barrygrussell
Senior Member
Originally published on www.garage49.com
One of the most evocative colour schemes in superbike racinghistory is set to grace the race tracks of Thailand during the 2013 season.
Team Castrol Honda belongs to two Thailand-based expatriates,Englishman Ian Edmondson and Australian Greg Smith, who will be running a pairof 2008 Fireblades.
“I was searching for some race-spec bolts,” explained Ian duringa recent test at Bira Circuit, “And got in contact with Pro-Bolt in the UK, who told me that they had a load of ex-Jonathan Rea Castrol fairings and race partsthat were available. I got them shipped over and now we are Team Castrol Honda with a pair of fantastic looking bikes.”
“Honda make top quality motorcycles that go fast straight out of the crate and give the rider complete confidence,” he continued. “Along with a number of Ducatis and other bikes, I’ve owned six Fireblades in total in the 29 years I’ve been riding, so to begin my racing career on a Honda is an absolute no-brainer. I’m bringing it up to HRC spec and am waiting now for the delivery of a few more parts so that we can complete the bikes in time for the start of the season in June.”
The spec sheets for the bikes are straight off the top shelf when it comes to motorcycle pornography and the detail contained in them reflects the engineering backgrounds of the two men: Greg is a mechanical engineer, while Ian is a welding engineer who is currently working as a quality control manager.
While some parts are awaiting delivery, the bikes will be in full race trim by the beginning of May. Here are some highlights:
- Ten Kate large radiators
- Ten Kate oil coolers
- Ten Kate braided brake hoses
- Kenny Roberts billet aluminium swingarms
- PVM 16.5 magnesium superbike rims with Pirelli superbike tyres
- Sigma and Yoyodyne slipper clutches
- Arrow full titanium exhaust systems
- Starline GPS dash assemblies
- Full Brembo brake packages
- Full WP British Superbike spec suspension (awaiting delivery)
- Full titanium and alloy Pro-Bolt race kits
- HRC ECUs with Power Commander and Bazzaz
- HRC quick action throttles
- GP Tech rear thumb brakes
And, of course, the machines arecompleted with the striking Castrol SBK Monocarbons full carbon fibre fairingswith Dzus TK Quick release fasteners.
For Ian as an experienced biker, Team Castrol represents a long-held dream to adapt his road riding skills and develop as a racer. As part of his preparation he attended a one week course with the California Superbike School at Phillip Island and Eastern Creek, which brought him up to the sort of pace that should see him move quickly into Thailand’s highly competitive intermediate SB-2 class. “It’s another challenge for me as a rider. Maybe I should have done it earlier, but I’ll be giving it my best shot and enjoying myself,” he explained.
Greg has the benefit of existing racing experience. An early contemporary of Mick Doohan, heraced in Australia’s Formula Xtreme championships on a Yamaha R6. In 2012 he found himself unable to resist the urge to get back to racing and competed in the Thai superbike series, moving up from the novice SB-3 class to SB-2 as his lap times came down.
The evidence of the 2012 season in Thailand indicates that the growth of superbike racing is strong amongst local and expatriate riders who take advantage of the sport’s accessibility in the Kingdom. The grading system for superbike riders is designed to enable them to develop progressively and safely. All begin in the SB-3 Novice class at each circuit and move up to SB-2 only when their race lap times come down below a predetermined threshold. Given the high financial and technical barriers of having a competitive ride in the SB-1 professional class, most of the fun for riders and spectators in Thai superbike racing is to be found in the thriving intermediate category, where the Castrol Honda duo can expect to spend most of their season.
Because the sale and decommissioning of Bira International Circuit is set for some time in the second half of the season, Kaeng Krachan comes into the superbike calendar for two of the GPI championship rounds for the first time in 2013. As in previous years, the R2M championship will run at Thailand Circuit. Cooperation between the two promoters means that as well as the two individual championships, there is also a consolidated All Thailand Championship for the overall winner.
The full superbike racing calendar is reproduced below, courtesy of R2M.
Round 1: R2M - 2 June 2013, Thailand Circuit
Round 2: GPI - 30th June 2013, Bira Pattaya
Round 3: R2M - 7 July 2013, Thailand Circuit
Round 4: GPI - 28th July 2013 - Bira, Pattaya
Round 5: R2M - 1 September 2013, Thailand Circuit
Round 6: GPI - 29th September 2013, Kaeng Krachan
Round 7: R2M - 27 October 2013, Thailand Circuit
Round 8: R2M - 24 November 2013, Thailand Circuit
Round 9: GPI - 1st December 2013 - Kaeng Krachan
One of the most evocative colour schemes in superbike racinghistory is set to grace the race tracks of Thailand during the 2013 season.
