Latest rumour had Matthieu Lagrive staying with SERT but still being able to run a Honda in the World Supersport Championship - and Steve Plater riding with GMT94...although I stress this is just rumour and there is much more to this story...

...but I can't POSSIBLY comment...

Geez, you say something one day with information from unimpeachable sources - and the next day it all changes again!...makes a poor correspondent want to turn to drink (aah, I can see myself now, sozzled on Gin & Tonics at Ricks in Casablanca). It seems that anything you may have heard about 2007 Bol d'Or Superstar Horst Saiger will have changed...almost by the time I've finished typing this sentence. My report that he'll be contesting the German Superbike Championship on a Suzuki doesn't look too far away from reality. It seems that, while he was having a fun day out riding on his own GSXR road bike with a bunch of friends down in Mugello, he just happened to put in faster laps than German SBK rider Roman Stamm on a race-kitted bike...suddenly he was fielding offers for both German Superbikes and Swiss Stocksport - just when you thought things had stopped for the winter, it all kicks off again - and don't get me started on Daytona...I can't keep up with what's going on...

Keep checking back...I'll probably have to start doing HOURLY updates soon...

Silly Me.
OK, let's get the embarrassing stuff over with - the BMW road test (not track test, it really hasn't anything left to prove on the track) is STILL ON!...I got the steroidal HP2 Sport mixed up with the cooking version 2008 BMW R1200S.

I've been drooling for a long time...check THIS out...

Mark Fisher (father of up-and-coming UK racer Tom Fisher, manager of new BMW factory rider Richard 'Cooperman' Cooper) of Pidcock Motorcycles, based in Long Eaten, Derby and Nottingham in the UK put me straight...and the first ROAD test of the brand new BMW HP2 Sport is still on - as BMW's awesome new sports Boxer (the very same one that has been humbling so many powerful Japanese machines in the World Motorcycle Endurance Championship) cannot take place until after the bike is released.

And that won't be until the morning of the 8th of March 2008. I'd start queuing early.

Pidcock are in the enviable position of being able to already take orders for the most powerful BMW flat twin ever - The HP2 Sport can be ordered now for an 'on the road' price of £14,500 including 12 months Road Tax, 24 months Europe-wide BMW warranty & 24 months Europe-wide Emergency Service assistance package, so call Mark on +44 (0) 115 946 2233 now to reserve your HP2 Sport. Pidcock's website is HERE.
 

It seems that no sooner has Steve Plater proved again what a class rider he is than a big money team snatches him back from the under-funded...but still three-times World Championship winners...Phase One. Not Kawasaki this time but, if rumours are to be believed, SERT...

It was widely known that SERT's Matthieu Lagrive would be aiming for World Supersport in 2008 and SERT needed another rider to take his place in the all-conquering factory Suzuki team. It's a huge compliment to Plater that the French 2005/6/7 World Champions have chosen him above everyone else.
Although nothing has been signed yet, it's looking like a done deal for Matthieu Lagrive, out testing at Almeria in Spain, alongside GMT94 rider David Checa who is widely tipped to be competing against his brother Carlos Checa after the older of the two brothers moved from MotoGP to WSBK.

Speaking of GMT94, there's a lot of their 2007 kit up for sale on eBay HERE, so pick up a fully-kitted R6 in the fantastic GMT colours for around 15K in Euros...or you can have a GMT94 R1 replica HERE ...or just nip down to your local bike shop.

The Guyot Band's rock concert tour dates for 2008 have yet to be announced...

After teasing us a few weeks ago, news of the promised/hoped-for British all-female World Endurance team has been thin on the ground (ok, I've heard nothing for weeks) but the feisty Brits seem to have quite a bit of a fan club and I'm still hopeful that this time we'll have a result for 2008 - they've already posted their colours to the mast on their website and hopefully team manager Susie Grayson will get back to me soon. Feisty racing are HERE.

So, new rules have been published for the 2008 World Endurance season - and Superbikes are out and it's going to be Superproduction, Superstock and Open classes only. We're inclined to think that it was inevitable. The phenomenal increase in standard bike performance over the past 15 years meant that you could now buy, for a reasonable price, a machine that can win races in almost standard trim. We've seen over the past few years how a team like SERT can not only win but lap the entire field up to third, sometimes second place and, although I imagine this will still happen, the soul-destroying performance advantage held by teams with the budgets to run full SBK-spec will be reined in a bit. The new rules (and the bits they've struck out) are HERE.

