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Category: Moto GP
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Talented youngster Adam Mclean will have a full complement of machinery for the 2018 Isle of Man TT Races fuelled by Monster Energy and the other international road races in 2018 having signed for quinnestheprinters.com by Team IMR.
The Ulsterman will campaign a BMW S1000RR in the RST Superbike and RL360º Quantum Superstock TT Races and a Yamaha YZF-R6 in the Monster Energy Supersport Races with the team having recently purchased the ex-Ian Hutchinson 600cc machine from Raceways Motorcycles.
McLean will also have the use of the machinery for the other International races and selected Irish National road races and will continue to have the support of Roy Hanna Motors for the Lightweight class while he will continue to be supported by Metzeler tyres for his 2018 campaign.
The 21-year old has been a standout performer in the last two seasons, impressing in all of his races, especially at the International events where he has made a more than favourable impression, particularly in 2017 where he took a brilliant fourth in the second Supersport race at the North West 200 and third in the Ulster Grand Prix Supertwins race.
He also took sixth in the opening Supertwins race at the North West 200 and tenth in the first Supersport 600cc race at the Ulster GP, improving his quickest lap around the Dundrod circuit to 125.535mph.
The Magherafelt rider also made his debut at the Isle of Man TT races in 2017, winning the coveted Newcomers Trophy after finishing 18th in the opening Monster Energy Supersport 600cc race where he lapped at an impressive 120.644mph, the fifth fastest lap ever recorded by a newcomer on a 600cc machine, and won a silver replica. He was on course for a brilliant top ten finish in the Bennetts Lightweight race after lapping at more than 115mph before being forced to retire on the third lap.
McLean was a consistent front runner at Oliver’s Mount, Scarborough, taking regular podium finishes in the Supersport and Supertwins races and finished third, fourth and fifth overall in the Irish Road Racing Supertwins, Supersport 600cc and Moto3 Championships respectively.
Adam McLean:
“I’m really looking forward to working with quinnstheprinters.com by Team IMR in 2018 and am very grateful for the opportunity. I’ll be riding top class machinery with a superb infrastructure behind me which will hopefully enable me to be successful and build on my 2017 results so I can’t wait to get going!”
Peter Bradley, Managing Director of quinnstheprinters.com commented;
"quinnstheprinters.com are delighted to be the title sponsor of Team IMR and we are thrilled the team has secured the services of Adam McLean for the 2018 road racing season. As part of the Bradley Group which has operations in England and the Isle of Man as well as a base in Northern Ireland, the company places a huge emphasis on supporting young local talent and we believe that with the right backing, Adam has the capability to achieve considerable success and build on his highly impressive 2017 season. We look forward to getting him on the bike during our Spanish testing programme in February and wish him all the best for a safe and enjoyable 2018 season.”
Jason Griffiths, Racing Manager, Metzeler UK said;
“It was a real pleasure to work with Adam this year in what was his breakthrough season. He obviously has great potential and at Metzeler we look forward to continuing our partnership with Adam and seeing him gain more experience at the International Road Races in 2018. When Metzeler started the Road Race programme in 2013 a young Dean Harrison joined us and we firmly believe Adam is capable of the same progression. Good luck to Adam and Team IMR with their new venture.”
Ian Moffitt, Team Principal of quinnstheprinters.com by Team IMR added;
“It’s fantastic to have signed Adam for the 2018 roads season. Given our initial focus on the British Championship and securing Chrissy Rouse and Jordan Gilbert for the Superstock 1000 BSB campaign, we feared we had missed out on signing a quality roads rider for 2018. However, having learnt that Adam was available and after a discussion with Peter Bradley, we were able to come to an agreement on running Adam at the International road races which is hugely exciting for the team.”


“Adam will have a full stable of bikes to compete in the Superbike, Superstock and Supersport clases at the NW200, TT and UGP with the use of our two 2017 BMW S1000RRs as well as Ian Hutchinson’s 2017 front-running Yamaha R6, which will all run on Metzeler tyres for whom we are very grateful for their support. Adam will also compete at some of the BSB and national road races throughout the season and we are extremely excited to be working with one of today’s most talented riders in road racing. We would not be able to do what we are doing without the support of all our partners but especially Peter and quinnstheprinters.com.”
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The Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team wraps up the 2017 FIM Superbike World Championship with a solid performance by Jake Gagne, who was twelfth again at the end of the 17-lap, final encounter of the season at the Losail International Circuit. Gagne’s team mate Davide Giugliano was declared unfit to race following an outbreak of gastroenteritis.
