Jack Valentine came down his chimney dressed as a blue Santa Claus, and handed him a trophy. Presumably, being French, Sylvain had been eating cheese before bedtime that day.

Other riders who stood out include Simon Andrews, who raced his Kawasaki brilliantly in the early stages of both races, despite being injured, before crashing in one and dropping down the field in the second.

Young Aussie Jason O'Halloran also punched above his weight on the SMT Honda, particularly in race one.

Gary Mason won the Cup class as usual on his Quay Garage Honda, embarrassing some of the riders from vastly richer teams.

Overall, it was a great day's racing, with the conditions staying pretty dry for the Superbikes. Camier looks like the favourite for the title, but it's a long way to the end of the season, and he knows better than most how badly things can go wrong mid-season. Still, the race for the title is already fascinating.

BSB Brands Indy: Wins for Guintoli and Camier

The British Superbike Championship season kicked off at the short Brands Hatch Indy circuit, with the wins shared between Frenchman Sylvain Guintoli and Englishman Leon Camier.

Guintoli is the sole rider for Worx Crescent Suzuki this year, and as an ex-MotoGP rider all eyes were on him to deliver a good performance. He got the race meeting off to a perfect start by taking pole position on his first visit to the track. HM Plant Honda's new Aussie rider Josh Brookes was unluckiest of all, denied entry to the UK by a pencil pusher who was heroically defending our borders from world-class motorcycle racers who have travelled the world for years without claiming asylum anywhere. Brookes was replaced at Brands by veteran Steve Plater, who would have to race in both the Superbike and Supersport classes.

Race One
Scotsman Stuart Easton took the lead on his Hydrex Honda as the field streamed into Paddock Hill bend for the first time. Behind him, his team mate Karl Harris was battling with Steve Plater, with HM Plant's legal Aussie Glen Richards 4th ahead of Guintoli and Airwaves Yamaha's Leon Camier.

The safety car soon appeared after a high speed crash at Clearways left Matt Bond lying in the track. He was badly battered but basically OK.

When the race restarted, Easton kept his lead, but Glen Richards passed his team mate Plater. A lap later, Richards pounced to take the lead, and Sylvain Guintoli was closing rapidly on Plater. Karl Harris was the first of the leaders to make a big mistake, sliding off the track and out of the race. Steve Plater was relishing the unexpected opportunity to race a superbike, and he overtook Easton on lap 11 to make it an HM Plant Honda one-two at the front. However, Guintoli and Camier were now breathing down Stuart Easton's neck as he tried to hold third place.

Steve Plater took the lead from Richards, totally ignoring the concept of a team pecking order in true wildcard style. With the laps clicking down at a crazy rate due to the very short 47 second lap time, the front group was turning into a five bike squabble. Guintoli was soon up to second, with Camier taking third. Then on lap 16 chaos suddenly reigned at Druids hairpin. Steve Plater fell off all on his own, and almost simultaneously just a few bike lengths behind him, Leon Camier ran off the track while battling with Richards.

There was now a lead group of three, with Guintoli leading from Richards and Easton, then a long gap back to Airwaves Yamaha's James Ellison in 4th. Ellison, another ex-MotoGP rider, lost out to his team-mate Camier with just over a lap to go.

Sylvain Guintoli's Suzuki squirmed around as he led the field round Clearways for the last time to take the chequered flag. It was a brilliant performance from the popular Frenchman as he won his first ever BSB race. Glen Richards took a decent second place, while Stuart Easton took an impressive podium finish, having raced on his spare bike and suffered tyre problems. Leon Camier was 4th, ahead of Ellison and Gary Mason, who was the first Cup class rider home on the Quay Garage Honda.

To read about race two, read my full report of the British Superbike Championship's Brands Hatch Indy meeting at Motorbikesport.com

BSB Silverstone: Shakey is Champion

Shane Byrne finally secured his second British Superbike title at Silverstone, while Leon Camier and Leon Haslam took the victories in a day of crashing on the flat, featureless track.