...and it looks like there's not a lot you can't do in the Open class....

(HO HUM WITHDRAWN) As for the rest, we're still wondering what will be on TV...if there will be anyone promoting the series...if any of the supposed "movers & shakers" are talking to other circuits (Russia, former Eastern Bloc states, India, China...Angelsey in the UK??)...

...and what is former Bolliger rider Horst Saiger doing next year...

As soon they finished in Qatar, some teams would have forgone the post-race celebrations to dash to the hotel and grab a quick shower before grabbing their bags and racing to the airport, having just 4 DAYS to get their team and bikes ready for the start of practice on the 15th of November for the 41st Macau Motorcycle Grand Prix. Steve Plater, Thomas Hinterreiter, the Yamaha Austria Team and even elements of the Bolliger Kawasaki team will be competing in the traditional end-of-season classic. The 41st Macau Grand Prix page is HERE.

...STOP PRESS...STOP PRESS...

Michael Rutter has taken pole at Macau with a record-breaking lap but behind him Thomas Hinterreiter is also under the previous lap record - more HERE

Didn't you hear what I said?...STOP THOSE DAMNED PRESSES!...

After a real battle with John McGuinness, Woodhall Spa's own Steve Plater has won the 41st Macau Grand Prix - more HERE

Spaniard Fonsi Nieto and German Max Neukirchner both put the 2007 Alstare Corona Extra Suzuki GSX-R1000 though its paces during their test at Valencia in Spain with Neukirchner beating the lap record on regular race rubber. Both riders made many changes to the positions of the bars, footpegs and levers so that they could start to get comfortable with the bike, before beginning to push hard.

The weather for the tests was generally good and both riders and the team were able to do a lot of good groundwork and gather useful information in more than 150 laps. Nieto posted a best time of 1:35.5 and Neukirchner a 1:35.00 - which is faster than Max Biaggi's best race lap there earlier this season.

Fonsi Nieto: "This test was all about me getting comfortable with the bike so we did a lot of work with the handlebars, levers and footpegs. My initial feeling is that the bike is very good and I have a lot to learn. I started with the Biaggi settings but I didn't get on with them so we've changed them quite a lot - more in the Kagayama direction I guess. The Alstare Suzuki feels more of a race bike than my bike of last year and it has a lot of potential. I am not thinking about lap times at this test, because I want to learn this bike first. The Alstare team is great to work with and everybody is very friendly. I am getting to know them all very quickly and already we have a very good relationship. The World Superbike Championship is not an easy race series by any means but I am really looking forward to this new challenge."

Max Neukirchner: "I know I've ridden the Alstare Suzuki before but this is a different situation for me here. We spent most of the time getting the bike right for me. That meant changes to the riding position, bars, levers and footpegs. I enjoyed riding the bike in the last race of the year but now it's time to get the bike dialled-in for me properly. There is a lot to do, but we are all working well and making good progress, so we are all pretty happy at this stage. I know most the Alstare guys from before but I am working with some different mechanics this time, so I have to get used to them and they have to get used to me. I'm already enjoying myself with the team and I think we will leave Valencia in a positive frame of mind."

It's tough without any credible promotion for the World Endurance Championship this year. There's absolutely no indication of where anyone can find out what's going on - except, of course, from Race Corporation and www.race24.com - the official site seems restricted to dry press releases only. It's lucky that Race Corporation has a fantastic source in Qatar...Pitstop Motorcycles are based very near the Losail track and the Managing Director, Modawi Al Ansari is very kindly keeping us abreast of developments. The QATAR 8 HOURS page is HERE.

OK - FOUND QATAR 8 HOUR LIVE TIMING - HERE!

This rumour has been around for a few months now - that a UK-based team with all female riders is looking to compete in a full season of World Endurance...and is actively seeking help and backing to compete at Losail and Suzuka as well. Yup, a complete season. The team in question have had a taster already of Endurance and are dead keen to do a lot more and show the French and Italians that the UK, too, can take on the boys in, traditionally, one of the toughest motorsports Championships in the world.

As usual, more news (and pictures, hopefully) when I get it.

JASON PRIDMORE - WILL HE? WON'T HE?

It's a rumour that just won't go away - and I've been waiting for the fast American to come back to World Endurance for a long time now.

