Hydrex Honda - Official Team Website - British Superbikes - Road Racing

Wow

Well the year end is upon us!! It's gone by even faster than I remember any other seasons go wizzing by. We've had our first win at last, seemed to be a long time coming, myself and stu were quietly confident at Thruxton and Brands GP that we could take a win but we had to wait untill Croft!! At least at this last round there is one more race than usual so still plenty to fight for. We've not stopped pushing forwards here at Hydrex Honda and have been fitting and testing several things to help Stu and now Tommy achieve the best results. We tried the KR swing arm at Croft which certainly had a different feel, we would have liked to have tested this a little more but it was taken back after Croft. For silverstone we developed a new engine braking assistence strategy, this was to help with the backing in and inconsistent feel on corner entrys. This proved to be very sucessful and we were very pleased with the results of our labours! For Oulton we've been looking at improving the traction control strategy and made some big steps forward with the throttle feel on initial openings to help the riders mid turn and exits. Plan is for podiums minimum and certainly being in front of at least one of the Airwaves yamahas! See you soon, PJ

Posted by Pete Jennings

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Looking for a win!

Hello again,

I've not done a blog for a while now so i'll start at Thruxton. I was really looking forward to racing at Thruxton as i normally go well there. From the first session it was apparant the set-up of the bike for the "roller coaster" circuit wasnt easy to find, i qualified 7th and was very dissappointed. PJ came up with a setting for warm up which was much better particularly on the front end of the bike. I was 2nd in warm up and was looking good for the races. The races were typically hard on the tyres, we are all on the same boat so set up and riding style comes into play. I came away with a 3rd and 4th place finishes which was ok but not quite what we were hoping for.

On to Snetterton where i was back on the front row of the grid in qualifying in 4th. I lead the first race for a long time, it was a close race and the Hydrex Honda was a rocket on the big straight. I found the last part of the lap a little tricky and Leon Camier got the better of me by 1.5 seconds at the flag. Another 2nd place finish is good points and equalled my best finish in superbikes but its not a win! Race two we made some small changes to the bike which never helped and i finished 4th. Overall it was good, two more podiums and i continued my run of not finishing outside the top four so im a much clearer 3rd in the championship 22 points behind 2nd.

Knockhill is the next round which is my home race! I always like racing there although i've never had great results. Nows my chance to get some and im sure the weather may play its part knowing Scotland! Cant wait all the same!

Stuart #3

Posted by Stuart Easton

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Busy at work!

Hi everyone,

Sorry for the break since my last blog but I have just manged to have my first weekend off in seven weeks and I have to keep the missus happy first!!

Its been a really hectic time since Oulton. we have had the road events of the NW200 and IOMTT. Ive got to be honest, i'm not really happy with how either of them went and i think a lot more should have been achieved but there you go, there is always next year! i have to take my hat off and say well done to John Mc, Steve P and Hutchy. the speeds they manged and what they achieved were awesome. Unlucky too for Cameron Donald as his practice lap was incredible and he would also have been there had it not been for his off. I also want to say get well soon and good luck with everything to Nick Crowe and Mark Cox.

Back to BSB and it is pretty much a tale of two halves. Karl has had some rotten luck lately and we just have to channel what we are doing in practice into qualfying and races. The ingredients are all there it is just a matter of time. The same goes for Stuart, he is riding awesome at the moment and i'm sure it wont be long before he is stood on the top step of the podium.

I have been watching the WSB at Donington today.Well done to Leon Haslam two solid rides and a hard fought home podium. Leon Camier and James Ellison did a good job but it shows that they are beatable and that can give us strength for the coming rounds. Cal did an awesome job, surely he is World Champ material! 

We are working on development all the time and hopefully we can keep ironing out any issues that the guys are having. A big thanks to all the guys and girl in the team, they have been working flat out and its all appreciated!

Catch up again soon!

Mick

Posted by Mick Shanley

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Donington

Hello!

We have just had a really tough weekend at Donington, i struggled with bike set up until race day. The team worked so hard trying to get the bike to handle and made many changes, including stripping the engine to change gear ratios on sunday night after qualifying.

I qualified 8th which wasnt bad under the circumstances but not what we were looking for really. Race day, the bike was set up much more to my liking and i was confident after i was 3rd fastest in morning warm up.

