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Category: Superbikes
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Gresini Racing Team Moto3 racer Enea Bastianini was one of the stars of the 2015 edition of weekly Italian magazine Motosprint’s “Caschi d’Oro” awards ceremony, held on the evening of Monday, December 14th at the Checco Costa Museum, inside the Imola Circuit. The 17-year-old from Rimini, third overall and first Italian rider in the final standings of the 2015 Moto3 World Championship, was awarded with the “Casco Tricolore”.
Fausto Gresini was also attending the ceremony, marking the 40th anniversary of the event, whose first edition was held back in 1976: as team manager of the Aprilia Racing Team Gresini, Fausto took to the stage to deliver the “Casco Tricolore” to Aprilia Racing manager Romano Albesiano, as a reward for the efforts made by the Italian manufacturer in his return season in MotoGP in partnership with Gresini Racing.
FAUSTO GRESINI
“I’m really proud that one of our riders has been awarded with the Casco Tricolore: Gresini Racing has always invested in the growth of young Italian talents and the results we are getting in the Moto3 World Championship are proving it. I believe that Italy is coming really close to win again the World Title in the smaller category: there are so many strong riders now, and Bastianini is one of them. Enea is still very young, but he has learned many things during this season and now I think that he can really fight for the title. With regard to MotoGP, it was nice to deliver the Casco Tricolore to Romano Albesiano: we quickly established a good cooperation with Aprilia Racing, and we were able to collect a lot of data ahead of the 2016 season, in which we will be on track with a completely new bike. For this reason we are grateful to Albesiano and all the staff at Noale for their great effort”.
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2016 road racing campaign. The announcement was made on the main stage in front of a large and enthusiastic crowd on ‘TT Day’ at the Motorcycle Live exhibition at the NEC in Birmingham.
The ‘Morecambe Missile’ and the ‘Ramsey Rocket’ will contest the Superbike classes at the North West 200 and also the Superbike and Senior races at the Isle of Man TT aboard the proven Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP. Cummins will also take part in the 2016 Ulster GP and both riders are scheduled to race at Macau later in the year.
With 23 TT wins to his name, McGuinness proved he was still the man to beat in 2015, storming to victory in the blue riband Senior race and smashing the outright lap record around the 37.73-mile Mountain Course with a 132.701mph lap.
Isle of Man native Cummins, 29, took two podium places in tricky conditions at the 2015 Ulster GP aboard the Honda CBR, finishing second in the Dundrod 150 Superbike race and the final Superbike race of the day. Both riders competed in last month’s 12-lap Macau Grand Prix where they took fourth and seventh places respectively on their Honda machines.
In addition to their commitments with the official Honda Racing squad, McGuinness and Cummins will race with the private Jackson Racing team on Honda’s CBR600RR in the Supersport class at the NW200 and TT. The duo will also compete in the 2016 Endurance World Championship Superstock class aboard the Fireblade SP and Cummins will compete for Jackson Racing in the Superstock class on the roads.
Motorcycle Live has been a successful show for Honda who showcased its new range of 2016 motorcycles, including the all-new Africa Twin and the CBR1000RR Fireblade SP, McGuinness and Cummins will hopefully ride to victory on in 2016.
For all the latest news from the Honda Racing team, follow @HondaRacingCBR.
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Each year the Royal Automobile Club awards a series of historic trophies and medals to individuals and organisations, celebrating and recognising outstanding achievements, technical skills and innovation in the motoring and motor sport industries.
The Torrens Trophy recognises an individual or organisation considered to have made an outstanding contribution to motor cycling in Britain. The Trophy was first awarded in 1978 in memory of Arthur Bourne, a motor cycling journalist and Vice Chairman of the Royal Automobile Club who wrote a column under the name Torrens. It has only been awarded eight times in its history and only when the club feels that the achievement justifies it.
Its last recipient was four times British Superbike Champion Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne. Shakey, upon receiving it said ‘It’s a great achievement to win the Torrens Trophy and be recognised by such an established and respected organisation as the Royal Automobile Club’.
