News
January 2012 - I am pleased to be able to say that I won the Enkalon Irish Motorcycist of the Year and Race of the Year Awards. TAS Racing also won the Team of the Year Award so its been an excellent outcome. To see pictures of the Awards Ceremony which took place on 20 January click here. Thank you to everyone who voted for me, thanks to all my fans, family, sponsors and friends for all your support during 2011. I look forward to getting started in 2012.
I am going to ride for the Tyco TAS Suzuki team in next year's British Superbike championship.
The British Superbike is the most competitive championship out there and it will be a tough battle with my team-mate Josh Brookes and the likes of (Shane) Shakey Byrne, Stuart Easton and Michael Rutter.
I had other possibilities but TAS gave me the opportunity in 2009 and they have looked after me since then.
I'll definitely be back at the North West 200 as well. It's a big part of my career and I love the whole spectacle of the event.
(Pic courtesy of Gregg Howarth)
22 October - Bishopscourt
I finished 2nd in the first Superbike race following a tussle with Ian Lowry and unfortunately in the first Supersport race Jack Kennedy highsided and I couldnt avoid his bike and came off heavily myself. I hurt my back and suffered concussion and so was unable to race for the rest of the day.
9 October - FUCHS SILKOLENE SUPERSPORT 600 CHAMPIONSHIP WINNER!
It is a great feeling to have won the title for the Relentless Suzuki team. I knew I had to try and pull away from Ben and we had a good race; I am sure we swapped paint in that one! I rode my own lines and just kept pushing hard and it was enough to win the race. I can't thank everyone enough for their support; it has been an awesome season and we have had some fierce competition between us all year. We will be celebrating tonight!
Thank you to EVERYONE who has supported me throughout the season. The plan was to break him today and just consolidate the lead and that’s what I was doing. Unfortunately I just got too much lean angle and caught the engine casing on the kerb and that forced the front to tuck. I was straight up and over to the bike but the clip-on was broken so it was race over. We have had good speed all weekend so we just need to win both races tomorrow and see what that brings. We're not out of it yet.
25 September - Silverstone GP (Sun)
That was a good job this weekend. It’s nice to go from a big gap chasing the series lead just two weeks ago to be leading it after four race wins. I’ve led championships before so I know what has to be done to get over the line and I’ve won races before at Brands so that should put me in the driving seat. It was tough at the start today as one of the Triumph boys knocked my hands off the bars on the opening lap and I was down in fifth or sixth place. I also tucked the front and saved it in the wind, but after that there were no more issues – the wee 600 never missed a beat. I knew what the game plan was from the start and once I got past Wilson I stuck to my own lines which were quicker and just kept it safe for the win.
24 September - Silverstone GP (Sat)
As everyone expected it was the usual ding-dong battle between Ben and myself. When he went down I just made sure I didn’t get too excited and crash myself. I could hear a Triumph behind me after that so I was just defending my lines and made sure of the win. During the race we swapped positions a lot, but every time he came past I was able to hit straight back. The only thing was I couldn’t relax and ride my own lines as he was diving in everywhere. It’s made it interesting for tomorrow because we are P5 and P8 on the grid, but I’m confident of getting through and making a race of it. One thing’s for sure, eleven points sounds a bit more promising than over fifty, which is where we were coming into Donington, but we have to complete the job tomorrow and set up an interesting final three races at Brands Hatch. 10/11 Sep - Donnington Park Perfect weekends are hard to find but we ticked all the boxes and the wee Suzuki never missed a beat. In today’s race I was contemplating not putting my hand up when it started to rain as I wanted to see it go two-thirds distance and get the result, but I also wanted to be safe and not sorry. All the hard work was undone, as it was re-started in a seven lap ‘dash for cash’ but we got away at the front again. I was actually happy to hear a Triumph with me as I knew someone else was up there challenging Wilson. Iddon showed me a wheel or two, but I just defended my lines and when the red flag went out with three laps to go we had our second win. We’ve taken quite a good chunk out of Ben’s championship lead this weekend and with a bit of luck we can take it right down to the last races at Brands, where I feel I’ll have a psychological advantage. 29 August - Cadwell Park (Mon) There was a touch of déjà vu at the beginning of that second race: leading on the first lap and getting passed into turn one on lap two. I tried hanging on as best I could throughout the race but I hit a false neutral late in the race and lost valuable time. I then made a couple of mistakes trying to catch up again, so I decided it was better to settle for a safe second and more solid points.