Race one i got away in the top three but dropped back a couple of places as it was hectic early on with people passing at every other corner. As the race settled in i got into a consistant pace and passed Chris Walker and Andrews for third place and pulled a few seconds on them but the first two were too far ahead so i settled for my second podium of the year. 

For race two we made some adjustments to the rear shock absorber to help tyre life which made a difference. I got a similar start and had to battle away early on as it was hectic yet again. My pace was even better and i felt good. I held second place for most of the race and was under pressure from Chris Walker but managd to hold it to the flag and achieve another podium and my best result of the season so far.

So, overall a successful weekend and all credit to the Hydrex Honda team for persevering and working hard all weekend, thanks guys! We're third in the championship now and hopefully that first win isn't too far away!

Stuart #3 

Posted by Stuart Easton

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Oulton Park and ready for the roads!!

Hi all,

Well its been a busy couple of weeks since my last post. Oulton Park was a weekend of real mixed feelings. On one hand we had the best weekend we have ever had and on the other we know we were so close to it being so much better!

It was a good weekend for Karl. I really have to credit him on his approach this season. We spoke about the coming weekend and what we needed to achieve and then systematically worked through all of the issues we were having. He managed to be fastest in all sessions and even did a strong race run so we knew we were heading in the right direction leading into qualifying. Stuart was doing the same and both guys were strong during the sessions.

It always seems that when things are going smoothly then something happens to put the pressure on! After we tested a tyre in the first qualifying session we sat the final part out so that we were ready to push for Q2 and Q3. Q2 started and having gained an initial time Karl missed a downchange going into the Shell hairpin, despite trying to get it stopped in time he hit the grass and went down. Concerned was an understatement as if he couldnt get the bike going again he would have been stuck at the furthest away point on the circuit and wouldnt have got back for Q3. Fortunately, despite some damage, plenty of mud and seriously wet feet from the biggest puddle at Oulton Park, he got back and after a quick change of gloves posted another decent time on his other bike. He had mainly ran his No2 bike up to this point and although they are identical a rider will always tend to one bike. It was a blessing in disguise because as he rode the number one bike he felt it was better than the one he had led every session in so far!

We used the No1 bike for Q3 and immediately posted a quick time but then pitted as he felt there was a problem. we had already fixed the number 2 bike and Karl changed to it, i have to say he was a bit too wound up to post another good time and was just trying a bit too hard despite my best efforts to calm him down! It still gave us 3rd on the grid with Stuart getting 2nd and Camier hitting pole with a few seconds to go. It was the same four guys on the front row as Brands.

After checking through the data we couldnt find any issue with the bike, Karl had felt it was holding back a bit on corner entry. It looked to be down to the fact that Karl was pushing so hard he wasnt blipping the gas on corner entry gearchanges which was making the engine braking more apparent, Karl was gutted when he found out he had aborted the lap when he was 0.34 seconds up on his P3 time!

Wet morming warm up wasnt unexpected and we took the opportunity to test as he hadnt ridden the bike in the wet at all. I just backed it down on suspension the same as i would have for james last year and gave him a different option for engine feel and hit the track. Karl came back P1 and really happy with the set up for a wet race.

Both races ended up dry and its probably the best that I have seen Karl ride. he had been focussed all weekend and was ready to put it into practice. It would have been good to get the win but we have to be happy with a pair of second places. The main thing was that I feel there was only Leon, Karl and Stuart that could run at that pace, unfortunately Stuart didnt get the chance to do it in the second race, he would have definately been on the podium.

As a team now we have a much higher level of expectation and want for results, its not just thinking we could be in with a chance of winning its knowing that we can win races. it just makes everyone drive so much harder towards it. Hopefully we can bring that first win at Donington, we will definately be trying!

I'm off to the NW200 on Tuesday so we will be chasing the first win of the season there with Guy. Any spare time has been spent getting his side up to speed and with any luck i will be able to fill you in on my next blog!

See ya soon,

Mick

Posted by Mick Shanley

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Oulton

Hi everyone, i never came away from round two at Oulton park with what we were hoping for. In practice and qualifying i was at the sharp end of the field, and put a good lap together for second position on the grid. After that we wanted podiums at least. 

