Superbikes - Engine trouble blights Brands bid (From The Westmorland Gazette)

Superbikes - Engine trouble blights Brands bid

1:28pm Saturday 15th August 2009 in

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KENDAL’S James Ellison refused to be downcast despite surrendering yet more ground to runaway leader and Airwaves Yamaha team-mate Leon Camier at Brands Hatch, writes Nick Hartwell of Sportsbeat.

Ellison had hoped to take advantage of an historic round eight of the MCE Insurance British Superbikes – the first time three races had been staged on the same weekend – to claim a winners’ podium place.

But it was not to be for Ellison as persistent rain and bike trouble wrecked his practice and qualifying and saw him finish a disappointing sixth, fifth and third over the weekend.

In comparison, Camier broke Niall Mackenzie's long-standing record from 1997 to take the most race wins in a BSB season, 14, by winning all three races at Brands Hatch.

The victory also marked a momentous occasion for the GSE Racing team as they have now secured 100 race wins in the Superbike class.

But Ellison revealed improvements to his bike and a much-needed three-week break ahead of round nine at Cadwell Park would stand him in good stead for the remainder of the season.

“Everything is looking good at the moment and if the changes with the bike work-out I could be doing even better times,” said Ellison.

“I really can’t wait until the next round because there are a few little things with the bike that we are looking to try out.

“I’m really excited about the changes because I have wanted to try these things out for a long while.”

Ellison admitted the standard of this season’s BSB is such that a poor qualifying or practice could leave you chasing your tail during a race weekend.

But after continuing to improve his speed throughout the weekend, it certainly wasn’t all doom and gloom.

“It was a really tough weekend for me but I got better and better as the weekend progressed so there are a lot more positives than negatives,” added Ellison.

“We missed the practice session on Friday because it rained in the morning and we didn’t want to risk the bike with the changes we made.

“And then in the afternoon there was a problem with the bike which meant the engine had to be taken out so there was no time to get it sorted in time for a practice.

“I went quicker every race and from the qualifying through to the last race so that was definitely encouraging.”

* British Eurosport 2 has live coverage from every round of the 2009 British Superbike Championship. See the action on Sky channel 411 or Virgin Media channel 525. Next races at Cadwell Park on Sunday, August 31 and for updates head to uk.eurosport.yahoo.com