Gagne got a good launch from 17th place on the grid and – after a few laps – he got up to speed on board his Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP2 machine and made his way into the top-15. In the first half of the race, the 24-year-old American lapped consistently in the 1’59secs – a pace which helped him consolidate twelfth position as the laps went by. Gagne then rode a lonely second part of the final encounter to equal yesterday’s race one result, albeit with a smaller gap to the top.
The Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team will begin preparations for the 2018 FIM Superbike World Championship with a private test on November 22-24 at ‘Circuito de Jerez’ in Spain.
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Jake Gagne has taken fifth place in today’s 17-lap, opening race of the 2017 WorldSBK season finale at the Losail International Circuit in Qatar, equalling his best finish in the series scored in his previous appearance at Magny-Cours a month ago. His Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team mate Davide Giugliano was forced to an early retirement at the end of lap six.
Gagne got a decent launch from eighteenth place on the grid and had a competitive opening lap, as he made his way past some rivals to enter the top-15. As the race progressed, the 24-year-old from San Diego battled with Guarnoni for eleventh position before consolidating twelth place in the latter stages of the encounter.
Giugliano got a good launch from the fifteenth slot of the grid and was able to move up two places as the World Superbike field entered turn one. The 28-year-old Italian then started to lose ground and was passed by his team mate Gagne, before making his way back to the pits and pull out of the race.
The final race of the 2017 FIM Superbike World Championship will get underway tomorrow at 21:00 local time (GMT +3), with Giugliano and Gagne again 15th and 18th, respectively, on the starting grid.
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Hannes Soomer and the WilSport Racedays Honda Team have won the 2017 edition of the FIM European Supersport Cup after a thrilling season finale at ‘Circuito de Jerez’ in southern Spain last Sunday. The 19-year-old Estonian rider entered the final round of the season with an 8-point advantage over his nearest rival Rob Hartog, and defended his leadership in the 19-lap World Supersport Spanish race by finishing 15th and claiming the title by the slimmest of margins – one point. 
Born on the 17th of February 1998 in Estonia’s capital city of Tallin, Soomer stepped foot on the international motorcycle racing scene by joining the WorldSBK’s former one-make, entry-level series – the European Junior Cup – at the early age of 15 in 2013. On board Honda machinery, Hannes built up a copious amount of experience around the European tracks of the World Superbike calendar, while proving to be one of the most talented and mature young talents in the championship.
His results and performances led to the decision by former EJC Series Director Gerry Bryce to sign Soomer to compete on board a Honda CBR600RR machine in the FIM Europe Supersport Cup with team WilSport Racedays Honda. Soomer, on the Ten Kate Racing Products-prepared machine, made a stellar debut at Aragón last April where he was 9th overall. His consistency throughout the season allowed him to clinch the well-deserved trophy as the final event of 2017 drew to a close.
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Only a crash on the first corner during the eighth lap kept Aleix Espargaró from battling for important positions in the GP of Australia. The Spanish rider had both the pace and the confidence to contend in the leading group. Well supported by an Aprilia RS-GP, he was once again solidly at the level of the best.
Aleix paid a high price for a slightly wide trajectory on the fast first corner as he was overtaking Miller for fifth place. The high speed slide resulted in a fracture to the fourth metacarpus of his left hand, an injury that shouldn't keep the Spanish rider from participating in the Malaysian weekend that is just days away.
Sam Lowes finished nineteenth after a shrewd race, overtaking Parkes, Petrucci and Barbera.
ALEIX ESPARGARO'
"The race was going well. Despite a less than perfect start, I had already rejoined the leading group and I had a good feeling. Unfortunately, as I was overtaking Miller on the first turn, I went a bit too wide, ending up on the dirty part of the track and sliding out. I should be able to participate in the race in Malaysia even with the injury to my hand. We'll see what the conditions are on Friday."
SAM LOWES
"Obviously you always hope for a better result but, given the conditions, I'm rather satisfied. I overtook a few riders in the race and I didn't make any mistakes throughout the weekend. We are working well. Unfortunately, Aleix wasn't able to demonstrate the full potential of the RS-GP today because of the crash, but we are on the right path."
ROMANO ALBESIANO - APRILIA RACING MANAGER
"This was a peculiar weekend where we once again demonstrated how competitive our bike is and how Aleix is able to take advantage of it. The race began in the best possible way. Despite a less than perfect start that we need to work on, he recovered with impressive speed. Unfortunately, the crash stopped him in a race where anything could have been possible, but the responses from this track give us great optimism both for the upcoming races and for 2018."
FAUSTO GRESINI - TEAM MANAGER
"Except for the race result itself, this was another good weekend. More proof that we are competitive, very close to the best in the category. Unfortunately, we are leaving Phillip Island today with a bitter taste in our mouths, knowing that we have a great bike and a very fast rider. Aleix paid a high price for a small mistake, but that is racing."
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