It was raining on race day morning and i thought we were in for two wet races, the rain stopped and the circuit had a dry line for the first race. I got a good start but was soon back in fourth as i was riding a bit tight. I soon settled into the race and it was Camier, Karl, Guintoli and me clear at the front. Apart from swapping places with Guintoli once it stayed like that to the flag and i missed the podium by 0.1! I moved to third in the championship points which we were happy with.

It never lasted long though as i was forced into the pits on the second lap of race two and i dropped to sixth in the championship. Overall it wasnt that bad at least i know i have the pace to run at the front and we know what we need to work on. Im looking forward to the next round more than ever now to try and put it right.

Stuart #3  

Posted by Stuart Easton

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Round 1 and testing

Hi everyone,

Sorry for the delay in getting my blog up here but its been pretty busy since Brands. I've had a really lazy day in front of the tv watching the SBK and Moto GP so i thought it would be a good time to catch up!

I have to say congratulation to the Brit guys this weekend, Leon Haslam mega pair of podiums, Tom Sykes best weekend, Norge and Cal, what can you say, awesome race!

Stuart had a mixed weekend but was going well up until he just pushed the front a bit too hard at the final chicane. At least he has had a good amount of track time and is unhurt, roll on Oulton.

Well, Brands was a bit dissapointing to be honest which is quite a statement after the teams best ever weekend. Karl and Stuart dominated the practice sessions and everything was looking good for race day with both guys being able to run fast times even over race distance. Unfortunately both guys were plagued by the tyres spinning on the rim which then causes uncontrollable chatter on the entry of the corner, it was something that had never raised its head during practice. PJ and I checked through the race wheels after the meeting and both Stuarts and Karls tyres took arout 65grams to rebalance!

Both guys were happy though with the performance of the bikes and are confident we have a good package that can challenge for race wins.

We took opportunity to test at Snetterton with the Paul Bird Kawasaki team. It gave us a good chance to test a few solutions with regards to the tyre spin issue and work through some things with Oli from Pectel as well as some new engine settings. I also tried some new chassis setups for Karl which seemed to give him a better balance to the bike and helped through some of the fast sections. In all it was a good test and should set us up in good stead for Oulton.

I just want to say thanks to all the guys in the team, PJ, Matt, Andy, Kate, Will and Ade. Everyone has been working hard and i think it wont be long before the rewards start coming in. I think a slightly different approach at Oulton will be on the cards and hopefully we can progress over the weekend to get both guys up on the podium.

Well, i have a busy day tomorrow sorting things out for Guy as his roads season is fast approaching!

Catch you after Oulton!

Mick

Posted by Mick Shanley

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Brands Hatch

Hi everyone, round 1 at brands was good for me and a solid start to the season. Qualifying was so tight with 0.2 of a second in the top seven riders! I ended up third on the grid 0.1 off pole, front row which was the aim.

My crew chief Pete Jennings set the goal for the races at two top five finishes, i felt very confidant about that. I led race one from the start, the pace car came out early and after it went in i didnt push hard enough as i thought the tyres needed a bit of time to heat up again and i dropped to fourth. Steve Plater crashed at druids and put me back to third where i stayed to the flag. My tyre spun on the rear wheel which caused it to go out of balance and chatter bad so i couldnt really push hard for the last ten laps. To get on the podium in British superbikes felt great. Big thanks to all the Hydrex Honda team!

I got away in the lead again in race two and even had a 1.5 second lead on my pit board on about lap 9. Unfortunately my tyre spun on the rim again, its a common problem with superbikes but for me the problem was bad and i had alot of chatter. It looked on tv like i just fell apart like a cheap watch but that wasnt the case! I ended up fourth place at the finish after leading two thirds of the race.

Overall we beat our pre season goals for round one, i had a front row start a podium and fastest race lap so i feel competitive already and we know what we need to work on for oulton park. The Hydrex Honda team worked hard all week and deserved two podiums but theres plenty more to go at and my confidence is building so roll on oulton!

Stuart #3

Posted by Stuart Easton

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Media day

Hi all, we had a media day yesterday. Not really my scene its all about interviews, pictures and lots of cups of tea. It has to be done though as its not all riding bikes. I went down with PJ and Mick the day before. We had a good laugh playing pool at the hotel. We all have a long way to go before we can give up our day jobs for pool especially me! Although i was the man at backspin. It was good to catch up with the other riders and there was a bit of friendly banter going on.