This year, with such a strong crop of potential worthy recipients, the Club’s Torrens Trophy Nominations Committee - consisting of Royal Automobile Club member Ben Cussons, Torrens Nomination Committee Chairman and ex-bike racer Barrie Baxter, well-respected motorcycle journalist Mat Oxley, former racer and commentator Steve Parrish and Arthur Bourne’s son Richard Bourne - debated long and hard. The overall winner of the Torrens Trophy will be awarded at the prestigious Pall Mall clubhouse in January. In no particular order, the shortlist of nominees for the 2015 trophy is:
Ian Hutchinson
Ian Hutchinson has bettered Isle of Man TT greats like Stanley Woods, Mike Hailwood, Joey Dunlop and John McGuinness by winning five TT races in one week. That was five years ago. Since then Hutchinson has been to hell and back. Just weeks after his unique achievement the Yorkshireman broke his left leg badly. Surgeons prescribed amputation but Hutchinson resisted and has since undergone 30 operations to retain the limb. His comeback is an awe-inspiring tale of triumph over adversity, climaxing with his return to winning form at the 2015 TT, when he won another three races.
Danny Kent
Britain has enjoyed plenty of success in the World Superbike Championship over the past few decades but none in motorcycling’s premier MotoGP series. Until Danny Kent came along. On November 8th the 22-year-old from Gloucestershire became this country’s first Grand Prix World Champion since Barry Sheene in 1977. Honda rider Kent won his crown in the harum-scarum Moto3 title, MotoGP’s junior championship, which launched the careers of Valentino Rossi, Marc Marquez, Jorge Lorenzo, Dani Pedrosa and many others. Next year Kent moves up to Moto2, with the MotoGP class itself his eventual target.
Jonathan Rea
Years of hard work paid off for Northern Irishman Jonathan Rea when he secured the World Superbike Championship in September. Rea had been a race winner in the series for six seasons, but it took a change of manufacturer to fully realise his potential. The 28-year-old utterly dominated the 2015 campaign, taking his Kawasaki to victory in 14 of the 28 races and finishing on the podium in all but four races. Rea follows in the wheel tracks of fellow British World Superbike champions including Carl Fogarty and Neil Hodgson and former Torrens Trophy winners James Toseland and Tom Sykes.
Tai Woffindon
Speedway is one of the few surviving racing disciplines in which the rider’s right wrist is effectively connected to the rear tyre, untrammelled by a little black box of electronics making win-or-lose decisions. Not only that, speedway bikes run on methanol and have no brakes! Twenty-five-year-old Woffindon has climbed to the top of this most visceral of motor sports twice in the last three years, winning the 2013 and 2015 World Speedway Championships. The Australian-born Britain, known for his stylishly aggressive riding and cast-iron bravery, is also a multiple British Speedway Champion.
The Torrens Trophy
The Royal Automobile Club has always had a close association with the motor cycling world. The Club formed the Auto Cycle Club in 1903, which went on to become the Auto Cycle Union in 1947. The first Tourist Trophy race was held on the Isle of Man in 1905 for cars - two years before the first TT for motorcycles.
The Torrens Trophy recognises an individual or organisation considered to have made an outstanding contribution to the cause of safe and skilful motorcycling in the United Kingdom OR to have made an outstanding contribution of technical excellence to further the cause of motor cycling in the UK OR to have shown outstanding skill in international motor cycling sporting events in the United Kingdom.
The Torrens Trophy was first awarded in 1978 in memory of Arthur Bourne, a motor cycling journalist who wrote a column under the name Torrens. Arthur Bourne was also a Vice-Chairman of the RAC.
Previous winners of the Torrens Trophy include BMW in 1989 in recognition for their contribution to motor cycle safety through their development of their anti-lock braking system and in 1998 to Ian Kerr of the Metropolitan Police for 20-years of tireless work in promoting safe and responsible motorcycling. In 2008 World Superbike Champion James Toseland was awarded the Trophy for his immense contribution to raising the profile of motorcycle racing in this country. In 2013 Tom Sykes was awarded the trophy for being crowned the fifteenth World Superbike Champion, the fourth from Great Britain and only the second rider to win for Kawasaki in the series for twenty years. The last recipient was Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne for his unique achievement of securing a fourth British Superbike Championship.
