Albacete Success for Rennie and Wylie

Leading roads privateer Carl Rennie and best 2009 TT newcomer Ben Wylie both featured well at last week's Dunlop tests.

Ben Wylie scored his fastest Albacete lap ever on the 2009 Phase One Yamaha Superbike, whilst lapping only 1 second slower on the R1 Superstock bike. Ben Wylie, "it's great to be back with the team and I was pleased to be able to get into the groove so quickly. I haven't ridden competitively for 6 months and I took some time to settle but then it all came together. The forks on these bikes are awesome."

Team manager Russell Benney was pleased with Wylie's times which would have qualified him in the top 7 in last year's WEC 8hrs race at the circuit.

Carl Rennie went well on day 1 on both Superbike and the Superstock machines, completing some 90 laps. The Team tried new Dunlop front and rear tyre constructions in order to determine their characteristics prior to the major road events. New SBS brake pads were also successfully tested. Carl's second day was called short by a bruised knee which he sustained hitting a kerb. Despite some ice treatment the swelling prevented him from getting back into his normal rhythm and he abandoned the last few hours.

Carl will resume testing with the team in late April, prior to departing to the North West 200 on 6th of May.

'Sweatshop' Back Phase One's Classic Races

Hugh Brasher goes well at Almeria pre-Classic Bol test.

"I am delighted to announce that London based running equipment specialists 'Sweatshop' will be backing our classic programme" announced Team Manager Russell Benney today. Hugh Brasher, the man behind the Sweatshop company and the man with the passion for running has focussed his considerable abilities on winning at classic endurance with Phase One. Benney spoke on; "The Team heartily welcome Hugh and look forward very much to working with him and Peter Linden at the Classic Bol. We are right behind the project and can hardly wait for Magny Cours".

Hugh Brasher successfully tested the Sweatshop backed Phase One P&M Kawasaki's on 18th/19th of March in preparation for the first outing of the year with Peter Linden at the Classic Bol d'Or at Magny Cours.

Brasher completed over 130 laps on the Team's pair of P&M Kawasaki's. All the test objectives were achieved during a busy two days, including direct comparisons between SBS pad compounds, trials of different wheel types, tyre sizes and suspension components. Brasher was faster by 1.5 seconds on the ex-John Cowie, 1978 TTF1 winning machine compared with the sister endurance bike, even while sufferring some front end patter. Despite this, the machine has been selected as the prospective Classic Bol d'Or race bike.

Hugh Brasher - "We had a great test and will surely move forward even further next time out. The Team have their work cut out over the next 10 days but I am certain that we shall be competitive, especially as we are being supplied with the first of a new generation of Dunlop 18" tyres. It will also be a real honour to race this particular bike in endurance again - the last time it was out in endurance was with John Cowie and Bernie Toleman at the 1978 Spa 24hrs race coming 3rd."

The Classic Bol d'Or is at Magny Cours, 10th/11th April.

NW 200, IOM TT In - Le Mans and Albacete Out

NEWSLETTER 152

Team Changes Focus: North West 200 and IOM TT are in, Le Mans 24H and Albacete 8H out.

Firstly, welcome back to what will undoubtedly be a great season.

Straight away I want to thank our returning sponsors, our new sponsors and all who support the team with effort, finance or products. Together, 2010 is going to be a great season! A big welcome to you all.

Current News

After much soul searching the decision has been made to resist the temptation to dilute the quality of the Team’s entries in favour of the quantity of the races. In short; we feel that it is better to compete only when we can have a realistic chance of a rostrum finish, rather than spread it thinly and just make up numbers. Having set pole and finished second at the last WEC race of 2009, it reminded us of where we should be. With the right rider line-up, the team and machinery showed its true capability and delivered the results. Its just too frustrating to continue being held back.

So, for 2010, we go forward. The early season focus moves towards the roads, to build on our 2008 TT results (8th with Steve Plater in Superstock and 10th with Michael Dunlop in the Senior) and to make our debut at the NW200. The aim is for at least top sixes at both events. Carl Rennie, 5th in last year’s TT Senior race is just the man to deliver the goods and will race the Team’s Superbike and new Superstock and Supersport machines. (Thanks to Yamaha UK and Yamaha Europe for these bikes). Carl will be supported by ex- Shell Endurance Academy rider and best 2009 TT newcomer, Ben Wylie, who will ride another Phase One Superbike plus his own 600.

The Team head for Albacete this week for the Dunlop tests on the 15th /16th March, when the riders will try the bikes for the first time. Then it’s off to Almeria for a further two days with the classic endurance bikes, this year being raced at the classic Bol d’Or by Hugh Brasher and Peter Linden.

Endurance

The aim is to compete at Spa, the Bol d’Or and Qatar. A very high quality rider line-up has been agreed in principle for Qatar, held at a time when there are no clashes with British Superbike events. For the Bol d’Or, we are aiming for a very special two-bike entry in conjunction with BIKE magazine (all very hush-hush at the moment) and a return to Spa will be very welcome after what must be an 8 year absence.

The Roads

With Carl on three bikes and Ben on two, both the roads events are going to be very busy indeed. We have great hopes for both riders. Clearly Carl is by far the more experienced and is the most likely to deliver the top results. However, Ben’s fine start last year, earning best newcomer can only be built upon. It is hoped that Ben will feed from Carl’s experience to improve his own performance. The endurance bikes have been up spec’ed to meet the challenge of the superbike and senior races and a superstock bike has been built. Carl is preparing an R6, supplied by Yamaha, as is Ben. Dunlop will provide the rubber and Yamalube the fluids…….we will know more after testing.

2010 Phase One Season

Classic Bol d’Or, Nevers - France - 10th/11th April
NW 200 - Great Britain - 15th/16th May
IOM TT - Great Britain - 27th May to 11thJune
Spa 8H - Belgium - 14th /15th August
Magny Cours Bol d'Or 24H - France - 10th /11th September
Cartegena classic 6H - Spain - 25th September
Losail 8H - Qatar - 17th November

This is just part of the full Newsletter sent out to members of the Phase One supporters club. If you want to read the full story, join now: http://www.phaseone.co.uk/support.html