28 August - Cadwell Park (Sun)
It was important to get a good start and that’s exactly what I did. I led the whole of the first lap and pushed as hard as I could, but I could hear Wilson on my wheel at the bottom of the Mountain. He cut across me going into turn one on the second lap and from there he pulled a bit of a gap. I did close the gap a little at mid distance but we probably struggled a little in the final sector through Hall Bends, which is a physical section of the circuit. We still came away with second place and solid points, and I have a few ideas for tomorrow. 6-7 August - Brands Hatch I really enjoyed that tussle today with Ben and although there was some contact it wasn’t dangerous and reminded me of my motocross days. Rubbin’ is racin’ as they say and although the lap times were not spectacular we got the job done. I’m now looking forward to moving on to Cadwell Park and keeping the pressure on. This championship is far from over yet.
16-17 July - Oulton Park
I'm gutted with that result on the Saturday (3rd). I did all the hard work and led on the last lap only to get outdone coming out of the last corner. I made a mistake so I've no excuses and we picked up more points, but I was surprised to see Wilson up there from his grid position. We hade made a few minor adjustments for Sunday's race but unfortunately the weather beat us and the race was cancelled.
2-3 July - Snetterton 300
That’s what we came here to do: win races. Ben tried to rough me up in the first few laps but I got him back pretty early on and just watched my board and pulled away. It has been a perfect weekend for us with poles, fastest laps and two wins. Now we’ve just got to keep chipping away, but I have to say, the boys in the team have done a great job with the bike. It’s making my job that bit easier and I’m sure my GSX-R600 will be even stronger as the season goes on. It was also good to see Josh getting the podium he deserved today. I’m convinced he’ll go from strength to strength now.
18-19 June - Knockhill
Ben rode hard and tried to pull the pin after just a few laps, but my pace has been pretty consistent on the GSX-R600 so I was confident of pegging him back. I was catching him all the time but I could also see about five back markers in front of us. I knew I needed to be on his bumper and I closed right up; then when he got help up I got through to take the lead. He’s so aggressive and got back in front, but when he made a mistake into the last corner on the last lap I wasn’t just close enough to capitalise. It's solid points again and it only takes a DNF over the next lot of races from him and I’m right back in it. I’ll go home now and make a game-plan for the next round but I’m happy enough.
29 May - Thruxton
I didn't get as good as start as I normally do, but I got up to third place and chased down Wilson and Kennedy before Jack eventually tucked the front. I could hear a Triumph on my bumper the whole race but wasn't sure who it was. So with four laps to go I tried to make a break for it but they were able to slipstream me back. In the last two laps I sat back and waited until the final chicane and got past the two front men, but McConnell braked that bit later than me and nipped in for the win. It was really tight but a good race and just what British Supersport racing is all about. Thruxton is hard on tyres so in the longer race tomorrow it will all be about preserving them. And if the forecast is correct the rain may even come into play.
21 May - NW200
The NW200 started off really well with poles in both the Supersport and Superstock races. I won the supersport race so that’s an international road racing victory to add to the British Supersport win at Brands for the new GSX-R600. It was a great race to be involved in and even more pleasing to beat what is basically a World Supersport specification Honda. I knew I would be stronger into the chicanes despite Cameron using traction control on his bike, as the brakes on the new GSX-R600 are one of its best features and that gave me a lot of confidence in the wet. Unfortunately for us riders and the fans, the superbike race was red flagged on lap two when another rider's engine expired leaving a massive oil spill on the Coast Road from Church Corner to Juniper Hill chicane. Despite a lengthy delay and the best attention from the organisers, the meeting was disappointingly abandoned on safety grounds. In the Superbike race the plan had been to pick them off and get into the lead so I wouldn’t have to sit in anyone’s spray. The speed of my GSX-R1000 was far superior to Ryan and Michael’s bikes and the way it was set-up, I was actually enjoying it spinning up down the big straights in the wet. I was ready to pull the pin and just ride my own race, so it was disappointing to see a red flag on lap two. I really felt like I was in control this week in all classes and having felt so comfortable in the wet I think we’d have been hard to beat. That five of McCallen’s was definitely a big target.
19 May - NW200
Thursday night practice session started well. I went pole position in both the Supersport and Superstock. Unfortunately, we had an electronic fault on the superbike so I ended up P7 for the race on Saturday.
17 May - NW200
Tuesday night practice session for NW200 started well. I set the fastest laps in both the Superstock (118.42mph) and Superbike (119.10mph) and second fastest on the Supersport (114.25mph). Looking forward to Thursday's session now. 9 May - Testing at Kirkistown for NW200. I had a good productive day with some really good lap times despite the extremely windy weather. I clocked up 54.2s on the superbike, 55.4s on the superstock and 56.8 on the 600 in only 5 laps. The absolute lap record is 55.7s and the 600 lap record is 56.4s so its looking very positive.