There is little over a week untill we set off to Brands Hatch and im sure everyone will be alot more serious there. Its very important to get off on the right foot with strong points at round 1. Hydrex Honda are in as good a shape as anyone thats why im so excited this year but i wont say too much just try 100%!

Stuart

Posted by Stuart Easton

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Preparations and weekend off!

Hi all,

Just a quick update on how things have been progressing over the last couple of weeks.

We got loads of good data from the test and we have been hard at work putting what we have learnt into improving the bikes, time is getting short now and everyone is looking forward to the start of the season. The bikes are just about there and by the end of the week all the remaining engines will be built and ready for the first round.

We are hoping to squeeze in a quick shakedown test later in the week and I'll keep you posted as to what is happening.

Its been good to get a weekend off for everyone to clear there heads before the final push, I cant say it has been too relaxing though as we all enjoy getting out and keeping busy. PJ was off enduro riding yesterday, I wussed out though as I had entered the Middlesbrough 5k running race today, my first ever. I havent ran a running race since school sports day so you can tell it was a while ago! I'm not the best runner but I did ok, about 25min, despite setting off too far back and having to weave my way through people for the first kilometer.

Well just going to have some dinner and watch the MotoGP qual session then PJ and I are off to Bedford for the BSB launch day tomorrow. I'm meeting up with James Ellison tonight, I've been winding him up about not having a bike yet, I'm not sure if he will have one for the launch or it will be a cardboard cut out! Needless to say he has been giving me enough stick in return!

Not long now, can't wait!!

Mick

Posted by Mick Shanley

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Next Test

We've not booked a further test as yet.

We still have lots of work to do before the first round, bikes obviously but all the other things involved with going racing, clothing, garage design, truck, tools, consumables etc.

We want to be fully set up with 2009 spec engines (the rules have changed back to same as WSB) in all 4 bikes before we venture out again.

PJ

Posted by Pete Jennings

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Green lights for 2009

Hi Everyone

 Well thought I would join in and leave you all a quick message and introduce myself. I build the develop the engines for the team and also double up as Stuarts second mechanic for race weekends along side our first mechanic Andrew Carol and our Crew chief PJ.

 Have just recently returned from my first overseas trip testing with the team and it was a very exciting and promising few days, I unfortunately wasn't able to go to Almeria with them because of an Absolute cockup with my passport, but managed to join up with them for the Guadix test..not so bad though as it seems I also missed out on the terrible weather they had. Not the same story in Guadix though where we had fantastic warm sunny weather for the full test, which after the british spring was a very wecome change....didn't wanna come back..lol.

  Anyway we had some great results testing and it has given us a good idea of how the new spec motors are gonna perform and also were we can make improvements, so back to the workshops now and see if we can't squeeze some more power out of the engines, although there are already a big improvement on last year. But if I can get my head together with my old man Chris Mehew we may be able to make them even better.  

 But for now we are all taking some much needed r&r and having a nice long weekend as kick off is in just 21 days and I don't expect there will be much time off then. As for me I am gonna spend it doing some gardening...thats if I can get my mower working...complete engine rebuild required I think...see if I can't get 4.5bhp out of it....woo hoo!!...Look out daisies and buttercups...lol

Well here's to 2009 and future podiums..we're all excited about it here.

Will England 

Posted by Will England

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Spanish Tests

Hi everyone, testing the Hydrex Honda in Spain went great and i loved every lap i did! Almeria was more of a shake down and for all the team to work together and get to know each other even better. Im really happy with my crew, they couldnt do enough for me so thanks lads.

The guadix test was even better with three good days weather. We got down to some proper testing and completed over 250 laps. By this stage i was feeling very comfortable on the bike and pushed for my best lap of 1.13.4s. Low 13s seemed to be the pace of Silvian Guintoli and Josh Brookes so im happy enough.

We will have one more day testing prior to brands to make final preperations. Then its green lights at round one. I dont have any goals or expectatiobs except to give it 100% every lap!

Wish me luck

Stuart

Posted by Stuart Easton

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Back to the UK!!!

Just a follow up to Micks Blog, I've added a Photo of the Karts we had a burn around in while we were waiting for the truck to arrive.   We were spoiled by fairly good weather in Almeria town but when we arrived at the circuit a day later, and 800m higher, the conditions were horrendous!!!