Race 1
Cal Crutchlow started from pole position, but it was his HM Plant Honda team-mate Leon Haslam who blasted off the grid and into the lead. Crutchlow slotted into second place in front of Rizla Suzuki rider Tom Sykes, while James Ellison came from nowhere to take fourth on his Bike Animal Honda, ahead of NW200's Michael Rutter in fifth.

Karl Harris was running well until he flew off the track across the grass, luckily finding some tarmac used by the F1 cars. He had already had a hair-raising moment as he launched past Ellison at the hairpin, hanging Rutter out to dry at the same time. Harris rejoined, but was a long way down the pack. In all the confusion, Michael Laverty took his Relentless Suzuki into fourth spot.

There was soon carnage at the idiotic chicane which leads into the final corner. This slow, slow left/right flick has no place on a major bike racing track, and this would become painfully obvious as Haslam turned left, only to be torpedoed by Tom Sykes. Haslam limped over to his bike, motioned to the marshals to pick it up, and rejoined the race. Tom Sykes also rejoined, but was delayed as he bump started his Suzuki. This collision was eerily reminiscent of the pair's crash at Oulton Park earlier this year, when Haslam was excluded from the race results for a kamikaze attack on Sykes. This time, with the roles reversed, Sykes was excluded from the results and suffered a swingeing 12 place penalty on the grid for race 2...

Read the rest of my British Superbike Silverstone race review at Motorbikesport.

BSB Croft: Leons, Leons Everywhere.

The two Leons shared the spoils in the British Superbike visit to Croft, with Camier winning race one and Haslam winning race two. Shane Byrne did not manage to seal the championship as he had hoped, but still holds a commanding lead. Cal Crutchlow had taken pole position for the second year in a row, in front of Michael Rutter, Shane Byrne and Leon Haslam.

Race One
Cal Crutchlow took the hole shot from pole position on his HM Plant Honda, while Tom Sykes rocketed off the line to take second place on his Rizla Suzuki. Michael Rutter grabbed third place on the NW200 Ducati, but had a frantic first lap, losing out to Haslam on the second HM Plant bike and Shane Byrne on the first of the Airwaves Ducati machines. At the last turn, Tom Sykes managed to block pass Crutchlow and take the lead, but the Suzuki was much slower through the fast corners than the chasing Honda.

Crutchlow seemed to be riding erratically, running wide in corners, and later revealed that he had a gear selection problem and kept finding false neutrals. His team-mate Haslam sneaked past and took off after Sykes. In the background, Leon Camier had risen from sixth to fifth place after a battle with fellow Ducati rider Michael Rutter. Camier proceeded to set fastest laps as he homed in on his team mate Byrne. Back at the front, Leon Haslam took advantage of a poor corner exit by Sykes to draw alongside, and pass into Tower corner.

Leon Camier was on a mission, and took a tight line at the hairpin to launch past Shakey Byrne, who was taking his usual wide, swooping route around the slowest corner on the track. Another false neutral from Crutchlow saw him run wide at Tower. Camier easily passed to take third, and Byrne just managed to sneak through for fourth. The giraffe-like Camier was now by far the most impressive rider on track, passing first Sykes then Haslam to take the lead and start to pull out a gap which he held to the chequered flag to take his second win of the season. Third place was then the subject of open warfare between Sykes, Byrne and the still-erratic Crutchlow. Into the last corner, Byrne was in third, but a banzai move from Sykes saw the Suzuki slam into the side of Shakey's Ducati, pushing them both well wide. Crutchlow saw his chance and nipped into fourth, but Sykes managed to hold him off and secure third place, immediately turning round to apologize to Byrne for the strong pass. Shakey was unimpressed, shaking his head mournfully as he crossed the line in fifth...

That's your taster. To get the full skinny, read my full review of the Croft round of BSB at Motorbikesport.