13 April - Testing from Snetterton
We went well today. I took the first session to learn the new circuit. The next few sessions we tried different tyres and have more confidence in the harder compound. We tried soft suspension in the front but didn't like it so reverted back. All set for next weekend now!!!
12 April - Testing from Brands Hatch
We have been steady enough today. It was cold this morning and near the end of the day. We had an issue with tyres so it was slow going until we got a new make of tyres then my times were respectable. I have done a race distance on soft rubber and the tyre held up well. We are moving onto Snetterton tomorrow for more testing and hopefully we will get a dry day to get used to the new circuit.
Cadwell testing - 30 March
We had 8 x 40min sessions and tried different gearing settings. We also tried to match the softer tyres up as I was getting chatter from soft rear and harder compound front at Cartagena. We acheived this and now look forward to trying race simulations at Brands Indy and Snetterton in April tests. I would like a little more slip from the clutch to asisst me into the turns as we found a bit of backing in at Cadwell. I felt a lot more confident on the supersport bike over the mountain and through the twisty hall bends section of circuit but I suppose thats because the 600 is a bit lighter and more nimble.
Spain testing Day 4 - Sunday 6 March
Today was dry and cool again. I spent 2 sessions on the superstock bike trying out the NW200 tyres. Had a big flame shooting out of the exhaust on backshift. I spent the last 2 sessions on the supersport bike. We found a bit of front chatter with SCO rear tyre so we reverted back to SC1. We tried a few electronic changes but wasnt happy so went back to Saturday's settings.
Spain testing Day 3 - Saturday 5 March
Its been dry and cool today again. The first and second supersport sessions were cancelled because a rider crashed in the previous and same session. I went out with the superbikes and did 9 laps before coming in. The lap times have been very good. I got 2 high 1 min 36s laps and the rest in the low to mid 1 min 37s. We made some clutch changes and some slight suspension changes and are making overall good progress.
I have also been getting the superstock bike set up and after some small alterations I cracked on with the tyre testing for the NW200. I am going to try some suspension changes and add a seat hump to make it more comfortable tomorrow.
Spain testing Day 2 - Friday 4 March
Day 2 now over and it stayed dry but was cooler today. This year's supersport tyres meant we had to change the set up quite a bit from yesterday's setup. We got on top of it and made some good steps forward. I have done a race simulation on the last run and set the fastest lap 2 laps from the end. Decent time for 2nd day on a brand new bike. There is more stuff to go through over the next 2 days.
Spain testing Day 1 - Thursday 3 March
Day 1 is over and it stayed dry. It was warm around lunchtime but cooler this morning and in the evening. Have had 4 sessions. The bike felt good handling wise. Had to adjust the fuel mapping for better throttle connection but have it sorted out now. The boys are working on getting the logging hooked for tomorrow. I have the new supersport tyres to try out over the next 3 days also. Wee Wizard 34.
THANK YOU!! To everyone who voted in the Irish Racer Awards for my NW200 superbike race, which, I am happy to report won the Fans Race of the Year Award at the Ceremony in Belfast on Friday 14 January.
January 2011 - My NW200 superbike race from last year is up for nomination in the forthcoming Irish Racer Awards to be held at the Ramada Hotel in Belfast on 14 January. Please vote for The Fans Race of the Year by choosing Race 4 on the Racer Awards website - click here - many thanks! Closing date is 13 January 2011. I am also on the shortlist for 3 other awards so please wish me luck.
Monday 10 January, I was at the Ramada Hotel in Belfast for the Belfast Telegraph Sports Award. I was shortlisted for Player of the Year but unfortunately I didnt win but got some good exposure from it!
2011! SUPERSPORT 600! I am happy to be back for 2011 with the Relentless Suzuki team. With a new bike for next year I think we will be ready to come out all guns blazing after testing. I haven't raced a Supersport bike in BSB, but I did do the North West 200 and I don't think it will take me long to adapt, especially as I am working with the same crew that I had when we won the Superstock Championship. The team have won Supersport before and it would be nice for me and the boys to win two titles in three seasons, so that is my target for next year.
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As always, if you or anyone you know would like to become a sponsor and be part of the team feel free to contact me on 07756406798 or 02893 351365 or email me at alastair@alastairseeleyracing.co.uk or alastairseeley9@hotmail.co.uk
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