I've also added a photo of the KTM X-Bow car with Guy and Andy posing for the camera, KTM were kind enough to take us all for a lap of Guadix in the cars, which were very impressive.  We were at the track waiting to set up as we were thrown out of our pit box at Almeria.  We started getting stressed again as we were waiting 3 hours at the track and still didn't get to park the truck untill Sunday morning but it worked out in the end and we prepped the bikes on Sunday to start the test on Monday.

We are now back in the UK, the truck needs unloading and the lists we created while away need looking at and things that were a problem can be rectified!!!

There's still alot of work for us to do before we hit the track at Brands Hatch but the bikes are good and the team worked well, Stuart and Karl did a great job, I can't wait for the racing to get under way.....

PJ

Posted by Pete Jennings

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Testing and ready for 09!!

Hi everyone,

I just wanted to say welcome to the Hydrex Honda website! I will be posting on here during the season and I look forward to answering your questions about what we do and to try to show you what life in a BSB team is like.

As you probably already know, we have just returned from testing out in Spain. It was a really mixed bag as far as the weather went but overall the test went well. We arrived in Almeria to be greeted with fantastic sunshine and a spare day to sort things out. me and PJ got some of the computer things in order as well as getting a bit of a session at the local karting track. You can only imagine how competitive a dozen racers and team members can get! There were plenty of allegations of slow karts and dodgy moves but it was good to get some stress relief after the busy time we had getting ready for the test.

Set up day arrived and trust me, i would rather have been back in England! It was hurricane winds, pouring rain and six degrees. Fortunately the rain held off for the first day of testing and after getting through some basic setup with gear levers and handlebars as well as some shakedown problems that you get with a new bike, both Karl and Stuart got down to some good times despite the high winds.

Thursday gave me plenty of time to sort out new strategies for the engine management with Oli from Pectel as the winds were that high and the temperatures so cold it would have just made for dangerous running so we stayed off track all day. It wasnt what we had come for!

By Friday the weather had picked up and both guys were eager to get back on track. We made sure that we made the most of the available time and although fast we had a few problems with chatter that we needed to work on further. Unfortunately with the weather not being the best we looked forward to Guadix to do some more work.

Knowing that it had been snowing at the circuit the previous week, we travelled north and to a higher altitude wondering what the weather would bring. We couldnt have wished for better! The mountains around were covered with snow and we were at a circuit with sunshine and 20deg temperatures, it was perfect. To add to it all, we had arrived a day early to get into the circuit as a KTM corperate event was underway. A couple of cheeky questions by Carl Buckle and we were all lined up for laps in one of the new KTM X-bow cars. My driver was an ex A1GP Dutch driver and I have to say he was awesome, i cant believe how late you can brake with four wheels!

We had perfect conditions for the three days testing and got through a great deal, both with the chassis and electronics. It is amazing just how different Karl and Stuarts styles are and the different settings they need, it is also a lot different from James' setup from last year. Oli and I had a late night sorting some traction and anti wheelie stuff but it was all worthwhile as both guys felt it had a big improvement on the bike.

By the end both riders were lapping fast and consistent, with Stuart a bit faster than Karl. Both of them gave the thumbs up to the new bike and left the test happy with everything that we had achieved and are really looking forward to hitting the track at Brands.

Its back to the workshops now for some more development work after the information we have gained while we have been away and hopefully we can squeeze another test in before the start of the season.

Catch you soon,

Mick

Posted by Mick Shanley

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Win VIP passes for the first round

Hi everyone. To make these sites work we need to get a load of traffic through it. I am going to start by throwing a few VIP passes for the first round into the pot. The week leading upto the Brands opener I will do a quick 24hr competition the winner gets the tickets.

If its a success and we get pleny of followers I may do it for every round. The key here is that we want supporters the length and breath of the country.

We also need one brolly girl for each round. Send your pics and details and I will get the boys to make the selection.

Thanks Shaun

Posted by Shaun Muir

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Welcome to the new official Hydrex Honda website

A new season and a new more dynamic website. The site has all the features of last years site but with aded features including games, a master gallery and this Blog of course. The gallery has some exclusive shots of the official team launch that took place on Friday 20th February. 

To receive all future news alerts sign up at the top of the page.

Thsi Blog hopes to invite comments on the team, BSB, Road racing an any other topic that you feel is worth shouting about

Posted by Admin

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