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Stobart Set For Brands Blast Off |
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Friday, 06 April 2007 |
The 2007 Bennetts British Superbike Championship gets underway at Brands Hatch in Kent this Easter weekend with the all-new Stobart Vent Axia Motorsport Team of Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne and Tom Sykes ready to do battle.
Paul Bird’s team has re-signed the 30 year old ex MotoGP star Byrne after he landed the title for them back in 2003 and the Zurich-residing Londoner has shown very good pace in pre-season testing aboard the 1000cc Honda.
Brands is Shakey’s local track and his legions of fans will be out in
force to cheer him on as he looks to mix it with the front runners
around the Kent GP track on Easter Monday.
Sykes, meanwhile, has been impressive on his full-time transition into
Superbikes after finishing as runner-up in the 2006 British Supersport
Championship. The 21 year old Yorkshireman form Huddersfield has shown
a good turn of pace in testing and has settled in very well to the team.
Shane Byrne: “Let’s get this on! I’ve been so impressed with the
whole package since I cocked my leg over the bike at the first test and
I can honestly say I’m feeling really confident about Brands.
Pre-season testing is vital and last year, it took me half a season to
get up to speed whereas this year, I reckon we can be on it from the
start. The bike is working well, it’s great to be back with my old team
and I can’t wait to go racing”
Tom Sykes: “I’m very pleased with the progress we’ve made in
testing and I think that has been reflected in the time sheets. It’s
been a huge learning curve for me over the winter but the way the team
has worked round me, has had a huge impact on my confidence. I have my
targets for this weekend and I’m not going to heap pressure on myself
by revealing them but I’m very confident we can give a good account of
ourselves.”
Paul Bird: “I don’t think we’ve ever been as well prepared for
a season as this. We have improved the package all round, we have
tested well and this is a new dawn for the team. We have a pair of
hungry riders on board, combined with a great team and coupled with a
fast bike, it means we should be in with a shout from the start.”
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