Superbikes - Technical hitches hinder Ellison (From The Westmorland Gazette)

Superbikes - Technical hitches hinder Ellison

3:35pm Thursday 11th August 2011 in Sport

JAMES Ellison left MCE Insurance British Superbike round eight at Brands Hatch down but the Kendal ace insists he isn’t out of contention for wins in 2011.

After ending 2009 as the British Superbike runner up the 30-year-old’s return last month was much heralded but has proved to be a false dawn.

At Brands Hatch Ellison, racing for the Sorrymate.com Honda team, had 24th, DNF and 13th placings to his name and despite admitting machinery problems, Ellison is confident his domestic season can end on a high.

“I was disappointed with the weekend,” said Ellison. “The second race was a write-off as we didn’t even get to the start.

“We’re still working on the fly-by-wire system but we’ve only tried it properly this weekend.

“The bike is capable of podiums, the team knows that and we have a bike that’s capable of it, but we need to get it there. That’s my aim - to get on the podium before the season is out.”

Ellison will next be in action at Cadwell Park on the last weekend of August, while Supersport has a mid-season break.

British Eurosport 2 will be broadcasting every round of the 2011 British Superbike Championship. The channel is available on Sky 411 & Virgin Media 525. Watch online via the Eurosport Player (www.eurosportplayer.co.uk )