James Hillier and the JG Speedfit Kawasaki team suffered disappointment at the Isle of Man TT races on Wednesday (7^th June) when they were forced to retire on the opening lap, just seven miles into the four-lap Superstock race.

With second and fourth-place finishes from his previous two races, and having set the fifth-fastest Superstock lap in practice, Hillier had high hopes for another TT podium on the Kawasaki ZX-10R but this race was over before it had even begun.

As early as Quarter Bridge on the opening lap, he started to experience brake issues and with the problem continuing on the high-speed run to Ballacraine, he had little option other than to retire at the right-hand bend before the Glen Helen section.

It was an unfortunate end to his and the team’s race but remarkably it was his first non-finish in the TT since the senior race of 2010. Hillier’s amazing run of results may have come to an end for now, but he still has one more race this week – the Senior TT Race on Friday.

Hillier said: “It was my 50th TT start so obviously I was hoping for a strong result and after the way the bike had performed in practice, I was ready to have a good go. I’m not sure what happened but as soon as I left the line the bike didn’t quite feel right and it’s hard enough to ride around here with brakes never mind without them! It’s frustrating and disappointing but it’s one of those things so fingers crossed for the next race.”

Pete Extance, Team Owner, added: “We had great expectations of another fantastic result coming into the race but unfortunately James’ race came to end before he’d completed the first section on the opening lap. He started to experience brake problems on the run along the bottom of the course and he decided to retire on safety grounds. The TT isn’t the place to be pushing hard when things aren’t right and we’ve got one more race still to come so we’ll look to get back onto the podium in that one.”

To keep up to date with the latest news from JG Speedfit Kawasaki you can follow the team on Facebook @JGSpeedfitBournemouthKawasaki on Twitter @JGSpeedfitKawa or visit the website www.jgspeedfitkawasaki.co.uk

Ends

Notes to Editors

• The line-up for JG Speedfit Kawasaki consists of British Superbike riders Leon Haslam and Luke Mossey, road racing specialist James Hillier and sidecar champions Ricky Stevens and Ryan Charlwood.
• The team is owned by Bournemouth Kawasaki Racing. Title sponsor for 2017 is British plumbing and heating engineering firm JG Speedfit which is a world leader in push-in fittings, as well as plastic plumbing systems and underfloor heating.
• Derbyshire-based Leon Haslam finished runner-up in the 2016 British Superbike Championship while Cambridgeshire-based Luke Mossey secured his highest ever British Superbike Championship season finish last year in sixth place.
• The team’s 2017 International Road racing events at the North West 200 and Isle of Man TT will be contested by James Hillier. Last season, Hillier secured three podiums earning him fourth overall in the 2016 TT riders’ championship.
• 2016 British F1 Sidecar Champions Ricky Stevens and Ryan Charlwood are being retained by Bournemouth Kawasaki Racing for a second year and will be going for their third championship win in a row this year.

For further information about this news release please contact:

Kate Strawson

Director, Shooting Star

kate@weareshootingstar.co.uk

01522 528540

07733 230293

@KateStrawson