There are countless occasions of top racers announcing their retirement, wishing to go out of racing while they are at the top of their game, feeling that they would somehow lose face if they carried on. Let us for once be honest here. The only thing, the ONLY thing, that stops racers from racing is injury. If they can somehow carry on, even penury will not stop them - because deep down they know that they can still do it. Maybe you can try sitting on the stoop with a beer in hand, thinking that you no longer have a point to prove - but you're not fooling anybody, least of all yourself. It's that old killjoy 'pride' again.

Max Biaggi retire? HAH! Stephane Mertens retire? PAH! You're not fooling me one bit....deep down you're the same as every other committed racer. Pride still takes far too many off the racetrack, Jamie Witham and Carl Fogarty to name just two. If Frankie Chili didn't start to hurt from his past injuries from the third race in the season, he'd still be out there. Even now as a wild-card, he will still be ahead of the vast majority on a good bike. The "show ride" at Donington last year?...he just went out and did a lap on lap record pace, so don't tell me he's past it. Steve Martin has eaten so much pride he should be reaching critical mass inside by now - because, given a good bike (and decent support, not just a team members relative) and time to test, he can still win races.

Looks like another Clive's Rant, doesn't it?

My point is - COME BACK JASON PRIDMORE. Not because of anything other than what both you and I know.

You can still win.

PHASE ONE NEWS

THE OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER:
After much consideration it was decided to replace Didier with Steve for the final round of the WEC at the Losail circuit in Qatar, on 10th November. The team currently lie sixth in the WEC with a mathematical opportunity to become third at Losail. It was felt that Steve’s reliable racing characteristics shown during the 2007 season with TKF, outweighed the overall performance by Didier and it was in the best interests of the team to make this substitution. Didier remains a much respected rider and we hope to work with him in the future.

“I am looking forward to riding with the Phase One team,” said Steve. “I have been riding a Yamaha R1 all season so shouldn’t have any problem adjusting to the bike. It will be a new experience for all of us as this is the first time the World Endurance series has visited Losail so the only riders to have a bit of an advantage will be the local boys.”

STEVE PLATER WINS 'BENT KNIFE' AWARD

Glen Richards, Warwick Nowland and Steve Plater make the most experienced team for some time and must be considered a match for both SERT and YART. Steve’s regular rides on the AIM Yamaha in the BSB championship should also allow him to make an easy transition onto the Phase One bike, which was described by Guy Martin as being one of the finest handling bikes that he had ridden. So a job well done by Glen and Warwick on set up, Steve should find it easy. Steve Plater last rode for the team at Le Mans in 1996 before his heady days with TKF in the late 90s when he held the Le Mans endurance lap record. The team very much welcome his return.

Losail 8 hours - Qatar - Round 6

Preparations have now almost been completed with the two airfreight crates having left on the 17th October and the two overspill boxes being prepared for hand carrying next week. The event is new for all the teams, with only a few riders having competed or tested there before. It is completely new for our three. It also seems completely new to the organisers who seem fairly well qualified as disorganisers at the moment. Still, endurance was always a battle over a range of adversities.

We leave on the 6th November and the 8 hour race is on Saturday the 10th, half day and half night. The circuit has been prepared for a night GP next year and lighting has been provided to a value of 10 lux minimum. It is popularly speculated that the endurance race will be a pre test for the GP, but interestingly it has also been provisionally included in the 2008 WEC calendar. Many people are comparing the event to the Suzuka 8hrs; this is just not so. ‘The’ 8hrs is an extremely well established and well run event with much depth of support and infrastructure from press and media through factories to suppliers. In Japan, if you had a need for a little welding job or to pop up the road for a fibreglass kit, then it was no problem. Not so in the desert! Everything has to be packed into our crates, there is going to be no external support whatsoever. Having said that, some of the British embassy guys have come forward with help with pit equipment, for which we are very grateful. Apart from the expected technical isolation, the main threat seems to be likely to come from the weather…it is common for blowing sand to spread across the track at waist height on a brisk wind. Should be interesting.!

Brands Hatch BSB with Ezylet

The team donned the logos of prospective sponsor EZYLET for the BSB and ran Guy Martin in the final round of the British Championship. Guy did a marvellous job finishing in 18th and 22nd places. The bike was predictably outclassed, simply being the normal endurance specification machine minus lights, however many were surprised that we were only one second off tenth place in qualifying and were circulating a second faster than Glen in the super stock class.! Thanks to all at EZYLET and to those who supported us at the event. If only for some electronics and a CR gearbox….