Team Castrol Honda belongs to two Thailand-based expatriates,Englishman Ian Edmondson and Australian Greg Smith, who will be running a pairof 2008 Fireblades.
“I was searching for some race-spec bolts,” explained Ian duringa recent test at Bira Circuit, “And got in contact with Pro-Bolt in the UK, who told me that they had a load of ex-Jonathan Rea Castrol fairings and race partsthat were available. I got them shipped over and now we are Team Castrol Honda with a pair of fantastic looking bikes.”
“Honda make top quality motorcycles that go fast straight out of the crate and give the rider complete confidence,” he continued. “Along with a number of Ducatis and other bikes, I’ve owned six Fireblades in total in the 29 years I’ve been riding, so to begin my racing career on a Honda is an absolute no-brainer. I’m bringing it up to HRC spec and am waiting now for the delivery of a few more parts so that we can complete the bikes in time for the start of the season in June.”
The spec sheets for the bikes are straight off the top shelf when it comes to motorcycle pornography and the detail contained in them reflects the engineering backgrounds of the two men: Greg is a mechanical engineer, while Ian is a welding engineer who is currently working as a quality control manager.
While some parts are awaiting delivery, the bikes will be in full race trim by the beginning of May. Here are some highlights:
- Ten Kate large radiators
- Ten Kate oil coolers
- Ten Kate braided brake hoses
- Kenny Roberts billet aluminium swingarms
- PVM 16.5 magnesium superbike rims with Pirelli superbike tyres
- Sigma and Yoyodyne slipper clutches
- Arrow full titanium exhaust systems
- Starline GPS dash assemblies
- Full Brembo brake packages
- Full WP British Superbike spec suspension (awaiting delivery)
- Full titanium and alloy Pro-Bolt race kits
- HRC ECUs with Power Commander and Bazzaz
- HRC quick action throttles
- GP Tech rear thumb brakes
And, of course, the machines arecompleted with the striking Castrol SBK Monocarbons full carbon fibre fairingswith Dzus TK Quick release fasteners.
For Ian as an experienced biker, Team Castrol represents a long-held dream to adapt his road riding skills and develop as a racer. As part of his preparation he attended a one week course with the California Superbike School at Phillip Island and Eastern Creek, which brought him up to the sort of pace that should see him move quickly into Thailand’s highly competitive intermediate SB-2 class. “It’s another challenge for me as a rider. Maybe I should have done it earlier, but I’ll be giving it my best shot and enjoying myself,” he explained.
Greg has the benefit of existing racing experience. An early contemporary of Mick Doohan, heraced in Australia’s Formula Xtreme championships on a Yamaha R6. In 2012 he found himself unable to resist the urge to get back to racing and competed in the Thai superbike series, moving up from the novice SB-3 class to SB-2 as his lap times came down.
The evidence of the 2012 season in Thailand indicates that the growth of superbike racing is strong amongst local and expatriate riders who take advantage of the sport’s accessibility in the Kingdom. The grading system for superbike riders is designed to enable them to develop progressively and safely. All begin in the SB-3 Novice class at each circuit and move up to SB-2 only when their race lap times come down below a predetermined threshold. Given the high financial and technical barriers of having a competitive ride in the SB-1 professional class, most of the fun for riders and spectators in Thai superbike racing is to be found in the thriving intermediate category, where the Castrol Honda duo can expect to spend most of their season.
Because the sale and decommissioning of Bira International Circuit is set for some time in the second half of the season, Kaeng Krachan comes into the superbike calendar for two of the GPI championship rounds for the first time in 2013. As in previous years, the R2M championship will run at Thailand Circuit. Cooperation between the two promoters means that as well as the two individual championships, there is also a consolidated All Thailand Championship for the overall winner.
The full superbike racing calendar is reproduced below, courtesy of R2M.
Round 1: R2M - 2 June 2013, Thailand Circuit
Round 2: GPI - 30th June 2013, Bira Pattaya
Round 3: R2M - 7 July 2013, Thailand Circuit
Round 4: GPI - 28th July 2013 - Bira, Pattaya
Round 5: R2M - 1 September 2013, Thailand Circuit
Round 6: GPI - 29th September 2013, Kaeng Krachan
Round 7: R2M - 27 October 2013, Thailand Circuit
Round 8: R2M - 24 November 2013, Thailand Circuit
Round 9: GPI - 1st December 2013 - Kaeng Krachan