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The European Junior Cup, powered by Honda, the entry-level series supporting the FIM World Superbike Championship, has announced that registration is now open for participation in 2016, its sixth season of competition.
This year saw the successful introduction of the new Honda CBR650F as the official control motorcycle and, while the level of motorcycle performance increased, the EJC stayed true to its ethos of affordable racing on equal terms, with close-fought competition and thrilling finishes throughout the season.
Spaniard Javier Orellana finally claimed the EJC title at his home round of Jerez and now looks forward to a promotion within the SBK championship.
The 2016 European Junior Cup will race at eight European rounds of the FIM World Superbike Championship and is open to racers aged between 14 and 21. The FIM Europe 'European Women's Cup' for women racers aged between 14 and 24 takes place within and as an integral part of the championship.
Those riders interested in registering for the 2016 European Junior Cup are invited to visit the European Junior Cup website to complete an online form.
Gerry Bryce – series director
We have had a fantastic 2015 season and we’re really pleased with the perform ance of both the riders and the new series motorcycle. The response to the Honda CBR650F has been fantastic and with the kind support of Honda, Dorna SBK, Pirelli and our other partners we look forward to building on this success to make 2016 the best year yet.
Marco Chini – Honda WSBK operations manager
Honda is delighted to support an exciting new EJC season in 2016. Over the last three years, the series has proven to be one of the most successful in the WSBK paddock, both commercially and in terms of talent scouting. The Honda CBR650F is a sports bike that’s incredibly easy to ride and is the perfect model to let our young riders learn the WSBK’s European tracks and gather the professional experience needed to compete at the next level in the World Supersport and World Superbike championships. I'm looking forward to meeting the next generation of EJC riders at the track and I really hope that we w ill see more women take up the challenge to line up on the grid next season!
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Motorcycle Live is arguably the best place in the UK to meet some of the country’s – and in fact the world’s – leading racers away from the pressures of the paddock, all under one roof, and this year’s show will not disappoint. There will be a daily procession of stars from World and British Superbikes, MotoGP, TT and Speedway taking part in on-stage Q&As, photo opportunities and rider signings.
 The show will fire up on Saturday 28 November with a star-studded list of racers headed up by 2015 World Superbike Champion Jonathan Rea and including 2015 British Superbike Champion Josh Brookes, 2015 World Speedway Champion Tai Woffinden, four-time British Superbike Champion Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne, MotoGP riders Scott Redding and Maverick Vinales and World Superbike ace Leon Haslam.
From then on, the racing stars just keep on coming with appearances throughout the week from the likes of MotoGP rider Bradley Smith, 2015 Moto2 World Champion Johann Zarco, Moto2 star Sam Lowes, 2015 BSB Showdown contenders Dan Linfoot and James Ellison, SBK’s Sylvain Guintoli and Alex Lowes and former racer Troy Corser.
The Isle of Man TT riders will also be out in force on both Classic TT Day (Sunday 29 November) and TT Day (Sunday 6 December), as well as every day of the week, with 23-time TT winner John McGuinness and 11-time TT winner Michael Dunlop being joined by Michael Rutter, Conor Cummins, Dean Harrison, Bruce Anstey, Ryan Farquhar, William Dunlop, Gary Johnson, Ian Hutchinson and many more.
For a full list of riders, updated as and when more are confirmed, visit www.motorcyclelive.co.uk/racers
Motorcycle Live takes place at The NEC, Birmingham from 28 November to 6 December 2015. Advance tickets are on sale now, at just £17.50 per adult, £11 for Seniors and £7 for children aged 11-16* (kids ten and under accompanied by a paying adult go free). There is also a £20.50 advance ticket, which includes entry to the show and a choice of Oxford neck wear worth £15.
To book, call 0844 581 2345 or visit www.motorcyclelive.co.uk.
*Advance ticket price, closing date for advanced tickets 5.00pm on 27 November 2015
All information correct at time of release and subject to change.
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