RACING LINES
FTR OMG…
Chassis builders FTR has gone into administration, this after being bought out by the company fronting the whole Circuit of Wales organisation. It’s becoming a bit of a debacle now, with the entire scheme, those invested in it and everything else around it, being brought into question – especially regarding exactly where £9,000,000 of public funding has gone. We’re gutted, really, this could have been something wonderful but is fast devolving into farce, and FTR is the latest casualty – a real pity considering their success in the GP paddock over recent years. More news on this when we get it.
Gino Go!
Gino Rea will remain in World Supersport with the Go Eleven Kawasaki team. Gino has had an acceptable year on a second-string MV Agusta, and given Jules Cluzel’s news, it’s a pity he didn’t get promoted to the top squad – although we hear there was rather a lot of ‘politics’ involved. Anyway, the team is a solid outfit who put together decent bikes. Good luck!
Cluzel To PTR
We didn’t see this coming at all, but Jules Cluzel, serial supersport runner-up, has returned to the team he began his supersport career with – PTR Honda. Now, we’re as surprised as most that they’ll be running Hondas again next year, considering the road bike will no longer exist. But even more so as, despite Simon Buckmaster running a tight squad, from the outside it appeared they lacked a bit of desire to be front-runners in recent years. We hope that Jules’ appointment signals a change in attitude, and no doubt scoring two wins with Kyle Smith gave them the taste for victory once again.
Where To, Guinters?
Annoyingly, by the time you read this, you may know. But as we stand we still don’t know where Sylvain Guintoli will end up. At one moment it appeared Hawk was going to announce him as its new Suzuki rider in BSB. But that suddenly went quiet. We had heard teams such as Ioda in WSB were chucking their oar in the Guintoli pond, and remaining at world level would be tempting, we’ve no doubt. One thing’s for sure, whoever gets Guinters will be on to a winner.
THM FUBAR?
Tommy Hill, legend that he is, is usually one of the most approachable racers we know, who’ll always pick up the phone. However, we’ve heard he’s lost his ePayMe sponsor – and Tommy Boy ain’t picking up the blower. He’s smart enough to not run anything if he hasn’t the funds, but it would be a desperate shame if he had to quit after building up his team to such a high standard this year, even if the results didn’t materialize in 2016. We like the guy, his work ethic and what he does, so fingers crossed he’ll pull it out of the bag again and be there ready to rock on.
TTC To BSB!
Keith Flint’s team is making the move to BSB with Yamaha, and so if THM’s effort flounders, this could theoretically take up the R1 slack. Michael Laverty and James Ellison are aboard the McAMS sponsored endeavour. Elsewhere, we already know Hawk will be the official Suzuki squad, Bournemouth Kawasaki the official Team Green with Haslam and Mossy, and that nobody will be running any Aprilias (again…). Interestingly, with Hawk donning the Suzuki cape, could Michael Dunlop fly the flag for them at the TT? That’d be interesting!