THE BSB Topic

you reckon walker tom? i don't see him doing too bad , but personally, i see him being top 5 at best, would love to be proved wrong though. For the title i reckon it'll be between camier and ellison. i think guintoli may struggle at the start of the season, as our british tracks are pretty different to the wide gp tracks he's used to. i think stuart easton may surprise us a little this year as will john kirkham. the hm plant boys will be up there, but i don't see brookes as a title contender atm anyway and richards, i think he'll win a few but i don't class him in the same category as the airwaves boys.

Is Cramier healthy? How much factory support are they getting on the Yamaha?

I'm new to BSB, never followed the series before, but I plan on doing so this year as seems likely to be a closely contested championship.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Bootsakah @ Mar 20 2009, 09:01 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Is Cramier healthy? How much factory support are they getting on the Yamaha?

I'm new to BSB, never followed the series before, but I plan on doing so this year as seems likely to be a closely contested championship.
Camier's healthy, but I've no idea how good the bike is as they don't seem to have tested as much as the other teams. I suppose it won't be too bad if the Yamaha Italia bikes are anything to go by.

I can't see anyone other than Camier or Ellison winning the title if the bike's any good. Ellison's an awesome rider who somehow never got a top ride till now, and Camier's one of the most talented young Brits I've ever seen .

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Craig3089 @ Mar 20 2009, 08:09 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>i think stuart easton may surprise us a little this year as will john kirkham.
I've been a bit of an Easton fan for a while (maybe because I was a big fan of Hislop), but he's not put a good season together since he left Paul Bird's team, but I'd love to see a couple of wins from him. I'll really be rooting for Kirkham as I think he deserved the Rob Mac ride far more than Walker after how he's ridden the last few years - especially with him dominating the R1 cup last year. Nothing against Walker, but if he was ever going to win a title he'd have done it by now.
Though maybe I'm slightly biased because John's a Derby lad.

Also keep an eye on Simon Andrews - another great young rider who should have a top ride but somehow ended up on the MSS Kwak.

If the BSB Yamaha team is getting info from the WSBK effort, they are in a good position. Both Spies and Sykes have came out quick right from the get go. If this is any indication of the potential the Yamaha possesses I would say Cramier and Ellison are in a good place. Isn't Walker also going to ride a Yamaha? How well do the privateer bikes run against factory supported teams in BSB, somewhat fair or huge difference?

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Bootsakah @ Mar 21 2009, 08:46 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>If the BSB Yamaha team is getting info from the WSBK effort, they are in a good position. Both Spies and Sykes have came out quick right from the get go. If this is any indication of the potential the Yamaha possesses I would say Cramier and Ellison are in a good place. Isn't Walker also going to ride a Yamaha? How well do the privateer bikes run against factory supported teams in BSB, somewhat fair or huge difference?

Historically I would say that there have been huge disparities within the series - (although not as a acute as AMA), with GSE, Crescent, and Honda Racing UK dominating over the last decade. That said, Paul Bird showed that a well run private team, a good sponsor and good riders, (both in Hizzy and Shakey), you can win the title - (although that was during the time that you could only win astride a Ducati, an it has to be remembered that Birdy isn't short of a bob or two.)

When Kiyo won the title, Honda was basically a factory effort, and was running away on top spec Michelins to boot. There are some great teams like Hydrex Honda and Hawk Kawasaki who simply lack the resources to compete with, or trouble the two horse race between Honda Louth and GSE. Regarding Stalker, I similarly don't think that Rob Mac Racing has been the same since it lost the Virgin sponsorship, although Walker is supposedly delighted with testing, GSE are the most sorted team in the paddock and I think it's ominous for the opposition that they are building their own bikes as opposed to the orthodox customer route of Rob Mac - which presumably has no factory support whatsoever. If it does on the other hand act as a leveller as Tom suggests it might, and the lack of testing will contribute to this, then even better - I hope he's right

It's Belgarda Yamaha by the way. Belgrade is the capital of Serbia

JT for BSB Champ 2010

Guintoli's not short of money then:

http://www.britishsuperbike.com/article.asp?article=2198

Why haven't Airwaves done any testing?

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (James Ellison)<div class='quotemain'>All I can say is that I am well excited to get the season started, it feels like it has been the longest winter ever as we haven't had any testing yet. I am not worried about the fact we haven't tested as the new Yamaha R1 looks to be a fantastic bike and currently the best race production bike in the world.
Source: http://www.britishsuperbike.com/article.asp?article=2276

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Tom @ Apr 10 2009, 12:07 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Times

I wonder what happened with James Ellison

I was worried about this year's BSB with some of the riders moving on, but with the new riders, team changes and new machinery I'm looking forward to it again.